《Cannon Fire Arc》 Chapter 1: 1 Script Murder? No, It’s Time Travel! Chapter 1: Script Murder? No, Its Time Travel!
When Wang Zhong saw the silvery-haired girl in military uniform before him, his first reaction was to think it was a COSPLAY from some hardcore military-themed anime game that wasnt pandering to otakus. Usually, hed take a second look at such a sight, but the vibrations of the floor and walls interrupted his appreciation. What the hell is that? he asked loudly, only for the dust falling from the ceiling to float into his mouth. The beautiful girl in front of him shushed him and whispered, Tank! Wang Zhong was stunned, Tank? He scratched his head, trying to figure out what was going on. He first tried to recall the events leading up to now, but couldnt remember anything besides getting drunkah, it was almost Chinese New Year, and hed had a drink with some friends.
Could it be that his friends had dragged him to a murder mystery role-y caf while he was drunk? And then he just happened to run into this beautiful girl and they started a game together? Wow, what luck, better add her on WeChat first. Wang Zhong reached into his pocket for his phone, but instead of finding it, he pulled out a document. The document cover felt very sturdy, like it was made of leather. Wang Zhong was impressed; the shop was pretty good, with realistic settings and props. Then he opened the document and was stunned by the photo inside. Whats going on? Thats not me in the photo! It was only then that Wang Zhong btedly realized something all the people around him had inmon: they were all fair-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. Where are my friends? Did they leave me behind to y a murder mystery game with strangers? Could it beits not a murder mystery game, but but that Ive traveled through time? Wang Zhong just briefly considered this possibility, but immediately dismissed it. One must believe in science; this was definitely a prank by his mischievous buddies, damn it, ying me for a fool. The resentment that had just begun to build dissipated after another nce at the beautiful girl before him; damn, this was even better, he definitely had to connect with the foreign beauty on WeChat.
His prankster buddies were probably hiding somewhere, watching the joke unfold. Well, Ill add the beautiful girl on WeChat, and thatll wipe the smiles off their faces! Just then, the rumbling sound grew closer, and the vibrations in the walls and floor became more pronounced. Wang Zhong noticed two small windows by the wall he was leaning against. They were ced high up, with sunlight nting through them. They seemed like basement light wells; Wang Zhong had a ssmate who moved to Beijing after graduation and always lived in such basements, often sharing photos on his moments, asionally ying with various prison cell jokes. He tiptoed a little, drew closer to one of the windows, and peered out. He saw a pair of military boots near the window. For a murder mystery game, isnt this a bit too realistic? He was puzzled when suddenly more pairs of boots appeared. It felt like there was a toon passing by outside. What in the world? The next moment, Wang Zhong saw the source of the trembling and rumbling C tank tracks. The murder mystery caf not only had a toons worth of actors but also got hold of a tractor? Thats not right, is it? Wang Zhongs breath quickened; he vaguely felt that he truly might have traveled through time.
So, that rxed, carefree, unconcerned mood vanished instantly. He retreated and took another look around the basement room. Aside from him and the beautiful girl, there were four males, all with Northern European faces. Everyone was wearing the same style of military uniform, mainly khaki with a somewhat drab green cor section. Three of the men were holding rifles, which Wang Zhong thought looked a lot like the MosinCNagant. The rifles had bays fixed, and one of the bays was stained red. Wang Zhong looked several times at that red stain, thinking that it couldnt have already been used to kill someone, could it? The remaining man held a weapon that looked a lot like the Finnish Suomi submachine gun, his uniform slightly different from the others, with two V-shaped marks on the sleeve. Sergeant? Wang Zhong tentatively asked. The submachine gun man looked at Wang Zhong, What, do you need a diaper? The men allughed but quickly subdued their voices. The girl turned her face away, embarrassed.
Wang Zhong: Diaper? The sergeant nced at Wang Zhongs crotch. Wang Zhong looked down and discovered he too was wearing a khaki uniform, and the color of his crotch was noticeably darker, spreading out radiantly. He felt it, and sure enough, it was wet! This isnt my pee! Truly, it wasnt! Im freaking out here! Wang Zhong, though hed never been on a battlefield, did not think he was the type to wet himself at the first sign ofbatprobably. No, definitely! The pee also felt mostly dry, it definitely wasnt fresh, so whos was it? Wang Zhong suddenly remembered the document in his hand and hurriedly flipped it open. The photo in the document was of a young and handsome guy with a frivolous smile, obviously also with a European face, next to which was all in a script that Wang Zhong had never seen before, somewhat resembling Cyrillic. Astonishingly, Wang Zhong understood their meaning. It was then that Wang Zhong realized that from the beginning, everyone had been speaking a foreignnguage, but he understood it as if it were Chinese.
Wang Zhong found his name next to the photo: Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, and there was a prefix before the name, which tranted into Chinese might mean something like sir or excellency? By now, the rumble of the tank had moved away, and gunfire could still be heard in the distance. At that moment, the sergeant with the submachine gun spoke up, The gunfire is about one or two kilometers away from us, definitely the forces of Duke dimir still resisting. We should cross through enemy territory and join up with the duke. After finishing, the sergeant turned to Wang Zhong, Your Excellency, what do you think? One of the soldiers mocked, Why ask him? Be careful he wets his pants again! From now on, his nickname will be Pissypants Rokossovsky. Shh! Careful the count doesnt settle the score with youter and lock you up! another soldier said, although his warning to hisrade was unequivocally delivered in a sarcastic tone. The sergeant seriously said, The count is ourmander, of course, we need his agreement. Count, what do you think of what I just said? Wang Zhong thought to himself, what can I think? Ive onlymanded troops in a game; Im aplete outsider. It seems like nodding is all I can do now. Normally, this is when the cheat would activate. Come out, Deep Blue. The next moment, Wang Zhongs perspective shifted to an overhead view. What the heck? Have I be some kind of satellite spirit? Is there really a cheat?
Unfortunately, most of the satellite view was dark, with only the basement they were in clearly visible. He then realized this was the familiar overhead perspective from the real-time strategy games he knew so well. With years of experience ying real-time strategy games, he immediately recognized that the highlighted figure in the view must be himself. This satellite view even had an interface; that thing in the top right corner of the view must be the unit tabthe symbol of the forces under hismand. Currently, inside the unit tab, there was only a solitary unit: Wang Zhongs consciousness immediately noticed a tag that read: Lieutenant Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. Well, the only unit is myself? What happened to me being themander? Just then, Wang Zhong heard a girls voice and hurriedly switched his view back to himselfit seemed the switch was as easy as a mere thought. The girl said, I think Sergeant Semyon is right, Alyosha, lets do that. Alyosha, the nickname for the name Aleksei of the body he inhabitedRussians typically used nicknames only with close associates. With acquaintances, they would use the patronymic, which in this case was the lengthy middle name Konstantinovich. Wang Zhong said, Wait a moment! The enemy just passed by; its not good to act rashly. Lets wait here for a while. In reality, Wang Zhong wanted to buy time to understand the cheat. If they started moving, who knew what dangersy ahead and they wouldnt be able to properly examine the cheat. The sergeant hesitated but eventually nodded, Then we wait a bit. Be careful not to be discovered by the Prussians. The Prussians, that must be the name of the enemy. There definitely is no country named Prussia on Earth; I must be somewhere other than Earth. Wang Zhong once again entered the overhead perspective, and his first attempt was to focus his attention on the girl in the room with him; sure enough, her name popped up: Ludm Vasilyevna Malyukhova, Captain, Prayer Hand. Huh? Whats a Prayer Hand? Wang Zhong had assumed the girl was a medic. He focused on the term Prayer Hand for a second, but no further exnation appeared. What the hell, this cheat is wed. Although he could clearly see Ludms designation, she did not appear in the unit tab list. Reluctantly, Wang Zhong shifted his attention to the other four people. Sergeant Zakayev and then a lengthy string, Private First ss Semyon and then a lengthy string, Private Ivan and then a lengthy string, Private Yuri and then a lengthy string. The sergeant was a submachine gunner, and the rest were riflemen. Wang Zhong also wanted to check their ammo situation but, unfortunately, there was none. Having determined he couldnt glean more from these people, Wang Zhong turned his attention to the house beside them. He could see through the roof of the house they were in, and through the floors of the first and second floors to the basement. He thought whether he could switch the disy to other floors, to get a better look at the ground floor situation. But it was useless. He then tried to view the situation of his own people who were engaged in distant fighting, but he was unable to do so. Could it be this cheat is merely a change of perspective, and Im actually seeing the same information that my eyes can see? To verify this, Wang Zhong switched back to his own perspective, stood up, went to the window, and looked outside. Maintaining this position, he switched to the overhead view, and then noticed that thendscape outside had appeared. He saw a street, no, half a street because he could only see the buildings across from their basement. However, this view was much clearer than with his own eyes. With his natural vision, he could only see the ground floor of the buildings, not even knowing how many floors there were. But with this overhead view, he could see even the rooftops clearly. This cheat still had some merits. Just as Wang Zhong was appreciating the cheat, he heard footsteps. Hearing footsteps from an overhead perspective was as if the sound wasing from heaven. Wang Zhong realized it was because the footsteps wereing from above his head; his hearing hadnt switched to the overhead perspective. No wonder the gunfire still sounded so distant. He switched back to his natural perspective and saw that everyone in the room was looking at the ceiling. Wang Zhong also looked up to see that the ceiling was made of wood, and someone was currently stepping on it with heavy boots, producing a loud thumping sound. Then someone spoke in a foreignnguage he couldnt understand. If he had to say, it had a bit of a German feel to it, but Wang Zhong couldnt be sure. Ludm murmured softly, Prussians! At that moment, Wang Zhong saw a crack in the ceiling and had a bold idea. Just now, with my own eyes, I could only see the opposite buildings first floor, but after switching perspectives, I could see up to the second, third, and even the rooftops. Could it be? He decided to give it a try. Chapter 2: 2 The First Subordinate Chapter 2: The First Subordinate
Wang Zhong carefully picked up a stool and ced it under the crack, then tiptoed onto the stool. That way, he just managed to bring his eyes close to the crevice. Then he switched to a birds-eye view. With the birds-eye view, he could see everyone in the basement staring at him dumbfounded. Wang Zhong didnt bother with the others and directly switched the view to the first floor. This time the switch was sessful.
Wang Zhong actually couldnt see anything through the crack, but after switching views, he had a clear view of the entire room on the first floor. The entrance led directly into the living room, with stairs to the second floor on the left, and two doors leading to other rooms. Wang Zhong couldnt see the other rooms, but he had aplete view of this one, including the enemy soldiers with their heavy footsteps. There were two enemy soldiers, dressed in ck military uniforms, helmets with spikes on top, reminiscent of the German helmets from World War I. Wang Zhong focused, and sure enough, information about the enemy appeared, but there were no names or affiliations, just the type of soldier: both were riflemen. The two soldiers clearly werent very alert, one was rifling through drawers while the other took a bite from the bread on the table, then scrunched his face and spat it back out. He cursed under his breath, which Wang Zhong didnt understand. However, Wang Zhong was feeling quite good about himself at the moment, after all, having a cheat made one feel different C it invariably gave him more confidence. Just as Wang Zhong was about to switch back to tell everyone the situation upstairs, the soldier eating the bread threw the bread away and headed toward the doors to the other rooms. He left Wang Zhongs field of vision. No matter how hard Wang Zhong tried, he could no longer see him. Wang Zhong heard someone beside him hiss.
He switched back to the birds-eye view of the basement and saw a private by the door with his finger to his lips; he must have been the one who had hissed. Immediately afterward, Wang Zhong also heard footsteps, and they were noting from upstairs. The soldier who had just left the field of vision was moving down the stairs to the basement! Wang Zhong hurriedly returned to his normal vision and whispered, Two riflemen, one upstairs looting, the other onese down. The sergeant looked at Wang Zhong, and it was clear from his expression that he did not believe him. It made sense, after all. Peering through such a narrow crack anding away with so much information would make anyone skeptical. Whats more, Wang Zhongs predecessor had just embarrassed himself by wetting his pants. Put yourself in the other persons shoes; he would not trust someone on the battlefield who had just wet himself. By now, the enemy had reached the door. Upon finding it locked, he began to smash at it with the butt of his gun. The banging on the door made Wang Zhong tense up. He felt that it would be better to have a weapon in hand under such circumstances, so he drew his pistol. Nobody noticed Wang Zhong pulling his gun, as everyones attention was fixed on the main door. After a few hits, the enemy outside stopped. Just as Wang Zhong thought the enemy might be giving up, anguage he did not understand came from the other side of the door.
Ludm, hiding in the corner, whispered, He said the door can only be locked from the inside, he knows were in here, and hes telling us toe out. The sergeant clicked his tongue, No choice now, we have to break out. He nced down to check the chamber of his submachine gun. Xiemiao, move away from the door; Ill shoot the enemy through it! Wang Zhong thought to himself, how could this be okay? There was another enemy upstairs. If you fire, youll draw them all here. He stepped forward, grabbed the sergeants gun, and whispered, No! Use the bay! Theres another enemy on the first floor! We hide against the wall in the blind spot of the doorway, Ludm goes to open the door, act scared, try to pull the enemy in, and Xiemiao will stab the enemy from the side. The sergeant stared at Wang Zhong, even ncing down at his crotch. Clearly, he was hesitating whether or not to listen to a coward who wet himself on the battlefield. The enemy was still loudly demanding an answer. A secondter, he gestured for the others to hide. Seeing the sign, Ludm shouted something in the enemysnguage, and the voice outside suddenly quieted down. Then, the enemy responded in a much softer tone.
Ludm: Im going to open the door. The sergeant pulled Wang Zhong aside into the blind spot next to the door. Xiemiao, closest to the door, gripped his rifle with the bay attached tightly. Wang Zhong pressed himself against the wall, trying hard to make his breathing less noticeable. To tell the truth, Wang Zhong was very nervous, his palms sweaty, barely able to hold his pistol steadily. He had to hold his gun with his left hand, rubbed his sweaty palm vigorously against his clothes, and then switched back. Damn, he didnt know if his cheat had any enhancement to personalbat; if not, then without any enhancement, he was just a nk, and facing the enemy would mean certain death. Ludm adjusted her uniform, and perhaps because she was European, she really was voluptuous. Despite having a delicate face, her figure was incredibly curvaceous. She continued to respond to the enemy while moving to the door to grab thetch, and finally, she looked at the sergeant. That look didnt go to Wang Zhong, the nominalmander, indicating that even now, Ludm still saw the sergeant as the one calling the shots. The sergeant nodded, and Ludm immediately pulled the door open,pletely disregarding Wang Zhongs opinion. Wang Zhong couldnt see the enemy from his angle, but he had the birds-eye view; a quick switch would reveal the enemys eyes widening. After all, Ludm was genuinely attractive.
Ludm reached out to grab the enemys rifle, pulling him into the room. The enemy came in without any resistance. Chapter 3: 2 The First Subordinate_2 Chapter 3: Chapter 2 The First Subordinate_2
Semyon made a split-second decision, lunging forward with the bay aimed at the enemys nk. The enemy let out a ghastly scream. Ludm was quick on her feet, smothering the enemys mouth with her hand. But it was toote. From the first floor came another enemys query, Gas wrench? In a moment of desperation, Wang Zhong said to Ludm, Scream! You scream! Ludm immediately let out a piercing scream as if she was being sexually assaulted.
Wang Zhong saw the enemies were stunned because he hadnt done anything yet, he was even a bodys length away from Ludm with a rifle between them. Semyon stabbed several more times, and the fiercely resisting enemy finally stopped moving. Immediately, Wang Zhong said to Ludm, You lie on the table, hold on to this dead bastard, and keep screaming to lure the second enemy down. Ludm did as she was told. Just as Wang Zhong was about to issue an order to Semyon, he saw Semyon had already hidden beside the door. This birds-eye view was pretty convenient, literally keeping an eye on all directions. The second enemy appeared at the door and upon seeing Ludm, he outrightughed: Wow, to death or glory, huh! The lust-driven enemy didnt even notice the bloodstains on hisrade and walked straight into the room. Semyon shouted and lunged forward with his bay. But this enemy was quick, dodging the thrust and grabbing a helmet to smash it onto the overextended Semyons head. Semyon screamed in pain, likely pierced by the spike on the helmet. Damn, could that spike reallye in handy like this?
The enemy yelled out, pulling out a dagger and stabbing it into Semyon. From his birds-eye view, Wang Zhong clearly saw that Semyon was no longer moving. Shifting his focus didnt provide any exnation. Private Ivan lunged with his bay, striking the enemy in the heart. The enemy stared at Ivan, his mouth agape, but said nothing. Maybe because Wang Zhong had been watching everything from this birds-eye view the entire time, it felt surreal to him until he switched back to his own eyes and smelled the thick scent of blood. Ludm: Are there any more enemies? Wang Zhong: With all thismotion and no inquiry, there should be none. As he spoke, Wang Zhong went to the door to check outside and found that outside was also a basement, not the corridor he had assumed. In this room, a staircase against the wall led to the ground level. Wang Zhong: We should head to the rooftop first, to assess the surroundings. This cheat of his needed a field of view; getting to the rooftop would probably light up the surroundings. He turned around to look at the people in the room and saw everyone staring at him. The sergeant said, No, we leave directly. Do you want the enemy to spot us on the rooftop?
Ludm stood up from the corpse: We already lost one person luring the enemy down here for a surprise attack. If you had just opened fire, sergeant, wed all probably be dead by now! The sergeant shook his head: This was just blind luck, a greenhorn who wets himself on the battlefield wont get lucky every time! We should leave now before the enemy notices us! Vasilyevna,e with us, well ensure you get back to the allied forces and return to your unit! Wang Zhong was momentarily confused before realizing that Vasilyevna was Ludms patronymic. Russians address someone of general acquaintance or higher status with their patronymic, and it is impolite to call them by their first name alone. Well, maybe not Russians, since this isnt Earth, but clearly, the people here followed the Russian convention. Ludm hesitated, then said, No, I support the Major. The sergeant shook his head, Then theres nothing I can do, were going! With that, he pushed past Wang Zhong who was standing at the doorway, clutching his submachine gun as he headed for the stairs to the first floor. The two privates followed him. In the blink of an eye, the room was left with only Wang Zhong, Ludm, and three dead bodies. Ludm looked regretful. Wang Zhong: You can still catch up with them. Ludm bit her lip and looked at Wang Zhong: No, I think in our current situation, the chances of survival with either side are not high.
Wang Zhong: Youre right. He took a deep breath and turned towards the corpses. He picked up Semyons gun and handed it to Ludm: You need something to defend yourself; can you shoot? Ludm took the gun and proficiently checked the chamber, then looked up at Wang Zhong: I scored higher than you in shooting, Major, dont you remember? Oh, is that so? Wang Zhong mused internally, what kind of pure loser had he reced. After salvaging another rifle, several grenades, and some ammunition from the other two bodies, Wang Zhong decided to move out. He moved stealthily up to the ground floor, promptly switching to the birds-eye view. It was then that he noticed in the upper right-hand corner of his field of vision, aside from himself, there was another badge, focused on the new badge it read: Captain Ludm Vasilyevna Malyukhova, Divine Arrow. So, people who would follow his orders would be added to the badge? And what in the world was Divine Arrow? Wang Zhong switched floors and suddenly realized he could see the basement as well. Could it be that, like in real-time strategy games, this cheat allowed him to see through the eyes of the troops under hismand?
This was indeed convenient, as gainingmand over more troops would widen his field of vision. Regardless, he now had a soldier under hismand. And such a beautiful girl at that. Wang Zhong cautiously moved to the second floor and discovered that it had been hit by artillery; there was arge hole in the wall facing the street. Ludm: We were originally on the second floor, but before we could destroy the enemys tank, we received a direct hit from a shell, and the entire Divine Arrow squad was reduced to just myself. Chapter 4: 2 The First Subordinate_3 Chapter 4: Chapter 2 The First Subordinate_3
Whats the Divine Arrow team? Ludm: Sergeant Zakayevs infantry battalion was supposed to be covering us nearby. Our team, including the infantry battalion, is under yourmand, Colonel! But you got so scared by that shell that you pissed your pants and scurried into the basement to hide! So thats why Sergeant Zakayev doesnt want to be under mymand, Wang Zhong thought to himselfit made sense. Wang Zhong looked at Ludm: Trust me, I have I am no longer who I was before! Indeed, he was no longer the same person. The cowardly wimp must have been scared to death, and I die in another world probably due to drinking, I guess, and then I end up in this cowards body.
It doesnt matter, whats important is whates next. After calming Ludms emotions, Wang Zhong was about to turn around to survey the situation when he suddenly remembered something very important and continued to ask Ludm: We err Asking Ludm which country he belonged to now seemed inappropriate. It might even cost him the little bit of trust he had just gained and lose his only subordinate. Forget it, survivales first. Wait a minute, if its about survival, wouldnt surrendering also be an option? After all, Im a Chinese person, theres no need to fight to the death for a country whose name I dont even know. Maybe Wang Zhongs expression gave away his thoughts, because just then, Ludm said: If youre thinking of surrendering to the Prussians, Ill shoot you first! Well, that options off the table. Wang Zhong thought to himself that hed better take it one step at a time. He crawled to the edge of therge hole andy down, peeking out from the edge while switching to an overhead view. Boy, the entire fan-shaped area aheads terrain had been lighted up. Of course, some buildings higher than the second floor still blocked the view, leaving patches of shadow.
Within the area Wang Zhong could see, enemies were disyed. Wang Zhong even spotted Zakayevs squad. They were moving along an alley, with the enemy right in front of them. Then Wang Zhong watched as they encountered the enemy, not even having time to think about what reaction to make. There was a half-track armored vehicle among the enemy; its machine gun immediately opened fire, and the leading sergeant was knocked down in the first burst without even firing a shot. The two privates following the sergeant tried to run but were caught by the tracer bullets from the machine gun and fell to the ground. The squad was wiped out just like that. At this moment, Wang Zhong heard Ludms anxious voice: The gunfire is close, whats going on? Wang Zhong: Sergeant Zakayev is dead, theyre all dead. They happened to run into the enemys half-track armored vehicle. Ludm fell silent for a few seconds, then asked, So what do we do? She didnt even question how Wang Zhong knew all this. Wang Zhong observed the east in the overhead view, since Sergeant Zakayev headed east, he guessed the friendlies must be to the east. About three blocks away, Wang Zhong spotted friendlies inbat. He couldnt see too far from the overhead view. The problem was there were a ton of enemies on the route, along with at least ten tanks and armored vehicles.
After watching for a while, Wang Zhong found that although there were many enemies, the buildings significantly obstructed their line of sight. As long as he could maintain the overhead view, it was possible to sneak through. The keyy in two points: first was whether he could control his movements in the overhead view. After all, this system didnte with a mouse; he couldnt really move troops with a click like in real-time strategy games. Wang Zhong targeted himself and thought about having the figure lying on the ground move a bit. To his surprise, as soon as the thought emerged, his body really moved, and he even felt the tactile sensation of his body scraping against the floor. Feeling these sensations in the overhead view was quite strange, and Wang Zhong felt a strong dizzinessit was likely because his brain hadnt adapted to the condition, causing the dizziness due to the mismatch between physical sensations and visual perception. Simr to the principle of some people getting dizzy from 3D games. Wang Zhong moved again and ended up too dizzy to bear. He had to give up on moving himself while in the overhead view. But could he move Ludm? He tried to use his powers on Ludm, attempting tomand her with his mind, but it was to no avail. Suddenly, Wang Zhong realized he had done something stupid: Damn it, why use my mind? Just give the order out loud.
Ludm, he said, do you see the window on your right hand? Go over there and look outside, be careful. Ludm eximed: How can you see behind you? Just had an impression. Go! Ludm moved to the window, and so Wang Zhong gained a view of the back of the room. This works! Thenter on, let Ludm provide the view up front, and Ill follow behind! Wait a second, wouldnt it be too ungentlemanly to let the girl take the lead like this? After a brief hesitation, Wang Zhong shamelessly chose the option that gave him a higher chance of surviving. He said: Ludm, I think I know the way. Youre a good shot, you take the lead, lets get moving. Chapter 5: 3 Injured Chapter 5: Chapter 3 Injured
So, Wang Zhongs small squad set off like this. If I have to say, a grown man having a young girl take the lead does feel a bit embarrassing. But thest time I fired a rifle with live ammo was during military training in college, where I fired a total of five bullets and missed the target with one. If I were to go in front and encountered the enemy, even if I shot first, theres a high chance Id miss and then most likely just be an easy target. Wang Zhong watched Ludm from an overhead perspective, and at this time, he could tell she was very well-endowed, her form heaving with her movements, clearly visible even from above. But right now, Wang Zhong was not in the mood to be distracted, focused intently on the enemys movements. After all, this was a battlefield, and anypse in concentration could be fatal.
Ludm squatted at the corner, cautiously peeking out. Wang Zhong instantly gained aplete view of the other side of the corner, and he could even see the first floor of the building directly opposite Ludm. Thanks to this view, Wang Zhong spotted enemies on the left, probably because it led to the citys main thoroughfare. He wanted Ludm to move right, so he tried tomand her with his mind, but it was no use. Thereupon, Wang Zhong called out softly, Ludm! The girl turned back, and Wang Zhong pointed to the right, Go right! There are no enemies on the right! Its not that Wang Zhong didnt want to give the order quietly; its just that he didnt understand tactical hand signals, nor did he know if the hand signals in this world were the same as those on Earth. Ludm turned to the right, and Wang Zhong immediately followed, the two of them moving one after the other to the next intersection, fortunately without encountering any enemies. The girl stopped at the intersection, looked back at Wang Zhong with suspicion, How did you know there were no enemies this way? Wang Zhong casually brushed it off, I guessed. Ludm frowned, Guessed? Do you realize how bad it would be if we ran into enemies? Wang Zhong, I know. This time, go left.
He had already mastered the skill of speaking in an overhead view, though the disorientation still made his head spin, but it wasnt as severe as before. Thus, even as he conversed with Ludm, he had already confirmed there were no enemies on the left and, incidentally, the sound of gunfire wasing from their left as well. Measured in terms of the cardinal directions, that would be the east. This meant that the chances of running into friendly forces if they moved east were very high. Ludm stared at Wang Zhong for a second before ultimately following the order and crouched as she crossed the street corner. Wang Zhong immediately switched back to his natural visionhe still couldnt navigate while using the overhead view, as it made him extremely dizzy. With his natural vision, Wang Zhong ran to the street corner and peeked out, just in time to see Ludms retreating form. Although the girls figure was tempting, the limitation of this perspective was too great; Wang Zhong switched back to the overhead view without any attachment, being watchful of the surroundings. Just as he switched back, he saw a jeep driving down the alley behind him. He immediately crossed the corner, narrowly avoiding the jeeps field of view in the nick of time. However, moving his own body while in the overhead view brought on an intense dizziness that assaulted his brain, forcing him to exit the overhead perspective as he leaned against the wall and began to retch. He heard footsteps behind him and immediately turned and raised his gun, only to find Ludm running back towards him.
I saw you werent well, so I came back The girl looked concerned, Your face is pale, what suddenly happened? To Ludm, it seemed that Wang Zhong had turned pale out of the blue. Wang Zhong, Im fine! Despite feeling dizzy, he didnt forget about the jeep, so he immediately peeked his head a tiny bit outside, then switched to an overhead view. The jeep was indeed making its way along the street; there were three people in the vehicle, with the driver unarmed, a sergeant in the passenger seat with a submachine gun, and what appeared to be an officer in the back, wearing arge cap. Wang Zhong, Jeep, hide quickly! Immediately after, Wang Zhong noticed that there was no open building on either side of the alley; it was definitely toote to hide. So he made a split-second decision to change orders, No, hand grenade! While saying this, he switched back to his natural vision and took out a hand grenade, unscrewing the cap at the end Suddenly, he changed his mind and handed the grenade to Ludm beside him, You throw it! Wang Zhong had never thrown a hand grenade in his life; if he did the throwing, he might just make things worse. The enemy had submachine guns, and at such a close distance, if the first wave didnt kill the enemy, both he and Ludm would probably be done for right there.
Ludm, with a speechless expression, I havent thrown it many times either. After all, Im a prayer. Not like shooting and horse riding, which I often practiced at home. Wang Zhong, Still better than me, just poke your body out and throw it when I say. As he spoke, Wang Zhong switched to the overhead view again. Wait a second, shouldnt I vacate the corner? But there was no time left. The jeep was almost upon them, and Wang Zhong shouted, Now! Ludm leaped out from the corner with an agile step, raising her hand. Wang Zhong saw something arcing towards the enemys vehicle. But the thing didnt explode right away! Ludm had thrown it as soon as she pulled the pin! Wang Zhong watched as the sergeant in the passenger seat aimed the submachine gun at Ludm! In a moment of desperation, he poked his head out and yelled, Look out! The enemy was also tense, and upon hearing the shout, they immediately swung their guns around and fired at Wang Zhong.
By the time Wang Zhong ducked back, it was a fractionte, and his shoulder felt as if it had been hammered. Immediately after, the submachine gun bullets rattled against the bricks at the corner of the wall. The next moment, the grenade exploded. From an overhead perspective, Wang Zhong clearly saw the firing sergeant blown off the vehicle, while the driver mmed into the steering wheel, passing out. The hat of the officer in the back seat flew off, and it was unclear whether he was dead. The uncontrolled car charged straight towards Ludm! The girl, nimble as a hare, lightly leaped to dodge. The jeep thus crashed into the civilian house by the road. Wang Zhong exhaled in relief and ordered, Pick up that sergeants submachine gun, while switching back to normal vision to check his wound. His shoulder was a red mess, and upon tearing it open, he found a bullet had left a scar as wide as a finger. The moment he saw the wound, searing pain struck Wang Zhongwhat happened to adrenaline preventing pain? Wang Zhongs first instinct was to search for a medical kit to see if it contained morphine or simr drugs.
He did find a medical kit, but upon opening it, he only found bandages and a packet of powdered substancebeled sulfanmide. In war movies, medics often poured powdered substances into wounds in emergency treatments, but Wang Zhong didnt know if this was sulfanmide and didnt dare to sprinkle it, instead using the bandages to wrap his still-bleeding arm. Its said that the brain secretes substances to numb itself against pain, perhaps that mechanism was at y because after Wang Zhong bandaged his hand tightly, the pain significantly subsided. Ludm approached with the submachine gun, and immediately noticed Wang Zhongs arm, Youre injured? Wang Zhong: No, Im just wrapping it for fun. He didnt know why he felt the need to be sarcastic. Ludms expression grew noticeably calmer, It doesnt look too serious. Wang Zhong: Did you get the submachine gun? What about the ammo? Got it all, Ludm patted the ammo pouch slung across her waist. Wang Zhong nced at it. The way the ammo pouch was slung gave off the feeling of the German army. He took a closer look at the captured submachine gun; indeed, it closely resembled an MP40. Noticing Wang Zhongs gaze, Ludm said, Im not very good with this, you should take it instead. Im more confident with bolt-action weapons. Wang Zhong pointed at his shoulder, Does it look like Im in any condition to shoot a gun? In reality, any strong use of his arm caused his shoulder to throb with a pain like knife cuts. Ludm sighed, tightened her grip on the submachine gun, and muttered, Ive only ever seen the Prussians use this kind of gun. Luckily I understand theirnguage to know which part is the safety Wang Zhong: Lets move, the grenade explosion and car crash have probably already drawn the enemys attention. Ludm took a couple of steps forward, then turned back to look at Wang Zhong, Shall I help you? Wang Zhong stood up, I was hit in the arm, not the leg. Lets go! A momentter, the two-person team that was Wang Zhong and Ludm had moved on to another intersection. Ludm peeked out, and Wang Zhong saw that about two hundred meters north of the intersection, both sides were engaged in fiercebat. Soldiers in khaki uniforms upied avish building, firing a barrage of weapons from the windows down to the street. The ck-d soldiers were scattered on both sides of the broad east-west main road behind various types of cover. Wang Zhong spotted two burning tanks on the street, presumably destroyed by the khaki-d forces anti-tank firepower. But oddly enough, Wang Zhong looked around and couldnt pinpoint the location of the anti-tank guns. As he wondered, Ludm turned her head. Immediately, Wang Zhong lost most of his field of viewthe system he was using only provided a vision in the direction the eyes were facing, much like the vision mechanism in hardcore real-time strategy games like Men of War. Ludm called out to Wang Zhong behind her, Come quick! We just need to cross the street, and we should be able to link up with our allies! Wang Zhong: You go ahead; Ill catch up immediately. Ludm: Alright, Ill scout for enemy fire for you. This conversation I let you cross because I made sure there were no enemies! Before Wang Zhong could voice hisint, Ludm stood up and dashed across the street. Once assured she was safe, Wang Zhong switched back to normal vision and began to move. Now his view was severely limited to himself; hed lost control over the battlefields overview, and inner unease set in, with a nagging fear of being hit by a stray bullet. Better a short pain than a long one! Wang Zhong steeled his heart and sprinted, bolting out of the intersection and across the expansive street. Ludm was hidden behind amppost, vigntly holding the enemys submachine gun. No sooner had Wang Zhong reached her than the door of a shop on the street corner swung open. A soldier in khaki uniform poked his head out, Quick, get in! Wang Zhong patted Ludm on the shoulder, Lets go! With that, he was the first to rush into the shop, with Ludm closely following. Chapter 6: 4: Accident Chapter 6: Chapter 4: ident
After barging into the room, Wang Zhong let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps because he had put his mind at ease, his wound began to hurt. So he yelled with full breath, Medic! Immediately, a female medic appeared, Whos calling? Me, me! Wang Zhong raised his left handthe right one was injured and couldnt muster much strength. He could raise it, but it would hurt. The female medic rushed over and swiftly tore off Wang Zhongs sleeve, skillfully unraveled the bandage, Who did this dressing?
Wang Zhong, I did it myself. It was an emergency. We had just blown up an enemy jeep, and we didnt know when the enemy would hear it ande over. The female medic, This is horribly done, and you havent disinfected it, its already starting to fester. Expect a fever. The good news is the bullet went through. As she spoke, she took out a packet of yellow powder and sprinkled it all over Wang Zhongs wound. Wang Zhong screamed in pain. The female medic teased, Dont scream, your girlfriend is watching. Originally observing the outside, Ludm immediately turned her head upon hearing this, Im not his girlfriend. I am a prayer hand, part of the 55th Divine Arrow Group, but my Divine Arrow was destroyed by a tank. When Ludm said this, she nced at Wang Zhong, hesitated briefly before adding, I narrowly escaped under themand of Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov. In reality, right after Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky had been bombarded by a tank, he had fled pell-mell into a basementliterally in a most undignified scramble. By saying this, Ludm was preserving Wang Zhongs dignity. Realizing this, Wang Zhong surreptitiously closed his legs, which he had spread apart, fearing someone would notice the stain on his trousers. The pee wasnt his; it was best if it went unnoticed. The officer who had just let the two in frowned slightly, Colonel Rokossovs battalions defensive area is two blocks away. Has this battalion already copsed?
Wang Zhong recalled the scene he had witnessed from the second floor; it seemed there were no khaki-d troops left resisting nearby. So he answered, Yes, my unit has disintegrated. The reason for the disintegration, of course, was the sight of theirmander ignominiously taking cover, which would make any unit fall apart. The questioning officer cursed and fiercely rubbed his stubbly beard. Ludm nced at Wang Zhong and said, The enemys assault was too fierce; there was nothing we could do. Wang Zhong remembered, Ludm called him Alyosha, which was a nickname for Aleksei. If the custom in this country was simr to that of Earths Russia, calling each other by nicknames implied they were rtively close. Perhaps Ludms assistance in covering for him was due to this rtionship. Wang Zhong felt slightly dejected. He thought he had already won the girls trust. Ludm continued, I need to rejoin my unit. My squad has been dispersed across the entire 79th Division, there must still be some of myrades alive, and I want to join them. Youre just in time, the stubbled officer said, Monk Yeca Neikos squad just lost their prayer hand. Ill get someone to take you there, Stepan! A burly middle-aged man appeared, Sergeant Major, did you call me?
The stubbled one pointed at Ludm, Take this captain to Monk Yeca Neikos squad, shes a prayer hand. The burly man nodded, Follow me. Ludm stood up, gently cing her hand on Wang Zhongs shoulder, Alyosha, youre wounded; go and rest properly. If I donte back, take care of my parents for me. This girl obviously knew the peeing colonel quite well. Even though Wang Zhong didnt even know the name of the country they were in, with no patriotic fervor, as a man, with the girl preparing to face death so bravely, he couldnt possibly show cowardice. No, he said, Ive only got a light injury; I can still fight. Ludm seemed surprised and stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds before smiling sweetly, Not this time. If youre worried I might think less of you, rest easy. I couldnt possibly look down on you; you got injured trying to save me. Indeed, Wang Zhong had shouted to draw attention when he saw the enemy aiming at Ludm, which got him hit. Ludm went on, If you remove yourself from the front lines now, no one will hold it against you. Leave honorably, and after youve healed, give those Prussians a taste of their own medicine! After speaking, Ludm turned decisively, giving the burly man a nod, Lead the way. The two then left. The stubbled Sergeant Major snapped his fingers, Xie Na, finish dressing the colonels wounds, and find a stretcher bearer to take him to the rear.
Wang Zhong, No! I can be evacuated, but first I need to report the intelligence Ive gathered to To whom? Wang Zhong didnt recognize anyone. Wait a second, his identification seemed to have the unit number on it, but he hadnt remembered it in the rush. Before he could reach for his ID, the stubbled man said, Do you mean to tell Duke dimir? Wang Zhong, Yes! Ive juste back from enemy territory, and en route, I killed a high-ranking officer in a jeep! Actually, Wang Zhong didnt know why he was trying so hard to stay at the front line; his original n was to survive in this chaotic world, and to achieve that goal, he should have been safely evacuated to the rear. Perhaps it was Ludms performance that had stimted him. Or maybe he just didnt want to leave Ludm alone on the front line. When he had a moment, Wang Zhong checked his vision and found that on the interface of his cheat, Ludms soldier tag was gone; he had be amander with no troops under him again. Just as Wang Zhong was feeling conflicted, Bearded Guy spoke up, Okay, technically speaking, you are a Lieutenant Colonel, and we have no choice but to follow your orders. Anton! Another decorated private entered the room: Present!
Bearded Guy: This is Lieutenant Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, take him to themand center. Carry him there? asked the private in surprise. Wang Zhong stood up on his own, pushing away the medic who was still trying to wipe the bloodstains off him: I can walk. Private: Please follow me. Following the private to the backyard, Wang Zhong realized that an opening had been made in the courtyard wall; from the looks of the edges, it was clearly intentional. Did we make this hole? he asked the private. Yes, the duke ordered it to be made, the private answered with evident pride. The duke has experience in civil wars; he said it would help connect the defense areas. We worked all night to break through these walls. Of course, the Prussians also helped a lot, with their bombs! While talking, the two passed by a crater five or six meters in diameter, with the surrounding buildings half-copsed. See the spire ahead? Saint Maria Cathedral, they say its a building from six hundred years ago, built of huge stones, even 155mm heavy artillery cant do anything to it! Now its the dukes headquarters! Wang Zhong looked toward the spire the private was pointing at, then noticed that there was no cross on top of the spire; instead, there was a sun emblem. This really wasnt Earth; even the religions were different.
Five minutester, Wang Zhong arrived in front of the cathedral. The guiding private saluted the sentries at the door and then announced loudly the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. A lieutenant immediately came out from the cathedral: The Colonel has arrived? The duke is waiting for you. Wang Zhong furrowed his brow slightly; the duke is waiting for me? The private saluted Wang Zhong: Im heading back now. Wang Zhong took the opportunity to learn the militarys way of saluting and imitated it: Thank you, I wish you good luck from here on out. The private walked away without looking back. Wang Zhong followed the lieutenant who hade to receive him into the cathedral. Although most of the sky outside was covered in gunpowder smoke, sunlight still shone through the stained ss windows, coating the interior of the cathedral in ayer of sacred light. The lieutenant led Wang Zhong through the chapel, into the sacristy at the back. The sacristy had now been transformed into amand center, covered with at least six radios and eight telephones as far as the eye could see. The kind of tick-tick-tick telegraph sound thats often heard in old war movies filled the room. A huge map of the citys defenses hung on the northern wall. The map was covered with arrows indicating enemy attacks. Duke dimir stood with his hands behind his back in front of the map. The lieutenant snapped to attention with a salute: Sir, Count Rokossov has arrived. Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows; they used titles of nobility here rather than military rank? Duke dimir turned to Wang Zhong: You are still alive, thats great, the Crown Prince personally sent a telegram ordering me to ensure your safety. The Crown Prince? Wang Zhong briefly recalled the equipment he had seen used by both parties on his way here, clearly that of World War II level armies; how was there still a Crown Prince? Had World War I not happened? It could be; there was a notion that the end of World War I was actually just an indefinite ceasefire, and that World War II and World War I were essentially the same war. Duke dimir turned to his aide: Arrange for forces to escort the Colonel back to Yekaterinburg immediately. Wang Zhong: Wait! I came to report on the situation at the front! Duke dimir didnt listen to Wang Zhong, continuing to give orders to his aide: Also, get the Colonel a new pair of trousers that fit. My tailor should have enough cloth. Wang Zhong looked down, then realized that the water stains were actually quite clear; people had just pretended not to notice earlier. This made his ears instantly burn hot, even though the stains were not his doing. Just then, a shrill whistling sound came from the sky. Duke dimirs face changed dramatically, and he roared with all his might: Its naval artillery! The next moment, the roof was pierced by a 381mm heavy artillery shell. Chapter 7: 5: First Encounter with Divine Arrow Chapter 7: Chapter 5: First Encounter with Divine Arrow
What does it feel like to take a direct hit from a 381mm shell up close? At any rate, Wang Zhongs thoughts were severed in an instant. For the ten or so seconds after the shellnded, it was impossible to think at all; his whole head buzzed violently, as if ten thousand church bell towers were tolling simultaneously right beside his ears. In a daze, Wang Zhongs subconscious convinced him that he was surely deaf, because apart from the buzzing noise his brain conjured up from the shock, he couldnt hear anything else. But he wasnt deaf, and with a sharp ringing in his ears, about eighty percent of his hearing returned; he could faintly hear screamsing from not too far away. Wang ZhongLieutenant Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky struggled to rise from the ground, ncing at what remained of themand post building.
More than half of the entire sacristy had copsed, and the remaining structure bore obvious cracks. The fallen ceiling buried nearly all of the telephones and telegraph machines, and themunications troops, as well as the staff officers who supervised them, were almost entirely wiped out. The telegraph sounds that had filled his ears just moments ago were reced by screams. Dazed by the st, when Wang Zhong saw a staff officer desperately scraping his severed hand out of the rubble, he sharply realized he should check for injuries on himself. It seemed he wasnt injuredapart from the arm that was already wounded. Wang Zhong was astonished; at that moment, his brain finally seemed to function again, and cold sweat btedly trickled down. Did he just narrowly dodge the Grim Reapers scythe? He looked beside him and saw the duke, pressed down by two guards, lying on the ground. The guards must have been sacrificed, covered in blood. Staggering over, Wang Zhong pulled the guards aside and found the duke beneath them, his head bleeding and at hisst gasp. Duke dimir! Wang Zhong shouted loudly, Ill find a medic for you right away! Dont bother, hurry up and go! The duke managed a few words before wincing in pain, it took him a long while to continue, If the battleship can shell us, it means it means the navy didnt stop the enemy, this city is indefensible!
With that, the dukes head slumped, and he passed out. Just then, the medic finally arrived. He was a burly soldier, who roughly pushed Wang Zhong aside and checked the dukes pulse. I need to perform cardiac massage on His Grace, the duke, right here! Wang Zhong took a step back, giving space to the medic. Thats when he heard someone calling him: Lieutenant Colonel! What do we do next? Wang Zhong turned in confusion, looking at the person who had spoken. The man had one less stripe on his epaulette than Wang Zhong, a captain with reddish-linen hairWang Zhong might have been stunned by the st, because the thought that popped into his mind was that in Japanese games, this hair color mostly belonged to the protagonist. The red-haired captain repeated his earlier words: Lieutenant Colonel! What do we do next? Wang Zhong pointed at himself, Youre asking me? Captain: Yes, youre the highest-ranking officer Ive found! Wang Zhongs gaze instinctively shifted to the duke, observing the sturdy medic performing CPR on him, seemingly with no hope of revival yet. He turned back and said, Look for someone else, there must still be survivors.
Captain: Ive already looked! Ive been searching ever since the shelling, for twenty minutes now. Wang Zhong frowned, finally realizing he hadnt been dazed for just a minute, but had been unconscious for at least twenty minutes. No wonder the duke was already in bad shape when he came to; he had been lying under the two guards, bleeding out for so long. Wang Zhong: Uh, Im a bit dazed, lets rify the situation. How many people have you gathered so far? In truth, what Wang Zhong most wanted to ask was Whats the name of our country, which should have been on his ID, but he had forgotten to look, preupied with finding out his own name and neglecting the name of the country. It wasnt a good time to pull out the ID to check nowgiven the urgent circumstance. The captain answered, Ive rallied the staff for logistics and the field hospital. Most of the guard battalion has fled; themunicationspany too, we cant get in touch with any assigned units at the moment. Wang Zhong frowned: The guard battalion fled? Captain: The battalionmander of the guard battalion is probably killed by the st; I havent found any other officers, given the current situation Just then, the medic trying to save the duke gave up the resuscitation and stood up, shaking his head to the sergeant beside him. The sergeant eximed, All is lost, the duke is dead, all the senior officers have been wiped out! Now only the Duchesss male pet and the Crown Princes piss brother are left! Run for it! Wang Zhong, not sure where his decisiveness came from, bellowed, Catch him, execute by shooting! The soldiers nearby instinctively followed Wang Zhongs order, but hesitated after capturing the man.
The sergeant kept shouting, Are you crazy! What Im saying is the only way out! Look at the lieutenant colonels pants, hes pissed himself! Lets capture these high-ranking twats and surrender to the Prussians! Wang Zhong even looked down specifically to make sure that he hadnt opened the gates during the bombardment. The sergeant was still moring, and the soldiers holding him were clearly hesitant. Wang Zhong suddenly realized that if he did not make a swift and decisive statement, the troops might disband. Once the troops were gone, his fate would be in others hands; he could only control his destiny if he had the troops. Drawing his pistol, his shoulder wound began to ache. He could only clench his teeth, raising the pistol at the still-shouting sergeant. Before firing, he didnt hesitate at all, but his first shot went awry, only knocking the sergeants hat off. He fired a second shot, but it only hit a distant wall. Apparently, shooting at the head from this distance was too difficult for someone attempting to fire a pistol for the first timeespecially with an injured shoulder. So Wang Zhong took a few steps forward, closing the distance while he shifted his aim to the chest, and at a distance less than three meters, he fired three shots in session, abruptly silencing the shouts of the officer. When he had blown up that truck full of Prussians, Wang Zhong hadnt personally pulled the trigger. This was the first time that Wang Zhong had fired at a person, and also his first kill. Wang Zhong felt unexpectedly calm, perhaps because he had seen too many dead and had grown ustomed to it?
He lowered his gun and said to the soldiers who had restrained the officer, You did well. I will take over themand and lead everyone home. One of the two soldiers said, My home is here, in this city. Wang Zhong was startled for a moment before he remembered that these people were defending their homnd. He didnt even know the name of the country yet. If he had only wanted to save himself, he could have just taken off his uniform and hidden away as an ordinary person. After all, he wasnt an officer, nor was he from this country; he had no obligation to fight for it. While Wang Zhong was thinking this way, he suddenly remembered Ludm. If he ran away and this troop fell apart, what would be of Ludm? Wang Zhong had no loyalty to a country whose name he didnt even know, but he knew Ludm, and the girl was still fighting. He wanted to see Ludm again, to tell her he wasnt a coward, to wash away the negative impression left by his pre-transmigration cowardice. Thus, Wang Zhong made up his mind, and he said to the local soldier, Youre right, this is our home. The German devilsthe Prosen devils want to take it from us, and we will never agree! Nima, that was a close call almost saying German devils; those Prussians in their ck uniforms did indeed have a Germanic vibe. Wang Zhong turned to the captain and asked, Whats your name?
Sergei Nikyevich Romanov. Wang Zhong asked subconsciously, Are you from the royal family? The captain looked puzzled, No. The surname of the royal family is Antonov. Wang Zhong, I know. Its just that the artillery has left me deaf, and my hearing isnt too good. He made a random excuse and continued on the real issue, Try to restoremunication with the front line, organize personnel to rece the positions of the guard battalion, gather soldiers who are willing to continue fighting. Perhaps because Wang Zhongs voice was a bit loud, a fair amount of debris and dust fell from the ceiling. Wang Zhong looked up at the sky and asked, This ce isnt safe anymore, is there a more robust building nearby? Sergey, There is a bank building nearby made of concrete, and its still rtively intact. Wang Zhong, Lets move there. After saying that, he strode away from the swaying sacristy. The chapel outside was also bombed into a mess; the colorful stained ss that had impressed Wang Zhong before the bombardment was now shattered on the ground. The bank building was already empty; the guard battalion had set up machine gun positions here, but no one was manning them. Wang Zhong looked back at the two soldiers following him and ordered, Set up the machine guns. The two soldiers immediately went to do so. At that moment, intense gunfire came from a distance, signalling that the Prussians were attacking. Wang Zhong, Im going to the roof. No sooner had he spoken than he sprinted up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time straight to the rooftop. Since there were no railings on the roof, Wang Zhong had to lie down near the edge and raise his binocrs to observe. He was actually just pretending to use the binocrs; changing his viewpoint to an overhead view was much clearer! First he verified the troop markers on the interface, and found that there was only one new markerbeled Remnants, hovering his attention over it revealed the following exnation: A mob consisting of the field hospitals doctors and nurses, logistical department menials, as well as Honor Guards and the military band, who had never seen a battlefield, might be more adept at blowing trumpets than fighting. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue. Even though they were just remnants, Wang Zhong still gained their field of vision, but all the views were superimposed together without any specific indication of who they came from. As for control, he didnt have any way at all; even for Sergey right beside him, he couldnt issuemands by thought alone; he had to speak them aloud. However, with the external aid, Wang Zhong could clearly see the battle unfolding just a block away. The Prussians were advancing along the main east-west thoroughfare of the city. The khaki soldiers were resisting by relying on a sturdy five-story buildingyes, the very same building Wang Zhong had seen during their escape. The sergeant who had brought Wang Zhong tomand must be in some building on the south side of that structure. He didnt know where Ludm was Just as Wang Zhong had this thought, he witnessed a scene that took himpletely by surprise: a rocket fired from a window of a two-story building, trailing a long plume of smoke, crossed the entire street and hit a Prosen Tank that had juste into view. The tank immediately stopped moving, mes spewed from the top hatch, followed by tank crew members engulfed in mes jumping out and rolling on the ground to extinguish the fire. Subsequently, the tanks ammunition detonated, throwing the turret high into the air. Bazooka? RPG? Wang Zhong checked the distance and felt something was off; the rocket had flown over a thousand meters. With this distance, aside from whether rockets like the Bazooka could shoot that far, just aiming was a big issue. From this distance, the tank was just a small point, especially in aplex urban environment. At that moment, a word came to Wang Zhongs mind: Divine Arrow. The Divine Arrow was actually a missile? And Prayer Hand was actually a radio operator? Chapter 8: 6: Evil Spirits in the Smoke Chapter 8: Chapter 6: Evil Spirits in the Smoke
To confirm this, Wang Zhong, who was lying beside him, asked Captain Sergey, Is Divine Arrow a kind of rocket? Yes. Wang Zhong continued to confirm, Guided by prayers? The prayer givers pray to God, and then God guides it. Sergey seemed to be making an effort to make his voice sound more devout, but he failed. By now, Wang Zhong had already determined that Divine Arrow was a kind of radio or wired guided weapon. It was just that the world might have developed again after the destruction of civilization, and modern people were unable to decipher the ancient technology used to make Divine Arrows.
As an experienced yer of War Game: Red Dragon, he immediately realized how important this kind of anti-tank missile was under the current circumstances. Wang Zhong, Sergey, send someone to get in touch with the Divine Arrow team. That should be Monk Yeca Neikos Divine Arrow team. Ludm had joined Monk Yeca Neikos Divine Arrow team, and Wang Zhong remembered clearly that Monk Yeca Neikos team had lost their prayer giver, which is why Ludm had been urgently added to the group. Captain Sergey, Understood. Wang Zhong continued to observe the front line. After losing their tanks, the enemy did not stop their attack. The Prussians used mortars tounch a smoke screen, blocking the Divine Arrow teams view, and then a second tank, pushing the still-burning wreckage, charged forward. Wang Zhong was impressed, The enemy is very experienced. Captain Sergey, Didnt you notice? There is an iris flower symbol on the enemys sleeve, which is proof they took part in the Carolingian campaign. Wang Zhong had no idea what the Carolingian campaign was, and he didnt dare to ask in case it wasmon knowledge in this world. But Carolingian C there was a Carolingian dynasty in the history of the Earths Franks. Could it be that in this timeline, France was also steamrolled by the Germans, no, by the Prussians? And now these attacking Prussian troops, were they veterans who had participated in steamrolling through Carolingian?
While Wang Zhong was pondering this, he saw the group that had justunched Divine Arrows leave their original position, apparently nning to move forward, to get past the smokescreen. What the hell? Wang Zhong muttered under his breath, Advancing forward can indeed bypass the smokes barrier, but by doing that, youll be just two to three hundred meters from the tanks. The tanks could even hit you with their machine guns! Huh? Captain Sergey made a puzzled sound, I didnt think to move forward? Wang Zhong, Not you! Monk Yeca Neikos team is moving forward, its too dangerous! Stop them! Captain Sergey looked puzzled and nced in the distance where he could only see a bunch of buildings,pletely unable to see Monk Yeca Neikos team. In fact, without an overhead view, it was impossible to get such detailed front-line intelligence from the rooftop because most of the view was blocked by buildings. Captain Sergey, I dont even know where they are. How did you see them? Wang Zhong shut his mouth. It would be rather troublesome to exin the use of an external helper, and hed have to be careful in the future to only issuemands without telling others why he was giving those orders. At this moment, Wang Zhong had already confirmed through the overhead view that Ludm was indeed thereher figure was too good to miss, and with that silver hair, she could be easily recognized even from an overhead perspective. The current priority was to stop the Divine Arrow team from making a deadly mistake, but there was no way to contact them now. Just as Wang Zhong was worrying, Sergey said, Ive contacted the artillery group in the rear; the artillerymander wants to speak with you. Wang Zhong switched his view back and took the handsetonly then did he notice that at some point, the signalman had run the telephone line up to the rooftop.
This is Count Rocossov speaking, go ahead. He almost blurted out This is Wang Zhong! Count Rocossov? Why are you inmand? The voice on the other end was very surprised, Its over Wang Zhong was very astonished; from the information the duke had revealed before, the Count Rocossov he was portraying was a friend of the Crown Prince, yet these people expressed their opinion of Count Rocossov so bluntly Duke dimir is dead, killed by the Prussian Battleships bombardment. Weve suffered heavy losses. If youre calling to make light of our predicament, you might as well hang up now. No, wait a moment. Im calling to tell you that the Prussians are about to reach our artillery position, and I can still provide you with one round of support. After that, youll have to fight without artillery support. Wang Zhong immediately zoomed his view to the farthest distance, which from such a height made it feel like looking at satellite images on Google Earth. Then something unexpected happened; there were troop icons on this satellite map. At Wang Zhongs location, there was a symbol with a rectangle and an X, representing infantry, while on the east side of the city, there was a marker for artillery. The marker was now green, and Wang Zhong felt like he had their vision. He zoomed in for a closer look and, indeed, he had the artillerys field of view. Was it because he was on the phone right now?
As Wang Zhong was studying his own exploit, the person on the phone said, Give me the coordinates, and Ill shoot the shells as far as I can. Then you guys just have to fend for yourselves! At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly noticed that there were still quite a few smoke bombs at the artillery position. A n suddenly struck him. Wang Zhong, Do you have smoke bombs? There was silence for a second on the phone, and then the reply came, Yes. What about it? Wang Zhong, Ill give you coordinates, shoot all the smoke bombs over there. Since the Prussians used smoke to obscure the vision of the Divine Arrow team, allowing their tanks to engage at a distance they excelled in, we could do the same. Using smoke topletely strip away vision, then let the infantry charge and engage the enemy in meleebat. During meleebat, the direct firepower of tanks would be useless. Of course, this would also prevent the machine guns from being effective, but the machine guns would be targeted and taken out by the enemy tanks anyway. The only question was whether the front-linemanders couldprehend the meaning of this round of smoke and seize the opportunity to counterattack. However, Wang Zhong didnt care about that much; his actual goal was to save Ludmif the enemy tanks vision waspletely stripped by the smoke, they naturally wouldnt be able to fire at the Divine Arrow team which Ludm was part of.
Wang Zhong adjusted his field of view; his overhead perspective came with coordinates, which he then reported. Unbeknownst to him, Captain Sergey beside him was staring with wide eyes, his mouth agape. After Wang Zhong gave the coordinates, the other side repeated them and then reconfirmed the order, Fire all the smoke bombs at these coordinates, right? Wang Zhong, Right, fire them all. Dont use live rounds; this coordinate is right at the tense spot between the enemy and us, lots of the shells will fall on our own men. Smoke bombs arent very lethal; as long as youre not unlucky enough to be hit directly, they wont cause injury. Understood. After firing these smoke bombs, well have to retreat. The enemys machine guns have surpassing fire thats already reaching us, you get that? Got it! Fire! From the other end of the phone came the roar, Fire! Then the call was hung up. Wang Zhong used his overhead view to try to see the effect when he heard Sergey ask in surprise, You just called out the coordinates like that? Using just a telescope? Yes, Wang Zhong replied nonchntly. But they all say that you scored zero in every military subject! Captain Sergey said.
Wang Zhong thought to himself, what a coincidence? That suits me just fine; Im a person with no military knowledge anyway, so I wont have to worry about giving myself away in the future. As he thought this, the smoke bombs came down. In an instant, the entire block, both enemy and ally, was engulfed in white smoke. Even Wang Zhongs overhead view was covered so tightly that he could see nothing. What happened next depended on whether the front-line infantrymand was cowardly or not. Wang Zhong had just this thought when he heard through the dense smoke a deafening war cry, Ura! Chapter 9: 7 Hooray! Chapter 9: Chapter 7 Hooray!
Time rewound a little. When Colonel Ivan Panzhyevich Yegorov, themander of the Third Rear Amur Group, saw the tank destroyed by the Divine Arrow, he immediately cheered, Well done! The staff officer from the nobility, Pavlov, frowned. But Yegorov didnt care about that. One could tell from his name that he was not on the same page as the nobility. The nobility liked to be meticulous when naming, and they would never choose amon name like Ivan. Ivan Panzhyevich Yegorov was of peasant origin, ascending to the rank of colonel through his merits in the Civil War and the Winter War. It was said that if it werent for the Civil War and the subsequent purging that almost wiped out the noble officers, Yegorov would never have be a colonel of the regiment.
The staff officer Pavlov, also from the nobility, had looked down on Yegorov from the beginning. When the war had just started, he even attempted to rece Yegorov inmanding the troops but was rebuffed. Not only that, to avoid listening to Pavlovs nagging, Yegorov went to the front lines, leaving the nearly hollowed-out regimental headquarters to the noble gentlemen. He had thought that the noble gentlemen wouldnt daree to the front lines, but to his surprise, Pavlov actually followed him there, murmuringints and picking faults even more than before. Later, the Prussian Armys attack proved that Yegorovs experiences from the Civil War and the Winter War were indeed effective, significantly reducing the casualties of the troops. However, Yegorovs experience couldnt negate the gap between the two sides inbat experience, weaponry, and battle preparations. Most of the Third Rear Amur Group were new recruits, and they had not prepared for the outbreak of war at all. In fact, the entire Empire was unprepared. The Imperial Chancellor had assured in a broadcast just the day before the war broke out that war would not happen and that the Prussians were targeting the West. Considering the rushed response to the battle, Yegorov was already content with the oue. He raised his voice and shouted to the rookies, Dont be afraid! Just crouch behind the wall and shoot, you dont even need to aim! The enemy is human, too, theyll be scared when bullets whiz by their ears! Keep cocking the gun, keep firing! Dont think about anything else! As he spoke, not far from him, a Maxim machine gun was firing intensely. Suddenly, a shell hit the sandbags in front of the machine-gun position.
The explosion instantly swallowed Yegorovs following words. The hastily constructed fortifications couldnt withstand the tank gun. With its stand and wheels for movement, protective tes, the entire machine gun, weighing dozens of kilograms, was lifted like a toy and overturned on the ground. The upper half of the machine gunner waspletely blown away, and the ammunition bearer had his shoulder sheared off, exposing the white bone. Screams filled therge room. Stop yelling! Yegorov roared, Sukabule! Assistant gunner! Get the machine gun back in action! As he said this, Yegorov peeked out and saw the second tank turning the street corner. Hmph, the second Divine Arrow will take care of you! As he spoke, Yegorov looked hopefully in the direction of the Divine Arrow team, then realized that smoke had already obscured the entire street. The Prussians used smoke to cut off the line of sight of the Divine Arrow team, while ensuring the tank had visibility to fire. The enemy indeed hadbat experience. Yegorov looked towards his rookie subordinates.
Most of the new recruits were not cowards, as the conscription area of the Amur province for the Third Rear Amur Group was known for its tough folk. Before enlisting, eight or nine out of ten had probably taken part in fights against neighboring viges over water sources; they were notcking in courage and ferocity. Unfortunately, courage and ferocity were useless on the battlefield. No matter how tough one was, they couldnt go up against the tanks machine guns and cannons. Right at that moment, Yegorov heard the whistling of shells in the sky. As an old soldier, he immediately judged that the impact area was nearby. Not only that, but he also discerned that the shells wereing from behindfired by their own side. Sukabule! Yegorov cursed, The damned nobility wants to tten us together with the enemy! Get down! Yegorov himselfy t on the ground, carefully supporting himself with both hands so as not to liepletely t, while he opened his mouthnew recruits didnt understand this and would probably be stunned into stupidity by the heavy artillery! As he spoke, the shellsnded. But the sound of the explosion was small, as if a three-hundred-pound fat man had let out a fart. Yegorov looked up in confusion and saw white smoke pouring in through the window. Outside, he could faintly hear the sound of Smoke Bombs hissing. Why Smoke Bombs?
Staff Officer Pavlov also voiced his confusion, Why Smoke Bombs? That doesnt make sense! I never learned about this at the Suvorov Military Academy! Suddenly, Yegorov pped his thigh andughed heartily, Brilliant! Pavlov was shocked, Whats going on? Yegorov paid no attention to the staff officer and belted out at the top of his lungs, Brothers! Grab your weapons! Follow my charge, and chop down anyone in ck uniforms! Ura! By this time, the smoke had already filled the room, and it was impossible to see people just a few meters away. Yegorov drew the saber that had been with him for many years, and without caring whether anyone was following, he shouted Ura as he took a strong step and jumped out the window from the second floor to the ground. When hended and felt the numbness in his feet, he continued to shout, Amur Group! Charge! If we lose the hand-to-handbat, we will beughed at by women for a decade! Ura! The new recruits might not understand modern warfare, but they knew how to fight with weapons. So, a thunderous shout of Ura echoed to the skies. Suddenly, figures appeared in the smoke ahead, and Yegorov swung his sabre with all his might. The sh was technically perfect, cutting only through the skin and flesh without getting stuck in the bone, just gliding over it. The sh severed the trachea and the artery at the throat, a not-sorge wound but deadly. The soldier in ck clutched his neck and fell. Yegorov kept moving forward. The smoke obscured visibility, which was fine since enemy recognition was unnecessary in this situationanyone approaching face-on would definitely be an enemy, just chop them down.
Anyoneing face-on is an enemy! Yegorov yelled, Even if you chop the wrong person, theyre deserters! Kill them! In the midst of the chaos, he heard engine noise and charged toward it, straight up to a tank. With a leap, he was on top of the tank. Unfortunately, Yegorov had no idea how to operate the Prussians damned contraption. So, he pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and stuffed it into thergest hole on the tankthe barrel. There was a muffled ng, but the tank showed no response. Yegorov didnt care. Ack of response meant it wasnt loud enough, so he called out behind him, Grenades! Give me grenades! Someone from within the smoke tossed up a belt with four grenades attached to it. Yegorov shoved them one after another into the tank barrel. Just then, the tanks hatch unexpectedly opened, and a Prussian Army officer poked his head out. With arge cap and headphones across the head pressing down on the cap, the moment he saw Yegorov, he raised his submachine gun Yegorov didnt have time to draw his sabre, so he used the grenade as a club, smashing it into the officers face and promptly pulling the pin before shoving it into the tanks hatch. The Prussian officer shouted something, but Yegorov couldnt understand.
A sh inside the hatch, and the officer immediately shut up. Yegorov took his submachine gun and tore off the Iron Cross from his cor. Ura! Yegorov shouted. Chapter 10: 8 Out of the Blue Chapter 10: Chapter 8 Out of the Blue
On Wang Zhongs side, he could only hear the shouting of Ura but could not see anything, leaving him panicking. After a while, he realized, I just wanted to cover the advance of the Divine Arrow squad and protect Ludm. The purpose has been achieved when the smoke was deployed. He immediately shifted his attention to Yeca Neikos squad where Ludm was, noticing that the squad had stopped advancing. A muscr man was leaning against the wall, attempting in vain to observe the situation through binocrs. Wang Zhong guessed that this man must be Monk Yeca Neiko. Ludm was leaning against the wall, still holding that rifle.
At that moment, Captain Sergey beside Wang Zhong said, Contact with the third rear Amur Group has been restored. Wang Zhong had no idea which group the rear Amur Group was, so he asked, Is it the group thatunched a counterattack in the smoke? What? Captain Sergeys voice wasced with confusion. Wang Zhong: Didnt you hear the Ura shouts? He had thought that the battle cries had reached the location of his physical body. Sergey: What Ura shouts? So, it turned out that he could hear sounds significantly loud ones from his birds-eye view. No wonder the sound of guns and cannons was so clear when overlooking; Wang Zhong had previously thought it was something he was hearing in person. He had never been on a battlefield and couldnt tell how close or far the sounds of gunfire were. Wang Zhong: Never mind, hand me the phone. He switched back to his normal perspective and took the receiver from Sergeys hand, This is Wang Count Rokossovsky speaking, go ahead. Count Rokossovsky? Wheres the Duke? The person on the phone had a loud voice that hurt Wang Zhongs ears. The Duke is dead, the enemys naval artillery destroyed the headquarters just now, and most of the staff are dead too. Now, I am the suprememander, Wang Zhong said, trying to sound more authoritative, thinking it would help to assert control over his subordinates.
The person on the other end asked, Who ordered the Smoke Bombs? Wang Zhong: I did, why? Good job! Weunched a counterattack, routed the enemy facing us, and took out at least one of their tanks and two armored vehicles! That was an excellentmand, Your Excellency the Count! No, my lord! Wang Zhong nced at Sergey, who couldnt make out the words from the other side without the receiver and only returned a confused look to Wang Zhong. The person on the phone continued toy on thick praise, My staff officer says hes never heard of such a thing at the Suvorov Military Academy! Count, lets have another round of smoke, and we can keep holding! Wang Zhong frowned, No more smoke left, the enemy is nearly at our artillery positions; that was theirst round of supportive firing. From now on, we can only rely on ourselves. On the other end of the phone, the loudmouth who had just been givingvish praise suddenly fell silent. A secondter the voice asked, The artillery has beenpromised, does that not mean we will soon be surrounded? Wang Zhongs heart skipped a beat. He hadnt thought of this at all just now, as the situation was too sudden, and he was too eager to cover Ludm. Another voice came through the phone, But thats the very person who just led us to a brilliant counterattack, how could he have not thought of this? Sorry, I really hadnt thought of that.
Wang Zhong could only keep a straight face, trying hard not to let Captain Sergey see any ws. Being surrounded was not a joke; an army that is cornered can only die slowly even if it continues to resist. Although Wang Zhong thought surrendering was not a problem, considering the mood and current situation, it was already toote to even mention surrender. He could only pretend to resist, fight valiantly, and then consider other options. Wang Zhong switched to the overhead mode and then noticed an additional military badge; he focused on the badge and could see its description: The third rear Amur Group, mostly made up of new recruits, but the main nonmissioned officers had participated in the Civil War and the Winter War. Internal war? Winter warfare? Wang Zhong really wanted his Golden Finger to exin these two terms, but unfortunately, the Golden Finger ignored him. In addition to gaining a soldiers token, Wang Zhong also obtained the vision of the Third Amur Group, which greatly expanded the visible range. Thats not right, considering the size of a group, isnt this range a bit small? Wang Zhong: Has your groupsuffered many casualties? Yes, the loud voice from the other end fell quiet, Most of our group is made up of new recruits, many of whom havent gone throughplete training. These kinds of recruits usually dont survive the first hour on the battlefield. The good news is, theyre all seasoned soldiers now.
This counts as good news? Wang Zhong used everyones eyes to observe the battlefield, and at this moment, he noticed something. After the enemy facing the Amur Group retreated, there seemed to be no troops behind them. Could the routed enemy have led the subsequent echelons away as well? Wang Zhong checked again, more carefully this time. In the meantime, the Amur Groupsmander on the phone was saying, Heres what well do: well pull back to our starting positions and let the engineers leavendmines and trip wires in the areas weve taken No! Wang Zhong interrupted him, Youve just encountered a gap in your front, and I require you to abandon your current defensive line and continue to attack. Command will catch up with you, and if contact with other groups can be established, they will follow as well. There wasplete silence on the other end of the line for a good second: Advance towards the enemy? Thats bold! But I like changing ns! While the loud voice was talking, Wang Zhong also heard someone mumbling, This defies logic! At a time like this, we should be pulling back, reorganizing the defense line! Blind attacks are a one-way ticket to death! Wang Zhong thought: Its not a blind attack, I can see very clearly with the help of an external advantage; there are only sporadic soldiers in front of you, and no organized enemy forces. Strike hard in one go, and then find a way to return to our lines. Upon further deliberation, as the attackers, the enemys subsequent echelons probably didnt expect to be attacked.
Wang Zhong wasnt versed in military matters, but he knew in mercenary warfare, the element of surprise, catching the enemy off guard, sometimes proved decisive. Maybe this could be worth the gamble. Rather than being surrounded, its better to break out and then figure out a n. Once Wang Zhong was sure that there truly were no organized enemy forces in front, hemanded in a firm tone: I, Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, order the Third Amur Group to advancenot just forward, but towards due west. Do you understand? Understood. Just from the response on the phone, Wang Zhong could picture a robust Russian man readying himself for action. Then, almost as if possessed, he said, Now repeat my order back to me! What the hell, why make someone repeat it? The aftereffects of watching too many epic battles? But there was no hesitation on the other end; they immediately repeated Wang Zhongs orders word for word. Wang Zhong: Good, begin now. We must act swiftly, and we must act fast! After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong was surprised to find that he had lost the vision of the Third Amur Group. So, its only when I can directly converse with them that I can see their vision? But the soldiers token on the interface was still there, implying that as long as the troops epted mymand, they would appear on the token. As Wang Zhong was examining the Golden Finger, Captain Sergey by his side said, Theres a problem. That is, there are many critically wounded in the field hospital; they definitely wont be able to keep up with us, this
With seriously wounded in tow, not to mention breaking out, moving at all would be an issue. Wang Zhong pondered for a moment, then said: Give me paper and a pen; I want to write a letter to the enemymander who will take over. Sergey: You n to leave them behind? Wang Zhong: Taking them with us, we definitely wont be able to get out. Recruit volunteers from among the nurses to stay behind and care for the wounded, and let those lightly injured who can move join us in the breakout. Dont argue anymore, the enemy isnt a beast. Thats what Wang Zhong said. Chapter 11: 9 “Military Prodigy Chapter 11: Chapter 9 Military Prodigy
Prosen Empire military side. Lieutenant General Von Dietrich, Commander of the 25th Prussian Infantry Army Group and a Lord, watched the smoke rising from the city with suspicion. His headquarters were on a small hill outside the city, which afforded an excellent view, even allowing visibility of the battleship Emperor Friedrich on the distant sea. For this reason, he could clearly see the smoke now spreading through the city streets. After a brief moment of thought, the Lord sought his Chief of Staffs opinion, Is there white poison gas? The Chief of Staff shook his head, I havent heard about that, phosgene isnt this white.
Lord Von Dietrich pinched the binocrs in his hands, his fingers nervously twiddled the knobs on the binocrs, a habitual action when he was thinking. The Chief of Staff said, Could it simply be smoke? Smoke from the defenders? Lord Von Dietrich clicked his tongue, Then they wouldnt be able to utilize the firepower of the machine guns or exploit the range advantage of the Divine Arrows! In the Carolingian Campaign, we used smoke bombs to cover our tanks as they charged through Divine Arrows effective range, smoke is the attackers good friend, the defenders nightmare! The Chief of Staff shook his head, Maybe the enemymander is ayman? Lord Von Dietrich shook his head, The enemymander is the experienced Duke dimir; he has receivedprehensive military education and would not make such a basic mistake While speaking, a staff officer rushed in, This is bad! Lord Von Dietrich said, Start with report! The staff officer immediately stood up straight, heels clicking resoundingly as he saluted, Report! Lord Von Dietrich was still not satisfied and scolded, As an officer, no matter how urgent, one must act in an orderly manner, the subordinates are watching. Do you understand, Captain Hoffman! Understood! Lord Von Dietrich then nodded contentedly, Good. Now, whats the matter? Division 54 reports via wireless that the Ante Empire hasunched a counterattack, theyve already lost contact with the 353rd Regiment under theirmand. Fugitives have appeared near the division headquarters!
Lord Von Dietrich was stunned, A counterattack? The war has only been going on for two days, and were already at the foot of Ronied? Everywhere weve gone, Ante Empires troops have copsed like a house of cards, do they still have the morale to mount a counterattack? The Chief of Staff reminded, You just said the enemymander Duke dimir is quite capable. Right, I did say that! The Lord turned towards the map. But if the enemy has the morale and organization tounch a counterattack, why not retreat instead? I mean, breakout to the rear? Even if they face our attack and manage to breach the defensive line, they cant escape. From here to the border is a march-in of a million-strong army! While speaking, he forcefully tapped the area between Ronied city and the border line on the map with his cane, repeating, A million-strong army, do you understand? Even if His Graces forces were to break out entirely, only doom awaits them! After speaking, he stared at the map for a few seconds, then shook his head, No, it cant be an offensive. Its just a counterattack, an attempt to shake our formation and create a chance for them to withdraw. General Hohtes Armored Troops will soonplete the encirclement of Ronied. This is a futile move. As he spoke, the Lord looked at the anxious staff officer: Order Division 54, immediately dispatch someone to steady the scattered regiment, find the dispersed regimental headquarters no, I will speak with Division 54 myself. Is the telephone line connected yet? Not yet, Your Excellency, weve only just learned the location of the 54th Divisions headquarters, and themunication vehicle has just been dispatched. Themunications officer immediately replied. Radiomunication requires decryption, which leads to transmission dys, and theres a high probability that wireless could be intercepted by the enemy. Telephone is much safer andmunication quality is iparable to wireless, butndlines must beid, which can only begin when both ends have stopped moving.
Lord Von Dietrich waved his hand, Alright, use the radio then, I want to speak with Division 54. After speaking, Lord Von Dietrich took the lead toward the door. The staff officer at the door hurried to open it, then stood up straight, his chest puffed out proudly as he watched the Lord leave. In the adjacentmunications room, themunications officer bellowed into the radio handset, Rhein Rhein, respond if you hear me! Rhein was the call sign of the 54th Division. After several calls, the officer handed the handset and headset to the Lord, Its connected, Brigadier General Haussen of the 54th Division. Lord Von Dietrich grabbed the items and cleared his throat, This is Von Dietrich, whats the situation on your end? I dont know, the situation is chaotic, lots of fugitives. General Haussens voice was intermittent and filled with static, The fugitives say that Antonovs Guards haveunched an attack; some say that the Eastern Holy Church has dispatched its pdins. Lord Von Dietrich frowned, Get to the bottom of it as fast as you can! I believe its a limited counterattack by the enemy! But Your Excellency, the enemy used heavy artillery tounch smoke bombs. Theres no wind now, and the ground is enveloped in smoke; nothing can be seen. Using so many smoke bombs for merely a probing attack doesnt make sense. Dietrich looked outside the window; even from themunications room, he could see the thick smoke rising from the city. Lord Von Dietrich raised his voice, No, no, attacking at this time doesnt make sense! Its just a defensive counterattack! Where could he be attacking to? Behind us are countless Prosen troops!
But Lord the enemy the fugitives whats going on? Von Dietrichs brow was tightly furrowed, Brigadier General Haussen! Brigadier General Haussen! Theres gunfire on your end, whats happening? However, all he got in response was static noise. Dietrich handed the headset and microphone back to themunications officer, Eliminate the malfunction as soon as possible! Themunications officer immediately checked the radios own status, and then the hand-cranked generator before reporting, Lord, there are no mechanical failures. Lord, Then keep calling! Themunications officer did not dare to dy and immediately shouted into the microphone, Rhein Rhein, please answer if you hear this! The Lord began to pace in themunications room, tapping his palm with his cane as he walked. After a while, the Lord took out his pocket watch and nced at it, Its been five minutes, whats going on? It might be that RheinI mean Division Fifty-Fourhas experienced a mechanical failure. But Themunications officer hesitated. Lord, But what?
But the division headquarters has several high-powered radios, its hard to imagine them all failing at the same time. The Lord pursed his lips, his face gradually darkening as he ordered, Division Fifty-Four may have run into trouble, our estimate of the enemy situation may have been too optimistic. Where is the Army Group reserve now? They have already reached Shulsherfka. Lord, Isnt that still over ten kilometers away from us? Why is it moving so slowly? The Chief of Staff replied helplessly, Traffic jam. The road conditions within the Ante Empire are worse than we imagined. The operation n took highways to be modern roads with asphalt surfaces, but theyre justpacted dirt roads in reality. The road capacity is very low, and its also hard on the vehicles. So the motorized troops are all stuck on the road. The Lord made a face as if he had eaten something disgusting, Theres always a problem on the battlefield, if not here, then there, but its always somewhere. Is there any way to contact Division Fifty-Four now? Keep calling! Thest sentence was addressed to themunications officer, who quickly picked up the microphone and continued the mechanicalbor. The Lord looked at the other staff. The Chief of Staff spoke up, The Army Groups reconnaissance battalion has cavalry, we could consider sending them. The Lord pointed his cane out the window, Even though were outside the city, Division Fifty-Four has already entered it.
Just then, themunications officer who was still trying to make contact suddenly stopped calling and said, I have an idea. We can call the Armored Troops assigned to support our attack. There are radios in the tanks. Lord, Next time remember to say report first. Report! Dont make up for it now! Ive already heard your suggestion. Lets do it that way. Do you know the frequency for the Armored Troops? Themunications officer nodded, Of course, we have heard the Armored Troopsmunications before. Then call them. Themunications officer leaned in close to the microphone again, This is Eagles Nest, this is Eagles Nest, calling themander of the Armored Troops. The Lord continued his pacing, his cane tapping against the palm of his left hand. Your Excellency, were connected! Themunications officer, pleasantly surprised, passed over the headset and microphone. The Lord took the items for the second time, I am Lord Dietrich, who am I speaking with? A voice with poor Prosen came from the other end, Its your Antean grandpa! What followed was all in the Anteannguage. The Lord, being a member of a distinguished family, spoke not only Prosen but also Carolingian and Antean. In fact, before the outbreak of the war, there had been considerable contact between the courts of Prosen and Ante, which is why a non-aggression treaty had been signed. Thus the Lord understoodpletely the others cursing, and then asked in Antean, with virtually no ent, So, are you an Ante soldier? You wouldnt be speaking from the headquarters of Division Fifty-Four, would you? The person at the other end was clearly unprepared for this situation and fell silent. After a moment, the voice responded, I dont know which division this headquarters belongs to, I cant read your Prosen characters! Anyway, there are plenty of maps and documents here, all captured; naturally, there will be staff members who understand yournguage to study them closely! The Lord furrowed his brows in frustration and decided to extract more information, asking, Brave Anteanmander, may I know your esteemed name? You think I would disclose that information to you? Go to hell! Clean your neck and wait for it; I dont understand your writing, but I can read maps! I know where your headquarters is located! Just you wait! Lord, Wait! Antean officer! He called out several more times, but the only response was the hiss of static. The Lord turned to the Chief of Staff, Have the Guard Battalion, the Reconnaissance Battalion, and the Special Battalion ready forbat. Bring the tanks from the headquarters to the hilltop to prepare for the enemys attack! The Chief of Staff nodded, Understood! The Lord looked towards the thick smoke that now shrouded a quarter of the city area and clicked his tongue, Duke dimirmands like this? But as I recall, during the joint military exercises between our two countries, the Duke was quite a stickler for rules To take down one of our division headquarters and initiate this counterattack, the person behind it is a military genius! Chapter 12: 10: Through the Times of Yesterday Chapter 12: Chapter 10: Through the Times of Yesterday
Colonel Yegorov smashed the radio with the butt of his gun, and then told the soldiers around him, Stop looking. Gather all the papers and send them to the back. Wait a minute! Staff Officer Pavlov stopped the soldiers who were about to throw various documents into the basket, pulling out one of the papers, This document contains the unit number. This is the 54th Infantry Division of the Prosen Twenty-fifth Army Group, which participated in the Carolingian Campaign; the divisions crest has an iris, which is a mark of participating in the Carolingian Campaign. Yegorov: But we still crushed them! The idea of Duke Aleksei turned out to be quite reliable; we really made it to the enemys division headquarters without any obstructions! Pavlov corrected him: Its a count, and you shouldnt preface a title with a name, you should at least use a patronymic, call him Count Konstantinovich. Yegorov waved his hand dismissively: Im just a rough man, I dont understand all your twists and turns! The counts order was to attack and advance, lets continue. Pavlov eximed in shock: Continue the attack? We have already emerged from the smoke; stumbling upon a division headquarters was unexpected for the enemy! Now they are prepared! And youve just
Yegorov: I was just bluffing them! Come look! Yegorov pointed at the enemys map and said: The enemys headquarters is here, on top of the hill, overlooking the entire city of Ronied. It also controls the highway into the city and can hit the railway that passes through the city. The enemy must think were going to attack here! But the order we received is to break out, that is, to move to the backeastward. We have to take this side road out of the city. I know this little path; itll lead us through arge thicket. By the time we rush out, itll be nightfall, and we can retreat via the small path under the cover of darkness! Pavlov: Are you sure thats what the count meant? Maybe he wanted to break out and fight to the death. Yegorov: How could that be! We wouldnt have brought the field hospital then. Trust me, the count definitely wants to break out and survive; its just that he happened to discover the breach at the front. But Yegorov ced his hands firmly on Pavlovs shoulders: Listen! I really dont know the counts intentions, but I do know mine! Im not nning to die here! The Prussians are indeed hateful, and I want to thrash them too! But how can I beat them if Im dead? Pavlov: Youre just afraid to die, you have no sense of honor! What? Pavlov: I tell you, if the chain with the army hadnt died, he would have sent you to the tribunal by now! The charge would be cowardice and surrender! But I remind you, ording to the regtions, if the militarymander shows any signs of cowardice or surrender, I as the staff officer have the right to strip him ofmand!
Yegorov, in a burst of anger, grabbed the staff officer by the cor: What did you say? Where were you when I was smashing Prussian heads with a grenade just now? And you dare say Im showing cowardice and surrender? Pavlov: You chose the escape route! As the two were at daggers drawn, the sound of a car engine came from outside the door. ** Lets rewind the time a little bit. Wang Zhong led the remnant troops of the headquarters and the field hospital unit on their departure. Before leaving, he had Captain Sergey dispatch messengers to convey the message to the other troops under the duke to prepare for a breakout from the fronteastward. Whether the message could be delivered was beyond Wang Zhongs control. In any case, Wang Zhong led the group on their departure, and he was at the forefront. Soon the troops entered the smoke created by the rear artillery. By this time, the smoke had dispersed quite a bit, and the obscuring effect had decreased, which increased visibility within the fog. However, the scope of the fog had also spread. Wang Zhong walked along the main street for quite a while and was still within the fog. The white expanse looked very much like the game Silent Hill, half of the horror atmosphere of which owes to the thick fog that envelops the setting of the story.
Fortunately, Wang Zhong had a top-down perspective, but sadly, he couldnt keep it on while walkingthe disconnect between cognition and vision would instantly make Wang Zhong violently sick. He could only walk a few steps before stopping to change his viewing angle. This behavior greatly astonished Captain Sergey, who he felt might start getting suspicious if it continued. But without looking from an overhead view, there was no way to remain on guard against the enemy. With the naked eye, one could only see a few meters around, and if one were to run into the enemy unexpectedly, a burst from a submachine gun could end his journey right there. Wang Zhong could only reduce the frequency of his stops and endure the dizziness that came with using the overhead view while moving as much as possible. As he was struggling with this issue, the group finally emerged from the smoke, and immediately a Prussian-abandoned jeep at the roadside caught Wang Zhongs eye C it was the same model that Ludm had blown up with a grenade. Wang Zhong made a snap decision and said to Sergey, Lets go, get in the car. Take two guards with us, well drive straight ahead! Sergey, Are we just driving away? Whos going tomand these troops? We dont have any walkie-talkies! Wang Zhong, We just need to keep following the road, there wont be any problems. Besides, in case of an emergency, we can always send someone back with orders. After a moments consideration, Captain Sergey nodded. Wang Zhong then asked, You can drive, right? Wang Zhong didnt know how to drive himself, mainly because he didnt see the need to learn in the current situation C if there was no rush, he could take the subway, and if he was in a hurry, he could just hail a cab through DiDi.
Captain Sergey, I often drive for the Duchess. Leave it to me. Wang Zhong remembered something that the sergeant who had been shot had said C wasnt this Captain Sergey the Duchesss gigolo? Forget it, why do I care about that! Wang Zhong got straight into the car, Drive! The two guards were agile and jumped into the back of the jeep in an instant, without even opening the rear doors. Sergey got into the drivers seat, started the car and barely drove a few paces when he eximed, The feel of driving this is so smooth, much morefortable than our domestically produced Lada cars! Lada cars, indeed, that ssic Soviet automobile brand whose poor performance had be a part of Soviet jokes. As Captain Sergey drove through the devastated city, hemented with a hint of sadness, Such a beautiful city. I quite liked that coffee shop, often apanied the Duchess there. Wang Zhong followed Sergeys gaze and noticed that only the iron sign hanging toward the street from the coffee shop remained intact; the shop seemed to have suffered a hit from artillery fire of 152 millimeters orrger. Passing by the front of the coffee shop, one could see that the inside was almostpletely destroyed, with coffee pots and the like in shambles. Sergey gritted his teeth, Damn Prussians! Wang Zhong pursed his lips; truth be told, he still didnt harbor much hatred for Prussians C after all, it wasnt his country or his homnd that was invaded.
Up to now, his goal was still to survive the war. At that moment, soldiers in khaki uniforms began to appear alongside the road, looking as if they had just been through a fierce battle. There were quite a few corpses in ck uniforms lying among the buildings lining the streets and roads. It seemed Wang Zhong had caught up with the attacking vanguard of the Third Amur Group. Just then, a roar came from a building ahead: What did you say? Where were you when I was smashing a Prussians head in with a hand grenade just now? You dare use me of cowardice and surrender? But you chose the route of escape! Wang Zhong patted Sergey on the shoulder, Stop in front of that building! The one where people are arguing! Chapter 13: 11: Conserving Strength to Better Eliminate the Enemy Chapter 13: Chapter 11: Conserving Strength to Better Eliminate the Enemy
Captain Sergey parked the vehicle in front of the building, and Wang Zhong hurried down with brisk steps, took a couple of steps, then remembered something important, turned around, and said to Sergey following him, Give me your pants. Sergey reacted as if facing a great enemy, No way! If I do that, I wont have anything to brag about in front of girls anymore! Wang Zhong put on a stern face, This is an order! Itll affect the morale of our troops, and if morale copses, well only be able to meet in a prisoner of war camp. Wang Zhong actually thought that meeting in a prisoner of war camp wouldnt be such a bad thing, but given the current situation, he couldnt bring himself to say Lets surrender. He could only struggle for a bit. Sergey was still ying tough, I think us exchanging pants in public could also have an immeasurable impact on morale.
Wang Zhong looked around, No one is paying attention to us, right now theyre more worried about the enemy, hurry up, it will only take a few seconds to switch! Youre the one whos done! Im ruined! Sergeyined while taking off his pants, and Wang Zhong also unbuckled his belt to take off the pants with Alekseis authentic signature. Underneath the military trousers were boxer shorts, and realizing this, Wang Zhong let out a huge sigh of relief. However, just at this moment, a group of officers came out of the building. The officer at the front was a Lieutenant Colonel, just like Wang Zhong, and he was stunned by the scene before him. The staff officers behind the Lieutenant Colonel were even more dumbfounded, their mouths open in an O shape. Forcing himself to look nonchnt, Wang Zhong slipped into the pants he had switched for. Sergey was a bit shorter than Wang Zhongs current body, so he had to try his best to pull up the waistband. Afterpleting the change of clothes, Wang Zhong put on a stern face, What were you arguing about just now? I could hear you from a great distance! Ah? The questioned Lieutenant Colonel looked at Wang Zhong, blinked his eyes, and asked tentatively, Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky? Wang Zhong, Its me. Dont you recognize my voice? I recognize yours, Colonel Ivan Panzhyevich Yegorov of the Third Rear Amur Group. The main reason Wang Zhong remembered such a long name was that the dog tags had the unit number and the name and rank of themander written on them.
Also, because of the Golden Finger, Wang Zhong knew that the people he encountered were from the Third Rear Amur Group, and with both pieces of information, he could naturally infer that the man before him was Colonel Yegorov, themander of the Third Rear Amur Group. Before responding to Wang Zhong, Yegorov took a moment to nce at Captain Sergey, who was still putting on his trousers, his gaze lingering on the water stains for a full second. Wang Zhong stepped forward, blocking Yegorovs line of sight, Lieutenant Colonel, even though we hold the same rank, Ive been entrusted by the Duke tomand the entire force, I am your superior. Yegorov hadnt reacted yet, but the staff officers beside him saluted. It was then that Yegorov had his realization and stood at attention to salute, You were a Count all along, I should be saluting you. Wang Zhong mimicked the gesture and returned the salute, What were you just debating about? Yegorov answered, Just now, my staff officer Pavlov was insisting that we directly attack the enemys army group headquarters marked on the map we captured, iming that we should go and die! The staff officer stepped forward, Thats not right! What I said was that we should fight bravely to thest moment. Thats the enemys Corps Command, and our valiant fighting might change the situation on the battlefield to some extent! Wang Zhongs first reaction was no, absolutely not! He didnt even understand the name of his own country yet, let alone feel any sense of loyalty. Before Wang Zhong could speak, the staff officer Pavlov continued, If Colonel Yegorov insists on fleeing, we can only consider it an act of treason and hand him over to the Tribunal! Wang Zhong frowned slightly, Did I just hear a term that should not appear in this context?
The Tribunal? Another way of saying a military courtroom? Yegorovs tone was clearly hesitant, filled with an air of bravado, The Tribunal! Hmph, where are all those judges who strutted around peacocking before? Theyve run off without a trace first! Wang Zhong was shocked; he had absolutely no idea about this Tribunal or the judges these two were discussing. Could it be something like the military police? Due to hisck of knowledge, he chose to keep his mouth shut and listen some more before speaking. But Yegorov turned the conversation towards Wang Zhong, Let His Excellency the Count say it! His Excellency the Counts intention must certainly be to retreat through the small path. Wang Zhong was startled. There was a small path? A way to retreat? That was wonderful news! But no, he had to restrain himself, not to let others see any ws. Wang Zhong looked sternly at the two officers. What should he say? Clearly, Yegorov knew of a small path that could be used to retreat to the rear, so he should support Yegorov. But this staff officer named Pavlov had a resolute look, obviously prepared to embrace a noble death. Just as Wang Zhong was struggling with what to say, he suddenly remembered the opening scene of Patton, his favorite movie: General Patton standing before the American g, delivering a long speech thatsted several minutes. Though Wang Zhong couldnt remember the exact words, he could recall the general idea, so he said out loud, Major Pavlov, you are very brave, and your courage is admirable.
The staff officer stood tall and proud, adopting the pose of a victor. Wang Zhong, But, through the ages, no victory has been won purely by shedding blood and sacrifice! To achieve victory, it is not enough for us to shed blood and make sacrifices alone, we must also make the enemy bleed and sacrifice! We must make the enemy bleed more than us! Wang Zhong paused, as if to emphasize his words, giving others time to digest them. But in fact, he had forgotten what to say next. He vaguely remembered a line about cleaning our tracks with the enemys blood, but felt that using it directlycked persuasive power. Hence, Wang Zhong began to improvise, You just said that by attacking the enemys Corps Command, we might disrupt the enemys arrangements, dying their advance by a day or two. I can only say, you have overestimated the role of one regiment, and you have overestimated the role of a Corps Command! Across the entire front, the enemy has hundreds of divisions in action, dozens of Army Groups attacking! Whats the use of just disrupting one Army Group? No, it is useless! A more effective approach now is to send these soldiers, who have endured the first wave of fire, back to the rear to regroup, to resist the enemys attacks more effectively! Preserving our fighting force now is to better annihte the enemyter, to make the enemy bleed and sacrifice until the dayes when we return the fire to their own country, and let them defend their homes! Good, this is the moment, time to use Pattons famous line! Wang Zhong paused to gather his thoughts and then dered emphatically, And then, what we must do is crush their skulls under our boots, and clean our tracks with their blood!
Major Pavlov stared at Wang Zhong for several seconds before relenting, Alright, youve convinced me. Even though Ive seen you change your wet trousers, youve still convinced me. Come on, do you really have to bring up that wet pants incident? I didnt pee them! Damn it, look at the mess that coward got me into! Oh my God, if I get a chance, Im going to kick that cowards ass so hard! Chapter 14: 12: Maps Chapter 14: Chapter 12: Maps
Whileining inwardly, Wang Zhong kept a straight face, Everyone has their first time on the battlefield. Well see, Major Pavlov. Report the situation now. Have we encountered any resistance from the enemy? Actually, Wang Zhong was guessing that observing from an overhead perspective might be more useful than Colonel Yegorovs direct reports. But formalities still had to be observed, just like those who cheated in games before transmigration yed along to some extent. And listening to the report might also provide some intelligence that he couldnt discern from the overhead view. Yegorov: We havent encountered anyrge-scale resistance. The enemy is in disarray, and many of their units dont understand whats happening and are retreating along with the ones that are already in retreat.
As he spoke, Yegorov rubbed his nose, If you ask me, these Prussians are not as tough as the Manheimers in the winter war! They were able to defeat the Carolingians before because the other side was even weaker! Wang Zhong said, We should always assume the enemy is capable. Did you just say you found a map? Yes, this is the enemys division headquarters! Weve captured their maps and documentspletely! Yegorov pointed toward the building behind him, Come over and take a look! With that, he turned and walked inside. Seeing this, Staff Officer Pavlov immediately said, Yegoroves from a peasant background; he can be a bit crude. I dont mind, Wang Zhong said bluntly. He himself came from a working-ss family and had many rural kids in his ss during high school. He really didnt mind such things. Or rather, transmigrator Wang Zhong didnt have the same snobbery as the nobility of this era. Upon entering the room, Wang Zhong immediately noticed therge map on the wall, which was exactly what he needed right now! His overhead view was too limited and he had no idea about the overall situation. And on the map, there were country names, and only now did Wang Zhong finally realize that the khaki uniform he wore belonged to the Ante Empire. Wang Zhong didnt know which part of the the Ante Empire was located in because the wall map was only a regional one. Looking at the ce names on the map, it appeared to be a province of the Ante Empire, with the western edge bordering the Prosen Empire, the point of departure for the Prosen Armys offensive. Simrly, by the ce names, Wang Zhong learned that the city they were currently defending was called Ronied, with the sea to the south of the city, from which the enemys naval artillery shelling hade.
The Duke had also mentioned, The navy failed to stop the enemy, before his passing. The only question was whether the sea to the south was a rgeke like the ck Sea or a real ocean. He still needed to obtain a world map as soon as possible. However, being in the military, and amander at that, he should be able to ess maps rtively easily. There should be no need to worry about thatprobably. Yegorov had already started exining: This is the enemys deployment map. Their military symbols are simr to ours, as the nobilitymunicated a lot in peacetime. Look here, this symbol, doesnt it look just like themand symbol on our side? Pavlov said irritably, That is themand symbol. Our country uses the abbreviation HQ to represent headquarters, and the enemy does the same. Additionally, this eagle symbol here represents the Army Group Command. Yegorov: Thats right. He looked up at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong studied the map for a moment. He would often y military games, such as the strategically focused and mildly hardcore Hearts of Iron, and more tactical, hardcore board games like the SGS series, and so on. When Wang Zhong was in elementary school, there was a reader interactive section in Tank & Armored Vehicles magazine that simted historical battles. It regrly published historical battles along with abbreviated situation maps, allowing readers to cut out the maps, plot their own ns, and exin each step in writing. After receiving letters from readers, the editorial department would select some of the more feasiblebat ns and have professionalsment on them.
Wang Zhong always participated in this interactive column, but his bat ns were never adopted. However, by taking part in this activity, he had acquired basic map recognition abilities, which were further enhanced by his experience ying military games. Wang Zhong quickly finished assessing the deployment of the Prosen forces on the map and murmured, The enemy has left many gaps in their pursuit of speed. In modern warfare, there are no strict front lines. In Hearts of Iron, a term coined by a yer for a certain type of division is Line-filling Division, which essentially aims for the ultimate cost-effectiveness ratio with the sole purpose of filling gaps in the front to prevent small enemy detachments from slipping through. Even with Line-filling Divisions, there were still gaps on the battlefield, especially in the World War II era where the area a division had to cover greatly increased, leaving plenty of gaps through which to slip. In thetter part of World War II, the Soviets summarized their mode of attack as inundating the German defense lines in a deluge. The Germans, with their high military quality, could often hold their ground at certain strongpoints for a long time, while the Soviet strategy specifically targeted these points, intending to surround but not attack them, cutting off the supply lines behind these strongpoints. After considerable study, Wang Zhongs confidence surged, I might actually be able to slip through the enemys gaps and get back to our side. He turned to Yegorov, Did you just mention a small path? Yegorov immediately pointed at the map, Yes, right here. The Prussians did not mark it in detail on the map, so I think there might not be any enemy presence on it. Besides, there are forests nearby for hiding from enemy aerial reconnaissance. Wang Zhong, Good, are you familiar with this road? Im from around here, Yegorov said. Before I joined the army, I often drove ox carts loaded with goods on this path.
Ox carts! Pavlov snorted, Slow and stinky. Yegorov, Not every peasant can afford a horse, and were no Cossacks. Wang Zhong, Continue, are you sure we can get back to our lines this way? Of course. Leave it to me. But theres a problem, arent we supposed to be in full retreat now? Wang Zhong was at a loss for words; he didnt know. Seeing Wang Zhong silent, Yegorov sighed, Then its dicey, not knowing how far back wed have to retreat to encounter friendly forces. During the civil war, I experienced such a massive defeat, copsing over a thousand miles at a time, stopping only when the enemys logistics couldnt keep up and they couldnt pursue any further. Wang Zhong actually wanted to ask about the civil war, but it seemed to bemon knowledge in this world, so it was awkward to bring it up. Just then, Captain Sergey burst into the room, saluted, and reported loudly, The monks of the state religion have caught up! Pavlov was overjoyed at the news, Great! There may be Hymn Monks! Wang Zhongs brows furrowed tightly. Hymn Monks? What the hell is that?
Chapter 15: 13: What to do when a teammate sends help without saying a word, urgent, waiting online. Chapter 15: Chapter 13: What to do when a teammate sends help without saying a word, urgent, waiting online.
The new term made Wang Zhong frown. Previously, the prayer hand appeared to be a radio operator responsible for guiding missiles; now what in the world was a Hymn Monk? However, judging by the reactions of the people around him, this seemed to bemon knowledge, so Wang Zhong didnt dare to ask. They had just mentioned the Tribunal, who knew if its duties included executing those possessed by strange otherworldly spirits. He had to behave like a person from this world and not give himself away. But Wang Zhong remembered that he had another question to ask, so he inquired, Are Monk Yeca Neiko and his Divine Arrow squad among these monks?
Sergey hesitated, Uh, I didnt ask. Maybe you should ask the priest directly? Before he had finished speaking, a tall, brown-haired male entered the room, followed by a bunch of soldiers. Their military uniforms were khaki as well, but the style was different. If Wang Zhong were to describe it, his own group outfitted forbat wore training uniforms, while this group donned dress uniforms better suited for asions with a strong sense of ceremony. The group entering wore shoulders adorned with sun-based motifs, which reminded Wang Zhong of the sun emblem on the cathedral roof at the dukes headquarters. It seemed these men were the monks of the national religion. The first to enter, the brown-haired male, asked, Who is themander here? He looked back and forth between Wang Zhong and Yegorov. Wang Zhong remembered that he and Yegorov were both lieutenant colonels, and he could onlymand Yegorov because of the trust from the duke. Actually, there was no such trust; the duke only had time to tell him to run fast. Not thinking much about it, Wang Zhong stepped forward and said, I am. Duke dimir has entrusted me with themand of his troops. The brown-haired man frowned, Howe youre only a lieutenant colonel? At this moment, a man behind him interjected sharply, Did His Grace the Duke transfermand authority with a written order?
Wang Zhong turned to look at the speaker and saw a man wearing a greatcoat cap, which sported blue edging. Judge, now is an emergency situation. To ensure the functioning of themand core of the troops, we can spare the red tape, the brown-haired man turned to re at the person who had interrupted their conversation. Judge it seemed these two were from the Tribunal after all, the Tribunal, the blue edging on the greatcoat capsWang Zhong clicked his tongue, quietly shelving his thoughts, and silently noted down to be careful about what one says in the presence of someone with blue edging on their greatcoat cap. The blue-capped man bowed slightly, Apologies, Bishop, sir. He then took a step back, scrutinizing Wang Zhong with eyes that appraised like one would value a live pig. Forcing himself not to pay attention to that gaze, Wang Zhong addressed the Bishop: I am Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov, and I am themander of these forces right now. Bishop Stepan Aleksandrovich Polok saluted Wang Zhong, My respects to you, brave Count. I am Stepan Aleksandrovich Polok. I have brought thest contingent of monks; we have some Divine Arrows left, which should be able to destroy quite a few of the enemys tanks! Wang Zhong: Is it Monk Yeca Neikos Divine Arrow squad? Bishop Stepan seemed surprised: You know Monk Yeca Neiko? Wang Zhong: I know their prayer hand Ludm; she was originally one of my soldiersmy prayer hand, but our Divine Arrow squad has been wiped out, leaving only her without any Divine Arrows. Bishop Stepan: I see. I will make sure Monk Yeca Neiko takes good care of Miss Prayer Hand. Hmm? Could it be that the Bishop has some strange misunderstanding?
Wang Zhong was toozy to correct it, considering one of the reasons he took action was to ensure Ludms survival; it would be good if she received special care. So we Wang Zhong was about to continue when he was interrupted by the Bishop. Bishop Stepan: Were going to counterattack the enemy, right? For some reason, the Bishop looked full of anticipation. Wang Zhong hesitated for a moment, Uh, this Bishop Stepan clenched his fists: We must show the Prussians our spirit, tell them our homnd of Ante will not be easily defeated! Wang Zhongs mouth hung open, why were these people so eager to rush to their demise? No, please, calm down, he snapped back into the conversation, Were advancing because the enemys defenses ahead are weak; they did not anticipate an attack. Our current position is the enemys division headquarters, and this division is certainly in chaos; we can easily jump out from their encirclement. As Wang Zhong spoke, Bishop Stepan looked at him with a significant expression, as if viewing him as a problem. After Wang Zhong finished, Bishop Stepan raised his voice: Jump out of the encirclement? Isnt this a counterattack? It is a counterattack, of course, it is, look around! Wang Zhong spread his hands, Weve taken down the enemys division headquarters, isnt that a counterattack? Counterattacking and breaking through are not in conflict. We need to retreat to our next line of defense and then join the defensive operations.
Bishop Stepan turned his head to exchange nces with the two Judges. Wang Zhong always felt something was off about these three. When the Bishop looked at Wang Zhong again, he asserted decisively, This is desertion! Wang Zhong, Its a tactical retreat to preserve our forces for a better chance at annihting the enemy. Bishop Stepan, That sounds like an excuse! Wang Zhong, No, no, listen to me. If we hold onto thend but lose the people, well end up losing both. By preserving our forces and appropriately giving up somend, we can achieve victory and keep both the people and thend! That was the instructors reasoning, which Wang Zhong directly borrowed for his argument. Bishop Stepan red at Wang Zhong, This is unquestionably an act of treason! His Majesty has just issued an order; thend of the mothend is sacred and invible! Everyone must fight to the veryst moment! Wang Zhongs scalp tingled. Fight to the veryst moment? The mothendsnd is sacred and invible? Damn it, I only learned the name of the country by looking at the enemys map, and to me, its just a name on a map! I am Chinese! And its an order from His Majesty the Emperor, damn it, Ie from a country that has always advocated, When the king enfeebles himself through righteousness, who will dare to be unrighteous? Even the emperor cant order me to go to my death! Wang Zhong, Impossible. Launching a do-or-die attack under these circumstances would be a senseless waste of our living forces! We will counter-attack, but that might be a year from now, or even two, three yearster! What we need to do now is to retreat, trade distance for time, and establish a new defensive line!
Bishop Stepan red at Wang Zhong, as if the appreciative expression that was there earlier never existed. Momentster, he darklymanded, Judge Shaposhnikov, arrest the Countno, were about tounch an assault, and probably no one will be able to escort the Count. We must enforce martialw, and for the crime of desertionexecute him by firing squad, now, immediately! Wang Zhongs head genuinely tingled. Did this idiot understand the consequences of executing a military officer on the battlefield? Huh? It seems I executed a deserter too But the problem is, Im not a deserter! The Judge called Shaposhnikov smiled as he opened his holster At this moment, Wang Zhong was exceedingly nervous, with countless thoughts shing through his head: Should I give Yegorov an order? If Imand Yegorov to shoot these people down, will he listen? What if I order him to strafe these Monks? What would the oue be? Wont I still end up getting shot? Suddenly, he remembered something. Before the shells fell, Duke dimir was nning to evacuate Wang Zhongthat is, Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovskybecause Because the Crown Prince made a phone call to the Dukes headquarters.
Huh, it seems I do have connections above? At that moment, Shaposhnikov drew his pistol. Yegorov immediately stepped in front of Wang Zhong, his right hand almost lifting the captured submachine gun Wang Zhong restrained his gun, and dered loudly, Bishop Stepan, it seems you are not well-informed about who I am. I am a dear friend of the Crown Prince, and if news of my execution reaches the Crown Princes ears Having said that, Wang Zhong then thought self-deprecatingly: What am I doing? Threatening someone about to nobly embrace death; how can this be effective? Theyre about to die; why would they care what the Crown Prince thinks? But Bishop Stepan clearly hesitated. So, this bastard didnt really want to die after allthats what Wang Zhong initially thought, but then he noticed that Bishop Stepan nced at Yegorov and the submachine gun in his hand. Did Stepan just fear Yegorov and his submachine gun? Just then, Bishop Stepan yielded, Fine, but I will record everything, document who it is that wants to abandon our sacrednd, defying the Emperors orders! In that instant, Wang Zhong seriously considered whether to take advantage of the chaos in battle to shoot these bastards dead covertly, to avoidter trouble. After all, it was still uncertain just how solid his rtionship with the Crown Prince was; acting decisively now could prevent prolonged troubles. Moreover, Wang Zhong always felt a sense of discordance emanating from these three, especially the Bishop, whose initialvish praise and subsequent turn of face both seemed like an act in a y Just then, a pleasant female voice came from the doorway: Report! Wang Zhong turned his head, expecting Ludm, but instead saw a strange girl with ck hair braided in pigtails hanging behind her neck. I have just received a message from the Argesukov Hymn Choir; capable troops are to head to Shepetovka immediately, where Duke Meishikin is organizing the defense! Wang Zhong had no idea where Argesukov was, nor did he know anything about Shepetovka, but he quickly countered, We can make it! This is the troop that has defeated the Prussian Army, prating one of their division headquarters, with experience inbat and victory, which will surely benefit the defensive operations substantially. The Bishop looked a tad disappointed, If that is the case, then theres no helping it; organize the retreat, Count. Chapter 16: 14: Square Shoe Nails and Round Shoe Nails Chapter 16: Chapter 14: Square Shoe Nails and Round Shoe Nails
Wang Zhong once again sized up the girl who had brought the orders, noticing that she seemed to have some Eastern descentwhich made sense. If the Ante Empire was an alternate dimension version of Tsarist Russia, it would likely have many Eastern people living within its borders. However, the girls eyes werent ck, which considerably reduced the sense of Wang Zhong finding a familiar face in a foreignnd. Upon closer inspection, the girls ck hair also wasnt purely ck. Moreover, as if corresponding with the Eastern features, the girls figure was drastically different from Ludmsit was likeparing heaven and earth. Of course, this was mainly because Ludm was quite voluptuousthe nurse who had bandaged Wang Zhong before was also quite curvy. Perhaps the females among the Ante People tended to be fuller figured. Wang Zhong: Are you a Hymn Monk?
The girl looked at Wang Zhong with confusion, but after seeing his rank, she immediately stood at attention and saluted: Lieutenant Colonel! I am thest survivor of the Ronied Hymn Choir, Hymn Monk Sufang Batu Wendusu. The name Batuvindasu sounded very Mongolian; surely, this girl had Eastern heritage. Wang Zhong: You said youre thest survivor? Yes, the church where the headquarters was located came under heavy artillery fire. The Hymn Choir was in a building next to itI heard that this was what happened. I survived because I had been sent out with Monk Yeca Neikos Divine Arrow squad, she exined. Wang Zhong: I was at the scene when the shelling happened. His Grace was killed, and the entire staff of the headquarters andmunications team were all wiped out; your colleagues from the Hymn Choir must have been inside. A shadow fell across the girls face; her long eyshes drooped as she cast her gaze to the ground: They I hope they went to heaven without any pain. As she spoke, the girl made a gesture in front of her chest. Wang Zhong had not paid attention when he saw people making the gesture before, thinking it was a cross, but now he realized it was not a cross at all, but an inverted triangle. It was a close call that he noticed; otherwise, making the sign of the crosster might have given him away. At that moment, Bishop Stepan stepped between Wang Zhong and the girl, asserting in a loud voice: Theres no time to lose; we must depart at once! Shepetovka is far from here. If we walked, it would take days, and thats if we could even arrive! Wang Zhong red furiously at this manwho had just been about to execute himand recalled the sense of discord he had previously felt about himabout them. During World War II, at the start of Operation Barbarossa, Germany deployed arge number of fifth column agentsspiesinto the Soviet Union to sabotage and disrupt the actions of the Soviet military.
Could these people be doing the same? Wang Zhong thought again about this mans wariness towards Yegorovs submachine gun. That reaction It almost felt like he was treating Yegorov as an enemy on alert. At that moment, Wang Zhong had a stroke of inspiration, recalling a scene from the movie The Brest Fortress and decided to repeat what he saw: I want to see the sole of your shoe! The soles of our countrys shoes all have round anti-slip studs, but the Prussians studs are square! If youre an undercover spy, the shoes youre wearing might just be from the Prosen! In the movie, a Soviet officer used this tactic to bluff a German spy; in reality, there was no difference between the two sides shoe studs. But thinking they had overlooked this detail, the German spy let his guard down and exposed a weakness, after which justice was swiftly served. Wang Zhong simply thought to give it a try. Bishop Stepans face remained calm, and he said indifferently: Alright, look if you must! Afterward, I will also want to see your shoe studs. Then, he leaned on the table and lifted his foot for everyone to see the studs. Square. The bishop stiffened. Yegorov aimed his submachine gun at the bishop and demanded, Exin yourself, Your Excellency.
At that moment, Hymn Monk Sufang spoke up, When you think about it, its very strange. Bishop Stepan should be taller. But you, you do look a lot like him The other Monks also showed hesitation: Indeed, the bishop should be taller. Wang Zhong: Have you been with him the entire time? No, we were following the third Amur Group as ordered by you, the count, serving as guides for the field hospital and the headquarters, Your Excellency. The bishop joined us midway But he does indeed look exactly like the bishop! Wang Zhong also drew his gun, Thats because the Prosen people carefully selected someone for infiltration and destruction. And I guess hes also in disguise. Someone, throw water on the bishops face! Yegorov immediately untied his canteen and said, This canteen of mine contains alcohol, which can remove waterproof makeup! After he finished speaking, he unscrewed the cap and took a swig, with the scent of alcohol wafting out the moment he opened it. Then Yegorov poured all the water from the canteen over Bishop Stepans head. The first to dissolve were the eyebrows, with the ck of the eyebrow pencil melting and running down the bishops cheeks. Suddenly, Bishop Stepan grabbed something from the table and hurled it at Shaposhnikovs gun! By then, Wang Zhongs gun was already drawn, andpared to thest time he executed deserters, his hand was much steadier this time. Two shots rang out, and Bishop Stepans movements slowed; his arms spread outward as he pitched forward.
Yegorov clicked his tongue, No wonder they picked a fight like a pair of fools just now, turns out he was a Prosen spy! Judge Shaposhnikov said, We discovered a Prosen spy before the war started. We were torturing him when the war broke out. Prosen bombers dropped their bombs. If not for that, we would certainly have destroyed the Prosen spywork in the city of Ronied! Wang Zhong had not forgotten the scene of the bishop exchanging nces with these Judges. He spoke out loud, Just now you also drew your gun on me, how can I trust that you are not another spy? Think about it, you dont even know that I have a close rtionship with the Crown Prince. Suspicious, very suspicious. Wang Zhong turned to ask the other Monks in the room, Have these two Judges been with you the whole time? No, they joined us together with the bishop, the Monk said, backing away to clear the line of fire, making sure not to get caught in the crossfire when Yegorov swept the area with his gun. Only Sufang still stood at the doorway, cluelessly. Suddenly, Shaposhnikov grabbed Sufang, using him as a human shield in front of himself. While the act of taking a hostage captured everyones attention, the other Judge drew a pistol that closely resembled a box cannon and aimed to shoot Wang Zhong. Although Sufangs upper body was restrained, his legs could still move. At the critical moment, heunched a kick, hitting the wrist of the second man precisely and sending the bullet flying, brushing past Wang Zhongs hat. Judge Shaposhnikov pressed the gun against Sufangs forehead, Stay put! Then he began to speak in Prosen.
Yegorov opened fire, taking down the fake Judge who was not holding a hostage with a short burst from his submachine gun. The spy holding Sufang hostage started shouting something in a panicked tone. Wang Zhong took a step forward and said, Calm down, you wont escape. Youd better surrender! The spy burst intoughter, Taking away thest Hymn Monk wouldnt be too bad, ah? We know exactly how poor your countrys wireless technology is! It seemed like the enemy was about to tear up the ticket! In a moment of quick thinking, Wang Zhong shouted, Long live the Prosen Empire! The enemy, caught off guard, paused, Huh? In that brief moment, the gant Yegorov had already rushed forward, using the barrel of his submachine gun to force the gun away from Sufangs temple, then fired point-nk at the enemys head. The spys head burst open, leaving arge gory hole, looking much like a watermelon that had been smashed open with a hammer for 40 cents. Chapter 17: 15 “I Guess,” “I Judge,” and “I’m Sure Chapter 17: Chapter 15 I Guess, I Judge, and Im Sure
The battle ended before Wang Zhong even had time to react. Yegorov stepped forward, stepping on the fake Judges hand and bent down to feel his neck. Dead, Yegorov spat on the enemys back after dering, You initiated this sneak attack after tearing up the non-aggression treaty, and then you y these dirty tricks! Wang Zhong: Search their bodies, see if there are any valuable documents on them. How could there be? They are spies sent here to sabotage, so their documents and IDs are definitely forged! Despite his grumbling, Yegorov still nodded to the nonmissioned officers below him, signaling them to start searching the bodies. Wang Zhong then turned to Sofya: You area Hymn Monk?
Since Wang Zhong had never heard of the term Hymn Monk, he subconsciously asked again for confirmation. Sofya snapped to attention: Reporting, yes, sir! Wang Zhong waved his hand: Dont be so stiff, at ease. Can you contact uh Originally, Wang Zhong wanted to mention the ce name, but he had forgotten the long namethat was the trouble with being transported to a Western-style world. The peoples names and ce names were all long. This was especially true in a setting reminiscent of Russia, which doubled the length. While Wang Zhong was blocked by the ce name, he made a quick decision to switch to a birds-eye view, zooming out to the farthest point, and then satisfyingly noticed a veryrge ce name in the distance called Argesukov, which seemed to be a city. He assumed that must be where the Ante Military Region Command was located, and he seemed to have some recollection of the name, so he decisively said, Can you get in touch with the Hymn Choir in Argesukov? Sofya: Not now. Wang Zhong: How aboutter? Perhaps the people of this time and space all knew what Hymn Monks were, so everyone in the room surprisingly looked at Wang Zhong. But Wang Zhong had no time to worry about that. He needed to understand the situation, right? Recing the count who seemed to be useless, probablycking in military knowledge, he should be able to bluff his way through. Sofya: As long as I have a simple altar and the necessary utensils, and time to conduct mass, I can make calls. But they may not always be heard, so I need to repeatedly call out.
Wang Zhong: But you dont need to do anything to hear others calls, correct? I need to concentrate, said Sofya. So its best to have a peaceful environment. I heard the call while I was resting just now. Wang Zhong: Understood. He summed it up: Hymn Monks were like human radios, requiring time to set up to receive messages, and sending messages was even more troublesome, requiring a stable rear position. Meaning, they couldnt make use of the Hymn Monk for the time being. Sofya looked at Wang Zhong: Do youneed me to do anything? Wang Zhong: Besides chanting hymns, what else can you do? I can shoot, said Sofya confidently. My father was a hunter. He taught me to shoot roe deer when I was young. Wang Zhong turned to Yegorov: Give her a gun, she might be somewhat useful. His order was executed immediately. Wang Zhong: Yegorov, whats the situation with the troops? Restocking and resting. Also, Ive dispatched scouts along the road to conduct reconnaissance. We should wait for their return.
Upon hearing about the scouts, Wang Zhong immediately switched to a birds-eye viewthen thinking it wouldnt look right to just stand there spacing out, he switched back, walked to the map, put on a show of examining it, then switched back again. This way, to outsiders, he was intensely studying the mapspacing out. But no one knew that he was actually spacing out, right? Wang Zhong confirmed what he could see in his current field of vision. From his birds-eye view, it really felt like ying a real-time strategy game. The area outside his vision was covered in ayer of fog of war, only dim buildings and terrain visible, shrouded in a veil of grey. The areas within his field of vision were colored and much brighter. Wang Zhong quickly discovered several independent vision areas around the main force, and upon closer inspection, indeed they belonged to the reconnaissance troops dispatched by Yegorov. In other words, the mechanism of my cheat allows me to gain the vision of the entire unit as long as I can speak with the leaders of the subordinate units. Not far from the main force of the Third Amur Group, heading eastward, a small path diverged from the main road, nked on both sides by birch foreststhough Wang Zhong couldnt recognize the birches. He had only ever seen them bare of leaves in winter in a music video, never this lush and verdant type. But Golden Finger came with a guide that floated the words Birch Forest above the trees. Why does Golden Finger insist on telling Wang Zhong these are birch trees? Perhaps because in this world, two lovers also carved their names in a birch forest? Wang Zhong brushed aside these irrelevant thoughts and observed the advancing scouts, who had somehow acquired horses and were now galloping along the pathway without encountering any Prussians.
Meanwhile, on the eastern highway, the scouts hadnt gone far before they came upon a Prussian supply station, which seemed hastily guarded, with only a few guards present. Machine guns were mounted at the checkpoint, but the two gunners stood by their weapons drinking coffee. Clearly, the enemy had not anticipated an attack on this supply station. A group of enemy soldiers, even without weapons, were busy constructing sentry posts and vehicle barriers. Inside the supply station, there were plenty of trucks! Wang Zhong: Yegorov, assemble the troops. The voice of Yegorov sounded surprised: Now? We should wait for the scouts to return with their report Wang Zhong: Were moving east to As he spoke, he switched back to his own perspective, then realized that the map in front of him still hadnt marked the supply station. Damn it, how do I exin to people how I knew the supply station was there? The next moment, Wang Zhong had an idea, and he said to Yegorov, The Prussians are very rigid in warfare. They must have constructed supply stations at the rear. I guess it should be here! He picked up thepass beside the map and stuck its point where he had seen the supply station.
Wang Zhong: The enemy certainly thinks our target is their Army Group Command, so the supply station is likely to be poorly defended. Staff Officer Pavlov frowned: Is this your conjecture? No, I saw it with my cheat. Wang Zhong, with a stern face: Yes. In battle, you must make decisions on the fly. Theres no time to argue with you. Yegorov, gather the troops! Yegorov saluted and went out. Pavlov still looked puzzled: Whats the point of attacking a supply station? Wang Zhong: Tomandeer vehicles. Dreaming of outrunning the enemy on foot is foolish; we need to escape using the enemys trucks. The front-line enemy units might not have that many trucks, but their supply stationsdefinitely for transporting supplies! Blow up the supplies, and the trucks can transport troops. Pavlov kept shaking his head: No, no, this goes against all militarymon sense! Such a ridiculousbat n would score a zero! Wang Zhong sternly replied: This is a battlefield, not a test. Sufang: Hes right! Wang Zhong looked at Sufang quizzically: Why are you still here? Sufang: The Hymn Monk should be with the highest-rankingmander on site, thats what the manual says.
Wang Zhong curled his lip and nced subconsciously at Sufangs chest, then he remembered Ludms fullness. He had a question and asked: Monk are most of them women? Sufang: About half and half, butpared to the military, there are indeed more women. Why do you ask? Before Wang Zhong could answer, Yegorov came in: The troops are on the move; we should go too. Leave a liaison officer to tell the field hospital and logistics units following us where we are going, Wang Zhong said. Yegorov: I have already arranged it. Chapter 18: 16 The Singing Sounds Like Bright Spring Sunshine Chapter 18: Chapter 16 The Singing Sounds Like Bright Spring Sunshine
Wang Zhong nodded, then strode out the door. Outside, he turned around and added, Bring all the maps, and the documents too. Get on our jeep. It wasnt that Wang Zhong didnt want to walk with the soldiers; mainly, he would get dizzy when he walked with this perspective. Although riding in a vehicle could also make him dizzy, it happened more slowly, and he could monitor the overall situation from a birds-eye view for a longer period. Upon stepping outside, Wang Zhong saw that Captain Sergey was already waiting in the jeep. Youre pretty quick with your actions. Sergey cracked a wry smile, If I sit in the car, no one will see my trousers. So that was the reason.
Wang Zhong got into the car and turned to Yegorov, saying, You get in too. Yegorov replied, I need to be where the messengers can find me. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, Take an Ante Army g and tie it to the car. Tell the messenger corpsmander to look for the jeep with the army g. As they spoke, Yegorovs guard had already fetched a g, promptly inserting it at an angle on the rear of the vehicle and securing it tightly with a few turns of a strap. The base color of the g was white,yered with a blue X cross in the middle, and at the top, the pattern was a double-headed eagle. My goodness, the St. Andrews Cross gbined with the Double-headed Eagle emblem, thats quite bold. Yegorov looked at Wang Zhong with suspicion, Why must you bring me along? Of course, because I can have the troops view bymunicating with you! Wang Zhong reasoned that if he just drove away, he would immediately lose sight of the third detachment of the Amur Group. Therefore, Yegorov had to get into the vehicle. But he couldnt disclose that reason, so Wang Zhong began to make up an excuse, As amander, of course, you need to be at the very front of the troops at all times, to personally inspect the terrain where battles may ur. Sergey looked at Wang Zhong sideways, as if he had much to say.
Indeed, a newbie who had just wet his pants, now suddenly so brave and even keen to scout out the front, anyone would find it strange. Yegorov clicked his tongue, That doesnt sound like something a noble lord would say. The noble lords never go to the front lines; they only draw lines on maps. I experienced that during the civil war. Wang Zhong replied, Im not quite the same as others. It was only because there was no one present who knew the original count that he could bluff so audaciously. Just as he thought that, Sufang spoke up, Thats not right. I heard that Count Rocossov was a frivolous scoundrel who always looked down on themoners and only came to the troops to get a military uniform so he could go back to St. Ye Katerina Fortress and brag to the nobledies. They also say that the Count never appears on the training grounds, not even for the morning drills. Wang Zhong broke out into a cold sweat and could only parry with, That was then, Ive metamorphosed. I mean, bombarded into transformation by the Prosen artillery. Sufang looked at Wang Zhong, Really? You do seem quite different from the rumors; youre not frivolous at all Wang Zhong interjected, I must remind you, I am your superior officer, themander of this unit. Ah! Sufang eximed, Indeed, I shouldnt speak ill of you. At this point, Yegorov had already gotten into the car and looked at his staff officer Pavlov, saying, Youd better note with us. In case were strafed by an enemy ne and killed, well still have you tomand the troops. Pavlov nodded.
At that moment, Yegorovs guard moved to get on the jeep, but Sufang beat him to the punch and slipped into the rear of the vehicle first. The guard questioned, Is there enough room? Wang Zhong dered, We dont need a guard; you stay with Staff Officer Pavlov. Having the birds-eye view and the whole armys perspective indeed made it harder to encounter enemies. Wang Zhong and Ludm could have crossed back to their own lines without firing a single shot if they hadnt been spotted by the enemy while fleeing through the city, or if the military jeep hadnt chased after them from behind. Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, and Captain Sergey immediately understood, releasing the clutch, engaging the gear, and stepping on the gas. The captured jeep roared as it shot forward. The Amur Group had already begun moving out, and the jeep drove past the troops heading west. Wang Zhong had just pped his head when he realized the army g hed nted on the jeep was having a good effect; seeing the g charging ahead first, with Colonel Yegorov sitting in the vehicle, the troops morale soared, and they began to shout Ura! The cry of Ura suddenly spread throughout the entire column, and everyone looked at the jeep charging ahead with fervent eyes. Amidst the chants of Ura, a booming voice shouted, Yegorov! Lead us in thrashing those damn Prussians! Yegorov shouted, Remember, ourmander is the great Count Rocossov! It is the Counts orders that have brought us such great sess!
Although Wang Zhong was in a birds-eye view, his hearing was unaffected, and he heard Yegorovs words loud and clear. At the same time, he also clearly heard that the cheering of Ura stopped abruptly after Yegorov had shouted. It seemed that Count Rocossov had already gained an infamous reputation among the soldiers. Wang Zhong switched back to the original perspective just in time to hear Yegorov shout, What are you doing? Dont stop cheering! Look, the Count is right here, charging ahead with me! Yegorov! Wang Zhong spoke up, Let everyone sing a song, something they like, something that can boost morale! Yegorov was in a fix, A song both you and everyone likes, Im afraid there isnt one. Wang Zhong frowned, What about a military song? No one likes military songs, Yegorov said frankly, what the soldiers like are well, rather crude things. Wang Zhong insisted, Then lets have something crude! Yegorov agreed, Alright! Petrov! You start, sing The Girl from the Neighboring Vige! The Girl from the Neighboring Vige? That didnt sound like a proper song at all. Singing such a song at this time, wouldnt it actually undermine morale? Or should I recite a segment from War General of the Three Kingdoms?
At that moment, Sofya suddenly started singing. As soon as Wang Zhong heard the tune, a chill ran down his spine; wasnt this Katyusha? Legend had it that during World War II, when the Germans yed Katyusha on a phonograph on their position, the Soviets heard it and became so enraged that they mounted a charge, took over the position, and captured the phonograph, with all the German soldiers there being gunned down. Sofya sang, It was the perfect time when the pear blossoms were in full bloom It really was Katyusha! After Sofya sang the first verse in soprano, the soldiers marching seemed to have agreed upon it, joining in unison, singing the chorus together. Katyusha stood on the steep bank Her song was like the bright spring sunshine Katyusha stood on the steep bank Her song was like the bright spring sunshine! With the song, even Wang Zhong could feel the rising morale. By this point, the jeep had overtaken the very front of the column, bing a true pathfinder.
Wang Zhong directed, Theres a slope ahead, drive up it. I want to have a look at the terrain. Chapter 19: 17 “Perhaps This is The Complexity of Humans Chapter 19: Chapter 17 Perhaps This is The Complexity of Humans
After the jeep climbed to the top of the hill, Wang Zhong said to Yegorov, Stand in a conspicuous ce. Sufang, unfurl the banner, and make sure others can see clearly that its our army g. Sufang looked bewildered, as if she didnt understand why Wang Zhong was emphasizing the army g so much, but she still unfurled the g. Wang Zhong jumped out of the car and, holding a pair of binocrs, came up beside Yegorov. He raised the binocrs to look into the distance. Atop the hill, he could barely make out the enemys supply station, but even at the highest magnification on his binocrs, the view wasnt clear. That wasnt a problem for him though; a simple switch, and everything became crystal clear. However, Wang Zhongs attention wasnt on the supply station, but rather on a moving patch of terrain not far from the hill they were on. It was the reconnaissance soldiers retreating after surveying the supply station. Wang Zhongs orders to unfurl the g and have Yegorov stand in a clear ce were all to avoid being mistaken by the recon squad for a senior Prosen officering to inspect.
Dying at the hands of ones own army was the most valueless death in this war. The reconnaissance squad should have been able to see the army g by now. Wang Zhong switched back to normal vision and patted Yegorov on the shoulder, The scouts are back, go greet them. Yegorov, also holding binocrs, looked puzzled when he heard Wang Zhongs words. He nced at the distance and then at the binocrs, You saw the scout team? I saw them, from a gods perspective. All Wang Zhong could do was fob him off, Their camouging skills need to improve. Yegorovs brows twisted as if he were trying to unravel a knot, and at that moment, arge figure emerged from the forest in front, holding a Prosen-standard submachine gun, Freeze, hands up! Yegorov: Grigori, put the gun down. The towering man raised his eyebrows in scrutiny, recognizing Yegorovs face before lowering the gun, Whats going on? How did youe to be here? Yegorov: Forward reconnaissance. Also, just now the count noticed you from hundreds of meters away and criticized your disguise! Wang Zhong was embarrassed; he had only made up a casual excuse, not expecting Yegorov to take it seriously. The man called Grigori muttered, Count? Which count? He examined Wang Zhong closely, Dont recognize him, arent we under themand of the Duke?
Wang Zhong: The Duke perished under the enemys naval bombardment. Now Im inmand of you. Report on the reconnaissance. Grigori: The Prosen bastards werepletely off guard; we got close to a couple of edge sentries, and they didnt detect a thing. Wang Zhong switched to an overhead view, but found the supply station enshrouded in the fog of war. It seemed he had to lift the binocrs to his eyes to dispel the mist of distance. He switched back to normal vision, preparing to lift the binocrs, but saw several Ante Army soldiers crawl out from the underbrush and stand behind Grigori. With an expectant look, Grigori waited, and so Wang Zhong asked, Did you bring in the two sentries? No, we wanted to interrogate them, but they tried to shout, so we slit their throats. Grigori gestured across his neck, indicating that this gesture seems to be universally understood across multiple universes. Wang Zhong nodded, then lifted the binocrs and switched views again. This time, the enemy supply station lit up. Indeed, it was still in that peaceful years state, and no one seemed to have noticed the Ante Army g on the hill. Wang Zhong put down the binocrs and turned back to Sufang, Roll up the army g, no need to keep it disyed. He turned to Yegorov, Were nning a surprise attack on this supply station. Should we have our troops stop on the reverse slope behind the hill, gather a hundred experienced veterans, and concentrate as many submachine guns and hand grenades as possible into their hands? Yegorov nodded vigorously and immediately turned to give orders, while Wang Zhong looked at Grigori, Are you the reconnaissance team leader? Yes, ColonelMy Lord Count. Wang Zhong: After the assault team assembles, you will lead them in attacking the supply station. Do you feel confident?
Grigori smiled, A hundred men is too many. Its easy for the enemy to detect us. Ten men armed with submachine guns and grenades would suffice. I have five men here, with two submachine guns. If you can find me another five men, eight submachine guns will be enough. Wang Zhong: What if I say you cant damage the vehicles and fuel? We need the enemys vehicles for our retreat. Grigori: Retreat? I thought we were going to keep attacking, to wreak havoc on the enemy. Wang Zhong: No, we can go to our deaths, but we must die with more value. In this situation, if our small force continues to attack, its like soap bubbles under the sun, vanishing instantly without any impact on the overall situation. Grigori: But tounch an attack just for the sake of retreating I bet your staff officer screamed at that. Wang Zhong: All my staff have died. Just then, as Yegorov came back having finished giving orders, he chimed in, Staff officer Pavlov did indeed let out a scream. He paused, his face turning stern, I request to lead this assault team. Wang Zhong: No. It wasnt that Wang Zhong was sparing of his talents; rather, Yegorov could open the field of vision at his side. If Yegorov bit the dust,mand would go by default to Pavlov in the rear, and Wang Zhong would be limited to what he could see, significantly reducing his awareness of the battlefield situation. Yegorovs brow furrowed in preparation to protest, but Grigori spoke up, The battalionmander just wants to kill the enemy with his own hands. Actually, I, being more familiar with the terrain, would do the job better than him. My Lord Count, I advise against the change. Wang Zhong: Yegorov, stay here.
Yegorov was indignant. Suddenly recalling the question Wang Zhong had just posed, he demanded, You havent answered the Counts question from earlier! Is it possible not to destroy the vehicles and fuel? Yes, but it will take a bit longer, considering we can no longer use explosives. Well need to stealthily take out a few sentries and get our people into positions where they can wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop. Its not a big problem, Grigori confidently exined. Wang Zhong: Alright, Ill give you ten men, all selected from veterans with experience in the Winter War or the Civil War. By this time, Yegorovs orders had been carried out to the letter. A group of soldiers, brandishing submachine guns, ascended to the mountaintop. The captain leading them saluted and reported, Sir, we dont have that many submachine guns, mainly because our casualties have been too severe, and many of the nonmissioned officers who carried them are dead. Yegorov: Theres been a change of ns. Sergeant Major Grigori only needs ten submachine guns now, and also five people with stuffed homes. Whoever is willing to take on this mission, step forward. The group of men who had climbed the mountain were volunteers to begin with. Upon hearing his words, they unanimously took a step forward. Wang Zhong said to Sergeant Major Grigori, You pick the men yourself. Same for the guns. You have ten minutes, then set off. Five minutes will do! said Grigori before walking over to the volunteers. A sergeant took the initiative to speak up, Ill go, Corporal Grigori. Grigori: Hmph, I thought you were dead, kid. Wang Zhong looked at Grigoris military rank, puzzled, Corporal? When this guy was in basic training, I was a corporal, said Sergeant Major Grigori.
Just then, a youngnce corporal called out, Sergeant Major, Ill go! Not you, Grigori shook his head, youre not married yet. You need to keep your life. It seemed as if to preempt further volunteers, Grigori swiftly picked the remaining men, Thats enough, the rest of you disperse! Go back to your homes! Wang Zhong: No, the rest will be the second echelon. If Grigori, you cant take it down, they go in. If you seed in capturing the depot, fire a signal re. Give him a signal pistol. Taking the signal pistol, Grigori gestured grandly to the assault team he had selected: Grab your weapons, fast! At that moment, an original member of Grigoris scouting team asked, What about us, Sergeant Major? Petrov, you stay back. We need someone familiar with the situation to lead the second echelon. The rest of you, follow me. Also, leave all the grenades. The Count is worried about setting off the fuel and ammunition inside, so we cant use them. Just unload them to lighten our load and move fast. Dont carry too much ammo either, just two magazines each. If we cant take them down with two magazines, more probably wont help. As he spoke, Grigori tossed his grenade pouch on the ground and pulled two magazines from his ammo carrier to hand to a soldier nearby. Following that, Grigori swiftly led his light-equipped force into the bushes. Wang Zhong stood on the mountaintop and once again struck the pose of lifting his binocrs. Cut to the birds-eye view. He could clearly see the movements of Grigoris separate unit, which, aside from not being under his control, was just like a real-time strategy game.
He watched Grigoris squad move towards the depot and soon felt a soreness in his arm. Well, holding up an arm for too long does cause it to ache! He had no choice but to put down the binocrs, and as a result, the lit area of his birds-eye view shrank abruptly. Nheless, he could see the field of view for Grigoris squad moving towards the enemy. Wang Zhong waited patiently. ** To those around Wang Zhong, he appeared to be gazing off into the distance in a daze. Sitting in the back of the jeep, Sofya looked at Wang Zhong, puzzled. She couldnt help but nudge Sergey, who was sitting in the drivers seat, Captain, does the Count often stare off into the distance like this? Sergey: I dont know. Before today, I had only seen him at balls. He Sergey trailed off. Sofya: What about him? Err Sergey deliberated for a moment and spoke in a hushed voice, Hes uneducated. The Duchess really dislikes him, saying hes like a monkey in heat, only capable of speaking monkey talk. After a seconds hesitation, Sergey added, Today he wet himself on the battlefield and then forcibly took my trousers to wear. Sofya was shocked, What? But when the Monk regiment and I were looking for you guys, all I heard was praise, saying the Countmanded effectively and caught the enemy by surprise. Ludm from the Divine Arrow squad even said he was very brave, leading just the two of them through enemy territory and saved her life! Sergey spread his hands, Maybe Thats theplexity of people? Chapter 20: 18 Wrath Chapter 20: Chapter 18 Wrath
Wang Zhong didnt hear Sergey speaking ill of him, nor did he hear the news about Ludm that he was so eager to know about. His attention was entirely on the stealth squad. The squad spread outpletely. With the aid of his external device, Wang Zhong could see everyones name and rank, which reminded him of a war game he had yed called Warrior of War, except that he couldnt inspect their equipment. However, unlike Warrior of War, where he could take control of a single soldier, Wang Zhong couldnt do that; he could only watch the soldiers advance. Grigori led three men, sneaking into the depot from the location where they had taken out the two sentries earlier, and then headed straight for the fuel storage. Next to the fuel, two Prussians seemed to be counting the inventory. Grigori charged forward, taking advantage of the enemy looking down at their list to end one with a dagger.
The other had just time to look up before a dagger pierced his throat. Grigori then sent one man to check the fuel area for any overlooked enemies, and with the remaining two, used the cover of trucks to approach a group of Prussian devils chatting together. At that moment, the second group also moved, targeting the sentry by the machine gun. The sentry was killed and dragged into the bushes before he could even cry out. This group then made their way to the people by the machine gun and the guardhouse, readying their submachine guns. The third group circled to the only wooden house at the corner of the fuel depot. That was when Wang Zhong suddenly noticed something: the enemy used to be highlighted in his overhead view, but now they werent! He thought about it and considered a possibility; switching back to normal vision, he lifted his binocrs. After switching back to the overhead view, the enemies were highlighted againDamn it, the enemies would only be highlighted if I could see them myself! Not only that, enemies previously not disyed inside the wooden house were now visible too, probably because there were windows. Golden Finger assumed Wang Zhong could see inside through the windows, so it highlighted the enemies. Wang Zhong could already imagine himself sitting in a jeep, charging at the front lines in the future. Brainlessly highlighting enemies, even those inside buildingsif the enemy constructed bunkers in the future, a nce from Wang Zhong would highlight the machine gunners inside. All hidden bunkers would be nowhere to hide!
Wait a minute, wasnt this ability particrly suited for a tankmander? By sticking his head out of the turret, he could light up all the enemies Unfortunately, Wang Zhong didnt have a single tank in his possession at the moment. As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, the battle erupted. Grigori, the sergeant first ss, was the first to strike, spraying a barrage of bullets at the enemies who were gathered together, idly chatting. The Prussians were caught off guard and, clearly being second-line troops equipped with bolt-action rifles, didnt stand a chance in such close-quarterbat against submachine guns. The noise of gunfire caused the Prussians at the entrance to turn around,pletely unprepared for the Ante soldiers who suddenly emerged from behind them; a burst from a submachine gun spun two Prussians by the machine gun to the ground. The guards at the guardhouse managed to scatter and three survived, but their weapons were ced far away! One of the Prussians wielding a shovel charged forward, only to be taken down by the second submachine gunner. On the house side, a scout kicked open the door and sprayed bullets inside, killing the officers and service soldiers immediately. However, the attacking paratroopers were apparently too excited, and ran out of bullets quickly. As one was changing his magazine, an enemy emerged from the toilet, shouting and stabbing him with a bay. The paratrooper slumped and was pushed out of the doorway, at which point another paratrooper at the window opened fire, taking the Prussian down. The fight ended rtively cleanly.
Grigori rushed to the woundedrade, but from Wang Zhongs perspective, he could tell that the man was dead. When Wang Zhong had previously ordered the third battalion of the Amur Group to attack, quite a few men must have died, though he didnt see it. Now, having witnessed a soldier sacrifice his life following hismand, Wang Zhong was filled with mixed emotions. Coming from a peaceful era, he might need some time to get used to the job of sending others to their death. But Grigori seemed ustomed to the death of hisrades. He just felt the fallen paratroopers neck, then tore off his dog tags, stood up, took out a signal pistol, and fired a red reHongers signalinto the sky. Wang Zhong switched back to normal vision, Yegorov, have the troops advance, take over the depot, and seize the trucks. After speaking, Wang Zhong got into the jeep. Captain Sergey asked, To the depot? No, wait until Yegorov has issued the orders, said Wang Zhong. To ensure his field of vision wasnt deprived, Yegorov had to stay with him. If they managed to get their hands on field telephones in the future, it wouldnt be so troublesome. However, the Prussian spy had said that the Ante Empires radio technology was rtively poor, and indeed, Wang Zhong hadnt seen a single field telephone since he had been there. The enemy seemed not to have such devices either.
Yegorov quickly finished issuing his instructions; turning around, he found Wang Zhong looking at him and asked, Should I continue to follow? Wang Zhong: Yes,e on up. Yegorov climbed into the car with a look of reluctance. At this time, the Third Rear Amur Groups vanguard had already started up the mountain from behind the reverse slope. Wang Zhong: Lets go. Sergey stepped on the gas, and the vehicle charged forward like a bull that had been waiting to fight. The wind that met them unfurled the g on the car. ** A private of the Third Rear Amur Group, Ashmi, asked the sergeant walking beside him, Sergeant, did the count really piss himself? His usual practice of leading the charge doesnt seem like that of a coward. The sergeant nced at the distant g and clicked his tongue, The battlefield is a ce where people can transform. Maybe after he pissed himself, he became brave. At that moment, a private walking in front interjected, On the battlefield, demons choose their champions. My neighbor was a gentle and kind man before the civil war. After he returned, he changed, and in summer, the temperature around him would drop several degrees for no reason! The vige priest said he might be possessed and even conducted an exorcism ceremony. The corporal jumped in shock, Then isnt that bad for us?
What do you know! A person who is possessed keeps winning battles. Two hundred years ago, Suvorov was possessed. It is said that he killed two hundred Carolingian heavy cavalrymen all by himself! While saying this, the private rubbed his nose, Just you watch. I think the count is going to rise high into the clouds! Following him, our casualties will definitely be fewer than other units. Think about it, we have already left the encirclement, while our brother units are still fighting to the death inside it! The corporal uttered an Oh in response. At this time the sergeant said, Dont think too much, were just ordinary soldiers. As long as we survive, everything will be fine. Youre almost through the first day, rookie, be happy. Hmm, the young corporal nodded his head. ** Sergey drove the car all the way to the station and parked it in front of the little wooden house. Wang Zhong got out of the car and surveyed the house, This looks like a farmhouse. What happened to the people who lived here? The house was ratherrge and even had an attic, big enough for arge family. Grigori had a grim expression and did not reply. Sofia said, They probably fled because of the war. Many people have run away since the fighting started. Finally, Grigori spoke, No, this family didnt leave.
Wang Zhong had a bad premonition but still suppressed the feeling and asked, Then where are they now? Grigori dropped a Follow me and turned toward the backyard. Wang Zhong caught up with Grigori, and Yegorov and Sofia also got out of the car to follow. Captain Sergey stayed in the car as if his behind were glued to the drivers seat, Ill just stay here and watch the car. Grigori led Wang Zhong into the backyard towards a small wooden hut. The hut emitted a strong odor that reminded Wang Zhong of when he was a child visiting his hometownback then, the rural areas in the north still used outhouses, and the stench was the same when you got close to one. The foul stench and swamp gasbined into a nauseating smell. His ominous premonition grew stronger. Grigori opened the door, then stepped aside, The owners of this house are here, have a look for yourself. Wang Zhong pinched his nose and took a step forward, only to see an entire family, from old to young, all in thetrine, with traces of bay wounds on their bodies; two adult females had even been stripped of their clothes. Upon seeing what was in the pit, Sofia turned around and ran to the side of the house, holding onto the wall as she vomited violently. Wang Zhong clenched his fists in silence. Because of recent history, Chinese people naturally abhor such acts of massacring civilians, and Wang Zhong felt the same. Before he traveled through time, when he saw a photo of a certain entity bombing a hospital, he was filled with rage, itching with hatred. And now, the feeling was the same. Before Wang Zhong could express his emotions, Yegorov punched the wooden wall of the outhouse, shattering the nks and bruises appearing on his fist at a visibly fast rate. Those damn Prosen bastards! Wang Zhong patted Yegorovs shoulder, One day, we will bring the war to their shores. Just wait and see, one day! Even Wang Zhong hadnt realized that at this moment, his goal in this world had shifted slightly. Of course, for the moment, it was just a slight, negligible shift. Chapter 21: 19 Make a Night Escape Chapter 21: Chapter 19 Make a Night Escape
Wang Zhong took a couple of deep breaths before he finally loosened the tight grip of his fists and said to Yegorov, Have them buried. Yegorov replied, Digging graves will take time, and we coulde into contact with the following Prosen Army at any moment. My suggestion is to blow up thetrine. After we take the fuel, were going to demolish this entire station anyway. Just add a few more explosives. Wang Zhong nodded, Lets do that. After saying this, Wang Zhong didnt want to see the tragic sight again and turned to leave, when Su Fang asked, Is that a child? Wang Zhong turned back once more, following Su Fangs gaze, and indeed saw a small figure. Yegorov cursed, Those bastards, they drowned him in the shit.
Wang Zhong couldnt bear to look any longer and turned away from thetrine, entered the cabin through the back door leading from the yard, and headed straight for the map on the table. Unlike the map seized from the earlier Prosen division headquarters, this one did not show the positions ofbat troops but was marked with supply lines, stations, and transport units. For a moment, Wang Zhong considered following this map to disrupt the enemys supply lines, which could potentially throw them into great chaos. But in the end, the urge to survive prevailed. Wang Zhong ordered, Pack up the map and documents, they might be usefulter. Have the troops board the vehicles, and engineers, arrange the explosives as quickly as possible. Suddenly, Wang Zhong remembered something and wondered if there would be enough soldiers who knew how to drive, so he asked, Can we find enough drivers? Most people have driven tractors back home, and others were part of the local transport teams in their viges, no problem, exined Yegorov. Wang Zhong nodded. At that moment, Pavlov rushed in, gasping for breath, but without pausing to catch his breath, he said, Are we really going to make a run for it in cars? The roads must be full of Prussians by now! The branch road were taking doesnt have any, Wang Zhong answered. No cars now, but eventually, well have to join the main road, and itll definitely be swarming with Prussians! Pavlov was right; although the Third Rear Amur Group had found a gap, being in enemy territory, it wouldnt be surprising to encounter the enemy at any time if they traveled along the road.
Given the limited strength of the Third Rear Amur Group, it seemed they would be quickly wiped out. Wang Zhong paced a few steps inside the cabin and suddenly noticed the nting sun outside the window. He immediately looked at his watch and was surprised to discover that it was already seven in the evening. The sun had not yet set at seven, which indicated that they were at a considerably hightitude, and it was also summertime. Having had no experience of living north of the Yangtze River before his journey through time, Wang Zhong didnt know when the sun set in the northern summers, so he asked Yegorov, How long until it gets dark? Yegorov also checked his watch and said, Sunset is in an hour, and it will bepletely dark around eight-thirty. After a brief moment of deliberation, Wang Zhongmanded, Set up a simple defense, well wait here for the logistics troops and the field hospital to follow. The logistics unit has more drivers, and we can drive away more trucks. Yegorov countered, But wouldnt that make us even more vulnerable on the road? Wang Zhong smiled slightly, We are driving Prosen military vehicles with Prosen crosses on the outside. Well turn on the lights at night, and theyll think we are one of their own. Having heard the tales of volunteers using vehicle lights at night to deceive the American forces, Wang Zhong decided to put it into practice himself. Pavlov protested loudly, What if we get caught, then were done for? Wang Zhong retorted, I will be in the first vehicle leading the way. If were done for, Ill die first.
After saying that, he regretted it; he had meant to prioritize his own survival, but impulsively, he had shown off He could only hope that the enemy would be really that negligent. Thinking it over again, Wang Zhong felt unsure, so he added, Also, assign someone brave who speaks Prosen with me in the first vehicle. He will handle any inspection by the Prussians. Pavlov raised an eyebrow, Cant you do it? Wang Zhong replied, Should I be able to? No, you are a Lord after all! Are nobles of this era expected to speak Prosen? At that moment, Su Fang said, I can speak Prosen. Ill ride in the same vehicle as Lord Rocossov and take the lead. Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief; even if there was trouble, at least he would face death alongside a beautiful woman. He told Yegorov, You ride in the first vehicle too, bring along Grigori and their sabotage team, all armed with submachine guns. If any real trouble arises, we can still catch the Prosen bastards off guard. Great! Yegorovughed, seemingly very fond of taking the lead in a charge. **
At the same time, Lord Von Dietrich was pacing back and forth in his own headquarters. Whats going on? Why hasnt the attacke? Has the scouting squad from the 54th Division arrived yet? Themunications staff officer replied, Not yet, sir. Weve been maintaining radio contact with them continuously, but their jeep broke down, and the road conditions in thebat zone are atrocious. Dietrich asked, What about the armored units? Have we made contact? Weve made contact with apanymander at the front, the staff officer said. He has lost contact with the armored toon assigned to the 54th Division. It could simply be a radio failure in the toonmand vehicle, of course. Dietrich sneered. An armored toon out of contact, plus the thick smoke from the heavy artillery bombardment, and the enemy hasunched a localized counterattack. These Ante People are prepared for a fight to the bitter end. But weve been waiting so long, where are they? Saying that, Dietrich moved to the window of the stone manor that served as the headquarters, looking out at the four tanks of the headquarters direct tank toon on alert in the garden. The Armored Troops were ready for action, with their vehicles engines running. But the attackers werete. Dietrich demanded, Call the Air Force, I want air support! Lord, sir, the chief of staff spoke up, it will be dark in an hour, and even if the Air Force mobilizes and arrives, they wont be able to see anything. Lord muttered a curse and continued pacing the room. At that moment, an explosion suddenly came from the distance.
He rushed to the window to look in the direction of the sound and saw a ball of orange fire rising from the ground. The chief of staff also leaned over, recognizing the location of the rising fireball at a nce. Looks like the forward supply depot has blown up. An Ant Air Force bombing? But theres no sound of engines. Dietrich roared, Idiots! The enemy weve been searching for is there! Damn it, the threats on the radio were a feint, a diversion! Deploy the troops immediately! The chief of staff said, The reserves are stuck on the road, remember? Right now, the only forces we have on hand that can be deployed immediately are the Army Groups air defense and reconnaissance units. Should we send them? Dietrich swore, No, this is the enemys all-out counterattack. Sending so few troops might lead them into a trap. Tell the reserves to hurry! ** Wang Zhong nced behind him when he heard the explosion. Wow, thats quite dramatic. His vehicle was at the very front of the column, and the bombs, set with timed fuses by the engineers, had exploded after the entire convoy had set out. So now he was at least a kilometer away from the supply depot, but the fireball created by the explosion still looked impressively huge. It was almost like a nuclear explosion. Although Wang Zhong had only seen images of nuclear explosions in documentaries. At that moment, Captain Sergey, who was driving, said, Why does it have to be me driving this first vehicle? Cant you find someone else? Wang Zhong replied, This is me trusting you.
Actually, it was because Sergey, as a nobleman, spoke both Prosen and Carolingian. Sergey cursed, Damn it, what kind of suicidal orders are these? Driving with the headlights on, on a main road! Were definitely going to be spotted and then riddled with submachine gun fire. Sufang said, Even I, a girl, am not afraid. Why are you so scared? At that moment, Sufang was squeezed into the same spot as Wang Zhong. The girl was t in front but had a big backside, which squeezed Wang Zhong right up against the side of the driving cabin, next to the door. In another context, Wang Zhong might have enjoyed it, but right now he had switched to an overhead, birds-eye view and wasnt in the least concerned with these things. Wang Zhong had another reason for going first: to use Golden Fingers highlighting functionenemy soldiers within his line of sight would be directly highlighted. This way, Wang Zhong could be warned of the enemy from distances of two kilometers or more. At that moment, the sky was gradually darkening, and the average person might have a visual range of five or six hundred metersanything further would be pitch ck and invisible. But Wang Zhongs Golden Finger vision wasnt much different from daylight. He thought the Golden Finger could be very useful in night battles, too. Just then, Wang Zhong heard Yegorovs voice: Turn left at therge white por ahead, and youll be on the small road. Wang Zhong spotted therge white por and the left turn onto the small road, which extended northeastward, nked by thickets on both sides. There wasnt a single Prosen person on the road. Chapter 22: 20 Night March Chapter 22: Chapter 20 Night March
After driving on the path for a while, Wang Zhong switched back to his original perspective to catch his breath, only to find himself letting out a massive yawn just as he did so. Weariness seemed to be waiting for just this moment to strike, washing over him and seizing his brain. Wang Zhong vigorously rubbed his face, but this did nothing to wake him up. Damn it, just when I need to rely on my own hacks to alert me of the enemy, why do I feel sleepy now? However, weariness didnt care about Wang Zhongs thoughts; it weighed on his eyelids like a thousand pounds. His consciousness drifted uncontrobly, and in his daze, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered something his father, who had fought in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, said:
Your dad might seem heartless, having gotten used to the death of severalrades and still able to eat and sleep on the battlefield. Could it beam I the same, soon getting used to the battlefield? Wang Zhong fell into a deep sleep. He had no idea how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes again, Su Fangs face filled his entire field of vision. Only then did Wang Zhong realize he had fallen asleep on Su Fangs shoulder, drooling on her, and had wet arge spot on her chest. He hastily wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said apologetically, Sorry! Su Fangughed, Youre actually apologizing to me for this? When the rumors paint you as an even worse noble. Wang Zhong followed Su Fangs lead, What kind of noble am I in the rumors? Su Fang shrugged, You know like those bad nobles. By the way, are youAre you and that Ludm lovers? Wang Zhong was shocked, Ludm? Why would you bring her up? Because you were murmuring I hope Ludm is alright in your sleep. I heard it quite clearly, the girl said.
Wang Zhong made an evasive reply, Shes a beauty; I wouldnt want her to be spoiled by the Prussians. Oh, I see, Su Fang said, her voice carrying a somewhat self-deprecating tone. On the drivers seat, Sergey hesitated to speak. Wang Zhong asked again, How long did I sleep? Su Fang replied, A few hours, I guess. Dont you have a watch of your own? Only then did Wang Zhong remember, and he lifted his sleeve to check the time. It was two oclock in the morning. At that moment, Sergey said, Count, there are car lights on the road ahead! Wang Zhong looked up ahead and indeed saw a long queue of lights in the distance. He immediately switched to an overhead perspective, and all the vehicles on the road ahead were highlighted: they were all enemies! As Wang Zhong observed the enemy, his body felt the jolt of the brakes. He quickly said, Dont panic! Braking will only draw attention. Just drive past, and well stop when we get close!
The jolting from braking stopped. Sergeys voice came through, tense, Damn it, youre insane! Wang Zhong ignored him and continued to observe the enemy. Most of the cars on the highway were empty on their return trip, some still carrying the wounded and dead. A car had only one driver, some were apanied by a mechanic. Large groups of Prosen soldiers were resting by the side of the road, with many campfires burning, showing no concern at all for the possibility of air strikes or artillery fire. Upon careful consideration, since the enemy was moving forward with car lights on, a few campfires were rtively inconsequential. Sergeys voice trembled, Are we really going to drive past? They are all Prussians! Wang Zhong switched back to his naked eye view and knocked on the rear window of the driverspartment. Yegorovs face immediately appeared on the other side of the window, What is it? Wang Zhong instructed, Tell the troops, theres a Prosen checkpoint ahead. Get ready; once a fight breaks out, disembark immediately. Before that happens, no rash actions. You move only when I fire a shot; otherwise, hold your position. Understood.
Yegorovs face disappeared. Wang Zhong pulled out his pistol to check it, then concealed his hand in the shadow of the car door. By now, Prosen soldiers had appeared on both sides of the road, surrounding bonfires, eating canned food, and not even bothering to nce at the truck on the road. Wang Zhong caught the scent of the canned food, and his stomach growled loudly. Damn, he should have snatched something to eat while waiting for the logistics troops and field hospital. Looking out came a blocky object and said, Ive got somepressed biscuits, want some? Without a word, Wang Zhong grabbed it and crammed it into his mouth. At that moment, the truck finally reached the busy roadside, where a Prosen nonmissioned officer, holding a submachine gun, stood in the middle of the road, his right hand raised high. Wang Zhong recognized the gesture; when he was young, traffic police on the road used this signal to stop cars. Sergey stopped the truck, breathing so heavily that Wang Zhong could hear him. It could have been Sergey infecting him, as Wang Zhongs own breathing started to quicken. He stared at the Prosen officer, trying not to look at the submachine gun on his waist.
However, the officer had no intention of checking the people in the truck, or even shining a shlight into the cabin; he simply turned to watch the supply columns retreating on the main road. The enemy had never expected to encounter Ante Army members riding in their own military vehicles here! Wang Zhongs gaze followed the enemy, but he quietly flipped the safety catch on his pistol back onif it had fired by ident in this situation, that would have been extremely unlucky. Unlike Wang Zhong, whose concerns were beginning to ease, Sergey seemed to be increasingly tense, breathing as heavily as an ox. Just as Wang Zhong worried that Sergey might snap any moment, thest supply truck passed the intersection. The traffic-directing officer immediately turned around, making a hurry up gesture. Wang Zhong smiled and nodded. Sergey started the truck and drove onto the main road. He nearly followed the returning convoy in turning left until Ludm reminded him in Prosen, Were heading to the front lines! Turn right! Instantly, Sergey jerked the steering wheel hard to the right. The Prosen at the crossroads burst outughing, and someone shouted something that Wang Zhong couldnt understand. Once far from the crossroads, Wang Zhong asked, What did the enemy just shout?
Rushing back to find mommy? Ludm replied, Basically, they were making fun of him. I just slipped! Sergey protested, My palms are all sweaty, I could barely grip the steering wheel! Suddenly, Sergeys voice dropped, as Prosen soldiers appeared again by the roadside. This group of Prussians sat around bonfires, eating canned food, and even drinking alcohol they must have scrounged from somewhere. The truck soon entered a small town where even more Prosen soldiers were roaming. Wang Zhong reviewed the road from above and directed Sergey, Follow this main road straight ahead; its clear sailing! Sergey was too tense even to respond. Then they drove straight into the center of the town, into the central square. Wang Zhong barely caught sight of a mound in the center of the square before realizing, as they got closer, that it was a mountain of corpses. These bastards had actually killed all the townspeople?? This was just too extreme; Wang Zhong was so shocked by the enemys brutality that he was speechless. Ludm covered her mouth, struggling to stay silent. Only after leaving town did the girl burst into tears. Wang Zhong patted her shoulder; at that moment, his goals in this world subtly shifted. He was not a citizen of the Ante Empire and had no fondness for feudal dregs like emperors and nobles. But the Prussians massacre of civilians crossed a line for him. He looked forward to using his overhead view to teach the Prussians a lesson they would not soon forget. Chapter 23: 21 Deteriorating Injuries Chapter 23: Chapter 21 Deteriorating Injuries
However, the first problem Wang Zhong had to face was the growing urge to sleep. He didnt know if it was because he was close to Su Fang, butte at night, Wang Zhong began to sweat profusely, and the breath he exhaled was frighteningly hot. As his body heated up, his brain also became as slow as if it had been filled with lead. In a daze, Wang Zhong wondered if he had a fever. He remembered the wound on his shoulder. He vaguely recalled someone saying the wound was in very bad condition and that he would likely develop a fever soon.
Who said that again? His mind was too foggy to remember. His consciousness gradually blurred, and he finally fellpletely into a deep sleep. When he opened his eyes again, the scenery shing by the window indicated that the convoy was passing through a small town. In a haze, Wang Zhong heard Prosen speech and immediately snapped awakehis head still foggy, of course. His first instinct was to draw his gun, but a slender hand held down his weapon, Dont worry, they just said be careful ahead, enemy-upied zone. Because his body felt so awful, it took Wang Zhong a moment longer than it should have to realize that the enemy-upied zone mentioned by the Prosen devils was our armys controlled area. He looked at his watch, but it took him a full second to understand the time: 3 a.m. It was only three in the morning, but the eastern sky was already turning pale, and Wang Zhong, the southern spud, had never seen the day break so early. Wang Zhong stared eastward for a few seconds before he remembered to switch to an overhead view to be vignt of his surroundings. Before he could switch, Su Fang said, You have a fever, its because of the wound, isnt it? The mobile field hospital is right behind us and they didnt even give you any penicillin. Wang Zhong, They didnt have the chance, theyve mostly been chased around by the enemy.
When he spoke, the airing out of Wang Zhongs mouth was scorching hot. When he was silent, he didnt notice, but speaking made Wang Zhong feel thirsty, so he reached for his water bottle, only to find the broken strap. Then a water bottle with the cap already off was handed to him. Su Fang, Drink more. Sorry, I didnt realize you might be dehydrated. Thank you, Wang Zhong took the water bottle and took arge gulp. Perhaps because he was feverish, he felt like a sponge, absorbing the water as soon as it entered his mouth. After guzzling water, Wang Zhong felt much better, and he switched to an overhead view, confirming that there were no enemies ahead. Thats when Su Fang said, You should get to the rear to recuperate as soon as possible; you look very pale. Wang Zhong, But only after weve escaped danger. After that, Wang Zhong saw four tanks stationed on a hillside in the overhead view. He instinctively cried out, Stop! The jolt from the braking almost made Wang Zhong vomit, and he was already feeling very ufortable, almost as if his brains were being shaken to a pulp. The good news was that the tanks on the hill were not enemies.
The tanks of the Prosen Empire were painted gray, much like those of another German army in a different timeline, while the ones on the hill were all khaki. Dont the countries in this timeline understand the concept of camouge? These khaki tanks seemed muchrger than those of the Prosen Empire, aside from the main turret armed with a short-barreled gun, there were two smaller turrets in the front, looking as if they grew a weird pair at the front of their bodies. This design looked somewhat familiar to Wang Zhong. The Soviet T28 multi-turret tank? Wang Zhong had driven that in War Thunder, noting its standout feature of thin armor but good firepower, with the 45mm gun having decent pration and damage. cing these things on top of a hill Suddenly, Wang Zhong realized something much more critical: they were sitting in a German truck! Wang Zhong, Turn off the lights, turn them off quickly! Signal the vehicles behind us to do the same too! Friendly fire is amon urrence on the battlefield, especially when using captured equipment. In the autobiography Tigers in the Mud by the German ace tank operator Otto Carius, he mentioned that the armored troops unanimously agreed the T34 tank was too good not to use, so they had no qualms about using captured tanks for themselves. Despite painting huge iron crosses on the tanks, they still got taken out by theirrades. It was after that when old man Carius abandoned the idea of getting a T34 for himself to drive.
Wang Zhong didnt want to die by friendly fire. He asked Su Fang, There are our tanks on the hillside ahead, can you get in touch with them? Sufang looked ahead with suspicion. Although the eastern sunlight was bing more apparent, visibility on the ground was still less than five hundred meters. They couldnt see any tanks at all, and even the distant hills were only silhouettes. There was no trace of tank tracks to be found. Sufang, You must be delirious with fever, right? Wang Zhong, Can we establish contact or not! He was sick now, feeling terrible, so his temper was a bit bad, too. Sufang shrank his neck and replied, Then I need time to perform Mass, and I also need to see if there is a Hymn Monk on the other side. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, realizing that they would have to think of another method. The tanks should have radios; we have captured radios, lets try to see if we can call them, he said. Sergey, We do not know themunication frequency of the tank units, nor do we know their agreed-upon codes and radio call signs. They wont believe us with the current situation on the battlefield. Wang Zhong leaned on his forehead, feeling a headachebut this was probably not because of the difficult problem before him, but because he was running a fever. In such a state, Wang Zhong made a decision that the usual him would definitely not have made.
He said, Tie a white g and the Ante Army g to our vehicle; let everyone get out of the car. You get out, too, Sufang. When it gets lighter, well drive forward. If we sessfully make contact with the tank units, well fire a signal re. Sergeys face turned green, Do we both really have to go? Cant someone else do it? Cant others make contact with the tank units too? Wang Zhong simply didnt hear Sergeys words. He was feverish, feeling as if his brain might start boiling at any moment. After waiting a few seconds without a response, Sergey sighed and said with a sob in his voice, Alright, alright. Sufang, How do I get out? Should I climb over the two of you? Sorry, thats a bit Wang Zhong opened the door, but when he tried to get out, his legs gave out, nearly causing him to fall headfirst. Luckily, someone caught him in time. In a daze, he saw familiar silver hair. Ludm was supporting his shoulder, asking with concern, Alyosha, youyou look very pale! It took Wang Zhong half a moment to remember Alyosha was a nickname for his own name, Aleksei. Indeed, this girl was very familiar with him. As he thought this, Wang Zhong released all his strength, leaning on the girl. Ludm stepped back to support the weight of the grown man.
After hesitating for a moment, she still asked, Monk Yeca Neiko sent me to ask why weve stopped. What happened? Wang Zhong, There are our armored troops up ahead, we stopped to avoid friendly fire. Ludm looked ahead, her voice filled with doubt, Ahead? At this moment, Sufang poked her head out of the car, looking embarrassedshe had just been blocked by Wang Zhong and couldnt get down. Seeing this, Ludm pulled Wang Zhong back a few steps. Sufang got out of the car, awkwardly straightening her slightly disheveled clothes, and said, Uh, I am a Hymn Monk, and ording to the rules, I must stay by the side of the highestmander. Oh, Ludm nodded, Youve worked hard. At that time, Yegorov came to report, The military g and the white g are both tied properly. Got it, Wang Zhong replied, reluctantly leaving Ludm to climb back into the drivers seat. At that moment, his limbs were still without strength, especially his injured right hand, which was limp and made it difficult to even hold a telescope. Currently, he certainly couldnt climb back onto the vehicle. Seeing his state, the two girls quickly came over and together pushed him up. Ludm, worried, asked, What are you going to do? Wang Zhong, To establish contact with the tank units to avoid friendly fire. Yegorov, Shouldnt I go instead Wang Zhong, No, this is my job. Your soldiers trust you, not me. If I stay, I cantmand them. In reality, Wang Zhongs ability to think was severely limited at the moment; otherwise, he would definitely realize that the most rational action would be to send two volunteers. Unfortunately, he was not capable of thorough consideration now, and the people around him, after a whole day of maneuvering, had be ustomed to following his orders. Sergey, with a morose face, Cant you switch with me, Yegorov? Wang Zhong closed the car door and with a wide sweep of his hand, dered, Drive. Though Sergey appeared to be a timorous wreck on the surface, he still started the engine. Thus, the car bearing the white g and the Ante Army g drove eastward, facing the dawn. Chapter 24: 22 “Damn it, you’re hitting friendly forces Chapter 24: Chapter 22 Damn it, youre hitting friendly forces
Su Fang watched the truck disappear into the distance and turned to take a closer look at the silver-haired girl. Shes truly beautiful, she eximed sincerely. It was then that the silver-haired girl spoke up, He must be out of his mind, the him in the past would never do such a thing. Su Fang asked, The him in the past? Have you known the Earl for a long time? The silver-haired girl shrugged, Ive known him since I was a child, given that ournds are next to each other. Su Fang asked, Are you a nobledy?
Not yet, I am a Prayer Hand now, so I cannot ept a secr title. One cannot ept a secr title after bing clergy. Oh, Su Fang nodded and then asked, So will you marry the Earl in the future? Huh? The silver-haired girl was momentarily stunned, then turned to look at Su Fang and grinned, You you arent interested in him, are you? Hes known for being a scoundrel. Many salons at Saint Ye Katerina Fortress dont wee him because he goes around touching everything, like a dog in heat. Come to think of it, when I was supporting him just now, he didnt try to take advantage of me, probably because hes befuddled from the fever! Su Fang was shocked, Is he such a person? You arent part of the mixed brigade hemands, the 41st, are you? His notoriety is well-known throughout the brigade. By the way, after the battlemenced yesterday, he immediately ran crying to the basement and even wet his pants. The morale of the 41st Mixed Brigade took a hit because of his behavior. While the silver-haired girl was speaking, Yegorov coughed once, Enough. He might have been a coward before, but what I see now is a brave man from Ante! Without him, we would probably be surrounded in Ronied City by now. Be mindful, Monk, and dont speak of things that could impact morale! A Prayer Hand is also a Monk, a member of the clergy. The silver-haired girl hurriedly said, Im sorry, I just just She hesitated for a long time unable to finish her sentence and just shrugged her shoulders. As the saying goes, in the blink of an eye, a muffled sound came from a distance.
The soldiers around who had dismounted to rest all uniformly threw themselves to the ground. Yegorov, a veteran like him, waved his hand, Dont panic, its still far away! If the artillery wasnding overhead, youd hear a whoosh first. When youve be seasoned veterans, you could even tell the caliber from that sound. But the silver-haired girl suddenly shouted, The sound of the guns ising from the direction he went! Then she grabbed Yegorovs binocrs and ran a few steps to stand on a stone by the roadside to observe the distance. The wind from the east blew her braids apart, causing her silver hair to fly in the dawn light. ** Wang Zhong saw the tank start to run from a birds-eye view. He wanted to jump out of the truck, but he simply had no strength left. By the time he switched back to his normal vision, a shell had alreadynded by the road, with dirt thrown up by the st flying into the half-open truck bed andnding on his face. Sergey directly opened the door and jumped out of the truck, leaving it to continue forward uncontrobly. In a daze, Wang Zhong reached out his hand to grab the steering wheel and stretched his foot to the other side, pressing down, but unfortunately, he couldnt muster the strength because of the fever, and his foot didnt move the pedal. However, perhaps because he didnt elerate, or maybe because the engine was damaged by shrapnel, the truck gradually slowed down.
The tank on the mountaintop fired another round, and the trucks bed was directly blown into an orange fireball. The ss behind the drivers seat shattered, the fragments cutting Wang Zhongs cheek. Wang Zhong sat in the vehicle, tried to open the door, but his physical condition wouldnt allow it. It was only then that he realized there was no need for him to make the trip himself. Damn it, trying to stay alive only to deliver myself to death in the end. By now, the tanks on the hilltop might have seen the white g on the truck, or they simply confirmed the truck was destroyed and wanted to save ammunition. In any case, they stopped firing. Wang Zhong, sitting in the drivers seat, tried twice more to open the door but failed. Maybe the shell that had just hit his side of the vehicle had damaged the door. He had no choice but to mber toward the drivers side, nning to get out from the side where Sergey had jumped from. After all, he didnt know if the truck would catch fire. Being burned to death was the most painful way to go, and Wang Zhong did not want to experience it. Just then, he saw a white horse appear on the slope where the tanks were positioned! Someone riding the white horse trotted down the hill, heading straight towards the wreckage of the vehicle.
Wang Zhong watched the white horse, even forgetting his struggle to survive for a moment. Switching to a birds-eye view, Wang Zhong could clearly see that the man on the horses back was a captain wearing a tank helmet; likely themander of this tank toon. The captain arrived, looked at Wang Zhongs rank on the vehicle, cursed Sukabule, and hurriedly dismounted to open the door. After dragging Wang Zhong out of the car, the captain took a deep breath, stood up, and saluted, Captain Lubokov of the 31st Tank Regiment, Second Battalion, Fourth Tank Army, ordered to snipe the Prussian Army here! Wang Zhong, Second Battalion? I only saw four tanks. The captain with a bitter face, Thats all thats left of us. The air raid took out most of our tanks. The Prussians equipped 20mm cannons on their nes, they can damage us from the sky, not to mention the bombs. As he spoke he nced at the hilltop and continued toin, Our tanks are fragile, damn it, this is all the fault of that Military Industry Minister who likes multiple turrets! The Prussian tanks are all with single turrets now! When we discussed it, we also thought the Carolingian single-turret tanks are the future! Wang Zhong, If you knew your tanks were fragile, why did you still deploy on the hilltop? The captain, Its a good vantage point; our 45mm guns can destroy Prussian tanks from a great distance. Wang Zhong, What if the enemys air forcees again? And you only have four vehicles; the enemy is endless. The captain, We are prepared to die with honor. When we left our base yesterday, there were hundreds of us; brothers who lived and worked together. Now only a few of us are left, and we have no intention of living alone. No, no, Wang Zhong shook his head repeatedly, Youre under mymand now. Im just leading the way; theres more than half an infantry regiment out there, as well as the direct headquarters department. Theres a small town behind the hill, and well retreat there to defend.
Wang Zhong enjoyed ying real-time strategy games, and he particrly liked one called Wargame: Red Dragon. In that game, tanks that rashly entered cities would be sted by infantry with rocketunchers. Moreover, before his crossing over, he had watched quite a few instructional videos by Mars Patriots on anti-tank gymnastics, so naturally, he thought of retreating into town to fight guerri warfare with the enemy. This way, they could use the terrain to best avoid the weakness of the T28 tanks thin armor, and also avoid enemy air strafing. This decision might not be sensible, but under the current circumstances, it was the best course of action Wang Zhong could think of. The captain stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds and said, I just saw from the hilltop, the Prussian convoy was moving with their lights on, then they all turned their lights off suddenly. Could that be the infantry regiment youre talking about? Wang Zhong nodded, Yeah, we mounted a counterattack, wiped out an enemy division headquarters, and captured one of their supply depots. Those vehicles are all spoils of war. The captain scratched his head, Although I should verify your identity by procedure, but my intuition tells me youre one of us. Moreover, youre wounded and running a fever, yet you dare charge at our tank formation; this courage makes it hard to believe youre actually an enemy spy Wang Zhong, So whats your decision? Skip the useless parts and tell me your decision. The captain clicked his tongue, Our radio is broken, we cant get in touch with our superiors; ording to regtions, were under yourmand! Chapter 25: 23: Upper Peniye Village Chapter 25: Chapter 23: Upper Peniye Vige
Wang Zhong stared at the captain riding the white horse, his head fuzzy and unable to recall his name, so he asked, You what did you just say your name was? Lubokov. Wang Zhong, I am Count Rocossov, and Imand It was only then that he remembered he needed to fire a signal re to notify the troops toe, so he reached for the gun holster at his waist. At that moment, two more soldiers came over from the direction of the tank and immediately raised their guns and shouted, Danger, Captain! The captain, Keep calm! This is the Count! He is now ourmander! Send someone back to inform the tank that friendly forces that have captured Prosen trucks areing, and tell them not to fire!
Immediately, a private first ss turned and ran toward the hilltop, while a sergeant continued to look at Wang Zhong with suspicion. Wang Zhong couldnt care less, he took out his signal gun, shakily loaded the signal re, used all his strength to raise his hand, and pulled the trigger. A red re slowly rose, illuminating the still-dimming sky. Wang Zhong took a deep breath, discarded the signal gun, and asked in a weak voice, Do you have a stretcher? I think I wont be able to make it to the tank by myself. The captain said, You can ride a horse,e on, lets help you onto the horse. Wang Zhong, My driver jumped out of the car, bring him here dead or alive. The captain to the two soldiers, Sergeant, did you hear that? Why not search along the road? The sergeant, who had been suspicious of Wang Zhong, started jogging along the highway. Just as Wang Zhong was being helped onto the horse by the captain, he saw the sergeant pulling up Captain Sergey from the ground. That fellow had a gashed head, but he seemed to be in better shape than Wang Zhong from the way he stood. Sukabule, Wang Zhong cursed. At that moment, a Prosen Army truck approached at full speed; the wheels seemed to hit a rock, making the vehicle bounce as if it would fall apart the next second. When it reached the white horse, the truck swung its tail and came to a stop just before crashing into the debris.
The passenger door opened, and Ludm jumped out, Alyosha! Wang Zhong barely raised his hand. Just then, Sergeant Major Grigori, leading the reconnaissance squads veterans, jumped out of the back of the truck, holding a submachine gun, Count! Wang Zhong, Im fine. Its good that the tank units are alert. I ordered them to retreat into the town, set up an observation post at the hilltop. Attack maye at dawn from the Prussians. Grigori looked at the captain holding the horse, and said with the tone of reporting military information, At about three oclock this morning, we passed through the vige of Kurasovka to the west, where we saw about a battalion of infantry, and at least 20 number three tanks. Wang Zhongs eyebrows lifted imperceptibly; Prosen used numbers to name their tanks in this era too. Captain Lubokovs voice trembled slightly, Twenty tanks! My God, we nearly exchanged fire with them on the exposed hilltop. Wang Zhong, I have already ordered you to retreat into the vige, proceed with haste. For the hilltop, only leave Grigoris observation post. Sergeant Major Grigori asked, Should we pull back into the vige of Upper Peniye? Having no idea which vige that was, as he had only seen a vige behind them from his overlooking view, Wang Zhong could only reply, The vige behind the mountain. Its Upper Peniye vige. We can take you there first in the truck, you and Miss Mailehovna. Wang Zhong, Ludm, you should be with the Divine Arrow cohort.
Ludm pouted, I know, Ill wait here for Monk Yeca Neiko and the others, then. Wang Zhong nodded, allowing Grigori and another reconnaissance man to lift him into the trucks passenger seat. The truck started up, following the highway forward, circling around the east side of the hill, and there was Upper Peniye vige. Lubokovs tank toon came down from the hill, smashing through the stone walls of the fields, and drove onto the highway from diagonally across, following behind Wang Zhongs vehicle. Wang Zhong switched to an overhead view and found he had acquired a new identity tag: Fourth Tank Army, 31st Tank Regiment, Second Battalion, themander being Captain Lubokov. A tank battalion with only four tanks left, all of them are the thinly-armored T28 multi-turreted tanks, how can we fight with these Wang Zhong looked up at the vige of Upper Peniye, and it took him several seconds to realize that the vige actually had a number of two-story buildings, and it seemed that there was even electricity. Looking carefully, there was a fairlyrge factory building on the east side of the vige, with a sign that read Tractor Station. Wang Zhong asked the sergeant driving, What is a tractor station? The sergeant was surprised, ording to the new agriculturalw, the local lord has to pledge his property for a loan to set up tractor and seed stations, havent all viges with lords in residence had them over these ten years? Wang Zhong was shocked. However, Upper Peniye vige was more modernized than he expected, which gave Wang Zhong some ideas about defeating the enemy.
These two-story buildings and the streets all reminded Wang Zhong of the anti-tank gymnastics performed by some vigers before he traveled back in time. The tanks of this era were not like Merkavas; molotov cocktails could take care of them, and you didnt even need anti-tank gymnastics, just throw the cocktails from the second floor was enough. As for where to find materials to make cocktailswhat a joke, in this Ante Empire, which was closely rted to the Russians (Muscovites), Wang Zhong didnt believe he couldnt find high-proof alcohol in the vige. Thinking of this, Wang Zhong smiled. The sergeant driving the car looked at Wang Zhongs side face with suspicion, as if he wanted to ask something but didnt dare. Just as they entered the vige, Wang Zhong saw an old woman with her grandson standing at the doorway, looking around. Wang Zhong, Stop the car! The vehicle screeched to a halt, and Wang Zhong rolled down the window, shouted to the old woman, Run! Dont stay here! The Prussians will ughter you! The old woman, Sir, you dont look well, why dont youe in and rest a bit? Wang Zhong, Go quickly! Take your family and leave! The old woman, Sir, you tell us to go, but where can we go? Those in the vige who had rtives elsewhere have already left. But we have been in this vige for generations and have no rtives to turn to.
Wang Zhong, They will ughter you! The old woman showed a somewhat sad smile, Then let them kill us, at least we die on the soil of our homnd. Now running away, being disced, perhaps we still end up dead, but in a foreignnd. With Wang Zhongs now impaired thinking capacity, he couldnt think of any words to refute, he was at a loss on how to persuade the old woman to take her grandson and leave. Just thinking that in the near future they might be killed by the Prussians in their owntrine, a surge of sorrow rose in his heart, lingering heavily in Wang Zhongs chest. At that moment, Captain Lubokov jumped down from a tank behind and ran to Wang Zhongs door, saluting, We have received orders from the Fourth Tank Army to hold Upper Peniye at least until tomorrow night before retreating to Bogdanovka. Wang Zhong, Tomorrow night? He checked his watch, and by calcting nightfall at eight oclock, Lubokovs four tanks had to hold out here for thirty-eight hours. Lubokov with a gloomy face, We might be done for here. Wang Zhong, Dont worry, with me here, well teach the Germans a lesson! Lubokov asked in confusion, Germans? Wang Zhong was so muddled that he didnt even think to correct the term. He pointed to a big house on the roadside, Im setting up the headquarters here!
Actually, he was just pointing randomly. Lubokov, But once the battle starts, that building will be the target of the enemys first wave of artillery fire. It would be better to choose a house inside the vige! Wang Zhong raised his voice, Get Yegorov toe to me! Chapter 26: 24 “Procedure? This is the Procedure! Chapter 26: Chapter 24 Procedure? This is the Procedure!
As soon as Yegorov stepped through the door, the first words out of his mouth were, Why is the headquarters on the front line? Its too dangerous. Move to the middle of the vige instead, I saw it from outside, a three-story building. Wang Zhong was drinking water. When he saw Yegorove in, he directly handed the cup back to thendy of the house and wiped his mouth before saying, Dont worry about that now. Do you know how to make improvised incendiary bombs? You use spirits, rece the cork with a piece of cloth soaked in alcohol, and light the cloth before you throw it. Yegorov said, Of course Ive seen them, the people of Manahaim used these things against us during the Winter War. Wang Zhong asked, Then why didnt I see you use them in Ronied? Yegorov replied, Because we couldnt find the right kind of alcohol. The homemade spirits the peasants drink are too low in alcohol content and too impure to ignite. To make it work, we would have needed to use gasoline, but were an infantry unit, not motorized infantry. We dont have any gasolinethough we do have plenty of fodder for the mules and horses. Wang Zhong said, I dont believe that you couldnt find any spirits!
There are spirits, in the cers of the nobles. At this point, the woman who had just given Wang Zhong water spoke up: The Lord Boye in town has a distillery. Every year, he uses wheat to make vodka, which is then sold in Argesukov. Wang Zhong said, Do you hear that? Go requisition that distillery. Yegorov looked troubled: Ive already sent people there, but they were turned away by Lord Boyes estate manager. Wang Zhong asked, The estate manager? Clenching his teeth, he stood up: Ill go see what this is all about. He took a couple of steps, then turned to look at thendy: Miss Natasha, youd better run quickly. These Prussians, theyre no better than beasts. Thendy smiled: I heard what you advised to olddy Ilynichna next door. But her whole family hasnt left, and you see, as a widow, I have even less reason to go. The Prussians couldnt possibly kill us all, could they? If they killed everyone, who would farm this vastnd? Wang Zhong said, But Ive seen their indiscriminate ughter! The vige square is piled with bodies! Thendy replied, Then we can only ask you to take revenge for us. Wang Zhong understood that unless witnessed firsthand, no one would believe the enemy to be so brutal. He wanted to persuade her further, but there were more pressing matters at hand, so he dropped the subject.
Turning away, he took a couple of steps, stumbled, and then called out to Yegorov: Get a stretcher! Im running a fever and dont have the strength to walk! Yegorov immediately shouted to his subordinates: A stretcher! Just then, Staff Chief Pavlov entered and, upon seeing Wang Zhongs condition, said, Count Rocossov is not fit tomand the troops in this state, better let him move back with the field hospital. Wang Zhong retorted, Are you trying to strip me of mymand? How dare you! At that moment, he was feeling terrible, and people are often bad-tempered in such circumstances, and especially obstinate. Wang Zhong didnt want to retreat. All he wanted was to give these damn Prussians a beating. That was all he wanted to focus on. Anyone who suggested otherwise would incur his wrath. When his fever subsided, he would probably be shocked by the decisions he made in that moment. Wang Zhong asserted, I think youre a spy, just like that fake bishop, trying to throw ourmand system into chaos! Guards! Execute him by firing squad! Pavlov immediately caved: No, thats not what I mean! A corporal had already stepped forward with a rifle; it seemed that Staff Chief Pavlov wasnt very well-regarded among the regr soldiers. Pavlov raised his voice: Im just concerned about your health! Spare my life!
Wang Zhong replied, Keep spouting nonsense and Ill take your head! At that moment, the stretcher arrived, carried by two bearers who looked bewildered because they saw no wounded person. Wang Zhong pointed in front of him: Put it here! The stretcher bearers quickly set the stretcher down in front of him. He unceremoniously sat on the stretcher and waved hisrge hand, To the distillery! Yegorov, follow me! The distillery was right next to the tractor station Wang Zhong had seen before, appearing to be part of the local lord Boyes estate. In front of the ornate iron gates, several thugs already stood guard with shotguns. Carried by two stretcher bearers, Wang Zhong made straight for the gates. A thug raised his right hand in a stop gesture, This is Lord Boyes privatend, halt, soldier! Wang Zhong, Were requisitioning this ce, including the distillery and the liquor inside it. The thug turned and shouted, Mr. Korshov!
A scribe-looking fellow with a bulbous belly emerged blearily from a side room near the gates and yawned his way over, What is it? This colonel said he is requisitioning the distillery. Korshov, Do you have the requisition orders? Wang Zhong, The Prosen bastards are only twenty li from here! We need strong liquor to make Incendiary Bombs. Oh? Whats that got to do with us? Korshov spread his hands, Before Lord Boye retreated, he entrusted this ce to me, and you need proper procedure to requisition it. Wang Zhong, already in a terrible mood from illness, snapped, Obstructing our military preparations, I suspect youre a Prussian spy! Korshov, Then you should go to the Tribunal Wang Zhong drew the gun at Yegorovs side and shot Korshov in the stomach. The thugs with shotguns were startled; clearly, they hadnt expected Wang Zhong to actually shoot. Wang Zhong, They are the enemy! Spies! Open fire! Yegorov raised his submachine gun and started spraying bullets. A few secondster, it was quiet in front of the gates.
A toon of infantry jogged over, and the sergeant in the lead called from a distance, Commander! What happened? Yegorov, Found some spies. Nothing major. Wang Zhong, Get their keys, open the doors, and requisition all the liquor inside. Get an old soldier who knows how to make Incendiary Bombs to lead the others in making them. The remaining soldiers experienced with Incendiary Bombs will split up, one old soldier taking two new recruits, the recruits carrying the bottles, the old soldier throwing them. Take control of the two-story buildings on both sides of the streets! Yegorov, find a good spot to set up the machine guns, aiming to cut off the enemy tanks and apanying infantry, creating opportunities for the grenade throwers! Yegorov nodded, Understood. Additionally, I suggest we establish the headquarters inside the distillery. Wang Zhong looked at the distillery building in front of him. Yegorov, Its clearly reinforced concrete; even if the enemy uses heavy artillery, it wont budge. It can serve as our final fortress. Wang Zhong didnt care about that, his eyes were on the distillerys water tower, That water tower, is it the tallest building in the vige? Yegorov, Yes, its a bit taller than the steeple of the church. Wang Zhong, Good. The headquarters will be here. Yegorov, Theres also Lubokovs tank unit, what do you think
Wang Zhong, These tanks are an important mobile support force; Ill personally decide where to position them. Chapter 27: 25 It’s Time to Show Real Micro-control Skills Chapter 27: Chapter 25 Its Time to Show Real Micro-control Skills
Wang Zhong, of course, had never been to a battlefield; his true homnd hadnt waged war in more than thirty years. But he had yed a game known as Russias Genshin, called War Thunder, in which he had ample experience in annihting enemies and knew which terrain could shield a tanks vulnerable nks. There were three main roads to the vige of Peniye, two of which entered the vige from the west and, along with the road exiting the vige from the east, formed a Y shape. If the south is considered the bottom, then its a lying-down Y, with the open end facing west. But in reality, these three roads did not directly intersect, instead, they enclosed a triangr area in the middle of the vige. To the north of the area was the luxurious manor of local lord Boye, the main body of which was a three-story red-brick building.
The most significant building within the triangle was the local church, its height rivaling that of Lord Boyes three-story manor, with an even taller bell tower. Next to the church was the vige mill, a mechanical mill with a steam boiler. Further south were two two-story buildings, homes of the wealthy ss in town, and it was said that one of them was the emperors forestry officer. And the winery that Wang Zhong chose as hismand post was located on the eastern side of thesendmarks, beside the single leg of the lying Y; a few steps out of the winery gate, and he would be at the triangr area. Of course, Wang Zhong couldnt even take these few steps himself and had to be carried over on a stretcher. Stop! he called out at the mills entrance, squinting as he looked toward the western side. From his birds eye view earlier, he had thought hed be able to see one of the viges western entrances from this position, not expecting that, in reality, a distant stone wall and a wooden structure would block his view. Wang Zhong immediately realized that this was an ideal terrain to force a 1V1 between enemy tanks and his own. The road to the west wasnt wide enough for two tanks to travel side by side; the enemy would definitelye one after the other. Moreover, there was a way to retreat from this spot; if too many enemies poured in, one could reverse back and hide behind the mill. The mechanical mill was two stories tall, enough to hide even the bulky andrge T28 tank. Wang Zhong immediately shouted, Someone! Call Captain Lubokov over here! Soon, Tank 422, with the tactical number, was deployed to this street corner.
Wang Zhong, his head heavy and drowsy, exined to the tankmander, When more than two enemy tanks appear in your field of vision, back up and let the mill shield you! Themander of Tank 422 was a sergeant, who looked extremely nervous and kept nodding at Wang Zhongs words. Wang Zhong said, Measure the distance now, so you ensure a hit with the first shot when you see the enemy! Themander replied, Understood, see the enemy and then retreat! Wang Zhong was stunned, thinking he had misunderstood due to his addled brain. Mounting a white horse, Lubokov cursed, Listen to the counts orders properly! The count is asking you to measure the distance now! The sergeant asked, Measure the distance? Measure what? Wang Zhong asked, How long have you been a tankmander? The sergeant replied, One day, Im a substitute from another crew! Wang Zhong said, Rece them with an experienced crew for this position. Lubokov sighed and said, Ill do it. Stay here, measure the distance, and if facing more than two enemy tanks, retreat into the mills shadow, right? Wang Zhong replied, Right.
He then directed the stretcher bearers to assign missions to the other two tanks, instructing them to use the terrain to their advantage and surprise the advancing Prosen tanks with hit-and-run artillery. As for Tank 422, whosemander was overly nervous, Wang Zhong thought for a moment and decided to position them in the courtyard of the winery, keeping them as thest reserve. Upon hearing that their mission was to be the reserve, the sergeant, who had been amander for only a day, visibly rxed. After arranging the tasks for the tank forces, Wang Zhong was about to order the stretcher bearers to carry him back to the winery when he saw a car stop in front of the church. A middle-aged man got out of the car and looked up at the churchs bell tower. This position definitely has a good view, he said, lift the Divine Arrow up! Lets give the Prussians a little shock from the clock tower! It seemed that this was Monk Yeca Neiko, the onemanding the Divine Arrow team. Ludm squeezed out of the back of the truck and, seeing Wang Zhong, looked a bit surprised: Alyosha? Monk Yeca Neiko then noticed Wang Zhong, stood at attention, and saluted: Count Rocossov, I pay my respects to you. Wang Zhong nodded. At this time, Yeca Neikos subordinates unloaded the Divine Arrow from the truck. It was the first time Wang Zhong had seen this weapon up close, and even though his cognitive abilities were somewhat impaired at the moment, he still noticed that the Divine Arrow was different from what he had imagined. Thus, he asked, Where is the guidance system? This looks just like an ordinary rocket!
He remembered that such anti-tank missiles usually had a significant guidance system. When he was a child looking at light weapons magazines, those anti-tank missiles were always shown withrge sighting devices. But this Divine Arrowuncher was just a bare sliding rail, crudely beyond imagination. Monk Yeca Neiko looked confused: Didnt you see the holy emblem on the head of the Divine Arrow? Wang Zhong, his brain burning fiercely, didnt catch on immediately: Holy emblem? The private responsible for carrying the Divine Arrow even turned it in his arms specifically so Wang Zhong could get a clear view of the holy emblem on the head. Monk Yeca Neiko nced at Ludm: Captain Mailehovna has been an excellent prayer caster, shes already scored a hit on an enemy tank. ording to the regtions, I should apply for abat mark for her, but you know our situation It was only then that Wang Zhongs brain caught up: Holy emblem, prayer caster, so the Divine Arrow really was guided by Divine Power? He had thought it was like the Mechanicum in Warhammer 40K, which, unable to understand high technology, had turned it into a religion. Wang Zhong waved his hand: I understand. Are you preparing to go up the clock tower? Yeca Neiko nodded: Yes, the view from the clock tower must be excellent. Wang Zhong: But the enemy can see you just as clearly. The Divine Arrowunch will have an obvious smoke trail, right? He had seen the trajectory of the Divine Arrow from a birds-eye view, and it was as clear as it could be.
Yeca Neiko: The smoke trail is indeed very clear, but even more so is the light from the warhead during guidance. What about it? Wang Zhong waved his hand: Then going up the clock tower is a bad idea. Youll be spotted as soon as the first one is fired, and enemy tanks will pay special attention to the clock tower. A clear view usually cuts both ways. Wang Zhong pointed to the church: I suggest setting up multipleunch sites, each with a Divine Arrow, and carry this light frame to move quickly after firing, shoot and change position! Yeca Neiko: ording to the manual, we should snipe the enemy tanks from a ce with a wide view as much as possible, making full use of the range advantage of the Divine Arrow. The Divine Arrow can hit targets two kilometers away! The enemys tank guns cant fire that far. Wang Zhong: The enemy will use smoke to block your view, they did that in the battle for Ronied! Even with a high fever, Wang Zhong still remembered what happened in Ronied. At that time, Yeca Neikos team had destroyed an enemy tank, and then the enemy infantry set up smoke to block their view. Clearly, the Prussians were well-versed in how to counter the Divine Arrow. Yeca Neiko still wanted to object: But There are no buts, I am the currentmander. I forbid you to go up the clock tower! At this point, Yegorov stepped in to mediate: How about this, weve found several good machine gun positions that are also suitable for the Divine Arrow, why not set up the Divine Arrow there? Infantry can cover you! Yeca Neiko hesitated for a moment, then said: Alright, I hope the Count isnt making this decision out of a fevered mind. I also hope he isnt giving special treatment to Miss Mailehovna!
With that, he cast a nce at Ludm. Chapter 28: 26 The First Wave of Casualties Chapter 28: Chapter 26 The First Wave of Casualties
The perspective temporarily moves away from Wang Zhong. After settling into the shooting position arranged by Yegorov, Monk Yeca Neiko red at Ludm, Captain Mailehovna, your boyfriend really takes care of you. Ludms full name is Ludm Vasilyevna Malyukhova. The girl frowned, In Ronied, we really only fired one Divine Arrow before our vision was blocked by smoke, he is not wrong. Yeca Neiko, I heard that he pissed his pants as soon as the battle began! How could someone with that kind of tactical acumen point out the problems? No, he just doesnt want you to be in danger! Ludm, But didnt he lead us out of the encirclement? Although he really is ayabout usually, but
How can ayabout suddenly be a military genius? No, there is absolutely no chance of that! I will record all of his orders today in thebat log, I definitely will! If we cantplete the mission in Upper Peniye, he wont be able to escape the me! In fact, the task of defending Upper Peniye for 38 hours was given to the second battalion of the 31st Tank Regiment of the Fourth Tank Army; the third rear Amur Group and Monk Yeca Neikos Divine Arrow squad had no obligation to hold here. But Wang Zhong still issued the order to hold, treating it as a mission for the entire unit. No one objected, even those who knew the order was given to the second battalion of the 31st Regiment did not say anything. Perhaps the unit had seen enough of the Prussians atrocities during the retreat to be infuriated. ** As for Wang Zhong, he waspletely befuddled now, his brain functioning on a single track, utterly unable to consider too much. Back in the managers office of the distillery, Wang Zhong gulped down arge ss of water, but still felt his mouth was dry. Water! he shouted aloud. One of the two privates who had just carried the stretcher took on the role of an orderly and fetched Wang Zhong anotherrge cup of water. At that moment, Chief of Staff Pavlov entered the door with some people and seeing Wang Zhongs condition, said, Shouldnt you follow the field hospital and retreat? Wang Zhong, The field hospital is here?
Its already arrived. Wang Zhong, Get me penicillin and some fever-reducing medicine! Also, tell them not to retreat in the enemys trucks, but to use the local peasants horse carts instead. Hire as many locals as possible! By the time the locals brought the field hospital to the rear with their horse carts, Upper Peniye would likely be upied by the enemy, so even if unwilling, the locals would have to retreat with the unit. Chief of Staff Pavlov, Ill have the clerk see how many rubles we still have Cant you issue IOUs, you idiot? Wang Zhong was in pain, so his temper was bad. Seeing this, Pavlov said, Ill make arrangements and quickly left, leaving only a few staff officers in the room with Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong, Get me a radio. Ask what the radio call signs of the tanks are! The staff officers exchanged nces, and themunications officer said, Ill go find Captain Lubokov of the tank units right away. A short whileter Lubokov arrived, and upon hearing Wang Zhongs question, frowned, The enemys tanks might each have a radio, but we only have a radio in mymand vehicle. Wang Zhong looked up at the sky and said helplessly, Alright, tell me your call sign, and I willmand you using the radio. Although Wang Zhong had no actual experience in tank battles, he realized from his gaming experience how significant the advantage of this birds-eye view was in close-quarters citybat. Not to mention anything else, from the birds-eye view he could see which direction the enemy tank guns were pointed. Anyone who has yed World of Tanks and been taught a lesson by being pointed at by a gun barrel knows what this means.
Lubokov, My call sign is tactical number 420. Wang Zhong, Okay, Ill use that tomand you. Lubokov looked around with a puzzled face, You aremanding from here? Wang Zhong, Of course not, when the battle starts, Ill move to an open spot with good visibility, just follow my orders. Go now. Lubokov saluted and turned to leave. ` The tall man with sses wearing a Red Cross Armband entered the room as he was stepping out, I heard someone was asking for antibiotics? Wang Zhong, I need them. Who are you? I am Doctor Raskolnikov, Count. I have seen you at the salon before. Wang Zhong, Oh, good day, Doctor Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov. The doctor corrected him and approached Wang Zhong. After apologizing, he ced his hand on Wang Zhongs forehead, Your condition is very bad. You should be evacuated to the rear as soon as possible, why dont you follow the field hospital and retreat? Wang Zhong, No! I wont abandon my troops!
In fact, ording to Wang Zhongs initial goal, which was to save his own life, he should choose to retreat now, but in his delirium, he only wanted to fiercely beat up the Germansno, the Prussian devilswith his own troops. The doctor was somewhat moved, I Im sorry, I didnt know you had this side to you. Did you think I was a yboy? That Id only wet myself on the battlefield? Wang Zhong grew angry. His single-threaded brain now had only one thought: Its not just me who wets themselves, Im sick of everyone ming this on me! So he began to rage, No! I am not that kind of coward! Ill make you all see! Whoever suggests sending me to the rear again is colluding with the enemy! Because you all know that with me here, I can strike the enemy hard, thats why youre trying every means possible to send me away! The doctor was startled by Wang Zhongs sudden outburst of anger and took a step back, saying, Im sorry, please dont shoot me. Wang Zhongs execution of the local nobles butler had spread, and as he had previously shot a fake bishop and a fake judge, there were rumors in the troops that Count Rocossov would execute anyone suspected to be the enemy. Wang Zhong, Medicine! Then quickly take the vigers cart and scram! The doctor immediately opened his bag and took out a bunch of medicines and ced them on the table. Wang Zhong didnt even ask how to take them, he grabbed the bottle, twisted it open, threw several pills into his mouth, and gulped down the water. At that moment, a gunshot rang out from outside, sounding very distant. Wang Zhong immediately switched to a birds eye view, focusing his attention on the small hill to the westthe one initially guarded by Lubokovs tank.
Sergeant Major Grigoris observation post was firing. Through their eyes, the armored units of the Prussians could be seen advancing on the highway. Wang Zhong counted, at least twenty Panzer III tanks, and an equal number of half-tracks, marching majestically past the wreck of the truck he had left behind. The roar of the engines could be heard clearly even from the sky. The tank leading the way had more antennas than the others, and a closer view revealed to Wang Zhong that the tanks tactical number was 141, with an eagle emblem beside the number. None of the other tanks had this eagle emblem, Wang Zhong guessed it might be a sign of themanders vehicle. Looking more closely at officer peering out from the turret of Tank 141, the officers cor could be seen adorned with a gold decoration on a red background. Looking even closer, the officer turned out to be a cyclops! Too much German vor, too much. The Cyclopeanmander moved his mouth and the Tank 141 stopped, the turret began to rotate. The next moment, Wang Zhong felt like he heard the German word FIRE, and the tanks muzzle ejected mes and thick smoke. Almost simultaneously, Wang Zhong lost his vision; neither the tanks nor the half-tracks were visible anymore.
He quickly raised his perspective and saw a cloud of dust rising from the hill, two scoutspletely engulfed by the dust cloud. What the hell? Did the guy spot the scouts firing their warning shots? Wang Zhong suddenly had an ominous premonition. He switched back to his original perspective and shouted to the doctor, Go! The enemy is about to attack, hurry up and go! Chapter 29: 27 Saying Goodbye to the Bell Tower Chapter 29: Chapter 27 Saying Goodbye to the Bell Tower
Commander Shrifen, Major Shrifen, scrutinized the dust clouds on the hillside for a while before sneering, The enemys scouts dont even carry field telephones. The Ante Empire is more decayed than we imagined. Over the headset, the voice of his tank toon leader came through: They are an inferior race, yet they upy the fertile ck earth! Wevee to exterminate the pests! Exactly, hahaha! Shrifen replied coldly: The enemy is in front of us, no idle chit-chat over the radio. Sorry, Major.
My apologies. Shrifen then asked, Whats the result of the truck inspection? Although the Major had not issued an order to inspect the truck, he believed that his subordinates would definitely have it checked after the marching column stopped. True to his expectations, the radio immediately ryed, Major, its our truck. Before dawn today, a squad of mechanized infantry passed us. It might belong to that unit. But I didnt find any of our armys bodies in the truck. Shrifen cursed, Why werent they stopped and checked when the convoy passed through? We are the spearhead of the attack, and ording to the march order, the other units are all behind us! The radio fell silent. Shrifen: Who was on dutyst night? Ill spare you confinement with the enemy before us. But if you survive the fight, await your punishment! Having spoken, Shrifen momentarily shut off the tanks transmitter and gave the driver orders through the internalms: Leave the main road, up the mountain! His Panzer III with the tactical number 141 left the road and climbed the hill which concealed Ante Army sentries. The voice of thebat groups staff officer came through the earphones: Major, shouldnt we let the infantry scout it out first? Shrifen: Theres no need. Ante People have no talent for warfare. They only fight by the book. Just consider how poorly they fared in the Winter War! The Ante People will set up sniper positions on the hilltops since thats what their textbooks teach them! If we havent been attacked by now, then theres no one atop the hill. Ill prove it!
Having said that, Shrifen straightened up, exposing half his upper body from the protection of the tank hatchthe Panzer IIIs hatch was specially designed to open forward and could serve as a shield for themander when peering out. Vehicle 141 made its way almost to the top of the hill. It was then Shrifens line of sight could finally overlook the hilltop to see beyond, so he shouted, Stop! The tank halted abruptly, jolting heavily. Shrifen raised his binocrs. He had lost an eye in the Carolingian campaign but stubbornly continued to use binocrs as though he had never be a cyclops. The Ante People have fortified the town, with some buildings appearing quite solid. Momentarily, the staff officer riding in themand half-track also arrived up the hill. He jumped out of the vehicle and stood next to Tank 141, raising his binocrs. Considering that Ante Army unit that passed us off as ours this pre-dawn, they must Major! an ensign officer interrupted the staff officers words, Look here, there are track marks on the ground; an Ante Army tank stopped here! Shrifen turned toward the ensign: Well done, Ensign, can you tell where the tracks go? Down to the vige on the hillside, Major! The chief of staff frowned, Tanks and infantry, plus this kind of strong brick construction, we should wait for the heavy artillery. They actually gave up this high ground just like that. If we set up artillery observation posts here, the heavy artillerying up could st them to ashes!
Shrifen: The heavy artillery is stuck on the roads, and by the time they arrive, itll be toote. Ante Peoples tanks are very outdated, and the Air Force has mostly destroyed them; a few tanks wont make much difference. Deploy the troops. How many smoke bombs does the mortar toon have left? The logistics staff replied, Not many, officer; weve been pushing forward with no systematic resupply. Then lets not use them yet. Shrifen looked down at the vige below again and said, If the enemy has a Divine Arrow, it will be in that clock tower. After finishing his observation, Shrifen put down his binocrs and lifted his thumb as a reference, estimating the distance by sight. Two kilometers, the enemys Divine Arrows are not so precise at this distance, have Hoffmans crew take over. The shooting position is right here! Soon, a number three tank with the tactical number 170 drove up the hill and stopped near Shrifens number 141. Shrifen pressed his throat microphone and said, Hoffman, the target is that bell tower, the enemys Divine Arrow team is definitely inside. The 50mm high-explosive shells of the Panzer III might not prate the stone walls, so I want you to urately deliver the shells through the windows of the bell tower. Armor-Piercing Shells could naturally prate stone walls, but their damaging effect might not be very good. However, hitting the windows urately from two kilometers away required not only superb shooting skills but also a bit of luck. In fact, hitting the bell tower at this distance would already be considered passing.
But Shrifen had confidence in his teams ace gunner. Shrifen: Hit it and Ill reward you with a pack of canned food! Laughter from the tankers came over the radio: Major, who needs your canned food now? Look aroundtheres an endless supply of beef and women to sleep with! Indeed, we are only a bit short on bread! Shrifen: Then the reward will be in Imperial Marks, and if you miss, its solitary confinement for you! Hoffman whistled: Just watch me! Tank number 170 rotated its turret, beginning to aim. Shrifen nced at his subordinates, then turned back to look at the foot of the hill, pleased to see his troops hadpleted deployment forbat, ready tounch an attack. At that moment, the gun fired. Theyve fired? Monk Yeca Neiko was shocked as the whistling sound of the shell passed overhead; everyone instinctively looked up. The next moment, the explosion came from behind.
Monk Yeca Neiko rushed to the opposite window, just in time to see dust breaking through the bell towers windows. Then he saw two guards running out of the bell towers main door, panic-stricken onto the street. The next moment, therge bell crashed onto the first floor of the bell tower, and the bell, as tall as a person, started bouncing, with its dull toll torturing everyones ears. Monk Yeca Neiko cursed: Sukabule! He looked at the others. A munitions handler said, If we were in the bell tower now, wed be like that bell Ludm: We can counterattack! The one who fired must be their best gunner! Taking him out could save many of us! No! Yeca Neiko reprimanded the people who started to move after Ludms words, Theyd just reverse and evade now, which would only expose us! Wait for them toe into the open, when they have nowhere to hide, then we shoot! After stopping everyone, Yeca Neiko muttered to himself, It actually hit as predicted could he really be a genius? Shrifen frowned, observing the viges response. The Chief of Staff said, It seems theres no Divine Arrow stationed in the tower. The enemy might have abandoned this vige.
Shrifen: Even so, we must advance into the vige inbat formation. Second Armored toon and infantry, begin the push! The Second toon mainly equipped the Panzer IV tanks for infantry support, with their short-barrel 75mm howitzers not suitable for anti-tank but extremely effective against infantry. The Chief of Staff nced at the staff officer already standing by and nodded gently. So the staff officer blew the whistle that signaled the start of the offensive. The Panzer IV tanks of the Second toon emitted thick smoke from their exhaust pipes as their tracks crushed the ck soil, rolling over the hill. Chapter 30: 28: Divine Arrow Establishes Authority Chapter 30: Chapter 28: Divine Arrow Establishes Authority
Wang Zhong didnt dare to lie down, for he feared that once he did, he would fall into a deep sleep. When the bell tower was under artillery fire, Wang Zhong had specifically switched to Yeca Neiko Monks squad C by now they were all considered under Wang Zhongsmand, likely counted among that cluster of routed soldiers, allowing Wang Zhong to draw the scene closer at any time. He saw Yeca Neiko lying at the window on the street-facing side, staring wide-eyed at the stricken bell tower. Before Wang Zhong could take pleasure in Yeca Neikos astonishment, he heard Ludm say, We can fight back, that tank must be the enemys ace! Wang Zhong thought, no, big sister, if you fire from here and expose yourself, they will retract. In the game War Thunder, where arge number of missile vehicles have been implemented, Wang Zhong had gained extensive experience in countering missiles, and he knew that retreating into cover and deploying smoke bombs could effectively disrupt missile guidance.
The enemy was currently on the hillside, and a simple reverse gear would take them out of sight, while the enemy was almost two kilometers away from the town. For a missile C Divine Arrow C to travel that distance would take quite some time, enough for the enemy to react! Although Wang Zhong was anxious, there was no way for him to issuemands to Ludm and the others, after all, they were not actually units under Wang Zhongs control in a game! Fortunately, at that moment, Yeca Neiko Monk, who was very experienced, shouted, Stop! If we fire now, they will run away! Seeing that Ludm and the others stopped what they were doing, Wang Zhong finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yeca Neiko Monk likely had experience from the Winter War and even the Civil War. No sooner had Wang Zhong put his mind at ease, than at least twelve tanks rolled over the ridge line, entering Wang Zhongs field of vision, all carrying thick and short infantry tank guns, which looked strikingly like the number four. The tank destroyed by Yeca Neiko Monks Divine Arrow squad in Ronied was one of this type. A dozen secondster, infantry skirmish lines and half-tracked vehicles also appeared. Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, the enemys firepower was much stronger than he had anticipated; just the machine guns on the half-tracked vehicles numbered over a dozen, not to mention those on the tanks, the density of firepower was astounding. Byparison, the Third Rear Amur Groups machine gun firepower had been severely depleted and couldntpare at all. Observing Yegorovsyout, Wang Zhong discovered that Yegorov hadnt set up machine gun positions outside the town at all, clearly not intending to exchange fire with the enemy in open terrain. The only light machine gun positioned at the edge of the town was there to cover for the Divine Arrow squad, and it was expected to move as soon as the Divine Arrow squad relocated.
Wang Zhong shifted his view back to the Divine Arrow squad and saw that they were ready tounch. Yeca Neiko Monk, using binocrs to observe the enemy, said in a low voice, Do you see tank with tactical number 181? It has additional antennas; thats the Prussiansmand vehicle. Ludm also held binocrs: I see it, tactical number 181. Yeca Neiko: Its up to you then, let me know when youre ready. Im ready, Ludm replied. Wang Zhong was also ready; this time he wanted to witness firsthand how Divine Arrows guidance worked. At least for now, Ludm didnt appear to hold anything resembling a radio remote control device in her hands. Yeca Neiko: Fire! The gunner pressed the button on theuncher, and the rockets tail me instantly filled half the room, blowing off the portraits hanging on the opposite wall with a tter! Wang Zhong, raising his viewpoint, saw the rocket tracing an arc towards the enemy, its head glowing like a re. For a moment, Wang Zhong truly felt as though he was ying War Game Red Dragon, where missiles were made extremely bright to be more noticeable, like fireflies, so that yers could clearly see the missile trajectory even when at a high aerial view. The enemys tanks obviously hadnt reacted, continuing in their original direction, and they were hit as such. After the explosion, the tank maintained its forward motion as if nothing had happened, then mes shot out from the engine radiator, and the vehicle abruptly stopped, with all the crew members jumping out of the tank and efficiently hitting the ground.
The next moment, the tanks ammunition detonated, and mes burst forth from the open hatches. At that moment, Tank 182, which was advancing to the left of 181, came to an abrupt stop and rotated its turretthey had actually already located where the Divine Arrow was fired from! Although the Divine Arrow had a very apparent trail, the fact that the enemy could determine the firing teams position so quickly could only mean that they were indeed experienced. Just as Wang Zhong shifted his attention back to the Divine Arrow team, the enemy fired. The hurried shot was not urate, merely hitting the wall beside the window. The brick wall was instantly breached, and the shockwave from the explosion blew off Yeca Neikos hat. Yeca Neiko shouted, Quick, retreat! Grab the stand and run! The two shooters picked up the stand and dashed toward the rooms main door, with Ludm close behind them. Yeca Neiko was thest one, and just as the group stepped out the door, the second shell came. This time, the shell flew through the window and hit the opposite wall. As the shockwave and shrapnel swept across the doorway, Yeca Neiko had just stepped outside. He stumbled and fell to the ground, cursing loudly, Sukabule! Ludm turned back and pulled Yeca Neiko up, Can you still walk?
Yes! I just grazed my foot. Hurry to the second position! The squad ran straight out of the house, and at the same time, the light machine gunner who stayed behind to cover them started firingto draw the tanks attention and spread their focus. Yegorovs men had already broken through the walls in the courtyard, so the Divine Arrow team quickly moved to the adjacent yard. Right then, the third shell from the enemy came, still targeting the window where the Divine Arrow team had been,pletely ignoring the machine gunner. The third high-explosive shell directly pierced through the house, with bricks tumbling into the street on the other side. Then the tank began to turn its gun barrel, clearly aiming for the machine gun this time Wang Zhongs heart was racing; he almost cried out: Run, you guys, run! Unfortunately, his thoughts could not reach the two brave soldiers. And they were too far from the tank to see such a slight shift in the tank guns barrel without an overhead view and binocrs. By the time the machine gunners stopped firing and nned to move, the tank fired. When the shell made impact, the machine gunner and the ammunition handler had just left the shooting window. The shockwave caught up with them, knocking them to the ground. Wang Zhong immediately lost sight of the two men. He felt some regret; he didnt even know their names
Just then, a second Divine Arrow was fired from the adjacent building, aimed straight at the enemy tank that was still in its original position! Wang Zhongs heart raced alongside the Divine Arrow towards the enemy. The light struck right at the chief position on Tank 182, detonating on the vertical steel te. The next moment, the tanks turret was blown away by the st wave of sympathetic detonation, even before the Prussians inside had a chance to escape! Wang Zhong could even see the body of a Tank Operator being hurled into the air! But more tanks stopped, and they had all located the firing position of the Divine Arrow. As it was said than done, the first barrage was fired. In the blink of an eye, several 75mm high-explosive shells hit the building where the Divine Arrow team was situated! Chapter 31: 29: Fierce Battle in the City Chapter 31: Chapter 29: Fierce Battle in the City
The Divine Arrow team proved to be clever this time, with the firing group at the first window on the west side of the ground floor, while Ludm, responsible for guiding the missiles, and Monk Yeca Neiko, who indicated the targets, were at the window of the kitchen next door. After firing the rockets, theunch team immediately left for another position, leaving only Ludm to guide the missiles. At least eight mortar shells hit the firing window, copsing half of the house, but Ludm and Monk Yeca Neiko made it out in one piece! It seemed that the Divine Arrow team was still capable of destroying quite a few tanks! Before Wang Zhong could celebrate, artillery fire rained down from the sky. Judging by where the shellsnded, it was hurried mortar fire without precise aiming; some even fell into Peniye vige itself.
None of the shells exploded violently; they simply burst into clouds of smoke with a sound akin to firecrackers. Mortar smoke bombs! It looked like this was also a standard Prussian Army tactic when facing the Divine Arrow. Wang Zhong shifted his gaze toward the edge of his entire field of vision, staring at the cyclopeanmanding officer on the mountain top, wishing he could psychically snipe him and plunge the enemy into chaos. Major Shrifen observed the dispersal of the smoke. The artillery observers ranging binocrs were set up right next to his vehicle, with firing data constantly being transmitted directly to the vehicle-mounted mortar units on the hillside through verbalmands. The second bombardment was much more urate; a smoke wall formed in front of the vige, and even Shrifen could not see clearly what was happening inside. He raised his right hand, Alright, cease fire! Themands to stop firing came from the mortar toon leader behind him. When the artillery fire ceased, the chief of staff said, The enemy has deployed two Divine Arrow units in such a small vige? There must be a significant force. Should we wait for the heavy artillery Shrifen responded, What two Divine Arrows? Havent you noticed that our attacks did not trigger any Divine Arrow sympathetic detonations? Considering the intervals betweenunches, this is the same Divine Arrow unit constantly changing positions. Each position probably has only one Divine Arrow, allowing them to move quickly by carrying just theuncher frame. Weve seen this tactic in Carolingian; Chief of Staff, you did not participate in the Carolingian campaign, did you?
The chief of staff fell silent. Shrifen continued, The enemymander is quite excellent, surely having studied many reports from the Carolingian campaign; he knows our tactics. If it was also him who stole our truck and ordered it to advance with its headlights on, then today we must eliminate a great future threat to the empire. Chief of staff: Then we should all the more wait for the heavy artillery If we wait for the heavy artillery, he will have fled! The enemy is still not well-established; look, there are no sandbags, no barbed wire and anti-tank stakes in the vige, probably no minefields either. Now, relying on our advantage in troops and firepower to grind them down and seize an opportunity to capture him is the best strategy! If we wait for the heavy artillery to arrive, the enemy will be ready, and we will only suffer even more severe casualties! Shrifen stopped and watched the assault troops enter the smokescreen created by the mortars. He looked up at the sky, With the sun this bright, the west wind will be blowing soon. The smoke will disperse and everything will settle. As soon as the words fell, the sound of machine gun fire came from within the smoke. The sound, tearing like ripping canvas, was that of the empires standard model 34 general-purpose machine gun. It was clear that the attacking units were using machine guns to suppress the windows on the edge of the vige. Then, the sound of cannons followed; Shrifen immediately recognized them as the No. 4s 75mm guns. Its started, just wait and see, Shrifen said confidently.
Wang Zhong discovered that his birds-eye view could see through smokehe couldnt make out what was inside the smoke, but he could clearly see everything before and beyond it. Ordinary people couldnt see past the smoke, but Wang Zhongs perspective could. He wasnt sure whether this was just how strong Golden Finger was, or if it was a bug. However, this was of little use since Wang Zhong couldnt mentally control his troops and had to rely on the radio beside him. As it turned out, the radio could only call Captain Lubokovs vehicleonly that car had a radio. This feeling was a bit like ying auto chess; once the deployment was set, it was up to the pieces to fight it out themselves. After the enemy tanks crossed the smoke line, they immediately began firing at the windows of the buildings. Wang Zhong had a habit in various military games of doing the same: regardless of whether there were enemies in the buildings, firing first and asking questionster, depleting supplies rather than manpower. The Prussians firepower was fierce; with dozens of machine guns firing, many wooden window frames were simply sted to pieces. As for the wooden houses, entire walls were dismantled. Then, a tank with the tactical number 185 fired its cannon at the westernmost red-roofed building, copsing the corner of the house and sending tiles flying halfway into the sky. As they approached the vige, the enemy tanks slowed down, and the infantry, spread out in skirmish lines, overtook the tanks and charged towards the vige.
On the very outskirts of the vige was a stone wall where the vigers had fenced off several small courtyards to keep some livestock. Now this stone wall had be the first line of defense against the enemy. Apparently, the Prussians werent used to carrying explosives, so they had to construct humandders to scale the wall. In the blink of an eye, Amur Group submachine gunners hidden on the ground floor opened fire. Because of the cover provided by the stone wall, the earlier enemy machine gun fire had not reached the windows on the ground floor. As the submachine gunners shot down the enemies climbing the wall, riflemen hiding by the wall quickly lobbed grenades over it. These grenades were clearly thrown by veterans, who had held them for a moment before releasing; they exploded as soon as they hit the ground, wounding and killing many Prussians outside the wall instantaneously. The next moment, the tanks fired, sting an opening in the stone wall. Immediately, the enemys grenades were thrown through the gap into the courtyard. Wang Zhong clearly saw one of the veteran defenders catch one of the grenades, intending to throw it back when it exploded in his hand. The veterans upper body was shredded by the st, covering the face of a recruit with blood and viscera. The recruit screamed in terror, only to be impaled in the stomach by an enemys bay that rushed in. A brutal melee battle was underway.
Meanwhile, the enemy tanks continued to fire as they advanced toward the vige. Tank number 185 decided to enter the vige from the southwest road, and Lubokovs tank was exactly ambushed next to the mill at the end of this road. Wang Zhong quickly switched back to the naked eye view and grabbed the radio on the table, Lubokov, the enemy is about toe into your sight! What? Lubokov eximed, How can you see them? I cant see a thing! Wang Zhong, Watch the front, tell your gunner to be alert! While shouting, he switched back to the birds-eye view; indeed, he saw tank number 185 enter the vige, appearing right within Lubokovs firing range. Good Lord! Lubokov muttered, Fire, fire now! A puff of white smoke came out of Lubokovs tanks gun barrel. Wang Zhong clearly saw a stream of sparksing out of tank number 185. But the tank didnt explode; it just came to a stop. Lubokovs anxious voice shouted over the radio, Reload quickly, we didnt hit them! From Lubokovs perspective, it was impossible to tell if the enemy had been hit or not.
But Wang Zhong could see, thanks to his view, as the highlighted enemies inside the tank suddenly reduced by three, leaving only two who couldnt possibly drive the vehicle. After all, this wasnt War Thunder. If only two crew members remained, they would continue to fight, but in reality, morale wasnt that high, and crews would usually abandon the tank after losing one or two key members. Wang Zhong saw the highlighted two climbing out of the tank from the bottom hatch. Thats when the third machine gun from the Amur Group finally rang outunlike the enemys sharp tearing sound, the Ante Armys heavy machine gun sounded solid, matching its bulky appearance. As Wang Zhong was distracted, Lubokov fired a second armor-piercing shell, hitting the now-empty tank number 185 again. Lubokov! That tank has been destroyed! Watch out for the next one! How do you know its destroyed? Where are you watching the battlefield from? Count, you cant direct blindly! Reload! Wang Zhong adjusted his view, wanting to see Lubokovs condition, only to find out that he had gone inside the tank. Tanks actually have a very poor field of view, which is why tankmanders in World War II liked to poke their heads out to observe the situation. For someone like Lubokov to retreat inside the tank without infantry cover in urbanbat was essentially offering victory to the enemy infantry. Just then, tank number 186 of the Prosen Army moved forward. Wang Zhong heard Lubokov screaming over the radio, Retreat when facing two enemy tanks! Retreat now! Wang Zhong: ????? Since Lubokov had already moved, and the tanks of this era had no stabilizers, the shot went wild, and the armor-piercing shell struck the second floor of a building on the street, blowing a hole in the wall. The enemy tank stopped, fired a shot at Lubokov who was retreating. The shot was clearly a high-explosive shell that exploded on the front armor of Lubokovs tank, shattering all the mills windows. Lubokovs cries suddenly disappeared from the radio. But his tank neither caught fire nor stopped; it continued to reverse past the cover of the mill until it crashed into the exterior wall of the distillery and stopped, though the engine still roared as if trying to knock down the wall. Wang Zhong was astounded, thinking, was it a high-pressure shock from a high-explosive shell that knocked them out? The next moment, he didnt need to ponder that anymore because tank number 187, which hade in from the northern road, hit Lubokovs tank with an armor-piercing shell. The T28, already lightly armored with arge silhouette, now exposed its broadside and exploded into a towering fireball. The explosion happened right beside the distillery Wang Zhong had chosen as hismand post, shattering the windows around him. It was over, he could no longer count on it. Lets see the other tanks; there were two more set up in ambush positions But then Wang Zhong saw another tank heroically charge out of its ambush position. It fired a shot, but as it didnt stop to shoot, the shot flew wide, and then the tank, while firing its machine gun, rammed into enemy tank number 187. What the hell? No matter, there was one more tank in ambush. After the infantry used Molotov cocktails to wear down the enemy tank, the final blow from this tank would surely turn the tide! Then, thest tank in ambush also broke cover, with the tankmander poking his head out and manually operating the anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the tank. While firing, he shouted, The captain has nobly met his end! Lets fight to thest moment like true Cossacks! Turns out this tank had seen what happened to Lubokov. The enemy tank number 186, upon seeing this, immediately fired an armor-piercing shell. Despite the short 75mm gun being primarily for anti-infantry use, with lower chamber pressure and initial velocity of the shells, it was still a 75mm caliber! One shot created a hole on the front twin machine gun turretsrge enough for Wang Zhong to see from the air, followed by the tank catching fire and graduallying to a stop. Wang Zhong couldnt help but facepalm. What was that all about? Let the infantry deal with those tanks entering the city! While thinking this, enemy tank number 186 began to advance, but the machine gun hidden in the basement opened fire, mowing down a swath of infantry following the tank. Taking advantage of this opening, two infantrymen on the second floor by the road popped their heads out and lobbed Molotov cocktails at the tank. The first Molotov cocktail precisely hit the tanks rear radiator grille, immediately engulfing it in mes. The second hit the turret. Wang Zhong guessed that some of the fuel might have seeped through themanders observation hatch into the turret. The next moment, the hatch cover was jacked open by two-meter-high mes. The loader opened the side hatch, attempting to exit from the side of the turret, only to run into the barrel of the machine gun. Thats more like it! Well done, third Amur Group! Chapter 32: 30 The Star of Victory Will Shine Upon Us Chapter 32: Chapter 30 The Star of Victory Will Shine Upon Us
` But Wang Zhong soon lost his cheer. He found that, like the German Army, which organized troops around machine guns, the Prussian Army had a feature of the mid-German forces: they were broadly equipped with rifle grenades. In real history, the German Army didnt start equipping rifle grenades inrge quantities until the middle andter parts of 1942. At the start of Operation Barbarossa, German squads generally only had hand grenades. The Prussian Army, likelyprised of veterans, used rifle grenades with masterful skill. As soon as machine gun positions were discovered, they were quickly bombarded with rifle grenades. Although Wang Zhong didnt think these rifle grenades could effectively kill the machine gun crew since the guns were inside buildings and were positioned cunningly, getting hit by rifle grenades would inevitably lead to relocation and that would create gaps in firepower.
Of course, the enemy didnt have an overhead view like Wang Zhong, and figuring out the machine gun positions was a challenge. However, they solved this problem withbat experience and sheer numbers. Moreover, the enemy was clearly very familiar with this kind of urban meat grinderbat thatbined infantry and tanks. The infantry led the way for the tanks, clearing each room with grenades, while tanks sent machine gun spots flying, one after another. After fighting for half a day and losing six tanks and over a hundred men to injuries or death, the Amur Group had also lost three heavy machine guns and the lives of dozens of grenadiers. Although only seven or eight buildings on the western side of the vige had been taken by the Prussian forces, Wang Zhong, with his oversight, could already tell that the fall of Peniye was just a matter of time if things continued this way. The only constion was that the Amur Groups morale was high. Despite facing massive losses, they continued to bravely contest the enemy for control of every house. Wang Zhong knew that to change the course of the battle, he must eliminate all of the enemys tanks. Without the tanks, those half-tracked vehicles that freely leveraged machine gun firepower apanying the infantry wouldnt pose a threat. But now, four enemy tanks had secured the two main roads on the western side of the vige, and the firepower points along the roads didnt dare to shoot, as any attempt would invite return fire from the tank guns. The enemy was advancing along the main roads, rapidly approaching the town center with the church and the mechanics mill. Wang Zhong noticed that in Boye Manor, the three-story estate to the north of the church, thest heavy machine gun that hadnt fired was on alert. He surmised that the moment the enemy infantry stepped into the open space in front of the church, they would likely be heavily wounded. Plus, the heavy machine gun position Yegorov chose was very cunning. For the enemy tanks to hit it, they had to enter the open space right in front of the church. The problem, however, was that Yegorov no longer had any anti-tank firepower. The Divine Arrow team led by Monk Yeca Neiko, after their line of sight had been blocked, intended to retreat to the manor. Still, they moved toote and failed to cross therge road on the northwest side of the vige in time, now trapped in a two-story building beside the road.
Unfortunately, this building only had windows on the north and south sides, leaving Yeca Neikos squad without a good line of sight on the enemy tanks on the street. The enemy infantry had already advanced to about fifty meters away from them. They couldnt rely on the Divine Arrows and had to depend on Molotov cocktails. However, the enemy advanced too swiftly; only the initial batch of Molotov cocktails made it to the grenadiers on the second floor on the viges western side. The bulk of the Molotov cocktails producedter were now piled up in the distillery, with no option but to be transported forward by hand, bit by bit. Whether they could be delivered on time or prove effective was still uncertain. The enemy now knew their tactics here. The infantry wouldnt allow tanks to proceed without securing the buildings on both sides of the street. They must find a way to destroy the enemys remaining four tanks. Wang Zhongs gaze turned towards thest T28 tank parked in the distillery. But this vulnerable behemoth would likely be blown up the moment it appeared before the enemy! Wang Zhong brooded over the battlefield from his vantage point. At that moment, he was burning with fever, feeling light-headed, as if he could ascend to heaven at any moment. Maybe its best to give up?
He had fought well enough, and now, being so gravely ill, no one would me him if he passed out. Close my eyes, and even if theres a flood, it has nothing to do with me isnt this the perfect attitude for a defeatist? Perhaps because of this thought, Wang Zhongs consciousness grew blurrier. In his haziness, he saw in a house at the west end of the vige, two Prosen soldiers discovering locals hiding in a cer. Wang Zhong recognized these locals; they were the same family who had refused his advice when he first entered the vige. He remembered their neighbor, thendy, mentioning the olddy with her grandson, named Ilynichna. Ilynichna was clinging tightly to her grandson, shielding him with her aged body. Her son and daughter-inw were also there, huddled together, trembling. Prosen soldiers scrutinized Ilynichnas son, interrogating him in Prosen but the olddy could only shake her head repeatedly, saying, We dont know, were justmon folk. Suddenly, one of the Prosen soldiers yelled and stabbed Ilynichnas son to death with a bay, then shouted in Antenguage, Deserter! Another Prosenughed, Coward! Ilynichnas daughter-inw sat there stupefied, agape, as the olddy pleaded desperately. At that moment, a sergeant entered the cer, nced down, and started cursing vehemently, all while lifting his submachine gun and firing into Ilynichnas family. The daughter-inw was gunned down instantly, and although the olddy tried to protect her grandson, she too fell after being hit by several shots.
Chapter 33: 30 The Star of Victory Will Shine Upon Us_2 Chapter 33: Chapter 30 The Star of Victory Will Shine Upon Us_2
Thest child standing seemed incapable of grasping the concept of death. He nkly stared at his fallen family members, then at the still-smoking barrel of Prosens sergeants submachine gun. The sergeant went up to the boy and kicked him over with one foot, then with another foot, snapped his delicate neck. Wang Zhong was shocked by this bloody scene and snapped back to rity. The vige wasnt even upied yet, and these beasts had begun to massacre! What they intended to do after taking over the vige was unimaginable! No! Wang Zhong forcibly shook his head, trying hard to stay alert. Because he knew that if there was any chance to turn the tables now, it could only be his own cheat.
He had to make full use of the cheat to destroy the enemys remaining four tanks. He looked over at thest tank in the distillery, the tactical number 422 T28 multi-turret tank. This thinly-armored behemoth couldnt possibly withstand the enemy head-on. He needed to find a way to get to their side, or even behind them! He had to utilize the Golden Finger of the overhead view! Wang Zhong pulled his view to the farthest, overlooking the entire battlefield. He noticed something: the smoke from the enemys mortar fire hadnt dispersed yet, so the tanks behind the enemy couldnt see the situation in the vige. In other words, if he left the vige now and took a wide detour outside the vige, the enemys following tanks wouldnt be able to see it. Give such an order to the 422 crew? Considering the recent performance of the tank troops, the training andbat experience of the Ante Armys armored forces were questionable The rank-and-file soldiers were indeed courageous, but that was all they had. Most importantly, they didnt have the overhead view and had no idea of the enemys position! To use thisst tank to wipe out the enemys four tanks, there was only one way: I have to personallymand this tank!
The moment this thought arose, Wang Zhong switched back to the normal view. His heart was pounding fiercely for the first time, making Wang Zhong truly understand what it meant to feel ones heart nearly bursting out of the chest. The flood of adrenaline that was secreted made him, who had been weak and listless, spring to his feet. Sofya standing next to him with a handkerchief was stunned. As soon as Wang Zhong saw her, he grabbed her shoulders and stared at her intensely. Uh Ill wipe the sweat for you, after all, Im just a Hymn Monk, all I can do is Wang Zhong, As long as I am alive, you wont be captured! Absolutely not! Indeed, if he gave up, not only would his soldiers die in battle and the civilians in the vige be ughtered, but these lovely girls would also face the enemys abuse! How could he give up? Wang Zhongs feverish brain now had only one thought: Screw those Prosen bastards and to hell with them! Sofya was still confused, Uh, you might be mistaking me for someone else I am not Miss Ludm Wang Zhong left her behind, striding out with purpose. At this moment, his head was as heavy as a balloon-headed doll, but he still walked with brisk steps fueled by the adrenaline rush.
Rushing out of the main workshop of the distillery, Wang Zhong immediately spotted the 422 vehicle. Parked safely within the walls of the distillery, not even a single bullet had gone past it, but the tanks turret hatch was shut tight. Wang Zhong felt an upsurge of anger. He seemed to forget he was running a high fever, stormed up to the tank, and banged on the hatch: Open the hatch! You bastard, Ill throw a Molotov cocktail if you dont open up! Themander of the 422, a corporal with whom Wang Zhong had a brief acquaintance, opened the hatch and popped his head out: Dont throw! Wang Zhong, Everyone else is fighting in blood, and youre acting like a coward here as a reserve! I I Wang Zhong pulled off his headset and microphone in one go: Get out! Eh? Wang Zhong, I said get out! The corporal hesitated for a moment, Will I be shot? Deserters are to be executed! Wang Zhong, Youll be shot if you dont get out, now get out! The corporal mbered out shakily but still stood by the turret, unwilling to leave: Im not deserting, it was you, Count, who ordered me out
Wang Zhong kicked him off and climbed into the turret himself, putting on the headset. The corporal lying on the ground called out, Heres your tank helmet Wang Zhong couldnt be bothered with him. His brain simply didnt have the capacity to consider too much right now, like how being inside the turret increased the chances of survival, or how without a tank helmet, one would be bruised from knocking against the turret. He hadnt thought about any of these things. All that he was focused on now wasmanding the tank, pulling off a beautiful nking action to break the enemys assault. After putting on the headset, he realized he could hardly hear anything because of the ringing in his ears. It was said that early Soviet tank equipment was quite backward, forcing themander to use a wrench to knock signals for orders. He could only hope that this tank was somewhat more advanced. Wang Zhong mmed the headset a few times, then his head. The ringing in his ears got even worse. After all, he had a high fever and a rush of adrenaline. A little ringing was the least of his issues. Wang Zhong didnt care anymore and shouted, Rather than this ringing, give me some battle music! Perhaps it was psychological, but the ringing in his ears seemed to take on the rhythms of music. However, Wang Zhong was too dazed to discern the song. He didnt care and gave the order directly: Move forward! Head out the gate!
The wreckage of Captain Lubokovs vehicle provided some cover just outside the gate. Wang Zhongsmand was executed. The engine of the tank roared, slowly starting to move forward. The soldiers at the gate hurriedly opened it. Chapter 34: 30 The Star of Victory Will Shine Upon Us_3 Chapter 34: Chapter 30 The Star of Victory Will Shine Upon Us_3
The tank rolled out halfway when Wang Zhong issued his secondmand, Turn left. Turning left meant going east, which looked like fleeing. Actually, Wang Zhong was making a nking maneuver. The driver didnt raise any objections, or perhaps he did, but Wang Zhong couldnt hear him. He had tinnitusno, thats not right, it wasnt tinnitus anymore, it was indistinguishable music. In fact, he couldnt hear anything now: the sounds of gunfire, the roar of engines, the screams of soldiers dying, and so on were all drowned out by the ringing (music) in his ears.
Su Fang stood at the doorway, watching Count Rocossov speed away in a tank. Someone eximed, The Count is fleeing in a tank! Su Fang shouted loudly, No! He has not run! He said that as long as he lives, he would never let me let us be captured! By shaking our morale like this, I should have you shot! The shouter immediately fell silent. Su Fang then looked out the gate again, where by now, nothing was left but the tracks of the tank. Count Rocossov, can I truly trust you? Wang Zhong: Turn right! He couldnt hear a response and could only pat the top of the turret forcefully: Turn right, ah ah! The tanks right track mmed to a halt, swinging the vehicle around in a tailspin toplete the right turn. Wang Zhong was shaken so severely he felt his brain might burst out.
At this point, he was still in themanders view mode, vomiting uncontrobly. But that didnt stop him from giving orders: Follow the stone wall, main gun pointed straight ahead, load the high-explosive shell! The order was perfectly executed, and by that time, the tank had just passed the southernmost wooden hut in the vigeprobably an outhouseand the view suddenly opened up. A Prosen half-track vehicle was parked at the edge of the wheat field. Wang Zhong: Emergency stop! Emergency stop! The tank braked hard, and thanks to the T28 being a rather long tank, the jolt was minor during the emergency stop; otherwise, Wang Zhong would have likely been thrown out. The Prussians near the half-track were shocked. The machine-gunner on the vehicle, who was firing at the vige, hurriedly turned the gun barrel upon seeing the tank. Target the half-track vehicle, fire! The smoke from the gun muzzle obscured Wang Zhongs vision, although it was just a small 45mm gun, the firing action was still quite intense. The front half of the half-track was blown up into the air, and the surrounding Prosen soldiers immediately fell like bowling pins. The machine guns in the two small turrets at the front of the T28 rattled off, and in an instant, there were no longer any standing figures left. Wang Zhong, by this time, felt a bit weak in the legs and simply sat on the edge of the hatch, leaning to the side and propping himself up with the hatch cover: Continue forward!
At this moment, Wang Zhong finally rified the persistent music in his earsit turned out that he was hallucinating from a fever, mistaking his physiological tinnitus for music. He clearly heard a voice singing beside him: Listen, the horn of battle sounds the rm/dress in uniform and grab your weapons/the youth brigade assembles/to march and unite as one to defend the country! Wang Zhong nodded to the rhythm of the song, without forgetting to give orders, Rotate the hull thirty degrees to the right, turret turn 90 degrees, load the armor-piercing shell! As the tank turned, the machine guns on the forward turrets fired tracer rounds non-stop like Deaths scythe reaping everything Prosen. Wang Zhong even had a moment to pay attention to the distance, making sure the smokepletely blocked the enemy tanks behind. Vehicle 422 charged all the way, eventually encircling the southwestern entrance of the vige. Right turn,e to an abrupt stop when you hit the main road! Wang Zhongs order was executed with precision. After a brief shaking, Wang Zhong confirmed with his naked eye the backs of two enemy tanks. Target the left tank, fire! The shockwave from the cannons firing kicked up all the dust on the ground around them.
A hole immediately appeared on the back of the target, but from the naked-eye perspective, it was impossible to tell if the tank had been destroyed. But from Wang Zhongs overhead view, it was clear that all three crew members inside the target turret were done for. Wang Zhong, Load the armor-piercing shell! Switch targets, aim at the right tank! As the turret turned, it so happened that Wang Zhongs earpiece was ying the chorus part of a song, so he hummed along, Lets say goodbye dear mother, please kiss your son goodbye~ At that moment, the enemy infantry noticed the tank behind them, and a brave sergeant charged at the tank, knocking on the hatch with his hand. The coaxial machine gun opened fire, turning the sergeant into a sieve, but the tracer rounds also exposed the direction of the iing machine gun fire, the enemys tank began turning its turret! Wang Zhong yelled, Fire! He didnt know if the loading wasplete, he couldnt hear. However, the moment he yelled, the cannon responded to him. The armor-piercing shell hit the target, the rotating turret immediately stopped, and the next moment, the enemy tank operators crawled out of the tank. The coaxial machine gun ungraciously imed their souls. At this time, Wang Zhong, through the overhead view, noticed that two tanks on another street suddenly stopped attacking the defending infantry.
One started to turn around on the spot while the other seemed to n cutting through a side alley. It must have been the radiothe second destroyed tank had informed its teammates via radio that they were being nked. Wang Zhongughed, fighting street battles with someone whos good at navigating maps? He immediately gave the order for the tank to enter the alley next to them. As they moved, he continued to hum along to the song in his ear: Goodbye, mother, dont be sad, bless us with a safe journey~ As he sang the chorus for the second time, Wang Zhong directed the tank to the side of the enemys number 188 vehicle, and with amand of Fire! the enemy vehicles ammo detonated, and its turret flew high into the air. Only one left! That one had looped back to the northwest vige entrance, attempting to encircle Wang Zhong. Wang Zhongs response was straightforwarddirect the tank onto the main street, turn the barrel southwest, and wait for it to appear. While waiting, the tanks machine gun harvested Prosen soldiers on the street. Wang Zhong was only concerned with humming:
Goodbye, dear hometown, the star of victory will shine upon us~ Thest tank appeared, and without waiting for Wang Zhongsmand, the gunner stepped on the firing pedal, and the armor-piercing shell hit the center of the tanks body. The target almost instantly burst into mes, with the Prosen tank operators emerging from the hatch engulfed in fire, frantically rolling on the ground to extinguish it. Wang Zhong personally took up the machine gun on top of the tank turret, spraying the enemy tank operators, singing as he fired, Goodbye, mother, dont be sad, bless us with a safe journey! Ura! A deafening Ura! echoed from every street corner as the infantry of the Amur Group poured out like a tidal wave, attacking the enemy who had lost their tank cover. Proudly, Wang Zhong dered, Weve won!!! Then, as if he had used up thest bit of life in him, he passed out. Chapter 35: 31: First Taste of Victory Chapter 35: Chapter 31: First Taste of Victory
Yegorov, like everyone else, rushed out from the hiding shelter. Yegorov was never absent from a charge. The enemy had already suffered heavy losses in the towns meat grinderbat, and with all their armored strength wiped out in a short time by a sneak attack from Tank 422, even the battle-hardened Prussian veterans morale copsed instantly. On the contrary, the morale of every soldier in the Amur Group went through the roof as they witnessed Tank 422s remarkable feat to different extents. This was evident from the deafening cheers of Hurrah. Yegorov loved personally leading a charge in such situations.
The enemy was quickly driven out of the vige. Aside from a few veterans who hadnt had their fill of killing and were pulling the bolt at the edge of town for target practice, the rest of the soldiers all gathered around Tank 422, shouting Hurrah! around the tank. The roaring Hurrah, as if His Majesty the Emperor himself had arrived at the front lines. Yegorov had to use his burly physique to push through several overly excited soldiers and spent a few minutes squeezing past them to reach the side of the tank. It was then that he clearly saw that it was Count Rocossov sitting on the tank. The count looked in a very bad state, his face was ashen, and he was sweating profusely. The soldiers hadnt noticed the counts abnormality at all, which was not their fault; since the war began, they had been in constant retreat, and they had not won a battle in a long timeeven such an insignificant local victory. While everyone was celebrating the victory with great excitement, suddenly, the count swayed and fell off the tank but was immediately held up by countless hands. The soldiers shouted excitedly, throwing the count up into the airthey actually thought the count was celebrating! Yegorov shouted at the top of his lungs, Cut it out! Youll shake the count to death! He has a high fever! Cut it out! At this time, inside Tank 422, the tank operators were not as excited as the infantry outside. Its not that they werent happy about the victory; it was just that they had literally danced with death and hadnt recovered yet.
The count was feverish with ringing ears and couldnt hear. In fact, there had been all sorts of wails and howls inside the tank, and none of these tank operators had any actualbat experience. They really couldnt bear the kind of life-risking and blood-licking tactics just now, and could only relieve their fear by shouting. Now, the battle was over, and like exhausted screamers, everyone slumped in their seats. Finally, the driver reacted first, letting out a feeble howl, Oh oh oh oh! Were alive! Hurrah! The loader and the gunner looked at each other and shouted together, Hurrah! They had just started shouting when the count fell out of the tank. The closest gunner reached out to catch him but missed. Its over! The counts been smashed! Our star of victory! A bunch of them scrambled, opening the hatch and climbing out of the tank, only to see the soldiers tossing the count almost as high as the second floor. Yegorov picked up a submachine gun and swept a barrage into the sky; the festive crowd finally quieted down. Yegorov said, The count has a high fever! Do you want to kill him? Get a stretcher, take him to the hospital!
The field hospital was originally supposed to withdraw in the vigers horse carts, but the enemy arrived too quickly, and they had time to set out. The soldiers, awakened as if from a dream, hurriedly ced the count on the stretcher, brought in haste, and then followed to the hospital with the stretcher-bearers. Yegorov climbed on the tank and cursed, Where are you going? The enemy has only been driven back, not defeated! Quick, clear the battlefield, collect the enemys weapons, especially the machine guns and submachine guns! Go check the tanks that havent caught fire to see if their machine guns can be dismantled! And the ammunition, gather as much as possible! Only then did the soldiers disperse. Yegorov turned his head and looked at the tank operators with a doleful expression. The gunner asked, What should we do? Yegorov said, Why was the Countmanding you? The gunner replied, Our tankmander was very scared. He locked the hatch and cowered in the turret shaking when we were in the distillery yard. Then the Count came over and knocked on the turret hatch, saying With a gun knocking on the turret hatch, the loader corrected. The gunner continued, Right, came over with a gun to knock on the turret hatch, and said You spineless coward, get out here. The driver confidently said, No, he said You whimpering woman, get out here, or Ill st you.
The gunner questioned, Is that so? Yes, that fierce, the driver nodded, then looked to the mechanic, Dont believe me, ask him. The mechanic also nodded, Indeed, that fierce. The gunner went on, Anyway, we were directlymanded by the Count. The Count had us drive straight out of the vige; he had it all figured out, which round to load for each shot, crystal clear. Yes, crystal clear. The gunner continued, We had just left the vige when we saw an enemy half-track, possibly an ambnce, and we sent the vehicle and the Prussian wounded sky-high with one shot! The mechanic chimed in, The Count was even singing, saying goodbye to the enemys mother! No, no, no, the driver shook his head, Youve got to consider the context, you uneducated guy, didnt you go to night school? The Count was saying farewell to his own mother, as he was about to go into battle. Yegorov was utterly confused, The Count calling for his mother? Singing? What the heck? Then several tank operators responded in unison, He was singing! And it was a song we hadnt heard before! The gunner added, The lyrics were not only about saying goodbye to his mother but also to his hometown, saying the star of victory would shine upon us! The others firmly agreed:
Right, the star of victory, I heard it very clearly. It went something like this, let me find the tune, do-re-mi-fa-so Got it, Farewell, my dear hometown~ the star of victory will shine upon us~ After the driver sang, everyone else immediately nodded in agreement that it was indeed the song. Yegorov frowned, looking at the group of tank operators. At that moment, Monk Yeca Neiko came over, Colonel Yegorov, we need a new firing position. I think that the peripheral positions wont be usable when the enemy attacks again. Just as Yegorov was about to reply, he saw Ludm from Yeca Neikos Divine Arrow squad looking around uncertainly. The Count has fainted, hes been taken to the hospital, Yegorov informed her. Ludm was startled, Eh? II wasnt looking for him! Umm, I actually was looking for him. Monk, could I Yeca Neiko said, Go ahead, but make sure youre back before the enemy attacks again. Ludm immediately turned and ran toward the hospital. After she left, Yeca Neiko continued the previous topic, I need a newunch position. We still have three Divine Arrows; with a good setup, we can take out three tanks. He paused, then gave a self-deprecating smile, Damn, thats still not as many as the Count alone took out.
The gunner from Tank 422 spoke up loudly, We were a part of it too, your Holiness! Yeca Neiko quickly corrected himself, Right, it was your crew under the Countsmand that took out more. Yegorov then said, Ill ask the group logistics to see if they can find some paint, so we can mark your kill rings. Kill rings are circr symbols painted on the barrel of the tank gun; one ring represents the destruction of one enemy tank. The crew looked at each other and smiled. It was then that Yegorov asked, How are the other crews doing? The expressions on their faces froze. Only then did they emerge from their joy of victory, realizing that many of theirrades, with whom theyd spent days and nights, had perished in the recent battle. Chapter 36: 32 Major Shrifen’s Decision Chapter 36: Chapter 32 Major Shrifens Decision
Major Shrifen frowned, watching the defeated soldiers retreating from the white smoke that hadnt entirely dispersed yet, his brows twisted like hemp ropes. The Prosen Armys tanks were all equipped with radios, so he had just listened to the entire radiomunication of thest four tank crews. The enemy is behind us! Behind us! Were surrounding it! Its gone! Tank 187! Tank 187, do you copy?
All units be advised, we are the only ones left! And then there was no more information. Obviously, all the Panzer IV tanks apanying the attack had been taken out. It sounded like an enemy tank had circled around tounch a surprise attack? Did the enemy also have such experienced tank operators? At this moment, over the radio, Shrifens top ace Hoffman said, Major, letsunch another attack! I want to take on the enemys ace! No, Shrifen coldly refused, The Panzer III is not suited for supporting infantrybat, its 50mm high-explosive shells are too weak, not very effective against the brick and stone structures of the vige. But Do you want to be hit by the enemys Molotov cocktails? The attacking Armored Second toon had already reported heavy use of Molotov cocktails by the enemy; every building with more than two floors in the vige was dangerous for the tanks. No, if the apanying infantry were cut off by enemy fire, any building would pose a danger to the tanks. The Shrifen Combat Group was originally assigned two Panzer IV tank toons, but had lost half of them during several days of offensive operationsmost due to mechanical failures that led to their temporary abandonment. The double-row suspensions that the Empires military department took pride in had a multitude of issues during the Carolingian campaign, and the terrible road conditions of the Ante Empire only magnified the defects of the double-row suspensions.
Just now, the Shrifen Combat Group had lost all of its Panzer IV tanks, leaving only the Panzer III tanks, which were designed to counter enemy tanks. Besides that, the casualties among the infantry and half-track vehicles were also worrying. The Shrifen Combat Groups objective was to quickly pass through regions with no or light enemy defenses and disrupt their deployment. However, Major Shrifen was not nning on abandoning the offensive. He turned his head towards the artillery staff officer, How many high-explosive shells do we have left for the onboard mortars? Ten rounds per gun, Your Excellency, the staff officer replied with utmost respect. Shrifen curled his lips, And the smoke bombs? Only two rounds left for each mortar. After pondering for a few seconds, Shrifen asked, How soon can the 351st Armored Grenadier Corps behind us arrive? The chief of staff shrugged, Depends on the traffic jam. If its not too bad, theyll be up by the afternoon. In fact, the troops that passed through at midnight, many thought they were the 351st Armored Grenadier Corps. The 351st Armored Grenadier Corps was also a reinforcement for the Shrifen Combat Group, but Shrifen had left them behind for the sake of a speedier assault because of their slightly slower motorization. The 351st Corps was equipped with the Model 18, 75mm infantry guns, whose high-explosive shells could effectivelypensate for theck of infantry tanks. Also, these were howitzers capable of indirect fire, which could be used to cover the area with fire ahead of time, destroying the enemys manpower and defenses. Additionally, the 351st Corps hadbat engineers, whose methrowers and demolition charges would give the enemy a tough time.
After brief contemtion, Shrifen made his decision, Rally the routed troops, understand the situation inside, including the enemys defensive arrangements and firepower. Conscript volunteers from the defeated troops to act as the vanguard in the next offensive. Over the radio, Hoffman asked with a tone of regret, Are we not attacking anymore? Of course we will continue the attack, but well wait until were more confident. At least until the supply truckse up and resupply the mortars with ammunition, Shrifen replied. Finishing his statement, Shrifen cated Hoffman, Dont rush, the enemys ace will surely be handed over to you to deal with. Having finished, he shut off the radios transmission capability and muttered, Damn it, Peniye isnt even an important vige. Why is there such determined resistance? The Chief of Staff said, Maybe its a nobles hometown, so theyre covering the movement of their assets? Inferior races erupt withbat power, isnt that just the case? Shrifen snorted, However, I have to admit, the enemysmander is doing a good job, he must have learned a thing or two from interacting with our forces. Before the Prosen Empire tore up the non-aggression pact, there was quite a bit of interaction between the nobles of both countries, including on a military level. After the Ante Empires defeat in the winter war, they even sent some military interns to Prosen to learn. Maybe the onemanding the defense of Peniye is one of those interns. Shrifen thought with full confidence. When Ludm ran to the entrance of the hospital, she bumped into Hymn Monk Sufang Batu Wendusu.
Both stopped in their tracks and looked at each other. Sufang said, Uh, are you here to see him? You too? I Ive received new hymns, so I came to report to the suprememander. Ludm said, Oh. Then lets go in together. Do you know which bed hes in? Hes amander, must be in the best bed, right? Saying this, Sufang took the lead into the hospital, only to be greeted by the strong smell of blood, causing her to frown deeply. At a bed near the door, an amputation surgery was underway. The bald doctor yelled, Hold on! Theres no anesthesia left! Clench your teeth! Otherwise, you may bite off your tongue! Then came a muffled scream, what with the persons teeth clenched, it sounded as if it wereing through ayer of cloth. Sufang nced at the bucket next to the operating table, which was filled with severed hands and feet. She covered her mouth, struggling not to throw up. At that moment, a burly nurse appeared before Sufang, What are you twodies here for? You dont look like you need bandages with your limbs intact.
Having seen death on the front line, Ludm was much calmer than Sufang and replied loudly, Were looking for Count Rocossov! Over there! The nurse pointed to a door on the side. Sufang ran as if escaping, only to see another nurse inside the door, gathering blood-soaked gauze that had lost all its original color and looked as if it had been mixed in mudthe mud, however, was red. Without lifting her head, the nurse said, The Count is inside. Sufang nodded and dashed through the inner door. Count Rocossov (that is, Wang Zhong)y in a bed by the window, with the field hospitals director standing beside him. Ludm rushed to ask, How is he? The director replied, Stressbined with a fever caused him to sweat too much, leading to severe dehydration and shock. Were rehydrating him with IV fluids and have used some antipyretics, hes not in any great danger. Both girls let out a sigh of relief, then exchanged a nce. Suddenly remembering her mission, Sufang hastily asked, When will he wake up? Ive got thetest broadcast from the Argesukov choir. The director answered, His injuries are not serious, but with a high fever, how long he remains unconscious depends on the person. I cant tell you. Is it very important news? Sufang spread her hands, This Its just a broadcast of exemry battles, telling everyone that the enemy is not invincible
We already know that, Ludm interrupted Sufang, went to the Counts bedside, and gently stroked his hair, He has already shown us in practice. Chapter 37: 33 “Until One Day Chapter 37: Chapter 33 Until One Day
Wang Zhong was actually dreaming at this time. He dreamed he had returned to the real world, holding New Years goods and just entering the neighborhood where he grew up. As a result, all the neighbors in themunity were a blur of blood and flesh. He dreamed that he had reached the bottom of his own building, and Neighbor Zhao, who was ying chess, had only half his head left. Yet, Wang Zhong wasnt frightened by these bloody figures; it was as if everything was normal, an ordinary daily sight. He went upstairs, arrived at his own door, and saw his parents pasting the fu character upside down.
His father was standing on a stool, his left eye a gaping hole, the eyeball dangling out, connected only by a single nerve to the socket. His mother had a terrifying wound on the top of her head, where her brain could be seen. Wang Zhong seemed to finally sense something wrong and asked, Dad, Mom, how did you end up like this? The two old people looked at Wang Zhong as if he had asked a foolish question. Were dead, killed by the invaders, his father said. And youre talking about us, his mother teased, At least were still whole. Youve only got your head left when you came back! Wang Zhong looked down and, indeed, found he had no body; in the next moment, the New Years goods he should have been holding spilled all over the ce. Then he woke up. When he first opened his eyes, the bright light blinded him, and it took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light before everything in front of him came into clear view. He sat up suddenly, confirming his body: thankfully, it was all there. At that moment, a girls voice entered his ears: Youre awake! Wang Zhongs brain was still short-circuiting, wondering why there was a girls voice.
Following the voice, he saw a pretty girl with silver-white hair sitting by the bed, looking at him with concern. Behind the girl was another girl, with braided hair, quiet and demure looking. Wang Zhong stared at the two girls for a few seconds before he remembered that he had transmigrated, and the country he was in was resisting the invasion of the Prosen Empire. Then in his mind shed the scene of Prosen soldiers ughtering the olddy Ilynichnas family in the basement. At this time, Wang Zhongs brain was still feverish, and he could only vaguely remember that after seeing this scene, he himself, in a fit of rage, had personally driven a tank to repel the enemys offensive. At this point, the docile girl with braids handed him a water bottle: You need to drink water, Count. Just now, you fainted because of dehydration. Wang Zhong took the water bottle and gulped down all the water, then pushed the empty bottle back into the girls hands. After that, he stood up. Wait a moment, youre still feverish! the silver-haired girl tried to stop Wang Zhong, reaching out to hold his shoulders. But Wang Zhong said, I have things to do, Ludm! It was then that Wang Zhong suddenly remembered her name was Ludm, and the other girls long name started with Sofiya. Having fully recalled the events, he switched to an overhead view to confirm the enemys movements.
The enemies had all retreated to the reverse slope of the western hill, and Wang Zhong could barely make out some of the enemy through the overhead view they seemed to be the same group who had attacked in the morning. Themander was still that cyclops. If the enemys strength had not increased, then even an assault shouldnt be too worrisome. Wang Zhong knew that the remaining tanks of the enemy were designed for anti-tankbat, unsuitable for supporting infantry in an assaulttheir cannons had a small caliber and low charge, relying on high velocity to prate tank armor. After confirming this, Wang Zhong switched back to his original viewpoint. His recent fainting was probably also rted to the racing in the overhead view, which he had done too long and too intensely, leading to motion sickness. Wang Zhong stood up. Ludm hesitated, missing the chance to stop him. Though his steps were unsteady, Wang Zhong still strode out of the room where he had been lying. As soon as he left the room, the smell of blood nearly made him faint on the spot. He saw mountains of gauze, all soaked with blood, colored a dark purple. A few young nurses were working hard to deal with the gauze while crying.
Seeing Wang Zhong, they quickly stood up, trying to adjust their uniforms. Wang Zhong nodded, Carry on with your work. Having said that, he steadied his shaky steps and walked past the mountain of gauze into the next door. The smell of blood was even stronger here, mixed with an indescribable stench. The wounded soldier lying by the door tried to sit up and salute as soon as he saw Wang Zhong enter, but he struggled in vain as he couldnt risehis left arm was missing beyond the forearm, wrapped in a bandage soaked with blood, and he simply couldnt support his upper body. Wang Zhong stepped forward and pressed down on the soldiers shoulder, Just lie down and rest. As soon as he spoke, all eyes turned toward him. As a result, all the lightly wounded soldiers stood up, and the more severely wounded soldiers also exerted themselves to sit up. Every single person strained to lift their chin, noses pointed to the sky. The wounded soldiers whose right hands could still move saluted Wang Zhong in unison. Wang Zhong paused for a moment, then raised his hand in return, You have allpleted your mission. Recover well. Where is Yegorov? Why hasnt he organized carts from the locals to evacuate you? Weve been sent. A person dressed as a doctor told Wang Zhong, Every cart in the vige has been hired. These are the lightly wounded, waiting for the carts to return and take a second trip. But with the current situation, its questionable how many carts wille back.
Wang Zhong, No matter how manye back, evacuate as many as possible. Having said this, he stepped forward again and walked through the ward. In the courtyard outside, many corpses wereid out, all ssified as having no value for rescue after being brought to the field hospitalpoor souls. Witnessing this scene, Wang Zhong wanted to remove his hat in respect, but when he raised his hand to his forehead, he realized he wasnt wearing a hat. As he turned around, he saw Ludm holding his hat and following behind him. Thank you. Wang Zhong took his hat, nning to hold it over his heart in a moment of silence, but that would take too much time. So he instead chose the soldiers way, putting on his hat and saluting all the bodies lying on the ground. Afterward, he passed through the yard and went out the door onto the streets of Peniye. There was a street barricade on the road, made of furniture and sandbagsWang Zhong was certain this hadnt been there in the morning during the defense battle. He must have been unconscious for quite a while, long enough for Yegorov tomand the construction of temporary fortifications with sandbags. Two individuals chatting behind the street barricade sprang to attention as soon as they saw Wang Zhong. Someone shouted, The Count is awake! In the next instant, the young soldiers of the third reserve Amur Group scattered in various buildings all ran out. A toon leader berated loudly, What is this, a zoo? Form ranks, eyes rightdress!
His toon instantly formed up in front of the houses, on the strewn debris of the street. Seeing this toon organize, the other toon leaders snapped to attention, and shortly after, the Ante infantrymen who had been defending the street were all assembled and in formation. Wang Zhong hesitated for just a moment, losing the chance to stop them from forming ranks. Now, as he looked at the troops lined up along the street, he was the one feeling awkward. At that moment, Yegorov came running over, Count, why have the troops assembled? Wang Zhong thought to himself, I have no idea either, but faced with Yegorovs serious expression, and the even more stern face of Staff Chief Pavlov who apanied him, he could only say, I think we need to boost morale. Yegorov, I see. The soldiers have all been speaking of your bravery. Your speech will surely inspire them greatly. Wang Zhong was dumbfounded but had no choice but to go along with it. Fortunately, as a transmigrator, he had plenty of material he could crib from. Wang Zhong took a step intending to climb onto the truck parked by the roadside, but his weak legs from the fever made it impossible for him to get on. However, Yegorov, Ludm, and many others rushed over to assist him, hoisting him onto the bed of the truck. Wang Zhong stood in the truck bed and announced loudly, Soldiers! Comrades! We have defeated the Prosen Empire! Though this is but a small, insignificant victory, it proves one thing: if we each do our duty, without negligence, without errors, making the best arrangements, we will prove once again that we can defend our homnd, keeping it safe through the storm of war! We can defeat the seemingly invincible Prosen invaders! Even if it takes many years, even if we fight alone! I know that many historic, glorious kingdoms have already been trampled under the Prosen iron hoof, I am aware that many countries have fallen into their darkest hours, ravaged by the Prosen iron hoof. Even so, we must never lose heart! We will persist to the end and usher in victory! We shall fight them in our homnds fields! We shall fight them on the snowy ins! We shall fight them in the skies! We will never surrender! Until the day we drive thest Prosen out of our sacred homnd! Until the day we bring the mes of war to theirnd! Until the day we nt the g of victory upon the then Emperors pce! Hoorah! All responded in unison to Wang Zhong: Hoorah! The deafening roar of hoorah soared to the heavens. Chapter 38: 34: The Determination to Transcend Time and Space Chapter 38: Chapter 34: The Determination to Transcend Time and Space
Major Shrifen was inquiring about the location of the 351st Regiment behind the staff when a strange noise suddenly came from the upper Peniye vige. Because it was quite far away, the noise was very faint, but the major had good ears and still heard a lot of people shouting Ura in unison. The morale of the enemy is pretty high, he said. Themunication staff officer didnt catch on, What? Are you talking about the 351st Regiment? Im talking about the enemy, Major Shrifen looked in the direction of the upper Peniye vige. The chief of staff suggested, We could let the mortars fire a rapid barrage, with the infantry guns of the 351st Regiment in the back taking over the firepower from the mortars.
No, Shrifen waved his hand, The victor has the right to celebrate victory without being disturbed. In the end, they will be crushed by us anyway, so let them live in the illusion for now. Wang Zhongby the side of Count Rokossov. Sufang listened with tears in her eyes, incessantly tugging on the clothes of Ludm beside hermainly because Ludm was the only woman in sight, and she had no one elses clothes to pull on. Ludm, however, looked astonished; she didnt even care about her sleeve being violently tugged but gazed doubtfully at Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov sitting on the truck. Ludm couldnt help but mutter softly, Is this still the same Alyosha? Yegorov, the seasoned veteran, overheard her and said, Men transform on the battlefield, maybe for the better, or perhaps for worse. The count seems to have changed for the better. Ludm still frowned, But I studied with him at the Pushkin Public School in Saint Yekaterinburg, where he always got zero on his essays. And he liked to write some nonsensical rhymes and present them as poems to the Grand Dukes daughter. Yegorov said, Perhaps in his view, those were candid words inspired by emotions, just made particrly moving by the baptism of war fires. Ludm wanted to say more, but Rokossov got down from the truck. He was still running a fever, so his steps were unsteady; Ludm decisively stepped forward to help him. Moreover, the girl was prepared to be taken advantage of, even pushing out her chest. However, Rokossov merely said thank you and then proceeded along the street.
The soldiers continued to shout Ura at the Count. Yegorov clicked his tongue, During the civil war, even Marshal Mikhailovich never enjoyed such treatment! Ludm looked puzzledly at the somewhat unfamiliar back of her childhood friend. Wang Zhong waspletely unaware of the girls thoughts. Perhaps in another situation he would have taken a longer look at the girls face, or taken advantage of the physical contact just now. But right now, he wasnt in the mood for that. Right now, a woman would only affect the speed with which he drew his swordno, that phrase is too archaic, it should be said that it only affects the uracy of the machine gun fire. Of course, another big reason was that he still hadntpletely recovered from his fever. For someone like Wang Zhong who was already running a fever, antibiotics wouldnt work so quickly; aplete recovery from fever might not happen until tomorrow, or even the day after. But the current situation didnt allow him to lie in a sickbed and rest. The enemy was less than two kilometers away on the rear slope, and they could receive reinforcements at any time. Conversely, on his side, let alone reinforcements, even themunication with superiors had been cut off.
The Ante Army primarily relied on telegraph for long-distancemunication, but Ante Army radios were only assigned up to the level of the Infantry Division. Add to that the fact that themunications troops of His Grace the Duke had been wiped out by naval gunfire, and Wang Zhong now had not a single radioand even if he did, he wouldnt be able tomunicate, because there was no one who could decode the messages. In short, Wang Zhongs small unit waspletely cut off from the higher-ups. The higher-ups might still think that the 2nd Battalion of the 31st Regiment of the 4th Tank Army was guarding this ce. So in such a situation, how could Wang Zhong even think about resting? Of course, there was another option not to stand their ground here, to simply run away, considering the orders were given to the 2nd Battalion of the 31st Regiment of the 4th Tank Army, and had nothing to do with Wang Zhongs own troops. However, this option had already been ruled out by Wang Zhong. At this time, Wang Zhongs objective had seriously deviated from the initial one of saving his own life, but he had not yet realized this change. He was just single-mindedly thinking about how toplete the mission, how to beat the damned Prosen Army. As to why he shouldplete the mission or why he should beat the Prosen Army, he hadnt had time to think in detail. He even had only a vague concept of what he was supposed to do right now: he wanted to go see how Ilynichna, the olddy living at the westernmost end of the vige, and her family were doing. That was the superficial reason that prompted him to jump onto the tank and strike out alone.
Wang Zhong reached the crossroads between the distillery and the machinery mill. The wreckage of a T28 tank was parked beside the distillerys fence. A white horse stood next to the tank, gently rubbing its muzzle against the tank gun turret. Wang Zhong stopped, looking at the white horse. He remembered Captain Lubokov who liked to ride a white horse. This must be that white horse, considering the tank was indeed Lubokovs chariot. Wang Zhong turned his head and asked Yegorov, Wheres Captain Lubokov? Yegorov replied, Hes still inside the tank; we havent had the time to bury our fallenrades. Wang Zhong remembered Lubokovs performance in battle and said, He was brave, but unfortunatelycked enough experience. Actually, Wang Zhong also wanted to add, He didnt hear my orders clearly, but after giving it some thought, the idea that he could tell someone driving a tank whether the enemy had been destroyed from hismand post in the distillery was too strange upon close inspection. So he didnt say thetter part. To be honest, among the four tankmanders, Lubokov was the only one who could really be relied upon. The others were either reckless fools or spineless idiots.
Wang Zhong: If the enemy doesnt attack tonight, let the logistics department take Lubokovs body out and find a ce to bury him. Yes, Yegorov nodded. Wang Zhong looked at the white horse. He raised his uninjured left hand and made a gesture to the horse: Come. The horse looked at Wang Zhong for a second before turning around and gently nuzzling Wang Zhongs hair with its nose. Wang Zhong had never ridden a horse and didnt know how to interact with one. He only remembered that in Red Dead Redemption 2, to calm a newly acquired horse, you had to gently pat it on the neck. So he followed what he remembered and gently patted the white horses neck. The horse was very tame and rubbed its nose against Wang Zhongs cheek. After petting the horse enough, Wang Zhong grabbed the reins and handed them to Yegorov: Let logistics take good care of it. I might need to ride it when I retreat tomorrow night. Understood. Wang Zhong took onest look at the tank turned to scrap metal and took a deep breath. The mornings battle had imed more lives than just Lubokovs; there was no time to mourn the young captain.
Wang Zhong continued walking westward. Along the way, the soldiers kept cheering for him until Yegorov shouted, Stop cheering! Keep fortifying the defenses! Get moving, you swine! Only then did the soldiers scatter. Wang Zhong finally saw the house of the elderly Ilynichna and her familyit was the westernmost house in the vige, directly in the path of the enemys assault. Standing at the entrance, he could see the Prussiansmand tank on the hillside. The one-eyed man was there. Wang Zhong stared at the hilltop for a few seconds before retracting his gaze and pushing open the wooden door. He went straight down into the basement. The Ilynichna family was still in the basement, maintaining the postures they were in when they were murdered. Flies buzzed annoyingly about the basement. Wang Zhong walked slowly forward and saw that the old woman was still protectively holding her grandchild, but the childs life had already been taken by a bullet of evil. Wang Zhong thought of his parents in his dream. Then he remembered his visit to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders during his first summer vacation at college. Before entering the memorial hall, Wang Zhong thought it would be nothing more than some photos and exhibits, butter he realized he was wrong. The Memorial Hall, starting from the sculptures at the entrance, used a very artistic approach to create an atmosphere of solemnity and destion. Once inside, the photos were disyed with shocking impact. After leaving the hall, Wang Zhong silently bought a bunch of white flowers and ced them in front of the Peace Memorial. Because of modern history, Chinese people naturally sympathize with the invaded and naturally hate the aggressors whomit atrocities. This is something rooted in the gics of a hundred and fifty years of suffering. Here, in this basement, Wang Zhongpleted his final ideological transformation. Yes, I am not a person from the Ante Empire, and I have no affection for the imperial regime. I think nobles should all be hanged. But I cannot tolerate bestial acts happening before me. Expecting me to stand by and do nothing? No way! Wang Zhong bit his tongue slightly, just enough to taste the salty iron of blood spreading in his mouth. If saying that in the morning he had unconsciously chosen to jump onto the tank as the most efficient way, and the most likely toplete the n, now Wang Zhong was consciously, and able to weigh the pros and cons, choosing to fight the invaders to the end. The moment he made this decision, Wang Zhong was filled with pride. He had always admired the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. And now, he too was an Internationalist Warrior. For justice! To protect the weak! To eliminate evil! Wang Zhong decided to fight to the veryst moment as Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. With an uplifted spirit, Wang Zhong turned around and said to Yegorov, Bury them immediately. Also, recruit young adults in the town who are willing to fight with us. Have them stack the bodies of the enemy at the entrance to the vige. Right at the entrance to this house. Yegorov asked with a frown, What are you going to do? Wang Zhong said through gritted teeth, I want to make the Prussians feel fear. Chapter 39: 35 Ignite the Torch Chapter 39: Chapter 35 Ignite the Torch
Wang Zhongs orders were swiftly executed. Soon, a mound over one story high appeared at the entrance of the vige. Wang Zhong stood by with his hands on his hips supervising, asionally reminding, Remember to take the bullets and grenades off their bodies; I dont want to set them on fireter and have the bullets go off like firecrackers. It would be terrible if someone were hit by a stray bullet. Dont worry, Yegorov said at his side, All the ammunition has been collected. Even though their rifle bullets dont fit our rifles, I still ordered them all to be taken away, just in case. These bullets and the captured rifles are stored in the winerys warehouse. Wang Zhong nodded, without any additionalment.
Soon, the young people of the town brought over thest corpse, tossing it onto the top of the pile of bodies, then stood in ce, looking at Wang Zhong in unison. Wang Zhong: Thats all? Yes, all the bodies that could be found on the streets are here. Wang Zhong: Less than I imagined Didnt I recall killing many enemies? Yegorov turned to look at the staff officer Pavlov, who immediately reported: The number of enemies killed should be just this many. Your recollection is not wrong; its just that many of the people you shot down werent dead. We took in those wounded soldiers ording to the principles of humanity. Wang Zhong: Humanitarian principles only apply to humans; beasts do not enjoy humanitarianism. Moreover, we do not have so many medical supplies, do we? Bring out the wounded soldiers. And the surrendering enemies C Prosen soldiers are brave and skilled in battle, they would never surrender, it must be a ruse! Pavlov hesitated: This He kept looking at Yegorov. Yegorov: Count, if we kill the wounded and those who have surrendered here, when weunch our counterattackter, even if we have broken the enemys morale, they will be forced to fight to the death. We will suffer greater casualties. Wang Zhong pursed his lips, falling deep into thought as he faced therge mound of corpses. At that moment, Lubokovs white horse, somehow having loosened its reins, left the hitching post and came beside Wang Zhong, gently rubbing against his hair. Wang Zhong sighed, speaking with a tone of great regret, You are right; we cant push the enemy too hard, we have to think about future counterattacks. Just burn this many then, get some gasoline from our cars and pour it over.
I already gave the order just now, it is ready, Yegorov said and then gestured to the sergeant who had been waiting beside him. So, the sergeant led two privates, each carrying a can of oil, pouring it wildly over the pile of corpses. As they were pouring the oil, Wang Zhong looked towards the western hill. Without binocrs, one could barely make out the silhouette of a Prosen Tank parked on the top of the hill, the people were indiscernible. But when Wang Zhong switched to an overhead view, the enemies on the hill would be highlighted C because it was Wang Zhongs own field of vision. Wang Zhong clearly saw that one-eyed man watching this way through a telescope. Unfortunately, from an overhead view with the enemy holding a telescope, its hard to clearly see the other sides expression. But Wang Zhong quite fancied imagining him grinding his teeth in hatred at this moment. If that were true, then the effort to pile up the corpses was worth it. Too bad Wang Zhong was feeling unwell now, truly unable to climb up on the mound of corpses. Otherwise, he would definitely climb up to show off, to fiercely infuriate the leaders of those beasts. However, even though he couldnt climb up himself, that didnt mean he couldnt express his contempt. So, Wang Zhong pushed aside the sergeant who was still pouring oil, took an unsoiled Prosen helmet, threw it on the ground as a footrest, and stepped onto it with his military boot.
Stepping on it wasnt enough; Wang Zhong felt for his pockets but didnt find any cigarettes. He looked towards Yegorov. Yegorov took out tobo: Im poor, I can only smoke the ones I roll myself, which you are not used to. Ask Pavlovhes nobility. Pavlov took out a silver cigarette case, opened it, and took out a very carefully rolled cigarette, handing it to Wang Zhong: Your Excellency. Wang Zhong took a cigarette in his mouth. Pavlov took out an ornately carved lighter and lit it for Wang Zhong. In fact, in Wang Zhongs imagination, he should have been smoking arge cigar, and after puffing halfway, he would flick it disdainfully like Sheffield in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, so that the cigar butt would fly onto a pile of corpses and ignite a roaring ze. Oh well, this will do. Stepping on the enemys steel helmet, Wang Zhong leisurely smoked half a cigarette, waiting for the soldiers to finish pouring out thest barrel of oil, before he nced at the distant hill. Even without an overhead view, Wang Zhong knew that the enemys leader was there. Wang Zhong blew a smoke ring, flicked his cigarette butt with a gentle motion, and it traced a bright arc beforending on the pile of corpses. The mes whooshed up at once, spreading over the entire mound of bodies in an instant.
Wang Zhong hadnt expected there to be a survivor inside; the person screamed upon being scorched by the fierce mes and, driven by the desire to live, crawled out of the heap, tumbling to the ground and rolling over and over. Unfortunately, it was toote as the fire had already taken hold, and rolling on the ground was certainly not going to extinguish it. Maintaining his foot-on-helmet stance, Wang Zhong watched the enemy struggle on the ground, Dont shoot, let him burn. He just watched as the enemy gradually stopped writhing, turning into a burning human shape on the ground. Then he raised his head to look up at the hill. Major Shrifen had been watching through the binocrs until the soldier stopped struggling, only then did he put them down. His lips were quivering as if suppressing the urge to curse aloud. His chief of staff put down the binocrs as well and said, This is the enemys psychological warfare tactic, hoping to prompt us into a rash attack before the follow-up troops catch up. Major Shrifen asked, Who is this person? I mean, the bastard who lit the fire! The chief of staff replied, We dont know. The attack failed, and we didnt capture any prisoners to interrogate, so were unaware of their unit designation and structure, as well as who theirmander is. However, soldiers have reported that the tactical number for the tank maneuvering behind enemy lines at the end was 422. ording to the enemys tactical numbering pattern, this likely belongs to a unit under the Fourth Tank Army. This army was reported to have been eliminated by the Air Force in thebat situation report this morning. Shrifen gnashed his teeth and muttered, The Air Forces reports cant be trusted one bit!
He took a deep breath, looked at the increasingly raging fire at the entrance of the vige, and asked with indignation in his voice, Where is Regiment 351? Where is Regiment 351? The regimentalmander said over the radio that they should arrive in an hour. Tell them to make it faster! Though Regiment 351 was assigned under Major Shrifensmand and was part of Shrifensbat group, the regimentsmander, Major Franz, also held the rank of major, putting him on the same level as Shrifen, so Shrifen had to be careful not toe on too strong when giving orders. This made him all the more furious. The reason thisbat group was known as Shrifens was primarily because the current Emperor, Reinhard von Hohenzollern, wanted to diminish the influence of the Junker Nobility in the military, promoting young officers more familiar with modern military technology vigorously. Especially those young officers without noble backgrounds. As such, the young Shrifen became themander of thebat group, which was named after him rather than the typical Junker Nobility Major Franz, despite Franzs three decades of military service and his belief that the oue of wars still depended on infantry and artillery. Now the oue of the battle hinged on the speed at which the old noble woulde to their aid! Shrifen red ferociously at the raging bonfire at the vige entrance. No, he said to himself, we cannot lose our cool. Attacking now would only y into the enemys hands. This brutal demon will eventually pay the price.
Chapter 40: 36 The Calm Before the Storm Chapter 40: Chapter 36 The Calm Before the Storm
After provoking the enemy and dering his resolve, Wang Zhong decided to make the most of his time by bundling up and sleeping off a sweat. It was his general approach to dealing with a cold and fever: sleep under a heavy nket, sweat profusely, and the fever would often subside significantly. This method was certainly not scientific, but after so many years, it had be habitual behavior. So Wang Zhong returned to hismand post, drank a lot of water, wrapped himself in the thickest nket he could find, and went to sleep. He was convinced that when he woke up, his condition would be much improved, and his mind would be clearer. Ludm had been wanting to talk with Count Rocossov, but she didnt expect him to go straight to themand post, bundle himself in a thick nket, and lie down.
The girl stood frozen next to the map table in themand post, wondering if this was the same Alyosha who stuck to the girls at the dance and salon like glue? At that moment, someone patted her shoulder, and she turned to find that it was that Eastern girl with the surname Batuvindasu. Whats wrong? Ludm asked, puzzled. Dont you need to return to the Divine Arrow group? Arent the Divine Arrows unfinished? If the enemy attacks now, you might be toote to return, she said. Ludm replied, What about you? Dont you need to be at your post? I am a Hymn Monk, Im supposed to stay right beside the suprememander, the girl spread her hands. Just as Ludm was about to respond, Monk Yeca Neiko walked in, and as soon as he entered, he said loudly, Captain Mailehovna, there you are! We were worried that you couldnt find the groups current location since you havent returned. Ludm felt somewhat embarrassed since she had indeed been away from herbat post for too long. Without a prayer hand to guide them, the Divine Arrows were just oversized rockets, capable of traveling far but with low uracy. Without the prayer hand, the Divine Arrow group was useless, unable to fulfill any purpose. Ill return immediately, said Ludm, and she took one more look at Rocossov curled up in the nket. Monk Yeca Neiko also nced at the count and said, Without him, we would have been sacrificed. He saved us twice, once from going up to the bell tower, and the other time when we were trapped. Yes, Ludm responded softly.
Yeca Neiko continued, You knew him from before, right? Did you know he was such a hero? No, Ludm answered truthfully, though hes always had a high opinion of himself, to my knowledge, not a single girl liked him. No, actually, all the noble girls in Saint Ekaterina Fortress treated him as a joke. Hes not one anymore. And did you see those soldiers just now? Anyone who treats him as a joke will have their skin peeled off by the soldiers. Come on, lets go. Ive given you plenty of time. Its time to get back to business, Captain Mailehovna, said Yeca Neiko. Ludm nodded her head. Yeca Neiko turned and walked out, and Ludm followed his steps, looking back every three steps. The Hymn Monk stood beside the sofa that Count Rocossov used as a bed and waved at Ludm. Wang Zhong slept soundly this time. Perhaps after resolving the internal hesitation, one can sleep soundly. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that it was still light outside. His second sensation was thirst, after all, he had soaked the nket with sweat. He threw off the nket and sat up, grabbing therge ss he had ced on the table earlier and gulped it down, feeling his braine alive afterwards. He must still have had a bit of a low fever, but the ringing in his ears was gone, and the explosive headache from the morning had almost disappeared. His head was just a little heavy.
Wang Zhong carefully stood up, moved his body a bit, and then looked to his side. Sufang was standing next to him, holding a kettle: Need more water? Wang Zhong pushed the empty cup toward the girl: Fill it up. After the second cup of water, Wang Zhong finally sat down, pulled up the overhead view, and surveyed the battlefield. The defensive fortifications of Peniye vige had obviously improved a great dealpared to when they were resisting the enemy in the morning, with many sandbag barriers erected. Support points like windows and balconies had also been reinforced with sandbags. It was clear that Yegorov was doing his best to strengthen the viges defenses, but unfortunately, the Third Rear Amur Group was already on the run and didnt bring much in terms of defensive supplies. The vigeckedmon defensive instations like barbed wire andndmines. When they had seized trucks from the enemy supply depot, Wang Zhong had asked about what kinds of supplies the enemy had there. The answer he received was that there were only ammunition and fuel. The enemy didnt think there was a need to stop and defend, so they hadnt allocated transport for any frontline defensive materials. In short, although Yegorov was experienced, a good wife cant make a meal without rice; the defenses of Peniye were as good as nonexistent. The good news was that it was already six oclock in the evening, and they just needed to hold out for another 26 hours before they could make their escape. Wang Zhong shifted his viewpoint to the enemy.
Then he realized that their field of vision could barely make out the top of the western hill but couldnt see the enemy behind it at all. It seemed it was up to Wang Zhong to personally climb up for a better look. So, Wang Zhong switched back to his original perspective and stood up again. The bell tower had been half destroyed by an enemy shell, but the water tower of the distillery was still standing and probably not any shorter than the bell tower. Seeing Wang Zhong walking out, Su Fang hurriedly followed him, Please rest a while longer. The enemy hasnt attacked yet. Take advantage of this time to rest, have a meal or something I am indeed hungry, bring me some bread and meat. Wang Zhong said this as he left the distillery managers office and entered the courtyard of the distillery. Panzer 422 was parked in the courtyard, with the tank operators busily maintaining the vehicle. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, stood to attention, their backs straighter than if the Great Emperor hade for an inspection. Wang Zhong: At ease, carry on. Wait, wheres yourmander? The tank operators exchanged nces, and finally, the gunner spoke on behalf of everyone, He he didnt dare to be themander any longer, and went to check on your horse. My horse? It took Wang Zhong a second to remember that he had inherited a white horse from Captain Lubokov, Oh, that horse. Do you know its name?
Ah? Oh, the horse? The Captain called it Bucephalus. Wang Zhong was taken aback; he knew the name Bucephalus. It was the name of Alexander the Greats beloved horse, akin to Red Hare in Chinese culture. Although Captain Lubokov had given the horse such a name, he had unfortunately fallen in the first battle, prompting Wang Zhong to sigh. The cowardly private had gone to look after the horse, so had Panzer 422 be his personal vehicle? Wang Zhong nced at the three-turret tank. Frankly, the tank was ugly, and its performance was terrible. If hed had any other choice, Wang Zhong would never have considered it as his personal vehicle. However, with his limited resources, he had to make do with what he had. This wasnt a game, where a soldier could just turn a wrench a few times to fix up an enemys abandoned Panzer IV. In reality, tank repair would require an entire maintenance factory with hundreds of mechanics. So, he had to make do with the unattractive Panzer 422. Wang Zhong: Make sure its well-maintained; it might carry a heavy burden soon! Yes, sir! the tank operators answered with spirit. Wang Zhong nodded and began to climb the stairs of the water tower.
Luckily, the water tower had stairs instead of adder that would have required climbing by hand, so Wang Zhong ascended quite smoothly to the towers summit. Standing at the top, he raised his binocrs. From this height, he had the illusion that he was even higher than the hill to the west. Then he switched to an overhead view. The enemy on the reverse slope behind the western hill was all lit up. Wang Zhong took a sharp breath. He saw trucks descending from the highway and arge number of infantry moving into battle formations. He also spotted at least a full battery of infantry guns being unloaded from the trucks, each with a barrel that looked thicker than that of a demolished Panzer IVs tank gun (in fact, they were all 75mm). Not only that, but he saw a supply truck parked next to the enemys self-propelled mortar battery, with gunners moving shells onto the mortar vehicles! Enemy reinforcements had arrived! Chapter 41: 37 Two Slices of Bread Chapter 41: Chapter 37 Two Slices of Bread
` Wang Zhong was trying to take a closer look at the enemys attack formation, but suddenly he noticed tracks on the ground leading off to the side. A single vehicle couldnt possibly have left such distinct tracks on the grasnd, only multiple half-track vehicles could have left the highway from the same spot. Wang Zhong immediately followed the tracks in search of this enemy unit, but after heading north for a while, the tracks went out of his field of view. What were these Prussians up to by heading directly north? Not quite understanding their intentions, Wang Zhong began to check the edge of his field of view just in case.
Since his perspective depended on the direction he was facing, with no visibility at the back of his head, he had to switch back to normal vision to turn and face north. Su Fang had followed him up the water tower, and seeing him look north, she asked with a puzzled face, Arent the enemies to the west? Wang Zhong didnt have time to answer; he switched back to the overlooking perspective. Indeed, he found the tracks right to the north of Peniye vige. Good lord, these guys took a detour and ended up making a square! Wang Zhongs field of view was circr, so he couldnt see the corners of the square. There were three roads converging on Peniye, forming an inverted Y shape. The enemys previous attacks had alle from the west, entering the vige through two westward roads, so Yegorovs defensive positions were mainly facing the west. To the east, the only road was lined with field hospitals and other nonbative units, and fighting forces were extremely scarce, with only some lightly wounded soldiers armed for defense. It looked like this enemy unit that had detoured around was nning to enter the vige from that one and only eastern road, for a pincer attack! If they seeded, it would be bad! Wang Zhong skillfully switched perspectives, turned around, and found himself face to face with Su Fang. Su Fang: ?
Wang Zhong stepped aside to gain a view of the east and switched perspectives again. At the end of his eastern field of view, he saw enemy half-track vehicles driving onto the main road! The enemy had already taken their positions! Each vehicle was carrying more than a dozen soldiers, packed like sardines. The enemy had taken a rectangr route, so methodically that, in theory, they shouldnt be overloading the vehicles. They arent Indians, after all. One could only specte that a half-track vehicle broke down during the detour, forcing the passengers onto other vehicles. To be honest, if the enemy decided to y armored cavalry and charge with the half-tracks, they might actually catch Wang Zhong off guard. But they stopped and began to deploy their troops! So these Prussians cant fight without deploying their troops, huh? Wang Zhong hurriedly thought of a n. The first thing he thought of was to find Yegorov and reassign a unit to establish a defensive line at the rear. Then he considered maybe pretending not to have noticed the nking maneuver to set up an ambush. As he was about to choose this n, a sh of insight crossed his mind.
He carefully examined the enemys equipment. Eight half-track vehiclesthese were also the characteristic equipment of a certain military force from another dimension, with the mention of armored grenadiers always involving this type of half-track vehicle. German forces usually used the abbreviation sdkfz + a number to name these half-track vehicles, hence they got the nickname SD Confucius in the Chinese circle. Among these half-track vehicles, there were versions with cannons, ranging from 20mm to 45mm, and Wang Zhong liked to use them for fun in War Thunder. But the eight half-tracks that had outnked this time were all equipped with only machine guns. Wang Zhong scrutinized the enemy infantrys equipment more closely. Thanks to the aerial view cheat, Wang Zhong could clearly see how many magazines the enemy submachine gunners had brought. After close observation, he was sure that the enemy wasnt equipped with single-soldier anti-tank rockets like the Panzerfaust; at best they only had anti-tank grenades. The enemy had no anti-tank firepower! And behind them was the great in; to avoid detection, the position where the enemy deployed was at least 1,500 meters from the vige! A 1,500-meter open in! And that was at least! It could well be 2,000 meters!
A single tank parked at the vige entrance could send the whole enemy unit to meet their maker! He wasnt even sure if God was in charge of this world. After realizing this, Wang Zhong was ecstatic. He switched back to normal vision, turned around, leaned over the water tower railing, and was about to call out to the tank operators below in the courtyard when something caught his eye from the corner of his vision. He looked up immediately, just in time to see smoke rising from the western hills. Then, the sound of artillery shells tearing through the air ruptured his eardrums. Enemy shelling! While Wang Zhong was busy with the nking unit, the enemy had moved their artillery to the hilltop! ` The first shell fell in the wheat field west of the vige, sending dirt flying as high as a two-story building! The charge on this shell is a bit too much! Wang Zhong shouted, Artillery iing! Take cover! Before his words faded, the second whistling sound came, Wang Zhong distinctly felt the object making the noise fly over his headit seemed to be aimed high. Turning around, he saw the house on the eastern edge of the vige being hit, its roof sted away in arge chunk.
Wait a second, one shot too close and one too farthe enemy is adjusting their fire! If the third one falls in the vige, the rapid firing will begin! The third screech came, and before Wang Zhong could react, the roof of the mechanical mill was hit. The explosion nearly blew Wang Zhong off his feet. Luckily, the distance was somewhat far, and neither the shrapnel nor the shock wave reached Wang Zhong. At this moment, Sufang rushed over and pushed Wang Zhong to the ground. The girly on top of Wang Zhongs back. Wang Zhong heard her urgently say, You cant die! The next moment, more whistling sounds came. The explosions tore at Wang Zhongs eardrums one after another. Could just one battery of howitzers produce such an effect? Wang Zhong vaguely understood why artillery was called the King of War.
However, Wang Zhong couldnt just lie there. He was lying facing west, so he couldnt see what was happening in the east, but he could imagine the enemys troops circling behind and advancing towards the vige. Action must be taken immediately! He rolled over, flinging the Sufang on his back to the ground, and jumped up, shouting, Tank operators to your stations, as he rushed down the stairs. The tank operators were all lying around the tank and only got up when they heard Wang Zhongs voice. Wang Zhong reached out and dragged the loader from under the tank, then climbed directly onto the tank. By this time, the gunner had already reached the turret and, opening the side door for the gunner and the loader, asked as Wang Zhong climbed in, My Lord Count, what has happened? Wang Zhong replied, I spotted the enemys nking troops from above, on the eastern side. The enemy doesnt have anti-tank weapons; we have to block them at the eastern entrance to the vige. Understood! The gunner nodded and climbed through the side door, followed closely by the loader. Wang Zhong ascended the turret, squeezing into themanders hatch, and put on the headset and the internal microphone. At this point, the driver and electrician had also entered the tank. Wang Zhong asked, How many high-explosive rounds do we have left? Dont worry, we havent fired many high-explosive rounds, there are still 42 left! came the gunners voice through the headset. Before Wang Zhong could reply, a shell fell in the courtyard, copsing part of the enclosing wall. Several shrapnel pieces struck the tanks armor, ringing with a ng. Wang Zhong thought for safetys sake I should get in the tank first At this time, Sufang climbed onto the tank, standing on the grill above the engine, at the back of the main turret. Wang Zhong ordered, Get down! Sufang replied, Im going to use this anti-aircraft machine gun! As she spoke, she adeptly operated the machine gun on top of the turret, aiming forward. Wang Zhong insisted, Ill operate the machine gun! You get down. Youre feverish, you might not shoot urately! Wang Zhong wanted to say more, but thinking that the enemy could be creeping in from the east at any moment, he had no choice but to let her be. Wang Zhong directed, Driver, engage forward gear, and go! Turn left out of the gate, head east until you reach the junction. The driver confirmed, Same route as this morning, I got it! The tank charged out of the brewery gate, taking a sharp turn. Just then, the building across from the brewery was hit by a shell, and broken tiles cascaded down. Wang Zhong ducked his head, feeling the gravel pattering against him. Sufang was struck by a tile, cutting a gash above her right eye, and blood flowed down. Wang Zhong urged, Youre bleeding, get down! I wont! Chapter 42: 38: Tank No. 422 Speeding through the Wilderness Chapter 42: Chapter 38: Tank No. 422 Speeding through the Wilderness
Major Shrifen still stood atop hismand tank, observing the vige of Peniye. Next to the tank stood an officer with half grey hair. Unlike Shrifen, this officer did not wear the mboyant red decorations, so he appeared to be of a lower rank. But in reality, he was themander of Armored Grenadier Regiment 351, Major Franz of the Prosen National Defense Force, who should be considered Shrifens peer. It seems the enemy hasnt noticed our nking maneuver, Major Franz put down his binocrs, I can congratte Major Shrifen in advance. Major Shrifens face remained stern, No, the enemymander is a tough nut. I will not celebrate prematurely until Ive broken through their defenses. Prepare the infantry for assault, mortars fire smoke!
The Prosen Empires smoke tactics were originally developed to counter Divine Arrow, which could hit Prosen tanks from two or even three kilometers away while the uracy of tank guns at this range was less than reliable. Therefore, Prussian Armored Forces Director Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch decided to universally equip the armored troops with vehicle-mounted mortars to apany assaults and heavily supply them with smoke bombs. Laying down a smoke screen with mortars before armored assaults became a standardbat method for the Prosen Empire. Soon, Prosen infantry units also realized that this tactic could effectively limit enemy fire points during assaults, so they started to distribute smoke bombs inrge quantities as well. The mortars, freshly resupplied, did not even need to adjust their aim and began rapid-fire, quickly forming a wall of smoke on the western side of the vige. Major Shrifen consulted his watch, There are two hours left until dark. If all goes well, we can spend the night in the vige. Begin the attack. Apanied by a whistle, the tanks apanying the assault initiated first, advancing at a pace coordinated with the infantry. Meanwhile, the infantry of Regiment 351 followed closely behind the tanks. The No. 3 tank was not an infantry tank, and its tank guns power was limited, but it was still suited as a mobile cover for the infantry. Furthermore, the machine guns on the tanks could suppress enemy fire points. Major Shrifen watched all this from hismand tank and murmured softly, Its your move now, dont disappoint me, the arrogant Mr. Ante.
At this moment, Wang Zhong was speeding through the vige. For an instant, he wondered, what if he was just unlucky and got hit by a shell falling from the sky while racing? He realized he had never considered this possibility, his mind solely focused on defeating the enemy. Just as Wang Zhong pondered this, the tank emerged from the eastern exit of the vige. In the setting sun, the fields were coated in ayer of gold, and the soldiers in ck uniforms were as visible as dark bugs in a rice jar. Wang Zhong, Stop the tank! The moment the order was given, the tank came to an abrupt stop. Su Fang was thrown forward, even pushing the machine gun out of alignment. Wang Zhong, bracing the hatch, ordered loudly, Load high-explosive shell, target the half-track on the road directly ahead! Loadingplete! Wang Zhong, Fire! The st from the gun muzzle swept the surrounding wheat away.
A plume of smoke rose in front of the target, hitting low. The machine gun on the half-track immediately opened fire, a whip of tracer bulletsshed towards the tank, sparking a string of sparks on the armor. Su Fang, not the least bit scared, swung the machine gun around for a counterattack. The two machine guns at the front of the tank also began to fire back, but their targets were the skirmish lines across the field. Wang Zhong, Quick, load! Loadingplete! Wang Zhong, This time make it urate! Fire! With the gunner stepping on the pedal, the gun muzzle once again erupted in mes. An orange fireball soared up from the left side of the target vehicle, the chassis overturned by the st of the explosion. From an overhead perspective, Wang Zhong clearly saw the body of an enemy being thrown high into the air. Wang Zhong, Good! Load again, next one! After finishing, he switched back to encourage Su Fang with a pat on the shoulder, Dont just focus on the vehicles, hit those infantrymen!
Su Fang turned the gun and swept the whip of death across the skirmish line. Just then, the driver shouted, Smoke! The enemys deploying smoke! Wang Zhong quickly looked forward, indeed he saw white smoke rising from the fields. Switching to an overhead view, it was clear that the enemy infantry were throwing smoke bombs. It was evident the enemy was well-trained, skillfully employing the tactic as a single smoke bomb could cover most of the troops and half-tracks. The loader shouted, Loaded! The gunner then cried out, I cant see the target anymore! What should we do? At this time, the enemy was still over a thousand meters away from the vige entrance, right in the tanks firepower advantage zone. But if the enemy came within a hundred meters, the situation would be rife with unpredictability. Not to mention, if the enemy used a bolt-action rifle to shoot at Wang Zhong, he couldnt take it and would have to get inside the tank. Standing on the tanks cooling grille, Su Fang had nowhere to hide and could only rely on the turret for cover. When the enemy approached to fifty meters, the threat of anti-tank grenades would increase significantly. Having observed the enemys movements from a birds-eye view, Wang Zhong made a snap decision and ordered, We cant stay here, driver turn right thirty degrees, lets hit the main road and run for it!
Themand was immediately carried out. The tank headed down the main road, speeding toward the southeast. Wang Zhong: Turret, turn left! How much? the gunner asked loudly. Switching back to the naked-eye perspective, Wang Zhong grabbed Su Fangs hand that was on the machine gun and forcefully turned the machine gun in another direction. Pull the trigger! Su Fang immediately pulled the trigger, and tracer bullets swept through the smoke. Wang Zhong: Aim in the direction of the tracer bullets! Got it! As the turret turned, the tank finally circumvented the first wave of enemy smoke, gaining a view of the half-track vehicle! It was just within range of the tank gun! Wang Zhong: Stop the tank!
The driver mmed on the brakes. When the tank stopped, the barrel jolted violently up and down. At the instant the jolting stopped, the gunner stepped on the pedal and fired. As a result, the shot flew over again,nding behind the half-track vehicle among scattered infantry, sting one unlucky soldier into the sky. Wang Zhong suddenly realized that the gunner might not be particrly skilled at range estimation, and he remembered that early Soviet tanks had very rudimentary range-finding devices in another time and space, unlike the German forces with a mature and convenient range-finding system. So early Soviet tanks were at a significant disadvantage in long-range duels. This time and space might be the same. But in the birds-eye view, Wang Zhong could see specific coordinates and could roughly estimate the distance by mental arithmetic using the coordinates. So he immediately switched to the birds-eye view, estimated the distance, and ordered, Distance 980 meters! Gunner! Nine hundred and eighty meters! Gunner: How do you know? Estimate, dont worry about it, just shoot with this reading! Loaded! Fire! As the gunner stepped on the pedal, the cargo bed of the still-moving half-track blew open, and the vehicle quickly came to a stop. The machine gunner, engulfed in mes, jumped off the vehicle and rolled over on the grass. At this point, the enemy infantry released smoke again, just blocking the tanks line of sight. Wang Zhong: Start moving, keep circling the enemy! There are six more half-tracks and over a hundred infantrymen! Lets annihte them in the open! Tank 422 moved again, the tracks churning up a lot of dark mud. This time they didnt go far before another half-track entered the view. Wang Zhong: Emergency stop! Distance 910 meters! Dont pick the wrong gauge! The tank had just stabilized when the gunner stepped on the pedal and fired. This time, the target exploded into a fireball and slid across the open field for a while before stopping. Su Fangs machine gun rattled as Wang Zhong nced at the sight on the gun and noticed that the girl had also adjusted the distance ording to his instructions; the long whip formed by the tracer bullets swept urately over the enemys columns. The well-trained enemy immediately hit the ground. This reminded Wang Zhong of that famous Vietnam War meme: running away is the enemy, hitting the ground is the well-trained enemy. But here, the enemy was indeed well-trained. Su Fang hadnt even finished her burst when the enemy released smoke again. Wang Zhong: Keep circling the enemy! Chapter 43: 39 Crossfire Chapter 43: Chapter 39 Crossfire
Yegorov was standing by the window watching the west, seemingly unafraid of the enemys artillery fire. The main reason was that the three-story Boye mansion he was in was quite sturdy, and the 75mm infantry artillery might not necessarily take it down. Even more robust was the main building of the winery; perhaps the Prussians had not anticipated such a solid reinforced concrete structure in such a small vige. Yegorov had it all figured out, if they really could not hold on, they would withdraw to the winery and resist relying on the solid building. It was at that moment, amidst the enemys cannon fire and explosions, that he heard a different kind of artillery sound. Is the tank firing? Yegorov turned his head to look behind himat the east.
After a second of hesitation, Yegorov quickly moved to the window on the eastern side. Because the building blocked his view, he couldnt see the tank, but he could see the smoke set up by the enemy on the eastern ins. The Ante Army also had smoke bombs, however, they were advanced experience learned from the Prussian Army. Yegorov muttered to himself, It seems the Prosen devils have circled to the east, Count Rocossov is engaging the enemy with his tank! How did he find them? As he spoke, Yegorov lifted his binocrs in a futile attempt to observe the battle, but since he still could not see the situation, he turned his head to Sergeant Major Grigori and said, Take a machine gun to the eastern edge of the vige, find a good position and set it up. The count only has one tank, and the enemy has set up a smoke screen, so they might not be able to fully block the enemy. Grigori saluted, Leave it to me, Colonel Yegorov. After seeing Grigori off, Yegorov looked east again and murmured, How did the count discover the enemys nking maneuver? Pavlov said, Perhaps this is what makes a military genius. Just as the words fell, a 75mm shell hit the wall of the main mansion building, but it didnt blow through the wall, only causing a pile of dust to fall sparsely from the ceiling. Yegorov looked at the beams overhead to make sure the house was not going to copse, then turned to re at the chief of staff, You, talk less! At that time, Wang Zhong watched as thest half-track vehicle turned into a burning wreck.
He elevated his view and quickly counted the remaining infantry on the ins. About sixty or seventy infantry had survived, scattered across the ins. The enemy closest to the vige would enter it after another five hundred meters. The most urgent task now was to quickly return to the entrance of the vige and hold it, as it would be difficult to deal with the infantry once they entered the vige with the tank even if Wang Zhong had cheats. Just then, a machine gun appeared in the window of a building at the very eastern edge of the vige and began firing at the enemy on the ins without a word. This machine gun was seized from the enemy; its firing sound was not the dull thud of the Ante Armys heavy machine guns but a sharp, tearing sound like ripping canvas. Wang Zhong saw all this clearly and immediately decided to drive the tank to the side of the vige entrance to set up a crossfirework with the machine gun at the entrance. Without the half-tracks, the enemy had lost their mobility and mobile cover, making it difficult for the infantry to break through the crossfire on the ins. Driver, stop, turn on the spot 180 degrees! Even Wang Zhong heard the sound of the driver pulling the leverthis tank didnt have a convenient steering wheel but relied on two control levers, one for each side track. As the driver operated, the tank tracks began to rotate in opposite directions, and the long vehicle started to turn on the spot. Su Fang was still firing, but as the tank began to turn, the tracer bullets whipped out into the in.
Say something before you turn! Su Fangined loudly. My ammos being wasted here! Wang Zhong, who had no time to mind her, waited until the tank turned to his desired direction and immediately knocked on top of the turret, shouting, Stop! No more turning! Shift gears, full speed ahead, stop at the edge of the vige! As the tank started to move, Su Fang protested, I cant shoot at the enemy like this! Before her words ended, a bullet struck the tank gun, sending out a string of sparks as it flew away. Wang Zhong turned around and saw the enemy in the fields attempting to hit the tank, but at that distance, even well-trained Prosen soldiers had to rely on luck to score a hit. However, just like the infantry organization of another timelines Germany, the core of the infantry squad is the machine gunand if that machine gun starts firing Before he could finish, the enemys machine gun opened fire. Wang Zhong immediately located the machine gunner and saw that he was firing the machine gun by hand, probably because the enemy was in the wheat field and the summer wheat had grown tall. Lying on the ground, one wouldnt be able to aim, so they had no choice but to fire the machine gun while standing. The uracy of firing a machine gun by hand is imaginable; it looked as though tracer bullets were headed straight for Wang Zhong, but in reality, they all flew high. Su Fang was shrinking her neck, and had lost the sharpness she just had in killing the enemy; instead, she clung tightly to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong, Why are you so close? Su Fang, I think the bullets might curve around you!
How about you look at the wound on my shoulder and say that again? Im still running a fever! Even though they were having a not-so-tense conversation, Wang Zhong knew that it wouldnt be surprising to get hit by a bullet under these circumstances. On the battlefield, no one can be sure. But what was strange was that he was not afraid at all. And he always felt that his fearlessness didnt have much to do with adrenalinebecause his breathing was very steady at the moment. No sooner had he thought this than Su Fang said, Konstantinovich, youre really brave. Im so scared Im shivering, but youre just like usual! Konstantinovich was Wang Zhongs patronymic, and using a patronymic at such times mostly conveyed a sense of respect. Wang Zhong nced at the girl, and it took him a second to remember that as an Easterner she didnt have a patronymic, so he had to call her by her name, Su Fang, you are brave too. At that moment, the drivers voice came through the headset, Well be at the edge of the vige soon, a low wall is just ahead. Wang Zhong, Stop in front of the low wall, face the enemy. The tank immediately braked and then turned around. As if she had been holding back for a long time, Su Fang picked up the machine gun and returned fire at the Prussian gunner who had been sending tracer bullets over their heads. The result was unsurprisingly low.
After all, she had just been close to the enemy, and her range was set to 100. Wang Zhong estimated the distance and told Su Fang, Set the range to four hundred! Oh! Su Fang stopped firing and began adjusting the range setting. At that moment, the two machine gun turrets in front of the tank also opened fire, the whips of death formed by the tracer bullets and the machine guns at the entrance of the vige created a crossfire. After Su Fang finished adjusting the range, she joined their ranks. The enemy was probably out of smoke bombs by now, having no way to deal with the fire. A machine gunner found a mound of Earth in the field, set up a machine gun on it, and began to retaliate. Wang Zhong immediately grabbed Su Fangs hand and pushed her line of fire towards the enemy, whilemanding the gunner, See Su Fangs tracer bullets? Is there an enemy machine gun you see there? I see it! As the gunner responded, he stepped on the turret rotation pedal and aimed the short, stout tank gun at the enemy. Gunner, High explosive, ready! The gunners foot pressed down on the firing pedal. Due to the short distance, almost the moment the gun fired, the shell hit its target, sending the Prussian machine gunner and his ammunition handler flying sky-highliterally.
Su Fang, Take that! For shooting at me! Cheers from the tank operators filled Wang Zhongs headset. But he couldnt bring himself to celebrate, because from a birds-eye view, he saw that the enemy in front was also advancing. Chapter 44: 40 Combat Engineers Chapter 44: Chapter 40 Combat Engineers
West of Peniye, Prosen tanks had crossed the mortar smoke screen barrier. At that time, the enemys infantry artillery barrage had ceased, probably for fear that the dust might interfere with the tanks direct fire power. After the tanks emerged from the smoke, the Prussians skirmish line also appeared. At this moment, apart from the roar of engines, the only sound on the entire battlefield was machine gun fireing from the east end of the vige. This distant sound, instead, highlighted the quietness on the battlefield. Without machine gun fire, the vige was tranquil.
The mountain artillery strike had created seven or eight pirs of smoke, but it was unknown how many casualties it had caused. When the tanks were about two hundred meters away, they stopped advancing, probably not wanting to enter the effective range of the anti-tank rifles. The coaxial machine gun opened fire first, targeting the second floor windows of the buildings. This type of suppressive fire, with fierce gunfire, was meant to intimidate defenders hiding in buildings and works, making those timid defenders too scared to stand up and shoot. This kind of fire also had another effect: it caused overly tense individuals to reflexively open fire, thus revealing their positions. However, the Prussians suppressive fire had no effect. The vige of Peniye remained as still as a dead snail, lying in the sunset awaiting the sun to dry out the moisture in its body. The Prussian infantry cautiously approached the vige. Suddenly, a small window on the first floor burst into mes, tracer bullets tore through the lingering sunlight, and in the blink of an eye, three Prussian soldiers were brought down. The next moment, the tanks coaxial machine gun swept toward the small window, followed by the tank gun, engulfing the small window in smoke and dust. More windows began to spit fire, and bullets poured down like a torrential rain toward enemies on the open field. Yegorov said to the messenger, Tell the first battalion not to get too engaged; the enemys advantage in direct fire from their tanks will cause great casualties if we keep entangled with them on the outer defenses. Hit the enemy hard once and then immediately retreat to let them enter the vige. The messenger nodded and ran off.
Chief of Staff Pavlov said, Didnt we set their tasks, telling them to shoot and leave? Just in case. Themander of the first battalion has a stubborn temper, hell ignore everything once he gets fired up, so he needed a reminder, Yegorov said. He knew too well the temperaments of his officers, after all, they had shared many drinks together. Yegorov continued to observe the west, but once the enemy came within two hundred meters, he could no longer see them, only the enemy tanks stalled at that distance. This was because the western side of the vige was on a gentle slope, descending from the western hill to the vige. If it had been t ground, the view from the third floor of the manor where Yegorov stood would have been even worse. This third floor only assured a view of the entrance on the northwest side; setting up a machine gun at this window where Yegorov now stood wouldpletely block the road entering the vige from the northwest. Of course, that would also mean that this window would receive special attention from the enemy tanks direct fire. The good news was, Rocossov, the count, asserted that the enemy no longer had any Mark IV infantry tanks. The enemys Mark III tanks had a main gun caliber of only fifty millimeters, and some of the older models even had a caliber of just 37 millimeters. The high-explosive shells from these guns could only kill a machine gunner if theynded precisely through the windows. Hitting around the window would probably not be enough to damage the thick stone walls. Therefore, Yegorov had prepared seven or eight machine gun crews in therge room behind the window, and several spare machine guns were also ready, just waiting for the enemy tounch an attack from the northwest street. Of course, before the appearance of the enemy, this window still served as an observation point for themander, since the view was too good. Yegorov was observing when he suddenly noticed a violent explosion on the western side of the vige. Dark objects were thrown into the air, even passing over the tops of several two-story buildings.
Whats going on? As soon as he said this, he saw mes burst out of the windows of a house on the southwest street, and a methrower soldier, engulfed in mes, jumped out of a second-floor window and hit the ground motionless. Yegorov eximed, methrowers,bat engineers! The enemysbat engineers have entered the fight! Yegorov couldnt see what was happening, but Wang Zhong saw everything clearly. The first battalion had fired a volley before retreating. Immediately after, a team ofbat engineers d in gray-painted armor arrived in a half-track. The half-track had something akin to a catapult, and Wang Zhong watched as it hurled an explosive pack over the stone wall. What an unscrupulous catapult with mechanical power! Forget the stone wall, the thatched hut behind it was blown into the sky. Then the enemysbat engineers deftly toppled the remaining wall and filled in the pit, wading through feces to enter the yard. The submachine guns from ambush inside the house opened fire, but the rounds only sparked against the iron armor of thebat engineers. It was obvious that the pistol rounds fired by the submachine guns were not effective against the iron armor.
The submachine gunner was either panicked or had never seen heavy armoredbat engineers because hepletely failed to attack the unprotected parts of the enemy. Thebat engineer leveled his methrower and pulled the trigger. mes shot through the windows, soon bursting out from the windows on the other side. The submachine gunner, engulfed in fierce mes, screamed as he scrambled out the window and fell to the ground motionless. Wang Zhong was astonished. Wearing heavy iron armor, using submachine guns and methrowers, and carrying explosive packswerent these the hallmark troops of the Russians? So the Germanbat engineers in this time and space were also heavily armored? Wang Zhong watched as the enemysbat engineers cleared an entire house with their methrowers, then used explosives to breach the partition wall between two houses and continued to clear the second house. No, he had toe up with a way to eliminate this squad ofbat engineers. Wang Zhong elevated his viewpoint. The enemy tanks stopped 200 meters from the vige, with a clear field of fire, making it impossible to circumvent them from the outside as before. He had to think of a way to set an ambush in the vige, using the tanks high-explosive shells and machine gun firepower to eliminate thebat engineer squad. Wang Zhong observed the enemys direction of advance and a preliminary n began to take shape.
He nced again at the enemy nking from the east, confirmed that there were only about twenty-odd stragglers left, then patted Sufang, who was changing bullets, on the shoulder, Okay, stop shooting once youve reloaded. We still have a mission and need these bullets. All other machine guns, cease fire! The two gun turrets firing in front of the tank ceased fire, followed by the coaxial machine gun of the main gun. Wang Zhong, Driver! Turn left and head back to the highway along the edge of the vige. Driver, Understood! Wait a minute, arent we dealing with these enemies? There might still be quite a few left, just squatting on the ground and hiding in the wheat fields! Wang Zhong thought to himself, dont worry, my friend, Im using cheats here. The overhead view not only gives me a crystal-clear view, but also highlights the targets. There are only about twenty live ones left from the enemys rear group. But he couldnt just say it outright, The gunfire is very intense on the front, obviously the battle is at a standstill, and they need us. Lets go. The tank started, turned left, and quickly progressed along the ridges at the edge of the vige. Sufang whispered, Ive never seen a nobleno, Ive never seen an officer exin the reasons for their orders. Officers just give orders, and the subordinates must execute them without question. If there are questions, they get scolded with things like You bunch of blockheads. Wang Zhong, You bunch of blockheads! Execute the order! Is that what you mean? For some reason, the tank operators in the vehicle allughed, loudly at that. The gunner remarked, If thepanys quartermaster shouted like that, not a single new soldier would be afraid of him.
The loader added, Thats the gentlest reprimand weve ever heardI dont know if that even counts as a reprimand. Wang Zhong scratched his head. Just then, the tank reached the entrance of the vige, so he took the opportunity to change the subject, Stop! I need to talk to the machine gunner. After the tank stopped, Wang Zhong called out to the machine gunner who had ceased firing, Whos inmand? Sergeant Grigori stuck his head out, I am, Count. Wang Zhong, The enemy is almost wiped out, Ill leave the rest to you. Keep an eye on our rear. Im going to join the fight at the front. The sergeant saluted Wang Zhong, Good luck, Count! Chapter 45: 41 Flaming Sky Chapter 45: Chapter 41 ming Sky
` While Wang Zhongmanded Tank 422 to move towards the vige, thebat engineer squad had just cleared a house with a methrower. Wang Zhong, while ying Company of Heroes 2, liked to use methrowers, yet the games methrowers, although powerful, were not invincible. The Company of Heroes series of games featured a retreat mechanism: Press the T key, and your troops would sprint away (thetest third installment seemed to have changed the key). If confronted with a methrower, pressing T fast enough could save the burning troops and allow them to retreat back to base engulfed in mes. But reality was not so forgiving; in real life, those hit by a methrower would lose theirbat effectiveness instantly, left to roll on the ground unable to do anything else. Only those with extremely tenacious willpower could continue to fight while engulfed in mes.
The current Third Company of the Amur Group, although high in morale, had not yet be a disciplined force with that kind of willpower. Wang Zhong had to eliminate thesebat engineers quickly, or else they might just take over the whole vige. Thepanymander, Sherchev, shouted loudly, Its thebat engineers, the submachine gun bullets are too weak to prate their armor, use rifles! But Commander, most of us are equipped with submachine guns for close-quartersbat! Then fucking use machine guns! As Sherchev grabbed the machine gun from its operator, an explosion sounded from the backyard of the house he was in; thebat engineers had likely blown up the yards wall with explosives. Brandishing the machine gun, Sherchev rushed to the window and began to fire through the breach. The firstbat engineer to enter the door hadnt yet squeezed the trigger before being hit by bullets, causing him and his armor to be pushed back several steps, with blood flowing from the gaps beneath his armorclearly, the machine gun was loaded with full-powered rounds that had prated the armor. The enemy still managed to pull the trigger, but due to falling backward, the methrower was raised high, and mes spouted into the air like a fountain, crossing the opposite wall andnding in the neighboring yard. As he continued firing, Sherchev yelled, You see? Their armor weighs at most a dozen kilos, it cant stop full-powered rifle rounds! Submachine guns fire pistol ammunition, which has questionable prating power.
Sherchev had barely finished speaking when a grenade was thrown into the yard. This was no ordinary stick grenade, but abat engineers breach grenade, noticeablyrger than a regr grenade. Even elitebat engineers couldnt throw such a grenade to the second floor from that distance, so Sherchevughed, A bigger grenades no good if you cant throw it up here The grenade on the ground floor exploded. The wooden floor beneath Sherchevs feet, along with the brick wall of the first floor, copsed. The adjacent submachine gunner cried out, Commander! In that critical moment,bat engineers took advantage of the lull in machine gun fire to breach through the hole in the wall. The submachine gunner immediately opened fire, with bullets clinking and nging off the metal armor. The Prussiansughed, and the methrower was aimed at the second floor Suddenly, a bullet struck the methrowers fuel line; the high-pressure fuel sprayed out and vaporized in the air. The vaporized fuel, contacting the mes at the head of the methrower, ignited and instantly engulfed thebat engineer in mes. Screams echoed through the courtyard.
At that moment, Sherchev struggled to his feet and began firing the machine gun. True Ante men fire machine guns standing up; uracy be damned, the point is to appear fierce. Thebat engineer, barely alive from the fire, was finished off by a few rounds from the machine gun. However, another grenade sailed over the wall, the same type of breach grenade as before. Sherchev dropped the machine gun, picked up the grenade intending to throw it back, but just as he was getting ready, the thing exploded. Sherchev was blown to pieces, his blood sttered all over the wall. A thirdbat engineer mbered over the wall and directed his methrower towards the second floor. Wang Zhong had witnessed the entire battle of Company Commander Sherchev; although he did not know themander, he was still moved by his bravery. Sherchevs actions confirmed what Wang Zhong suspected: machine guns or rifles could prate the iron armor head-on. After all, the level of technology in this world was simr to that of World War II. Sovietbat engineers back then couldnt charge machine guns either; their armor was primarily designed to protect against submachine gun bullets and grenade shrapnel. It was precisely because of this that the enemysbat engineers did not take to the roads but rather chose close-quartersbat where machine guns and rifles were less effective.
But they couldnt stay off the roads forever. ` ` Its true that there are only three main roads forming a Y-shape leading to the vige of Peniye, but there are alsoplicated side streets within the vige. If the tanks block the intersections and wait at ease, they might be able to capture all thebat engineers in one fell swoop. At that moment, Wang Zhong noticed that the half-track vehicle carrying thebat engineers had driven along the southwestern edge of the vige to ane leading out of the vige and stopped next to arge pile ofpost. Next to the vehicle was a yard with a gate leading outside the vige; obviously, the vehicle was waiting here to resupply thebat engineers once they reached this yard. Wang Zhong decided to target this vehicle first. By now, the tank had arrived in front of the mechanical mill, with two roads leading westward stretching out to both sides in front of the tank. In the mornings battle, Wang Zhong found that as long as the enemys tanks were stationed at the two western intersections, they could block the whole street. Ludms Divine Arrow squad was trapped because of this and almost got caught by enemy infantry. It was Wang Zhong himself whomanded the tank to fight against four and broke the encirclement. Therefore, Wang Zhong specifically ordered Yegorov to drive the captured Prussian trucks onto the street, which along with the wreckage of the tanks, formed a blockade. Even if the enemy tanks were to reach the entrance of the vige, they could only block the road from the vige entrance to the blockade. With the infantry crouching and relying on the blockades, they could still move freely on both sides of the main street.
The firepower of our machine guns was on the second floor, allowing it to sweep over the blockade and clear the enemies on the road. Now, Wang Zhong realized that this blockade also limited the effectiveness of his own tank gun. Previously, stopping in front of the mechanical mill allowed control over the entire road, but now only half could be controlled. But this was also good; approaching the alley, the tanks body was covered, and only half of the turret was exposed, so there was no worry of being ambushed by enemy tanks. Wang Zhong: Take the left road. Move about fifty meters and stop at the alleys entrance! Do you see the alley entrance fifty meters away? The driver responded to Wang Zhong with actions, as the tank directly took the left road heading straight for the alley entrance fifty meters away. Wang Zhong: Turret, turn left! The turret immediately began to turn left. Su Fang was about to use the machine gun to shoot at the enemy on the street when the turret turned, causing the machine gun to move away from in front of her. Wang Zhong and the tank hatch blocked Su Fangs ess to the machine gun. Su Fang: My machine gun! Wang Zhong ignored her as the tank had reached the alley entrance and came to a sudden stop, shaking a little from front to back. The half-track vehicle parked on the other side of the alley saw the tank; the Prussians on it shouted Akh-toong, and turned the vehicle-mounted machine gun towards the tank, only then realizing that the firing arc was insufficientthe machine gun could only cover a frontal arc, but the vehicle was parked sideways at the alley entrance.
Wang Zhong had not yet shouted fire when the tank gun fired. The half-track vehicle must have been loaded with a lot of explosives, and me-thrower fuel or something, as it immediately burst into an orange fireball that slowly rose, resembling a nuclear explosion. Wang Zhong just watched as fragments bearing the Prussian cross flew past him, embedding themselves into the brick crevices of houses on the other side of the street. Su Fang was blown off the tank by the st wave,nding butt-first on the ground, and immediately started howling, Ahh ahh ahh, my butt! Wang Zhong was about to say something when the enemysbat engineers climbed over the st-damaged courtyard wall. The enemy was clearly dazed by the explosion, freezing for a moment upon seeing the tank. Wang Zhong immediately grabbed the anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the tank turretthe one Su Fang had been usingand fired at the enemy. The sight was set to 300, but Wang Zhong didnt aim; he just shot guided by the tracer rounds. Thebat engineers were hit by several shots and fell to the ground. Wang Zhong switched to the overhead view and immediately ordered, High-Explosive Shell, hit the courtyard next to it! No firing angle! Shoot the floor! A High-Explosive Shell hit the ground, and from the overhead view, Wang Zhong could see thebat engineers inside the courtyard being thrown onto the ground. But their armor served its purpose; after all, the main gun of Tank 422 was only 45 millimeters, and its fragments might not prate the steel, only able to injure the enemies limbs. At this moment, Sherchevs subordinates appeared. They charged across the alley shouting Ura! and crossed the mes left by the recent explosion, using their bays to finish off the still-groundedbat engineers. The enemys neck did not have any protection! Wang Zhong yelled: Be careful to capture the methrowers! Be careful to capture the methrowers! Then he heard an engine sound, quickly searched for its source, and saw the enemy tanks that had been two hundred meters away starting to advance. It looked like the fireworks Wang Zhong had caused had made them restless. ` Chapter 46: 42 Wisdom from the Elders Chapter 46: Chapter 42 Wisdom from the Elders
The enemy tanks seemed to still be nning to enter from the western entrance of the vige. Wang Zhongs tank was now stopped on the road leading to the southwest entrance of the vige. Although there were obstacles between it and the entrance, these barriers were suitable for covering infantry but somewhat ineffective for hiding such arge tank. As an old model with multiple turrets, No. 422 was quite imposing. Wang Zhong immediately ordered to drive into the side alley on the left, which was where he had just passed through to destroy the enemysbat engineer vehicle apanied by a half-tracked vehicle. This way, they could temporarily avoid a head-on confrontation with the enemy tanks. The engineering squad had just cleared the houses on the southwest side, and with his external equipment, Wang Zhong could clearly see the enemy infantry entering the houses and exchanging fire with the Ante Army infantry across the road.
As long as the position of the tank was close to the side upied by the Prosen infantry, they didnt need to worry too much about incendiary bottles being thrown at them. On Wang Zhongs side, apart from the Divine Arrow and the tank beneath him, the only remaining means of anti-tank warfare were incendiary bottles. To be effective, one had to either climb to the second floor and ambush the tanks as they passed or clear the infantry around the tank before approaching for anti-tankbat maneuvers. Observing the movements of the enemy tanks, Wang Zhong surmised that this time they would definitely not advance without the cover of infantry. The earlier rush by the Mk.IV tanks was probably due to the enemys assumption that the Ante Armycked anti-tank experience. After being hit with incendiary bottles, the enemy had also learned their lesson. Wang Zhong calcted that the enemy had brought up 8 tanks this time. The good news was that they were all Model III with slim barrels, which probably didnt have the same anti-infantry efficiency as the previous Mk.IV ones. Probably. But, given the enemys tighterbined infantry and tank operations, the effectiveness of incendiary bottles was expected to be greatly reduced. It still depended on his own No. 422 tank. However, this multi-turret tank design was already outdated, with thin armor; one solid hit could mean destruction. If the Prussians fired a shrapnel shell, he too could be in big trouble. He must make good use of the high-angle view, trying to ambush the enemy tanks just like he did with the Mk.IV tanks in the morning. At this moment, the enemy tanks had reached the southwest entrance and started attacking the buildings on the street with shrapnel shells.
Contrary to Wang Zhongs expectations, the Prosen 50mm shrapnel shells were quite effective against personnel. The main reason was the long-barreled 50mm cannon fired shells with unexpectedly high pration power, which could prate the brick walls of buildings and explode inside. Not to mention wooden structures. This was a serious problem; it was imperative to deal with the enemy tanks as soon as possible. Every extra minute of dy would result in more casualties. Although the Third Rear Amur Group had continuously repelled enemy attacks and morale was high, its numbers had been reduced to a dangerous level, and it was solely relying on high morale to avoid copse. The enemys shrapnel shells were weak, and even after prating a stone wall and exploding, they would usually only kill two people, but if this attrition continued, morale could break at any time. However, directly engaging the Prussian Armored Troops from the front would likely be deadly. Attempting a nk maneuver was also risky, as the enemy had left four additional tanks on the peripheryprobably because the infantry who retreated in the morning reported the nking done by the No. 422 tank, so now the Prussians were prepared. Continuing along this mornings route meant engaging in a direct artillery duel with Prussian Model III tanks in the open fields. Wang Zhong pondered for a second, then remembered the smoke grenades thrown by the Prussian forces he had just annihted while they tried to encircle him. He immediately shouted to nearby infantry, Smoke grenades! Check the fallen Prussians for smoke grenades and gather them! After issuing the order, Wang Zhong continued to devise his n. Hand-thrown smoke grenades could at most be thrown a few dozen meters, and the current wind direction was He shifted back to his own perspective and realized that he couldnt make out which way the wind was blowing. As he was pondering this, he saw Su Fang.
So he took off Su Fangs boat-shaped cap, and then he saw the ahoge on Su Fangs head swaying towards the northeast. The wind wasing from the southwest! Wang Zhong put the boat-shaped cap back on the girls head. Su Fang: ??? Wang Zhong turned to others, I need someone whos good at throwing grenades. Who can throw the furthest and most urately among you? Thepanymander! a sergeant replied. He has already sacrificed for the country, find the second best, Wang Zhong said, his voice unconsciously lowering as if expressing sorrow. Having given thest order, he once again increased his viewpoint. He needed to find a suitable position to release the smoke, making it easier for him to perform a sneak attack from behind. Just then, he suddenly remembered that when he yed War Thunder, tanks had engine smoke generators for concealment, which he had used to great effect to avoid ambushes while nking. But that was post-war technology; the T28, this old-fashioned vehicle, should not have it. Yet, this world is not Earth, this world has magic, what if its possible? Wang Zhong, holding a give-it-a-try attitude, asked the driver, Can we use the engine to create a smoke screen? The driver clearly misunderstood what Wang Zhong meant by smoke, answering, My Lord Count, that little bit of ck smoke from the engine wont do any good.
Wang Zhong curled his lip. At this moment, he suddenly saw enemy tanks stationed on the outskirts beginning to move. Two tanks positioned on the southern side of the road started to maneuver to the south, clearly having learned of the location of Tank 422 and nning to circle around! And at this time, the enemy tank that had entered the vige had already stopped at the crossroads, and ever since it had arrived, it had not fired a single shot, probably having loaded armor-piercing shells while waiting for Wang Zhong to show his face at the alley entrance. Wang Zhong made a split-second decision, switched back to his own perspective, and shouted, Deploy smoke, throw to the southwest! That way, the smoke would be carried by the wind to form a barrier, allowing Wang Zhong to escape around the outside of the vige. The order was immediately executed. The Prussians smoke bombs were very simple to use and quickly formed a wall of smoke. Wang Zhong: Driver, advance, exit the vige! At this time, aside from Wang Zhong, no one else knew of the Prussians movements, nor did they understand why Wang Zhong issued thismand. But the order was still executed. After all, Wang Zhongs prestige within this unit was immensely high, his orders would be followed no matter how unreasonable they seemed. No, not Wang Zhong, but Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov. The tank made ttering sounds as it drove through thene, leaving the vige.
Wang Zhong: Stop! He looked at the smoke ahead, thinking that the Prussians really didnt skimp on materials; the smoke was so dense that nothing could be seen with the naked eye. At that moment, an excellent idea urred to him. As a child, Wang Zhong was very fond of an old movie called Heroic Tank Operator, which was about the story of Tank 215 operated by heroic crew members during the Korean War. It included a segment adapted from a real battle situation: the Americans nned to use heavy artillery to bombard the stalled Tank 215. Themander then instructed the driver to rev the engine wildly, creating a loud noise, and then gradually throttle down, making the sound get quieter. As a result, the American soldiers thought the crew of Tank 215 had fled, so they extended their bombardment further back. Wang Zhong decided to emte the heroic deeds of his predecessors. He gave the order, Driver, listen up, I want you to put it in neutral, then rev the engine, let it roar. Then gradually reduce the throttle, make the sound quieter and quieter. Driver: Understood, My Lord Count! Wang Zhong: Loader, one armor-piercing shell, quick! How many armor-piercing shells do we have left? Over twenty, enough to send a few enemies packing. Armor-piercing shell loaded! Wang Zhong, looking at the enemy tanks in the overhead view, muttered, Shoot, now itll take two shots to knock out one enemy.
Inside Tank 422, all crew members were drenched in sweat. Wang Zhong was exposed outside, feeling the breeze and beside him a beautiful woman, utterlyfortableunlike inside the tank, which was stuffy and hot, and noisy to boot. But the crews morale was high. Especially when they heard Wang Zhongs words through the earphones: Shoot, now itll take two shots to knock out one enemy. The loader and the gunner exchanged nces, then looked down at the mechanic and driver in front of the tank. The entire crew exchanged knowing looks. The gunner mouthed: Hes still nning to take out ten more! Loader: This time were avenging the wholepany! All tank operators revealed ecstatic expressions but dared not make a soundfor ording to the rules, idle chatter on the internalms duringbat was considered a disruption ofmand and subject to confinement. Moreover, no one wanted to interrupt the Countsmands. The tank operators could onlyugh silently, giving each other high-fives. Then the Counts order came: Now, driver, floor the throttle! Chapter 47: 43 Tank vs Tank Chapter 47: Chapter 43 Tank vs Tank
The two tanks nking the enemy came to a halt upon seeing the smoke, likely opting not to charge through it for cautions sake. So Wang Zhong ordered, Now is the time, floor the elerator! The tanks engine roared, but Wang Zhong quickly realized the problem with this approach. In Hero Tank Operator, Tank 215 was stuck in a shell hole and couldnt move, despite the tracks spinning wildly with the gears engaged, it still couldnt get out. Thats why he floored the elerator with the gears in ce, making the tracks turn. When the tracks turned, there was not only the roar of the engine but also the noise of the gearbox. Tank 422 was merely revving the engine now, with the gearbox not engaged, meaning only the gears connected to the engine were spinning freely without that characteristic grinding noise of meshing gears.
Wang Zhong hadnt thought of this before, and now the sound made him a bit flustered. He began to worry that the enemy might see through the ruse, switching to a birds-eye view to watch the two Prosen tanks on the other side of the smoke. The tactical numbers on the two tanks were 151 and 152, with Tank 151 sporting a longer antenna, suggesting it was the vehicle of apany or toonmander. From what Wang Zhong remembered, the real-life German army didnt have so manymand tanks with antennas, yet this Prosen army seemed to equip them quitemonly, with at least one or even two such tanks in a group of more than ten. The enemy clearly valued radiomunication! Behind every military practice lies a wealth of bloody lessons. Is there something in this world that forced the Prussians to pay particr attention to radiomunication? Wang Zhong suddenly realized he shouldnt be distracted; he was in the middle of battle, where anypse could mean mortal danger, with distractions possibly proving fatal. By now, the driver had begun to gradually reduce the throttle as instructed, causing the engine noise to decrease slowly. Wang Zhong could only hope that the fierce gunshots and explosions in the vige would drown out the noise from the gearbox and deceive the enemy. The hatch of Tank 151 opened, and a ck-uniformed officer wearing a tilted boat-shaped cap poked his head out, lifting his headphones as if listening. He promptly picked up the handset and issuedmands. The two tanks slightly changed direction, beginning to bypass the smoke curtains nkthey had the same idea as Wang Zhong, to circumvent the smoke and seek a range advantage!
Wang Zhong had thought that if the enemy charged through the smoke, he would take the opportunity to fire a blind shot from his advantageous overhead perspective. Now that the enemy was runningterally, Wang Zhong didnt dare take the risk. Targeting a moving object was already challenging, and blindfiring at a moving target set too high a demand on the gunners skills. It wasnt about the gunners technical skills, but rather about luck. He could only wait for the enemy to emerge before firing. Wang Zhong, Turn the turret left, the enemy will definitely bypass the smoke, we just aim at the edge of it. Set the sight to He made a quick estimate. 300! Adjust ording to the situation! Over the tanks inte, the gunner asked, What if the enemy charges through the smoke? If theye out and we cant swing the turret fast enough, wouldnt we be done for? Wang Zhong, The enemy fears infantry Molotovs and doesnt know the situation behind the smoke; they wont dare! The rationale sounded convincing, and the gunner immediately dropped his objections. In fact, the turret had already been turning when he had asked the question, indicating hisplete trust in Wang Zhongs judgment; it was just a matter of querying. Wang Zhong nervously watched the enemy tanks, with Tank 152 taking the lead, about to nk around the smoke.
Despite the risk of being discovered for cheating, Wang Zhong still warned, Get ready! The enemy ising out! At this point, Tank 422 still had an advantage. The direction the enemys turrets were aiming clearly presupposed that the 422 had fled, but it hadnt moved. Therefore, when both sides established a line of sight, the enemys turret would probably need to turn an additional ten degrees or so to aim at the 422. The time needed to rotate those ten degrees was the advantage of Tank 422. Enemy Tank 152 charged past the smoke screen! Wang Zhong, Wait for it, wait for him to make an emergency stop! However, themander of Tank 152 didnt peek out, and didnt see Tank 422 right away. It kept advancing! Wang Zhong, Never mind, fire! The shot struck the rear of the tanks hull, hitting the engine directly, and Tank 152 lost power, starting to glide forward. The crew smoothly popped the hatch and climbed out. Wang Zhongs heart skipped a beat, and he shouted, Dont shoot! Dont reveal our position! Theres another one! But the electrotechnician had already pulled the trigger, and by the time he let go, a tracer round had already been fired off.
Wang Zhong watched as the tracer hit the gliding enemy tank and ricocheted into the sky. It was over; unless the enemy were fools, they would have guessed their position by now. From the overhead perspective, sure enough, Tank 151 began adjusting the angle of its turret. Loader: Armor-Piercing Shell, ready! Because the situation was so tense, he forgot to say loadingplete and just shouted ready. At that moment, Tank 151 suddenly changed its direction and charged through the smoke! Good grief, the enemy changed tactics too, nning to rush through the smoke and catch Tank 422 by surprise as it aimed at the edge of the smoke. Soon both sides would need to take aim again, and it woulde down to a matter of professional skill level. Unfortunately, Wang Zhong didnt want topete with the enemy. Rotate turret to the right, watch my signals! Having said that, Wang Zhong grabbed Su Fangs hand and pulled the trigger. The machine gun bullets included tracer rounds, which pierced through the smoke and struck the other side.
Wang Zhong, relying on the overhead view, adjusted the firing line of the tracer rounds until the red whip swept over the enemy tank. Themander of Tank 151 immediately ducked, obviously not wanting to be hit by the machine gun fire. But Tank 151 still continued in its original direction. The turret of Tank 422 had already turned in the direction of the machine gun fire. Wang Zhong: Fire! Never mind whether it hits or not, lets take a blind shot! In the glow of the setting sun, the Armor-Piercing Shell traced a shining straight line, hitting Tank 151 on the side of its turret. Wang Zhong didnt see clearly where it hit, he just saw a burst of sparks. Right after that, the side hatch of Tank 151s turret opened, clearly forced open by the damage from the Armor-Piercing Shell. Tank 151 didnt stop moving forward. After the mornings livebat, Wang Zhong already knew that in reality, it was very difficult to tell if a tank had been destroyed. Quite often, tanks that were taken out did not catch fire or smoke; they just sat there, and you couldnt tell from the outside that theyd been destroyed. But Wang Zhong could easily judge if a tank was knocked out using his overhead perspective because enemies within his field of vision would be highlighted.
Conversely, if the enemies went out, then they were really gone. Wang Zhong clearly saw that the enemy loader was gone. He also noticed that the outline of the gunner was missing an arm. But the gunner was still operating the turret with the remaining hand and both feet. Aryan Superman, huh? In the game, encountering this scenario, the most one would do is curse, The nners mom has flown out of the sr system, but in reality, this was deadly! Tank 151 charged into the smoke and was about to burst through! Wang Zhong: Hurry up and load! Loader: Armor-Piercing Shell, ready! Tank 151 burst out of the smoke, made a sudden stop, and its barrel was actually pointed right at Tank 422! No, thats not right, the enemy tank operators were well-trained; maybe they determined their direction using the tracer rounds from Su Fang just now. Both sides fired almost at the same time! The enemy didnt even wait toe to a stop before firing! Wang Zhong thought to himself: Please let it fly away! Tank 151 exploded. Wang Zhong burst intoughter; in War Thunder, he had seen this kind of scenario many times C firing without waiting to stop, then the shell flying off into the sky. At that moment, the two tanks still positioned in the rear began to move. Wang Zhong: Quick! Load! There are still enemies waiting for us to take care of! However the loader didnt respond. Wang Zhong: Loader! Suddenly, the gunner said: Hes sacrificed himself, someone help me load! Chapter 48: 44 The Battle Continues Chapter 48: Chapter 44 The Battle Continues
` Wang Zhong was stunned for a moment; he didnt expect that the enemys shell had hit its mark. Was this luck? If it wasnt luck, then it was terrifying, operating the tank gun and uratelypleting an emergency stop firing with one arm disabled. What kind of ace gunner was this? Are all Prosen tank operators monsters? But there were still two enemy tanks circumventing from the south, and now was not the time to dwell on these thoughts.
He grabbed the nearest idler: Sufang! Get in the tank, I need a new loader! After saying this, he struggled to climb out of the tank, vacating the hatch. In fact, Wang Zhong wasnt very familiar with the tanks in this world and didnt know where the loader was supposed to get in, so he could only vacate the tankmanders hatch. - Sufang was rtively skinny and slipped into the turret more smoothly than Wang Zhongthe T28 wasnt a particrly spacious tank. Once inside the turret, Sufang immediately saw that the gunners left shoulder was covered in blood, his arm hanging limply, clearly broken. Her first reaction was to tell Count Rocossov, but the gunner, with his still-functional right hand, grabbed her instead. The gunner turned off the microphone and mouthed, There are no more living gunners; I have to do it. Sufang was stunned; then, Count Rocossov climbed in, his rear end right next to Sufangs face. The Counts voice came from outside the hatch: Load quickly, there are still enemies! The gunner pointed with his right hand to the rack holding the armor-piercing shells. Because the body of the original loader hadnt been moved out, the space was extremely cramped, and only someone of Sufangs size could maneuver.
She picked up the shell, stuffed it into the tank gun, and then didnt know how to close the breech. The gunner demonstrated with his right hand. Since he was sitting on the right side of the turretbat room, he had to turn around to be able to reach it, blood pouring down from his left hand all the while. Nevertheless, hepleted the loading action. Sufang nodded: Got it. After finishing, she worriedly looked at the gunners left arm. Gunner: Theres a first aid kit over there; tie this up for me, tight, very tight. Sufang dug out the first aid kit, took out the bandage, and began to wrap it. For some reason, she couldnt help the tears flowing continuously, blurring her vision. - Wang Zhong was now considering how to repel the enemy. He had switched to an overhead view mode, so he had no idea that the gunner was injured. The two remaining enemy tanks, tactical numbers 153 and 154, were now rounding arger arc, nning toe from the south and destroy tank 422. Seeing the distance was now close to one kilometer, the enemys training would have an even greater advantage. The most critical issue was that the enemy had two tanks. If they both came around and stopped abruptly to fire, tank 422 could only deal with one.
Wang Zhong quickly nced at the vige and found that the tanks entering the vige were firmly blocking the entrance; he couldnt retreat into the vige. The only n was to use smoke for cover and then retreat east. But that would continue to increase the distance from the enemy, and the enemys advantages in aiming devices and training would be even greater. At that moment, adrenaline flooded Wang Zhongs system, the death of the loader making him acutely aware that he was dancing on a knifes edge, skirting the gates of hell. Perhaps the rush of adrenaline enhanced his thinking ability, for Wang Zhong actually came up with an idea. He turned and shouted to the infantry beside him: Hurry, use straw or anything to hide the remains of that half-track! The engineers half-track had exploded gloriously when it was hit, perhaps too thoroughly, as it didnt catch fire after the st and insteady there as a charred hulk. Piled with straw, it looked very much like a tankying there. The enemy had increased the distance, which certainly made it hard to discern the deception! Luckily there were still some infantry nearby, not all caught up in the meat grinder battle on the streets. The sergeant who had just ordered to throw the smoke grenades immediately organized everyone to move straw. The enemys wider maneuver actually gave Wang Zhong time to prepare.
Wang Zhong: Driver! Are you okay? Im fine. Wang Zhong: Reverse, back into the yard behind us! The recent explosion of the half-track had knocked down the eastern yard wall of the alley, allowing the tank to back into it. Wang Zhong nned to use the remnants of the low wall on the southern side of the yard as cover by hiding the tank and using the wreckage to absorb the first round of enemy fire. ` Tank 422 backed into the yard, hiding behind a low wall, with only half its turret and one tank gun protruding. Wang Zhong: Give me some straw too, block in front, but dont cover the sight! The infantry immediately tossed two bundles of straw onto the tank, and then a private climbed up and propped the straw on both sides of the gun barrel, just revealing the sight. Just as Wang Zhong thought to duck down, another bundle of straw was ced on top of the tank turret, covering him and the hatch by a good half. Using his elevated perspective, Wang Zhong looked from afar to confirm that the camouge was passable; seen up close, it was full of ws, but it would be hard to spot from a kilometer away, and even with binocrs, it wouldnt draw attention easily. The wreckage had also been camouged well; the infantry had piled up straw and even moved parts of a wooden house previously blown up by the Prosenbat engineers, making it look particrly suspicious.
Wang Zhong: Infantry, stay away to avoid idental injury from our explosion. Despite the tense situation, some of the infantry couldnt help butugh out loud. They thought the Count was disying his generosity and sense of humor. The distant enemy was about to circle into position. Switching to the naked eye, Wang Zhong raised his binocrs to watch the edge of the smoke. Tank 153 charged into view. Wang Zhong: See it? Tank 153! Range 980 meters! Aim! The enemy will surelye to a sudden stop this time, dont rush! As soon as he finished speaking, Tank 153 stopped, and the tankmander poking his head out of the turret was also observing this area. Wang Zhong suddenly realized that he was facing the sun and that the binocrs might sh, so he hastily put them down and switched to an overhead perspective. He continued tomand: Hold steady! Let the enemy fire first! Tank 154 was in position now as well; both Prosen tanks on the open field were aiming this way. Then, Tank 153 fired! The target was the straw-covered wreckage! Wang Zhong: Hold steady! Wait for Tank 154 to fire!
This time he didnt have to wait long, as the muzzle of Tank 154 emitted smoke and sh. Without waiting to confirm where the enemy shellnded, Wang Zhong shouted: Fire! The st from the gun barrel blew away all the straw, leaving Wang Zhongs own vehicle wide open, with Tank 422s tactical number directly exposed in the sunset light! From the overhead view, Wang Zhong clearly saw two enemies on Tank 153 get killed and one wounded. This time they didnt hold out and abandoned the tank instead! Sofyas voice crept into Wang Zhongs ears: Armor-Piercing Shell, good! Wang Zhong: Target Tank 154! Turn the turret quickly! For some reason, the turret turned a beat slower this time, resulting in Tank 154 firing again. Wang Zhong thought it was over. In a sh, he saw a streak of light hit the low wall in front of the tankthe enemy shot too low! Immediately after, the shell that prated the wall hit the tank. The hit happened so fast that Wang Zhong didnt see what happened, only to hear the window ss in the room behind him shattering with a crash. Then, he saw the tow cable fixed on the tanks outer shell spring up high, whipping like ash on a nearby wooden house, splintering the wood, and embedding into the house. Wang Zhong couldnt worry about that now, yelling: Fire, shoot! Before he finished speaking, mes shot out of the gun barrel. He rushed to look at the enemy tank. It was over, from the overhead view not a single enemy was dead! He didnt know if the shot went astray or failed to prate! Just when Wang Zhong thought it was his end, the enemy abandoned the tank! Upon closer inspection, there were hit marks on the enemys mantlet; it was likely their gun breech had jammed! In the game, a jammed gun breech only needed a tap on F, and after a dozen seconds, one would be back in action. But that wasnt the case in reality; a broken breech meant abandoning the tank, waiting to be towed to a repair shop for fixing! Wang Zhong was overjoyed; he had won! Although only two enemies were killed in total, a win was still a win! Heughed heartily, then remembered there were still tanks and enemy infantry in the vige. The battle would continue! For some reason, the melody of The Battle Will Still Continue echoed in Wang Zhongs heart. The battle will still continue! Passionate and soaring high! Young At that moment, the Gunner said, I think Im not going to make it. Chapter 49: 45 Reinforcements Arrive Chapter 49: Chapter 45 Reinforcements Arrive
Wang Zhong hurriedly slid down to his position and looked towards the gunner. The gunners arm was wrapped in bandages, but they didnt seem to be of much use, as they were soaked through, drenching the uniform beneath. The gunners face was covered in blood, only his lips were frighteningly pale. His breathing was incredibly weak, and he spoke with no strength in his voice, as if operating the main gun had drained all of his energy. He stared at Wang Zhong, his right hand trembling as he lifted it, pointing to the pocket on his chest. Wang Zhong understood immediately, reaching quickly to unbutton the pocket and pulling out a letter stained with fresh blood.
In various movies and TV shows, he had often seen such scenes, but he never dreamed he would personally experience one. The letter in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Gunner: Argesukov, Krugen Street 43, Alexeyevna After finishing his words in fits and starts, the gunners hand slipped to the floor. Wang Zhong didnt know if this Alexeyevna was his wife or his mother. Wang Zhong didnt even know the gunners name; as far as his memory could tell, he had never asked for their names. Not just the gunner, he didnt know the loaders name either. A vast guilt seized Wangs heart, as if he had done something terribly wrong. If he knew their names, at least he could say goodbye to them properly. But as he hesitated, a sudden explosion jolted Wang Zhong back to realitythis was not the time for contemtion, the battle was still ongoing! Wang Zhong raised his view, confirming that the recent explosion seemed to be from an enemy tank. Out of the eight tanks that had entered the vige, two had been destroyed, and these two were concentrated on one street.
Wang Zhong followed the street eastward and, sure enough, he saw Monk Yeca Neikos group moving their position, with the ammunition handler carrying thest Divine Arrow. A re shot up into the sky, fired by officer Prosen, probably to indicate the direction of the iing Divine Arrow. Following the re, Prosens infantry started to deploy smoke bombs, blocking the vision of the Divine Arrow group. At this moment, Wang Zhong thought these well-trained enemies were truly detestable. He muste up with a way to destroy the remainder of the enemy tanks, and then Team 422 could once again sweep through the enemy infantry thatcked anti-tank capabilities. But to get Tank 422 moving again, they needed a gunner. Wang Zhongs first thought was to act as the gunner himself, but then he considered the enemys impressive expertise; a greenhorn like himself undertaking the gunners role might endanger the entire crew. A trained person had muscle memory; even in a state of panic, their body would act on that memory. Wang Zhong, without any training, had no idea how to operate a tanks main gun. Suddenly, he recalled reading in a memoir that tank operators should be familiar with every position, or they couldnt be a tankmander. So he asked, Driver, do you know how to operate the main gun? No! And I have to drive! Wang Zhong recalled that the memoir he read was Otto Cariuss, which said that German tank operators needed to be versatile, capable of performing any role.
But this was not Earth. The tank operators of the Ante Empire clearly did not have such requirements. Wang Zhong, still unwilling to give up, asked again, Electromechanic, can you operate the main gun? No one answered. Electromechanic? Hes also gone, the driver said softly, Its just a few of us left on board. Wang Zhong was stunned; he had thought that Team 422 was lucky, with only a loader lost to a frontal hit. As it turned out, all that was left were the driver and Wang Zhong, acting as the tankmander. A surge of intense destion and sorrow flooded Wang Zhongs chest. He finally understood what the bond ofradeship meanteven though he had no idea what the names of those fallenrades were. So he whispered reverently, I may not know your names, but your deeds will live on forever. But the battle still had to be fought; after a brief moment of silence, Wang Zhong shouted, Does anyone know how to operate the gun? The infantrymen remained silent.
At that moment, the officer who had been following Wang Zhongs orders spoke up, Maybe we should abandon the tank; we can all see its in a bad state. Wang Zhong: No, it can still fire; its still in fighting shape, as long as we have a gunner! But none of us have the necessary training. We might manage to drive a tractor or get by driving a car, but a tank the officer shook his head. Wang Zhong bit his lip. He was still reluctant to give up, even if they couldnt use the tanks main gun, there must be something else they could do Suddenly, he had an idea. Wang Zhong: The engine! The enemy ces a great deal of importance on radiomunication; they must surely be aware that we used the engine to bluff them. So, they will be especially attentive to the sound of the engine! As he spoke, Wang Zhong nced at an overhead view, and the smoke released by the enemy infantry caught his eye. Wang Zhong: And the smoke! Sergeant, how many smoke bombs do we have left? The officer replied, We have plenty left, my lord. Additionally, we have captured aplete methrower. Wang Zhong: Then that settles it. Im giving you a mission: immediately deploy smoke along the street and let it engulf the entire vige! Officer: Wouldnt that make it impossible for the machine guns to function properly?
It doesnt matter! The core of this operation is to use the enemys fear of us! Officer: Fear, my lord? Wang Zhong hesitated; he didnt know if the enemy feared Tank 422 after he had destroyed so many tanks. If they didnt, they were all doomed. But, he had to try. With enemy tanks providing direct fire support, the machine guns couldnt fire more than a few bursts before having to move, or theyd be hit by a 50mm fruit. Chapter 50: 45 Reinforcements Arrive_2 Chapter 50: Chapter 45 Reinforcements Arrive_2
` And after deploying smoke, we might be able tounch another bay charge. Having made up his mind, Wang Zhong ordered, Deploy the smoke, and once youve thrown all you have, search the enemys bodies for more. Fill the entire vige with smoke! Quick! The nonmissioned officer saluted and turned to carry out the order. Wang Zhong took a deep breath, uncertain if this method was reliable, but at least it was a n. Just having a n made him feel much more at ease. He touched the pocket where he kept the gunners letter and whispered, Argesukov, 43 Krugen Street, Alexeyevna.
Of course, Wang Zhong didnt know this ce, and he had never been to Argesukov. He heard it was the capital of a region in the Ante Empire, and now the entire Front Army headquarters was situated there. However, he wasnt sure if he would ever make it to Argesukov. This might well be hisst moments since his arrival in this world. Given the Prussians brutality, he probably wouldnt survive. As Wang Zhong was pondering, he suddenly saw smoke rising in the distancehis n was being executed methodically. He rallied his spirit, Driver, floor the elerator! Now, it was time to see if they could intimidate those Prussians. If all else failed, they could use the smoke cover to charge directly into the enemy. My tank is the final shell, Wang Zhong thought to himself, feeling nothing amiss, as if he could hardly remember the original goal of preserving his life. - Major Shrifen eyed the vast amount of smoke rising from Upper Peniye Vige, his eyebrows twisted like pretzels. The chief of staff put down his binocrs and said with tense expression, The enemy likes to use smoke then charge with bays! Its what they did before! Major Franz, themander of the 351st Regiment, said, Our forces are not afraid of closebat.
No, Major, the battle groups chief of staff turned to Franz, If the enemy dares to charge with bays under these conditions, they must havemitted their reserves. Weve already lost half our tanks and suffered heavy infantry casualties. Continuing to fight the enemys reserves is not in our favor! Major Shrifen clicked his tongue, The enemy they still have reserves? We havent encountered any defensive forces with reserves so far in our advance. Also, this vige isnt of any strategic importance, is it? Would they really station so many troops here? The chief of staff replied, Here we have the Divine Arrow units and an ace tank crew! That tank crew has already destroyed eight of our tanks! Major Shrifen pursed his lips, while Major Franz looked at him with an expression of Its your call, making Shrifen feel like the old Junker noble was just waiting to see him make a fool of himself. Finally, Major Shrifen nced at the sun and said, If we continue to fight, itll turn into a night battle. Night battles favor the defenders who are familiar with the terrain. Lets retreat. Order the mortar units to deploy smoke to cover our withdrawal. - Wang Zhong watched the retreating enemy with confusion, wondering what it meant. Were they really scared off by the sound of engines? Impossible, right? There must be some other factor, perhaps their King had also ordered to halt the advance and regroup? But even if that were true, what did it have to do with Upper Peniye, this insignificant ce? Regardless, the enemy was retreating. The soldiers transitioned from initial bewilderment to tion. This time, there were no cries of Ura! but rather cheers of celebration for those who had survived against the odds.
Sofan, in the tank, didnt know what was happening outside and asked nkly, Whats going on? Why the cheering? What happened? Did we get reinforcements? No, the enemy is retreating, Wang Zhong replied softly. - Thirty minutester, dusk began to descend. Wang Zhong stood beside the viges central church, looking at the bodies being dragged out of the tank. The only surviving driver was also wounded, with arge shrapnel lodged in his back, so he was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Now, only Wang Zhong, the temporary tankmander, was there to see them off. More bodies were moved out, taken to the church. In the two battles that day, at least two hundred had fallen, with countless others wounded. Yegorov came to stand by Wang Zhong, nced at the tank operators on the ground, and said nothing. Wang Zhong took the initiative, Report the situation. Currently, excluding the wounded, we only have one hundred and five uninjuredbatants left, adding youwe have a total of four hundred people capable of fighting, Yegorov reported. Wang Zhong asked, Is that all thats left of a regiment?
Yegorov replied, Yes. Its a regiment plus a tank battalion. Im running out of experienced nonmissioned officers, and its about time we disband the unit structure. As for this tank battalion from the Fourth Tank Army, its beenpletely wiped out. Yegorov stressed the words pletely wiped out. Wang Zhong asked, What do you mean? The tank battalion of the Fourth Tank Army was ordered to hold Upper Peniye for 36 hours. Now, theyve sacrificed all their tanks for that order, Yegorov looked at Wang Zhong, My Lord Count, let us retreat. Troops that have gone through such fierce battles, whether they are reinforcements or reorganized, are a valuable force. Even for the sake of the Empire, we should retreat. Wang Zhong: Then all these sacrifices, all theserades, would they have died in vain? Weve dyed the enemy for at least twenty-four hours. They were supposed to be camping in this vige tonight, expecting the local girls to keep them warm! We have already Yegorov couldnt continue. What would happen to the people left in the vige if they retreated, the fate of Granny Ilynichnas family had already shown that. But Wang Zhong cared about more than just that. Chapter 51: 45 Reinforcements Arrive_3 Chapter 51: Chapter 45 Reinforcements Arrive_3
He turned his head and asked Yegorov, If we retreat now, how will military history record us? Those professors, those clueless donkeys who dont know what a battlefield is like, and those self-serving public intellectuals will say the Third Rear Amur Group and the 31st Tank Regiment of the Fourth Tank Army were all cowards. They wont treat the dead separately from us! Were going to hold out here until eight oclock tomorrow night! Yes, our forces are insufficient, but we cane up with solutions,ndmines, explosives, anything we can use! Yegorov: But we have none. We didnt find any defensive supplies at the enemys logistic base. They dont think they need to defend. Wang Zhong pursed his lips, watching more and more bodies pile up in front of him; residents were bringing all the fallen soldiers of the Ante Army to the church.
He sighed, We could try requesting reinforcements. Isnt there a telegraph office here? Actually, Wang Zhong did not have any memories of using telegraphs; by the time he was able to remember things, telegraphs were already out of use, which is why he only thought of them now, as telegraphs should be amon method ofmunication among civilians in this era. Yegorov: There is, but the telegraph at the telegraph office is wired, the same as the telephone. Now theyre all cut. Maybe even the main telegraph and telephone offices in the big cities have been bombed by enemy aircraft. No one can send messages. Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, and at that moment, seeing Su Fangs hesitant appearance, an idea struck him: We still have Hymn Monk, now that the battlefield has calmed down, and there are mass props in the church, could we have mass? Yes! Su Fang nodded repeatedly, But I need someone who understands the mass process to help me. Wang Zhong: Let Ludme. Is one enough? Su Fang: The smallest mass requires three people. One me, one Ludm, and one more clergy. Wang Zhong: Then we only have Monk Yeca Neiko. Whats in the mass? Prayers, sermons, Holy Communion, shrugged Su Fang, The mass is simple, it just takes a long time and theres no guarantee the other side will hear. I have to keep kneeling, reciting holy hymns and the message to convey until tomorrow morning; dont expect me to fire a machine gun tomorrow. Wang Zhong: Go ahead, do it. Su Fang hopped away excitedly. Wang Zhong looked at Yegorov: If theres no response by tomorrow morning, well retreat.
Yegorov: Can we really retreat tomorrow morning? It would be better to retreat overnight. Wang Zhong very firmly said, Wait for a response first. After making a decision, Wang Zhong quickly ate some beef and pickles, then chose to sleep for a while. He was about to pass out when he remembered he still had a low fever. It seemed even adrenaline could temporarilybat illness. He didnt know how long he slept, but by the time he got up, it waspletely dark outside and a bit chilly. After waking up, his first reaction was to feel for the letter on his person, addressed to Miss Alexeyevna at 43 Krugen Street, for Argesukov. He had sworn that as long as he was alive, he would ensure this letter reached thatdys hands. Reassured the letter was still safe, Wang Zhong exhaled and stood up, putting on his jacket. He heard singing outside and thought it was part of the mass ceremony, so with the intention of seeing what was going on, he walked towards the door. As he went out, the guard snapped to attention with a salute that startled Wang Zhong with the sound of heelsing together. He scrutinized the guard carefully and saw that the private was holding his head high, his eyes burning with intensity.
In that gaze, Wang Zhong felt the soldiers trust in him. That was when he suddenly remembered his initial moments after crossing into this world, when his only thought had been to survive the chaos, and that was it. Really, when had he be someone who could consider himself thest bullet? He didnt even know what this country looked like in its entirety. Although he felt a bit self-mocking, Wang Zhong had no intention of changing his current resolution. Because of this trust, and because he had shed blood together with them. Of course, there was also justice and a sense of pride see, now I am fighting for the justice and righteousness of the world, just like the international brigades in Spain. Stepping out of the managers office of the distillery, Wang Zhong stood on the steps at the factory door, looking at the soldiers gathered in the courtyard. They were a group of wounded, probably gathered here beside the fire and sharing roasted meat because the hospital ran out of beds. It was they who were singing. The melody of the song was surprisingly familiar to Wang Zhong; it was On the Opposite Bank of the River, once chosen as the theme song for the Chinese version of How Steel Was Tempered. A baritone hummed: lights have been kindled on the distant riverbank, The evening glow fades into the clear night sky,
Mounting the warhorse, shouldering thence, The young soldiers ready themselves to set out, When the baritone sang solo, the others joined in with harmony, as if all had been trained for a choir. All is silent on the vast expanse of the field, The soldiers vigntly searched for signs of the enemy. In the darkness, the cold glint of bays shone. They encountered an enemy ambush. The song swiftly moved into the rousing chorus, and someone even brought out an ordion for apaniment, everyone singing aloud together: The warriors shouted as they charged into the enemy throngs. A desperate struggle unfolded on the ins. The chorus felt peculiarly fitting for todays situation. No wonder the soldiers chose to sing it at this time. Wang Zhong was thinking when the chorus ended, and the baritone began his solo:
A soldier fell from his horse, struck by a bullet. He bravely sacrificed for the benefit of his mothend. As the baritones voice faded, the crowd continued humming the harmony, as if to mourn therades who had died today in this manner. Wang Zhong stood on the steps, savoring the sadness that flowed uninhibited under the night sky. Thats when Yegorov appeared. Wang Zhong asked, Has the Mass received a response? Yegorov shook his head, No. If were going to retreat, nows the time, it will be dawn in two more hours. Wang Zhong nced at the soldiers still humming the sorrowful song, his heart softening. Just then, he faintly heard the sound of engines in the night sky. The enemy? His first reaction was this. Yegorov, however, looked eastward, No, the sound ising from the east. Pavlov, who rushed over in a hurry, said, It must be the enemy cunningly circling to our rear!
Wang Zhong ignored him and directly changed his viewpoint, only to see darkness; he couldnt see anything at all, not because his own vision wouldnt highlight the enemy. So Wang Zhong made a beeline for the water tower. After taking a couple of steps, he thought better of it and decided to get a clearer view from the vige entrance, so he called out Bucephalus! The white horse that he had inherited from Captain Lubokov ran out from the stables, already saddled up. Huh, how was it already saddled? Wang Zhong looked towards the stables, only to find the former crew chief of Tank 422 hiding behind the stable doors. It seemed this guy had secretly saddled Bucephalus, nning to escape on it! Wang Zhong pointed at the stables, Catch that deserter for me! Execute him on the spot! Tank 422s crew had behaved valiantly; Wang Zhong wouldnt allow anyone to tarnish their courage. Having said this, he mounted the horse, riding as if the movement had been ingrained in his muscles, and he galloped away on the white horse, which became a sh of lightning in the night. At the vige entrance, Wang Zhong raised his field of view. By now, the roar of the engines was very close. Firstly, there was no highlight, so it wasnt the enemy arriving. Wang Zhong peered closely at the dark objectsing down the road and suddenlyughed out loud. In World War II, there were many such fabricated myths, such as the Zero Fighter myth; in reality, the Zeros achievements were mostly gained against outdated fighters like the F2A, and newer American models like the P38 and F4F never let the Zero have the upper hand. Another was the German armored myth. In fact, at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the majority of Germanys victories were achieved against light tanks such as the BT7 and other outdated tanks; they suffered setbacks as soon as they encountered the T34, and Guderian even developed a T34 phobia. Later research showed that Guderian had actually mistaken other tanks for T34s. The tank that frightened Guderian had, in the early days of the war, repeatedly created miracles against multiple opponents, and even stalled an entire German divisions advance. In its presence, the father of German armored troops eximed, Our armored advantage no longer exists. Now, the very culprit that had terrified another war hero in a different time and space was approaching Peniye. Though there was only one, Wang Zhong, well-versed in military history, saw it as if it were a lifeline. For the first time, he found the stout shape of this tank to be so incredibly beautiful. He saw a KV1 heavy tank. Chapter 52: 46 The Tranquil Moments Before Dawn Chapter 52: Chapter 46 The Tranquil Moments Before Dawn
In the midst of Wang Zhongs manicughter, the heavy tank gradually approached the white horse. Only at this distance did Wang Zhong clearly see the tanks tactical number: 67, perhaps heavy tanks were rare, so the tactical numbers were also one digit less. The tank hatch opened, and themander popped his head out, Excuse me, Lieutenant Colonel, is this Upper Peniye Vige? Wang Zhong: Yes, it is. Themander saluted and then asked, Has someone here called for reinforcements? Was it you? Wang Zhong: Did you receive the Hymn?
No, no, Im not a Monk, I cant hear it. But after we arrived at Bogdanovka, the 63rd Infantry Army, which was organizing a defensive line there, told me that someone in Upper Peniye Vige was calling for reinforcements. It was eleven oclock at night, and the only ones who could make it in such a short time were us. As he spoke, themander patted the turret top, This guy, though slow and prone to breakdowns, is still much faster than the legs of the infantry. Wang Zhong asked in confusion, What about the trucks? Themanderughed heartily, With the Prosen Air Force around, wed be lucky to have a few jeeps left. At this time, the driver also poked his head out, Xie Liaosha, if there are jeeps left, its because they know our Lada would break down on its own. Everyone but Wang Zhong burst intoughter. Although Wang Zhong imed to be very familiar with Soviet jokes, as an outsider, he was a secondte in catching on andughed along with the others. Theughable performance of Soviet-manufactured Lada cars had be a part of Soviet humor. After theughter, Wang Zhong said in all seriousness, You came from Bogdanovka? How is the defensive construction there? The task of Wang Zhongs unitin fact, the mission of the 31st Regiment, Second Battalion of the 4th Tank Armywas to hold this position for 38 hours, with the aim of buying time to establish defensive lines at Bogdanovka. So it was perfectly reasonable for Wang Zhong to ask about the status of the defensive line. Commander Xie Liaosha shook his head, Dont mention it, when we left Bogdanovka, not many anti-tank stakes had been built, only one anti-tank ditch had been dug, and the machine gun bunkers and firing positions were all under construction.
Rumor has it that aerial attacks were so fierce during the day that construction progress was severely hindered. At that moment, Yegorov arrived with the staff. Hearing Xie Liaoshas words, he cursed, What is the Air Force doing? Didnt they say there are three thousand nes in Kazarlian territory? Why havent we seen a single one of our military aircraft? Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow; if the progression of this war was simr to that of Earths, then it was likely that the entire Ante Empire Air Force had been destroyed on the airfields at the outset, with themander of the Air Force havingmitted suicide afterward. Of course, this universe might differ, as after all, in this universe God still guided missiles, creating quite a significant divergence from Earth. Furthermore, he keenly caught on to a term: Kazarlia, which sounded like an administrative division. A division capable of deploying 3000 aircraft was probably quiterge. These matters could be more slowly understoodter; what needed to be considered now was how to make good use of the newly arrived heavy tank. The first order of business was to confirm whether its protection level was the same as in the original universe; this would determine how Wang Zhong would use it going forward. Wang Zhong, Im not very familiar with your tank, Lieutenant. Tell me about it. Xie Liaosha is a nickname, which Wang Zhong, as someone meeting him for the first time, certainly couldnt use; theoretically, he should call out Xie Liaoshas long paternal name, but Wang Zhong was unaware of it. So, Wang Zhong could only address him by his military rank. The Lieutenant saluted, This thing is formidable. When we joined the Winter War, it was nearly over, and Manahaim was almost winning. We took part in the final offensive, and the anti-tank weapons at the Manahaim front couldnt prate it! Had it not been for a mechanical failure that left us immobilized, we could have steamrolled the enemy all the way! Wang Zhong, I didnt ask for your experience using it, I asked for specific details about the tank, like the thickness of its armor.
Sorry, the specifications, right! The front The Lieutenant recited the detailed specifications of the tank. Wang Zhong actually couldnt quite remember the specific parameters of the KV1, but he thought the turrets front defense of 120 millimeters should be imprable to the enemys 50-millimeter me throwers, and the bodys sloped 80 millimeters would probably give the enemy a hard time too. His only concern was if the enemy brought up the 88 millimeter anti-everything gunProsens equipment all had that Germanic feel to it; it made no sense for them tock this most quintessentially German piece. Fortunately, Wang Zhong had an aerial view, which meant as long as he kept a direct visual on the enemy from the front line, they would spot an 88 gun before it even got off its transport. The remaining question was, how to get this tankmander to relinquish his position. Wang Zhong looked through his aerial view and saw that the tank had not been added to the troops roster, meaning it was not yet under hismand. Lieutenant, began Wang Zhong, I am Count Rocossov, the highestmanding officer here. Ivemanded the troops to fight against the enemy here for a day. You can see the remains of the enemys tanks and vehicles in the vige, and at the entrance of the vige, that Jing Guan. It was I who ordered Hymn Monk Sufang Batu Wendusu to call for reinforcements. I requestI hope that you and your crew would ept mymand. Of course! the Lieutenant agreed readily, After all, we should look at the rank. Wang Zhong switched off the aerial view and noticed that the troop marker had not been added. Could it be that a verbal agreement wasnt enough; he had to gain the trust of his allies? Wang Zhong decided to try again, I now request directmand over you, which means I need you, the tankmander, to give up yourmand position. The Lieutenant frowned, Have you undergone Armored Troops training? Do you know how to use the equipment on board?
Wang Zhong, No, but I havemanded the 422nd tank of the Second Battalion of the 31st Tank Regiment of the Fourth Tank Army and destroyed eight tanks. The Lieutenant pondered for a second and then shook his head decisively, No, Sir, I and my crew took part in the Winter War, we have been injured and bled together. Put yourself in my shoes, if a random officer whom you dont recognize suddenly emerged and wanted to take over themand of yourrades, would you agree? At this point, Yegorov angrily said, Enough with the nonsense! The Count has shown his superbmand skills, and we have all witnessed it! If you dont believe it, go take a look at the tanks in the vige, and those on the fields! The Lieutenant was stubborn, I am part of the Armored Troops; the Count is an infantry officer by the looks of it, correct? Initially, I have the right not to ept yourmand. Its just that given the current situation on the battlefield, we agree toply. Look at the kill rings on the gun barrel, even if you truly destroyed eight tanks, we have destroyed many more! Are you doubting our capability, Count? Wang Zhong raised his hand to stop Yegorov, who was about to continue speaking. He wanted to take direct control as the tankmander because this cheat code would be incredibly useful in urbanbat. Moreover, the T28 tank was just rubbishthin-skinned and vulnerable. Without Wang Zhongs cheat, it was impossible to eliminate so many enemies. But the KV1 was different; its performance crushed all enemy armor. Besides, Wang Zhong suddenly thought of a tactic to fully utilize the KV1s capabilities without having to personally step into the role of tankmander. After a victorious battle and earning the respect of the crew of Tank 67, who would willingly ept hismand, there would be no rush to take over a tank.
Wang Zhong: I trust you, lieutenant. Moreover, I have fought directly against enemy tanks and am intimately familiar with their tank guns power and precision. I have a method to fully exploit your armor advantage. Wang Zhong dismounted and signaled to Yegorov: Map of the vige. Yegorov gestured, and Pavlov took out the map from his bag himself. Yegorov was shocked: Wheres the staff who usually carries the map around with you? Sacrificed, Pavlov said calmly, unfolding the map and passing it to Wang Zhong, Speak, Your Excellency. Wang Zhong couldnt help but give Pavlov another look. At that moment, themander of Tank 67 also jumped off and came to the side of the map. Wang Zhong adjusted the map so that the side facing him was south, and then pointed to the west side of the vige, saying, This area is an open field. The enemy, in todaysno, yesterdays battle had already calcted the firing data, and they will set up a smoke screen here when they attack. Wang Zhong tapped on that point on the map. He had seen it clearly from a birds-eye viewthe enemys smoke was deployed at the same location twice, so now he pinpointed the enemys expected position for the smoke deployment on the map with utmost precision. Yegorov used hisrge hand to measure on the map before eximing, How did you pinpoint the smoke location just by pointing? I need to measure it with my hand as well. Wang Zhong: Just a little trick. In any case, the enemy deployed smoke here twice today. I expect they will do it again tomorrow. My n is simple, hide at the west entrance of the vige, right here! He pointed on the map, emphasizing the spot twice more.
Wang Zhong: The infantry will cover you with camouge. As soon as the enemy starts deploying smoke, start your engine and charge towards it. By the time you break through, the enemys offensive line should be here. Wang Zhong pointed several more times. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha nodded: Thats exactly our optimal range; too far and we might not hit them. Wang Zhong: With smoke behind you and the enemy about to nk you, simply reverse into the smoke, then wait for them to emerge while reversing. You only have one tank and can maneuver along the road, but the enemy needs to spread out to cover their infantry, meaning they have to move through muddy terrain. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha asked, How many tanks does the enemy have left? Wang Zhong recalled what he had seen from above and replied, Twenty, why? Lieutenant Xie Liaoshaughed: Then we might just wipe them all out. Wang Zhong: The enemy infantry are well-trained, and they have anti-tank grenades. Be extremely cautious. Xie Liaosha: Dont worry. Weve dealt with Molotov cocktails during the Winter War. We will be careful. Wang Zhong reached out and patted Xie Liaoshas shoulder: Its in your hands. When I asked to take over as yourmander earlier, it wasnt out of distrust, but a wish to avenge the Tank 422 crew I fought with. In truth, he wanted to utilize the cheat. But his words werent false eitherWang Zhong did indeed want revenge. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha asked, How many from your crew are left? Wang Zhong: Just me and the driver now. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha asked again, How did you be themander? Youre clearly infantry. Wang Zhong recounted the incident with the fearful sergeant. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha was taken aback: So thats what happened; I misunderstood you. I thought it was just some nobles whim to pilot a tank! Yegorov: We thought the same initially, but let me tell you, the Earl is as skilled as Suvorov resurrected. When Tank 422 was around, they even called him the Star of Victory! Though Yegorov was ttering, Wang Zhong couldnt feel happy at the mention of Tank 422. Observing Wang Zhongs expression, Lieutenant Xie Liaosha asked cautiously, May I take a look at your seat in the tank? The Armored Troops will pay tribute to those braverades, and I would like to show my respect. Wang Zhong nodded: Of course, but first move the tank into position so the infantry can camouge you. Yegorov shouted: Leave that to us; position the tank and take the time to rest! Xie Liaosha leaped onto the tank and climbed into the turret, putting on his headset and ordering, Ashka, advance! The tank engine roared, but after a few grumbles, the tank remained motionless. The driverined: Damn it, the gearbox is down again! Wang Zhong was astonished; he knew the KV1 had a high rate of failure in the early days of the war, but he wasnt expecting it at this critical juncture. He hurriedly asked, Can it be fixed? The nimble driver climbed out of the cockpit, smiling: Of course! As he spoke, he opened therge satchel on the side of the turret: We brought a bunch of spare parts; itll be fixed in an hour. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha spread his hands: It always broke down during the Winter War. Later, the design bureau made some improvements, iming the issue was resolved, but we still brought spares and a toolbox based on our experience then. Wang Zhong let out a sigh of relief. It seemed this crew really were seasoned veterans. Chapter 53: 47 Respect Chapter 53: Chapter 47 Respect
The crew of Tank 67 began to repair their vehicle, and Xie Liaosha, the tankmander, leapt down from the turret again and said to Wang Zhong, My lord Count, while were repairing the tank, Ill go check on Tank 422. Ill survey the battlefield at the same time, especially the road conditions. If were not careful, our cumbersome buddy here might just break down halfway again. Wang Zhong, Alright, Ill take you for a spin. After speaking, he pointed toward the west and took the lead in stepping forward. At that moment, Pavlov said, Lieutenant, have you had your meal yet?
Lieutenant Xie Liaosha, No, weve been on the move all day. At first, we were ordered to move towards Ronied, but just after we set out, we received a radio message directing us to Bogdanovka. Later, the radio broke, and then we encountered defeated soldiers blocking the road. It was tough reaching Bogdanovka, and upon arrival, we were told that this ce needed support. Had we not taken such an unnecessary detour, this old fellow wouldnt have broken down so frequently. As he spoke, he gestured toward the tank. Pavlov, Then youre in for a treat, we have some of Lord Boyes precious beef, along with potatoes and pickles. Thats fantastic, said Xie Liaosha. Let my crew eat first, I need to reconnoiter the battlefield. Wang Zhong, This way. A few people started to move, and Wang Zhong, who had personally maneuvered a tank through the vige, was already familiar with the terrain and began to exin it to the lieutenant as they went. Eventually, the group arrived at Tank 422 which was parked at the edge of the vige. The bodies of the tank operators had been taken by the infantry to be buried at the church, leaving only the tank in the position it had upied during the previous eveningsbat. Upon seeing the tank, an emotion Wang Zhong had never experienced before surged within him. He stepped forward and gently caressed the tanks steel skin. Before his time travel, hed seen aic depicting an American soldier shedding tears while giving his broken jeep a fond farewell, implying that the jeep had be a closerade-in-arms the soldier couldnt bear to see captured by the enemy.
At the time, Wang Zhong thought theic was somewhat exaggerated, but now, he understood that humans indeed could develop affection for the weapons that apanied them on the battlefield. Touching the cold steel of Tank 422, and remembering his fallenrades, he didnt want to let the Prosen devils have this tank any longer. Fortunately, the vehicle was still operational and the driver, though wounded, could continue to pilot it. If they had a gunner, it could even go back intobat. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha closely observed Wang Zhongs expression, seemingly understanding something. He didnt disturb Wang Zhongs bonding with the tank, but instead went to the front of the tank to inspect the area where it had been hit. Noticing his actions, Wang Zhong exined, It appears to have been hit in the front, fired by a Prosen Mark III tanks 50mm gun. Xie Liaosha, Yes, it hit the left auxiliary turret directly, killing the mechanic operating the turret on the spot. With a hit like that, normally, only the driver has a chance of survival, you were really lucky. Wang Zhong, At the time, most of my body was out of the tank to get a better view. That may have been what saved your life, asserted Lieutenant Xie Liaosha. Ive driven a T28 myself, and frankly, its not a good tank. Id rather drive a light tank; at least they have better maneuverability and lower failure rates. Wang Zhong, Indeed, aside from its 45mm gun, its a useless hunk of metal. Xie Liaosha continued to examine the stone wall in front of the tank, Strange, the bullet marks on the stone wall the shell must have flown past, right?
Wang Zhong pointed not far away, I was hit over there, at the time He recounted the evenings engagement with four Mark III tanks. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha praised, Well fought! Under the starlight, one could dimly see the remnants of the wild Prosen tanks. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha gazed at the two tanks in the distance and said, To win a long-range engagement against the enemys Mark III tanks is impressive. ording to intelligence gathered from the Castilian Civil War, the enemys sighting equipment is very suitable for long-range firing, while we have to calcte manually based on the enemy tanks size. Wang Zhong had also seen the Ante Armys sighting equipmentter, and wanted to try his hand at being a gunner, but found the sight consisted only of simple settings, requiring manual calction of distance based on the actual size of the enemy tank measured against the scale on the sight. On the destroyed Prosen tanks in the town, their sighting equipment included mechanical calctors; by simply adjusting the sight with the known length of the enemy tank, the distance could be immediately calcted. Furthermore, by clever design, once the distance was calcted, the reticle in the sight was also set in ce, allowing a direct shot by aligning the crosshairs. On the Ante Army side, after calcting the distance, the reticle still had to be manually adjusted. Therefore, Wang Zhong could understand why the gunners first shot flew wide during the engagement earlier in the day. Had it not been for Wang Zhongs cheat that directly provided the enemys distance, they truly might not have been able to outshoot the enemy at long rangeno, they definitely would not have been able to. No wonder Lieutenant Xie Liaosha was so impressed. He said wistfully, Your gunner is truly skilled; he must have undergone countless shooting drills.
Wang Zhong intended to say it was he who informed them of the distance, but the words didnt leave his mouth. Let Lieutenant Xie Liaosha give a few more words of praise; perhaps it could even lead to a medal for the gunner. Though medals meant nothing to the deceased, it could bring some sce to his family. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha, Shall we continue? There are more enemy tanks destroyed in the vige, right? Wang Zhong, Yes, and to prevent the enemy tanks from using their firepower to block the roads, we built some barriers along the way. Youll need to clear them to reach the vige entrance. This way. Afterward, Wang Zhong spent half an hour with Lieutenant Xie Liaosha touring the vige, making himpletely familiar with the terrain. After Lieutenant Xie Liaosha returned to his own crew, Wang Zhong decided to visit the church to see the situation for himself. He was also a bit curious about what Mass was all about. The arrival of the No. 67 heavy tank for support was most likely because the Mass had been effective, and the monks chanting hymns in the rear had heard the call for help. When he arrived at the church entrance, the guard on duty was dozing off. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, he immediately snapped to attention and saluted crisply, Your Grace! Wang Zhong, I am a Count. Count!
Wang Zhong, May I enter? Yes, but please do not make any noise, the guard said, gently pushing the door open. Wang Zhong tiptoed into the church. He saw Sufang kneeling in the very center of the altar, hands sped together in a praying position, with Ludm kneeling on the steps to the right of the altar also with hands joined together in prayer. Monk Yeca Neiko was holding something like a bell and was walking in circles around them, swinging it as he went. That bell-like object looked familiar to Wang Zhongit seemed that many Western religions had such a magic artifact. The British tabletop game Warhammer 40K even incorporated it into its setting, where priests of the Mechanicum liked to wave it around while chanting incantations near all sorts of grand machinery. Wang Zhong tiptoed to the side of the altar. Monk Yeca Neiko opened his eyes, nced at him, and made a shushing sound. Wang Zhong felt it wasnt good to just stand beside the altar, but he wasnt religious and had never prayed in his life. All he could do was imitate what Sufang or Ludm did while they prayed, drawing an inverted triangle in front of his chest. At that moment, Sufang suddenly opened her eyes and cheered, Weve got a response! Someone says reinforcements set out three hours ago! Wang Zhong, The reinforcements have already arrived.
Sufang startled, lost her bnce, and fell forward onto the ground. Ouch, my front teeth! Just as Wang Zhong was about to help Sufang up, Ludm opened her eyes. Alyosha? Are you alright? Do you still have a fever? Ludm asked, trying to stand up, but perhaps because she had been kneeling too long, her legs were numb and she stumbled, about to fall. Wang Zhong, with quick reflexes, caught her. She ended up falling into Wang Zhongs arms. With no time to appreciate the girls stormy seas, Wang Zhong directly helped Ludm to a chair and then turned to pull up Sufang, with tears brimming in her eyes, What did they say over there? They said that reinforcements have been dispatched for three hours and that we must hold out until eight oclock tomorrow night. The defensive line at Bogdanovka isnt fixed yet. The information about the defensive line not being fixed had already been brought by the No. 67 tank. Wang Zhong nodded, Well done. In fact, the reinforcements have already arrived. Sufang was overjoyed, How many people? One tank, but thats enough, Wang Zhong confidently said. After all, the enemy, apart from the 88mm anti-everything gun, simply couldnt prate the armour of the KV1 tank. That tank, ced in the open fields, was an impassable bulwark. Sufang smiled, Thats good to hear. I need to rest for a bit, get me water. Monk Yeca Neiko, obviously having officiated many Masses, promptly handed over a full water sk. Ludm was already drinking by the side. Wang Zhong, You two rest well, leave the rest to meto us. Xie Liaosha returned to his crew. Driver Ashka asked, How is it, how much of what the Count boasted true? Im afraid none of its an exaggeration, Xie Liaosha paused for a moment, then continued, The tank wrecks in the wilderness arent very clear, but I made a round and didnt see any anti-tank guns Ashka, So it must be the Divine Arrows doing! I asked around, and they have clergy here, definitely a Divine Arrow team. The noble young lords serving in the army always have Divine Arrow teams by their sides. Xie Liaosha spoke earnestly, Dont say it like that. The Count might be different from other nobles. I checked the tank wrecks in the vige. Six were destroyed by tank guns. I reyed the situation and estimated that two were destroyed upon entering the vige, then after closebat between infantry and tanks, the enemy had pressed into the vige, gaining the upper hand. And then someone suddenly got around behind them and destroyed at least four tanks in a surprise attack. Xie Liaosha was gesturing as he spoke, All four tanks were hit from the rear or the side, and their turrets werent pointing in the direction of the attack. Someone with skillful nking eliminated them. I must admit, I couldnt do it myselfdestroy enemy tanks consecutively by circling around in a town, not even with infantry support. Ashka frowned, All done by that Count? Xie Liaosha, I dont know. But listen, if I get injured or die, you follow the Countsmand. Then youll see for yourselves what hes capable of. Dont talk so ominously, the Gunner said as he picked up his te, Come on, have some beef, drink some wine. This is good stuff, supposedly taken from the local nobilitys cer. Its so strong it catches fire quickly; they use it for making Incendiary Bombs! Xie Liaosha took the bottle first and took a big swig, his face immediately lighting up with a smile, Good wine! If I have to die at dawn, its not a bad deal to have good wine! Chapter 54: 48: The Eagle Above Peniye Chapter 54: Chapter 48: The Eagle Above Peniye
Wang Zhong stepped out of the church and just happened to see Tank No. 67 rumbling down the vige road. He gave a thumbs-up to the tank operators, watching as they passed by in front of him. Ludm stood behind Wang Zhong, muttering, Just one tank Can it really hold off the enemy? Wang Zhong said, Dont underestimate this one tank. Its a heavy tank, weighs a full fifty tons in battle, while the enemys Panzer III is only around ten tons. Itll give the enemy a tough time! Ludm looked at Wang Zhongs profile and hesitated for a moment before asking, Are you very familiar with this tank? Wang Zhong replied, Of course!
Ludm blinked and asked, When did you be familiar with it? Only then did Wang Zhong realize his slip of the tongue. In this timeline, Aleksei was a debauchee with zero military skills! He could only say with feigned confidence, I just got familiar with it! Tank Commander Xie Liaosha has briefed me on the tanks capabilities! Xie Liaosha, Ludm repeated, Are you already on nickname terms with each other? Shoot, he had forgotten the Russiansplicated naming conventions. In situations like this, where a superior addresses a subordinate, its safer and more polite to use the persons patronymicsomething like whichever-evich. Xie Liaosha was a name reserved for those who were very close. The problem was, Wang Zhong didnt know his patronymic, and the man had not introduced himself. He had addressed him as Lieutenant the whole time, and it was only a slip of the tongue that made him blurt out Xie Liaosha, a name he had heard from the driver in Tank No. 67s crew. It was also because the situation on the battlefield was so urgent that he hadnt thought to ask for a name. Suddenly, Wang Zhong thought of the gunner from Tank No. 422. I really should ask for their names. If they sacrifice themselves, at least Ill know whose name I should write in the eulogy. Though he didnt believe the enemy had weapons capable of prating the KVs front and side armor, just in case, he should still ask. Wang Zhong whistled loudlya muscle memory inherited from the original Alekseiand Bucephalus came galloping toward him, halting abruptly in front of him.
He swung himself onto the horse and raced down the road. Ludm, left behind, got a mouthful of dust. Su Fang carefully examined her profile, Are you alright? Ludm murmured, In the past, he would definitely have taken advantage of a situation like that. Now, it seems like he cares more about tanks. Su Fang replied, Maybe hes tired of it. Wang Zhong galloped all the way to the vige entrance, learned the names of Tank No. 67s crew, then oversaw the infantry camouging the tank. With everything in order, he saw there was still half an hour until dawn. He decided to take a quick nap. After all, he had been feverish the day before and hadnt fully recovered, and they might be engaging in intense battle all day today. As themander, he couldnt afford to be the weak link. But he woke up less than an hourter, feeling exceptionally spirited, not at all like someone who had been gravely ill the day before. He stood up and noticed that Ludm and Su Fang were sleeping not far from him.
Ludm was sprawled across the table, her face resting on her hands, drooling all over the table. Su Fang, meanwhile, was seated on a bench, leaning against the armrest, having fallen asleep there. He had managed to get a good amount of sleep the day before, but these two girls had been busy with the mass and hadnt shut their eyes at all. He took the towel nket covering himself and draped it over Ludm. Then he switched to an overhead perspective to check on the enemy situation, as if covering her with the nket had drained all his tenderness. Damn, relying on the allies field of view isnt showing much of the enemy movement; Id better climb the tower myself. Wang Zhong put on his shoes as quickly as possible and strode out of the room. The guard at the door, just like the previous day, snapped to attention the moment he saw hime out. The sound of the guards heels clicking together woke Su Fang. Rubbing her eyes, the girl asked, My lord, the count? Ludm also got up and asked, Alyosha? Then they both realized the room was empty and could only look at each other in confusion. Ah, Ludm suddenly said, the towel nket!
She sniffed it and said, Hmm, this is Alyoshas. Su Fang got up and looked out the window. Why is he climbing the water tower as soon as he wakes up? With that, the girl snatched up a hat, straightened her clothes that had be disheveled from sleeping in them, and ran out the door. Ludm quickly got up, but the edge of the table scraped harshly against her chest, causing her such pain that she sat back down again. Wang Zhong climbed the water tower, his gaze sweeping across the horizon. At this moment, the sun showed just a hint of its edge in the east, while the morning fog had not yet fully dispersed, enveloping the field of view. A flock of pigeons flew across the sky, leaving behind the buzzing of their cooing. If not for the war, Wang Zhong would have surely thought of the ssic scene from Laputa: Castle in the Sky where Pazu blows his trumpet to greet the sunrise. s, war ruins everything. In his field of vision, the wreckage of enemy armored vehicles was like pus-filled sores on the skin. Wang Zhong remembered a song: One day, / the smoke of cooking fires will return to the vige / that faint scent ofte-harvest rice
One day Angel sleeps peacefully Gently swaying in mothers embrace Theres no time for sentiment, ascertaining the enemys situation is crucial. Wang Zhong switched to a birds-eye view, looking over the hillside in front of him. The enemy had encamped in the open field, with over a hundred tents pitched neatly and tanks lined up, as well as maintenance vehicles doing repairs. An armoredmand vehicle bearing the eagle g was parked near the top of the hill, alongside amand tank marked with an eagle emblem. Next to the tank was a table where Cyclops and an officer Wang Zhong had not seen before were sitting across from each other, drinking coffee. Drinking coffee! Suddenly, Wang Zhong was ovee with anger. If he had a cannon in his hands, he would have loved to fire at the enemy, flipping their table and scattering their pastries! Cry elegance now! Youre elegant my ass! What right do invaders have to be elegant? Invaders should lie in the mud like dogs eating shit! Though burning with rage, Wang Zhong still carefully checked for any new heavy weaponry in the enemy camp, like the 88 mm anti-aircraft guns.
Luckily, although a night had passed, it seemed the enemy hadnt been reinforced much. The artillery he saw was still the same 75 mm infantry guns from yesterday, and he didnt even spot any 47 mm anti-tank guns. Today looks like a good day to give Cyclops a little surprise. Thinking this, Wang Zhong couldnt help but reveal a fierce grin. It would be even better if he could kill Cyclops with one shot. Unfortunately, the enemy would only observe from the hill, two kilometers away from the vige. Even if tank No. 67 moved forward out of the smoke, it would still be more than one and a half kilometers away from the hilltop. ording to Xie Liaosha, at that distance their 76 mm guns uracy was poor, almost impossible to hit the target. It was a pity that there were too many enemy infantry. Rashly charging forward might leave them vulnerable to anti-tank grenades from the infantry. Furthermore, because of the heavy tanks poor maneuverability and unreliable mechanics, Wang Zhong had to abandon the idea of letting Xie Liaosha and his crew go for a thrill ride. If it were a T34, it would certainly give Cyclops a run for his money. While Wang Zhong was observing, he heard footsteps behind him and switched back to normal vision. As he turned, he saw Sofang climbing the water tower. You go rest, we wont need you during the day, he said. Sofang clenched her fist: I can operate the machine gun! Wang Zhong: Theres no machine gun to operate today. Sofang: Then I Her eyes darted around as if looking for something she could do. At that moment, Ludm came up clutching her chest: Alyosha, you Wang Zhong: I remember Monk Yeca Neiko still has one Divine Arrow left, right? Uh, yes thest one. Wang Zhong: Then you should return to your post and get some rest. Eh? Ludm froze, her hand still on her chest. Wang Zhong then looked at Sofang: Like this, if you really must find something to do, go to the hospital. There will probably be quite a few casualties today. In truth, if the KV1 went berserk, there probably wouldnt be many casualties. But just in case? And mostly, Wang Zhong wanted the two girls to get some rest. Go on, hurry! he urged, If anything goes wrong, were still relying on you to contact the higher-ups! Oh. Sofang shrank her neck, turned to nce at Ludm, Lets go, Captain Vasilyevna. Ludm looked at Wang Zhong, on the verge of saying something, but in the end, she turned around Just then, the roar of engines came from the sky. Someone below shouted: Air raid! The two girls exchanged nces and rushed toward Wang Zhong, one on each side, tackling him to the ground. Wang Zhong hit the ground hard and was about to protest when he saw a camouged airne flying in from the east. Recognizing the shape of the ne, Wang Zhongughed out loud because he recognized it as an Il-2 Sturmovik attack aircraft, and a two-seater at that! The ne flew over Upper Peniye Vige, then like a cheetah spotting its prey, charged towards the Prussian Army to the west. The Prussian Army,pletely unprepared for an air raid, was caught off guard. The rockets fired from the ne hit a truck, and the Prussians stared at the rising fireball in shock, only scattering in a panic when the ne started strafing. The Il-2 dumped all its remaining rockets on the Prussians heads, igniting a great fire in the enemy camp. Then the ne circled back and began strafing the ground with its 23 mm cannons and machine guns. In just three minutes, the enemy camp was littered with dozens of bodies, seven or eight trucks were burning, and the injured were wailing everywhere. Through the birds-eye view, Wang Zhong could clearly see even Cyclops on the ground, clutching his head. Hahaha, how elegant are you now? The Il-2, havingpleted its attack, flew over Upper Peniye Vige again. Wang Zhong pushed the two girls off him and stood up, cheering at the ne: Ura! While the people on the ground didnt have birds-eye view, they could see the ck smoke rising from the enemys side and joined in the chant: Ura! The Ant Air Force was not destroyed! Just this fact alone was enough to boost morale! Along with the soldiers, Wang Zhong turned their joy into a continuous cheer: Ura! Chapter 55: 49: The White Horse General Chapter 55: Chapter 49: The White Horse General
On the Prosen Army side, Major Shrifen cursed as he stood up, Didnt the Air Force say the Ant Air Force was finished? Are we being attacked by our own Air Force then? Major Franz also got up, wiping the coffee off his uniform with a handkerchief while echoing the sentiment, You cant believe a word from the Air Force. Its said that Duke Meyer diverted all the Air Forces funds to renovate his castle. It seemed that both the old officers of Junker nobility and the emerging juniors had reached a consensus: not to trust the Air Force. Major Shrifen turned and shouted, Adjutant, report the damage. The adjutant came over and saluted, A total of 21 dead, 49 injured, and seven trucks have been destroyed.
Shrifen cursed, Damn Air Force, just like that Ive lost two toons! Two toons! Major Franz said, Shouldnt this grudge be counted on the enemys head? Luckily,st night we received the support of an entire battalion ofbat engineers; they were very effective yesterday, and deploying more engineers today should enable us to take it down. Hope so, said Major Shrifen, looking at the sky as if worried the ne that had just attacked might circle back to surprise him, but with such a start this morning, I have a bad feeling. Didst nights sentries spot anything unusual in the vige? The adjutant immediately reported, Last nights sentries heard engine sounds from the vige. Shrifen frowned, Our enemy is very cunning, that engine sound might be a deceptive tactic. Didnt the person who shot at Tank No. 422 yesterday say that they hit it? The chief of staff came over, recing the adjutant, and replied, Yes, the gunner believes they hit the enemy at least once. But since the enemy was still able to counterattack, it seems the hit wasnt critical. Shrifen pursed his lips and after standing and observing the distant vige for a moment, he spoke softly, The engine sounds fromst night might be a deception. Maybe their tanks have already lostbat capability, and theyre using the engine sounds to intimidate us, prevent us from deploying tanks to engage the enemy in the vige. At that moment, Captain Hoffman from Tank Crew 170 arrived at the peak, heels snapping together, and shouted, Report! Shrifen said, At ease, speak. Hoffman said, I request to join todays assault. I want a one-on-one with that enemy Tank No. 422! Idiot! War is not a knights joust! Shrifen cursed, We are enemies, its a fight to the death! Youll suffer if you dont grasp this! I assure you, Tank No. 422 will be destroyed. The Ante Peoples tanks are too outdated, they only won by tricks. I wont allow them to seed again! Hoffman said, brimming with confidence.
Shrifen stared at him for a few seconds before cing a hand on his shoulder and saying, Good, then this morning your toon will advance with the infantry. He turned to Major Fritz, Hoffman is our best tank operator, and his toon is our most elite. Ive been keeping them in reserve until now. Fritz extended his hand, Pleased to work with you, Captain Hoffman. Hoffman quickly shook Fritzs hand. Even though the young Emperor now deliberately promoted those who embraced new technology to counter the old officer corps, the rank and file soldiers didnt care much for this; they still respected these old-fashioned Junker nobility officers. Especially Fritz, who was the spitting image of everyones perception of the old officer corps. Shrifen said, Prepare for the assault. We have already been dyed a full twenty-four hours. If even the artillery battalion stuck in traffic behind us gets here, then our previous rush will have been for nothing! However, Fritz said, The artillery battalion should be arriving soon. Weve been stuck here for 24 hours already. We might as well wait for the heavy artillery to arrive, it could reduce casualties. No! Shrifen raised his voice, In Carolingian, we relied on tanks and Stukas, relentless assault, and it was only after that we drove the United Kingdoms forces into the sea! Heavy artillery isnt essential; this is modern warfare! Fritz closed his mouth. Wang Zhong, who had been watching the enemy finish their deployment, called out loudly to the people under the water tower, Take cover! The enemy is about to start artillery preparation!
No sooner had his words fallen than the first round of artillery barrage came crashing down. After once again making certain there were no anomalies in the enemy deployment, Wang Zhong, amid the roaring cannonade, strolled down from the water tower and entered the managers office of the winery. The winery was the only concrete building in town, impervious to the high-explosive rounds from the 75mm infantry guns. Of course, if rounds were shot through the windows, they could still injure those inside, but the enemys covering fire was in high arcs, and the angle of descent meant the shells were not so easily fired through the windows. Inside the room, Wang Zhong looked over the map, seemingly oblivious to the explosions outside. He sought the Kazaria Kingdom on the map, but only managed to find the name of the region they were currently in: the Duchy of Wostrom. The duchys terrain was as t as a pancake, with the small mound to the west of Peniye probably being one of the few high points in the whole duchy. Furthermore, Wang Zhong also discovered that to the east of Peniye, there was arge river called the Diber, with Bogdanovka sitting right on its bank. While Wang Zhong was engrossed in his map study, the shelling outside stopped. He nced at his watch, How strange, todays barrage was so much shorter than yesterdays? Why has it stopped? Shrifen asked, frowning.
The artillerypanymander had a bitter expression, The enemy air raid just destroyed our ammunition trucks, we dont have that many shells left. Shrifens mouth twitched. Franz took the opportunity to suggest, Then we should wait for the heavy artillery Have the mortars smoke bomb, begin the assault! Shrifen interrupted Franz, Also, contact the Air Force and have them take their responsibilities seriously! Yes! Wang Zhong once again climbed up the water tower and indeed saw the enemys mortarsying down smoke. The fall of smoke bombs was not a bit different from yesterday! Wang Zhong was unsure whether to call the enemy rigid or praise them for being well-trained and striving for perfection. As the smoke spread properly, the enemys assault troops began to move out. And when the sound of engines reached this side, the hidden No. 67 heavy tank at the edge of the vige also fired up, rolled out of its hiding spot, and charged along the road toward the ambush position. But no, calling it an ambush isnt quite right, it should be a position for a head-on confrontation with the enemy.
Within the enemys attack column, Wang Zhong spotted a familiar face, the No. 170 Mark III tank: it was this very tank that had previously, from a distance of two kilometers, precisely hit and detonated the church bell tower with a single shot, causing therge bell to fall from above. The cracked bell stilly on the street now. The enemy had sent their elite forces forward. Looking closely at tank No. 170, there were two gold rings and three silver rings on its barrel. While Wang Zhong didnt know what the Prosen peoples regtions were in this timeline, he was aware that the Sturmtigers single soldier tank destruction medal went from five silvers to one gold. If these kill rings followed the same principle, then tank No. 170 had already destroyed thirteen tanks. Elite indeed; if it were taken out here, how many tank operators lives could be spared! At the thought, Wang Zhong couldnt help but feel pleased. Just then, at the edge of his vision, he saw a heavy truck enter his field of view and then stop. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled instantlyCsuch heavy trucks were usually used to tow heavy artillery, and heavy howitzers over 100 millimeters were not often brought so close to the front line. After all, such guns had ranges of a dozen kilometers or more, making it unnecessary to bring them to the front line. Only direct-fire guns would be brought to the front line.
A heavy truck towing a direct-fire gunCWang Zhong could think of only one kind. No, he had to confirm what this truck was towing. Wang Zhong darted down the water tower like a shot, untied Bucephalus that was tied to a stake at the door, mounted the horse, and galloped away. The guard at the entrance of the winery saw him and quickly shouted, Count, where are you going? Ill be back soon, hold your position! As he spoke, Bucephalus dashed through the battered streets of Upper Peniye. The soldiers hiding behind cover all popped their heads out to watch Wang Zhong. Are we charging? someone asked. In the current situation, Wang Zhong knew that if he really gave the order to charge, this bunch might actually leave their houses and follow him on horseback into the wild. So he yelled out, Stay put, remember your mission! Dont move! Stay where you are! As he shouted, he left the vige and, at the vige entrance, he pulled the reins and Bucephalus came to an abrupt halt. At the vige entrance, he could clearly see that the heavy truck was actually towing a pontoon bridge. Then he rememberedChe had indeed seen several rivers on the map. If the enemy wanted a swift advance, they had to consider the possibility of the Ante Army blowing up bridges. Wang Zhong felt slightly relieved, but then thought since he hade to the vige entrance, wouldnt it be better to advance another five hundred meters and get a clear view of the enemys arrangements? With smoke cover anyway, even if the enemy pursued him, theirmander, they would be stopped by Tank 67. So Wang Zhong continued to spur his horse forward, all the while observing the enemys movements from an overhead perspective. In addition to the bridge-building team, Wang Zhong also saw many heavy engineering vehiclesCit seemed the enemy would have morebat engineers joining the attack. Just then, Wang Zhong suddenly heard someone call out to him, Count, what are you doing? He switched from his unrestricted line of sight and saw that Bucephalus had crossed in front of Tank 67, with Xie Liaosha in the turret, eyes bulging as he stared at him. Count! Wang Zhong: Im going to scout the enemy, dont worry. After that, Wang Zhong continued forward. After switching his perspective, he even saw the armored recovery vehicle; they were repairing a damaged Panzer III. Good grief, was there an enemybined arms battalion right in front of him? Had the concept ofbined arms battalions emerged this early in this timeline? With the aid of the , Wang Zhong could see the color of the enemys underwear as clear as day. He was enjoying the thrill of exploiting his advantage when he suddenly felt he might have gone too far forward. Snapping back to reality, he switched back to his own perspective, only to find that there was no smoke aheadCBucephalus had run too fast! He immediately pulled hard on the reins. Bucephalus, a bit overexcited, almost failed to stop, even rearing up on its forehooves. Wang Zhong managed, with some difficulty, to bring the spirited mount to a halt. Flustered, his actions caused Bucephalus to end up sideways across the road. Then, he found himself face-to-face with the enemys great army. This was awkward. Now, he truly felt sweat soaking his back. But from Major Shrifens perspective, the situation was quite different. The major, with his sharp hearing, had long heard the rumbling of engines from the Ante side and lifted his binocrs, eager to see what sort of fool wanted to use outmoded tanks in an open field against the invincible Prussian armored forces. However, Ante tankmanders seemed cowardly, preferring not to open their hatches and poke their heads out to observe. Just as Major Shrifen was thinking this, a white horse emerged from the smoke. Astride the white horse was a dashing general. The general pulled the reins and the white horse reared up grandly on its forelegs. Major Shrifen was no Junker noble and knew nothing of horsemanship, but the old Junker noble Major Franz next to him eximed in admiration, Fine horsemanshipCthat move is a threat to the opponent in a horsemanship contest. Hes expressing his contempt for us. The major pursed his lips. At that moment, the general made his white horse turn sideways, blocking the road. Franz: The meaning of this move is I know. Shrifen squeezed the words through his teeth, It says we cant advance a step further. Franz: Yes. By the way, thats a fine horse. It could sell for at least three hundred thousand marks in the capital, Germania. Suddenly, Shrifen snatched up the wireless phone, Hoffman! Kill that general! But dont hurt the horse! What? Franz eximed in shock, Thats not gentlemanly! Shrifen sneered, No need for chivalry towards inferior races. Then, visible on the hillside, Tank 170 came to a halt. It was a thousand meters away from the white horse general and Shrifen had no doubt that Hoffman could hit the target with precision. The turret of Tank 170 began to rotate! In a sh, another steel beast tore out from behind the white horse general through the smoke. This beast was bigger than any tank in the Prussian Empire; its tracks crushed the helmets left behind by fleeing soldiers, and the powerful roar of its engine echoed across the in. Chapter 56: 50 The Burning Wilderness Chapter 56: Chapter 50 The Burning Wilderness
Wang Zhong shouted to number 67, Hit that 170! Fearing the tank couldnt see where number 170 was, he also stretched his hand toward the direction of 170. Tank number 170, with Commander Hoffman, suddenly changed the order, Target that big tank! Dont be afraid, Ante peoples tanks are all show, and were loaded with armor-piercing shells! Take it down! To execute the order not to harm the horses, Hoffman had the loader load armor-piercing shells. Although armor-piercing shells do contain explosive charges, their fuse wouldnt activate when hitting a person.
This design originated from the experience summarized by the Prosen Empire during the Castilian Civil War and the Carolingian campaign, where armor-piercing shells were to have the ability not to detonate when piercing some soft targets, allowing them to shoot through targets like wooden houses to strike enemy armor hidden behind. Therefore, a skilled gunner could naturally use armor-piercing shells to urately kill a person mounted on horseback, and incidentally, not harm the horse. Now, this armor-piercing shell naturally undertook the task of sending the enemys huge object sky-high! Hoffman was full of confidence, and the moment he fired before the enemy did, he felt he had won. The projectile struck the giant tank like lightning, leaving a trail of sparks on the mantlet. The huge tank continued forward as if nothing had happened and aimed its gun at Hoffman while moving. It fired directly! Because it was firing on the move, the shot hit the ground. But before Hoffman could breathe a sigh of relief, the shell ricocheted and hit tank number 170. Hoffman: Quick Watching tank number 170s turret flying into the sky, Wang Zhong burst into loudughter.
Such an ace crew, if reced with a Tiger or Panther tank, who knows how many of our soldiers they would kill. At this point, three enemy tanks stopped, seemingly readying to shoot. Wang Zhong immediately turned his horse around and took off! As he passed by tank number 67, he also patted the top of the tank guns turret and said a word of blessing. Then he plunged into the smoke. Inside tank number 67, the driver Ashka asked through the inte, What was the Marquis doing here? Lieutenant Xie Liaosha replied, You dont understand? He assigned us this suicide mission, so he came to the front himself to show he shares life and death with us. After saying that, Xie Liaoshaughed, The Marquis probably doesnt know, we simply cant die. The gunner alsoughed, I actually wish there were more enemies to kill! The loader chimed in: Armor-piercing shell, ready! Emergency stop!
The tank braked hard, causing everyones heads to hit the armor. Even with their cushioned tank helmets, Ante Army tankers often suffered bruises after driving for a day. Xie Liaosha: Find the nearest target! Take out that 171! Fire! The roar of the main gun shook everyones ears, and the wholebat room filled with the smell of gunpowder. The brass shell casing fell onto the floor of thebat room, making a crisp sound. Through the narrow view of themanders periscope, Xie Liaosha saw tank number 171 stop. At this point, the enemys counterattack followed, and everyone in the tank could hear the thud of enemy armor-piercing shells hitting the armor. Ashka shouted, Theyre really enthusiastic! With nothing else to do at the moment, the driver took up the hull machine gun and began to rattlingly sweep the enemys skirmish line. Xie Liaosha: Load high-explosive shells! I think these enemy tanks dont need armor-piercing shells. High-explosive shells can also kill surrounding infantry. The loader shoved a high-explosive shell into the breach and swung the breech block closed: High-explosive shell, ready! Xie Liaosha: Turret turn left six degrees, no, make it seven! Fire! Although themanders viewing port was very small, Xie Liaosha still saw the enemy tank engulfed in mes, Prosen tankers covered in fire escaping from their tank and scattering.
High-explosive effective! Continue with high-explosive! Keep turning the turret left! High-explosive, ready! Fire! Shrifen put down his binocrs and eagerly asked his chief of staff, What kind of tank is this? The chief of staff and several staff officers were frantically flipping through the battlefield recognition manuals issued by the headquarters: Wait a moment, still searching! Useless! Hurry up! After scolding the staff, Shrifen picked up his binocrs again. The tank with tactical number 67 simply sat on the road, calling out the most elite tank crews under Shrifensmand one by one. The armor of Prosen tanks was like nothing in front of that big gun tube, one hit, one kill. On Prosens side, the attacks on the enemy were like scratching an itch, producing nothing but sparks and no effect whatsoever. In an instant, half of the tank toon had turned into scrap metal, and the situation for the infantry was even worse; there was no cover in the open field, and they were being mercilessly mowed down by enemy machine guns.
Thankfully, the wheat in the field was tall, and the infantry could hide their figures by lying down. But Major Shrifen couldnt be happy at all; his armored forces couldnt just lie down in the grass! Prosens armor advantage, had it all been wiped out just like that? Why would there be such a tank? At this moment, the chief of staff finally turned to a tank and shouted, Found it! Its a T-34 model! Front armor 60 millimeters! (In real history, the German army initially always mistook the KV1 for the T34) Shrifen: The hell is sixty millimeters?? How could sixty millimeters possibly stop our armor-piercing shells? Chief of staff: Wait a second, there is a note here: This model of tank uses sloped armor, so the effective thickness from a perpendicr shot shouldnt be considered as 60 millimeters Shrifen got anxious: Then the hell should we do? Theres no mention of that here. The General Staff Headquarters has no data either Shrifen swore under his breath. At that time, Major Franz suggested, Release smoke, cover the remaining tanks as they retreat, and have the infantry engage in closebat. Shrifen thought for a moment, then nodded, Thats all we can do.
Wang Zhong noticed that the other side had begun releasing smoke. There were only two attacking tanks left; they both started to retreat. And the enemy infantry, under the cover of smoke, began to approach Tank 67. I have a mask, so Im not afraid of smoke, but Xie Liaosha doesnt. At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly had an idea. He rode Bucephalus to the front of Boye Mansion, the defensive focus of Yegorov. Yegorov! Are any of the enemys half-tracks intact? Yegorov poked his head out: There is one, whats up? Wang Zhong: Get someone to take the methrower we captured yesterday, wear the enemys cuirass, get on the half-track and follow me! Seven minutester, a half-track was armed. Sitting on it was a sergeant with a methrower, two corporals in armor wielding submachine guns, a private manning the front machine gun, and a second lieutenant from the supplypany driving. Wang Zhong was still riding the white horse, but now he had brought a submachine gun and suspended the ammo belt on the saddle, then nced at this small force. Follow me. Where my submachine gun fires, aim the methrower there. After giving brief instructions, Wang Zhong galloped off once more. Bucephalus was indeed a fine horse. After running back and forth over a couple of kilometers, it had only broken a slight sweat; its stamina was plenty. It carried Wang Zhong, leading the charge out of the vige, and the half-track made a great effort to catch up from behind. While galloping, Wang Zhong surveyed the terrain; first, he passed through the smoke to reach Tank 67, where he patted the hatch. Xie Liaosha popped out of the hatch: The enemy released smoke, theyre cunning! Wang Zhong: You pull back! Ill lead the infantry upwind to set the fire, lets burn them all! Xie Liaoshaughed: Thats a good idea! In the meantime, the half-track passed through the smoke, and Wang Zhong immediately ordered, Turn upwind! Follow me! He turned his horse around, kicked the horses belly, and Bucephalus started to run nimbly and briskly. Tank 67 was started up and began to back into the still-dispersing smoke, while the half-track followed Wang Zhong towards the upwind direction. Wang Zhong sped against the wind until he almost reached the advancing enemy skirmishers. Then he raised his submachine gun and began to spray bullets in a chosen direction. It didnt matter if he hit anything; the most important thing was to signal the direction. The half-track caught up, with the machine gunner firing green tracer rounds in the same direction. The methrower operator stood up and began to shoot mes in the direction of the tracer rounds. Wang Zhong: Start up, keep it moving! Burn as you go! No need to see the enemy! He could already hear enemy screams in the smoke. Wang Zhong: Burn them to death! Major Franz put down his binocrs, unable to bear watching any longer. Grasnd fires spread quickly in the summer, and a wildfire starting from the upwind direction would soon sweep across the entire grasnd. Troops lying in the grass were at risk of being burned to death. Without waiting for Shrifens orders, hemanded his aide-de-camp directly, Fire signal res, retreat! And have someone immediately establish firebreaks in the grass, or well be burned too. Shrifen: I am themander of thebat group! Major Franz turned to him, Then please give the order. If we dont retreat now, the troops will just be fertilizer for the grassfield in the fire. Major Shrifens face was stern, and it took a second before he ordered, Retreat, and create istion strips in the grass at the same time. Damned enemy, why didnt they set fire to the grasnd yesterday? Perhaps they didnt have a methrower, said Major Franz. Such a brilliantly cunning general would not have failed to think of this. Wang Zhong returned to the entrance of the vige, looking at therge fire sweeping across the grasnd, and pped his thigh, Damn, I should have set a fire in a night raidst night! With so many instances of fire warfare and night raids in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, evenbined night raids and fire attacks, how could I forget! I failed as a Chinese! Oh Marquis, oh Marquis, I have let you down! The others didnt know what he was thinking and cheered, Ura! Burn them to death! This is so satisfying! Ura! The fluctuating cries of Ura! made it seem like the soldiers morale was even higher than the mes sweeping across the grasnd! Chapter 57: 51 Peripheral Defense Chapter 57: Chapter 51 Peripheral Defense
Wang Zhong had hoped the wildfire would ze through and blow away the Prosen people. But he soon discovered the enemy had used bulldozers to clear a firebreak, and any scattered mes were quickly extinguished with hand grenades. As a child, Wang Zhong watched The Little Soldier Zhang Ga, where the guerris set the enemys watchtower on fire, only to have the enemy put out the fire with hand grenades. Initially, he thought it was an over-the-top anti-Japanese drama, butter he heard from old veterans that it was actually true. It turned out that even childrens films back then could have veterans who had realbat experience as military consultants, unlike theter anti-Japanese dramas. It seemed that this wildfire strategy wasnt so easy to use after all. The fire kept burning until four oclock in the afternoon.
Mounted on his white horse, Wang Zhong looked out over the grasnd, which had be a stretch of ashes, and couldnt help but think about the scenery he had seen that morning. The stark contrast between the twondscapes made him acutely aware of the presence of war. The sight brought to his mind the song One day, the smoke will return to the vige, that faint smell ofte rice fragrant in the evening. Now was not the time for sentimentality. After the big fire had consumed all the wild grass, it gradually died out, and the enemy couldunch an attack at any moment. Xie Liaosha, peeking out from atop the turret of the same pulled-back 67th heavy tank gun at the vige entrance, asked, My lord Earl, how shall we fight this time? Wang Zhong said, I suspect the enemy will use smoke to gradually close in on you. So we cant leave you out in the open like before. The good news is that the fire has scorched all the grass, so the enemy can no longer hide in it. I suggest you park next to that house. He pointed towards the southwest, at a small building on the edge of the vige. As a house on the vige edge, the small building had been fought over repeatedly, its roof torn off, and several big holes in its walls, the whole structure vulnerable to copse at any time. Wang Zhong said, There, your cannon can cover two main vige entrances, and we can set up crossfire on both sides of the vige to protect you, gunning down any enemy trying to rush over and throw grenades.
We can alsoy in ambush with submachine gunners behind the low walls on both sides of you, making sure the enemys advance is met with fierce resistance. Xie Liaosha nodded, Very good. But I have a question, why didnt we hold the outer defenses of the vige before? I noticed that few buildings on the perimeter bear the marks of direct hits from tank guns. Wang Zhong replied, Because defending the outskirts of the vige makes it easy to be targeted directly by enemy tanks, and our most effective anti-tank weapon is the Molotov cocktail, which is why we let the enemye in to fight at close quarters, giving us a chance to destroy their tanks in the melee. He paused, then added, We had a few T28s at the time, and its clearly unrealistic for this kind of tank to engage in open firefights with the enemy, isnt it? Indeed, Xie Liaosha said with a grin, Now were here, we can engage the enemy in the open, and well make sure to take out the enemy before they destroy our machine gun positions. Wang Zhong cautioned, Dont be so sure, Lieutenant, the enemy might use smoke to obstruct your vision, and those Prosen people are quite skilled at using it. Then we can be mobile and bypass their cover. Leave it to me, Xie Liaosha said, patting his chest with a proud smile. Wang Zhong patted his shoulder and then rode his horse straight to Lord Boyes manor, nning to tell Yegorov to adjust the deployment. But after only a few steps, he saw Yegorov approaching with a group of men. From a distance, the regimentmander shouted, I guess we should take advantage of our firepower on the outskirts of the vige, so Ive already ordered everyone to adjust their positions. Dont worry about the machine gun position I chose. Wang Zhong nodded. Although he had cheats, he was still a novice with no military experience, still growing and learning. Leaving the cement of the machine guns to the old soldier Yegorov was the best course of action.
Still, Wang Zhong felt he needed to offer a few words of advice to highlight his role as themander. He said, Ensure a clear field of fire! Fully cover the 67th vehicle! And organize a squad of veterans skilled in hand-to-hand and close-rangebat to stand by around the tanks, ready to take down any approaching enemy troops. Let Sergeant Grigori take care of this task, Yegorov replied, With him there, the enemys infantry wont get close. Wang Zhong nodded and decided to return to his VIP spot: atop the water tower! This position allowed him to clearly see everything around him, and he could quickly enter the concrete distillery for cover once the enemys artillery preparation began. No sooner had he climbed up the water tower than the enemy started firing smoke. This time there was no artillery preparation? Wang Zhong was extremely surprised and hurriedly checked the enemys artillery position, afraid that the enemy was up to some fierce trick, such as dismantling their guns and carrying them to the front line to assemble and fire at ground level. Then he realized he had been overthinking it; the enemys infantry guns simply seemed to be out of shells. Could it be that this mornings solo raid by the IL-2 had blown up the enemys ammo storage? Could it be such a coincidence? No, the IL-2 pilot must have deliberately targeted what looked like a stack of supplies to shoot their rockets at, hitting either canned food or ammunition. Well done! Wang Zhong silently gave a thumbs up to the Ant Air Force. Although they only showed up for the first time since the war began, and it was just a single aircraft, they did a good job! Throughout the fierce battles of the day, casualties caused by enemy artillery preparation ounted for at least sixty percent, with the remainder being losses from close-rangebat.
It was a pity there was only one IL-2. Had there been a squadron of four, the enemy wouldnt have been able to organize an attack. At this time, in Bogdanovka, 63rd Armys headquarters. Officially it was the 63rd Armys headquarters, but in fact, the Duke of Vostrom himself was also there. As the Duke held the rank of Lieutenant General, the 63rd Armys headquarters was now also the 41st Army Groups headquarters. The Duke was studying a map when his most trusted intelligence staff entered the map room: My Lord, the nes that volunteered to support Peniye have returned today. The pilot reported no sight of our tanks. It was a group of infantry defending the vige of Peniye, and theres also a field hospital in the vige, visible from the air with a Red Cross to deter enemy bombing. The Duke cursed, Whats going on? Hasnt anyone told them that the Prosen bastards would bomb the Red Cross? These pieces of shit, afraid that the veterans will recover and return to the front as experienced soldiers, are deliberately targeting the hospitals! The staff officer noticed the Dukes slip of the tongue but hesitated and did not point it out. The Duke cursed, took a breath, and then asked, Why is there a field hospital? From where did this field hospital retreat? Thats not something we know, the intelligence staff answered. There are far too many field hospitals that weve lost contact with now. At this moment, themander of the 63rd Army spoke up, Yesterday, locals were continuously arriving with horse-drawn carts carrying wounded soldiers. They said they were from the Ronied City field hospital. The Duke immediately rushed to the map table to check the map, Ronied? Werent all of our forces there wiped out?
It seems not. The wounded also said that they belong to the 3rd Rear Amur Group and are now under themand of Count Rokossov. Why didnt you tell me yesterday? the Duke demanded. Themander spread his hands, I only found out myself just now. The wounded soldiers were brought in by the local cartsst night, and it was all chaos then. At this point, the Chief of Staff of the 41st Army Group concluded, So, the situation is clear. Yesterday the vige of Peniye sent out a distress signal, indicating that they have a Hymn Monk there, very likely a scattered Monk retreating from Ronied who joined the fleeing soldiers en route. Then the fleeing soldiers encountered the remnants of the 31st Regiment of the 4th Tank Army, which had been prepared to defend Peniye, and they organized a defense on the spot. The Military Bishop of the 41st Army Group spoke, I mostly agree with this assessment. Although the enemy would deliberately ughter clergy, there should still be some that managed to escape. The Duke leaned on the map table with both hands, This Count Rokossov cant be that yboy brother of the Crown Prince, the good-for-nothing and ignorant Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov, can it? Everyone exchanged nces. After the civil war, civilians could be officers too, so at this moment all the civilian officers present shut their mouths, as they were not very familiar with the notorious Count. However, the nobly born Chief of Staff of the Army Group added, Which other Rokossov could it be? If we had known this earlier, we wouldnt have sent reinforcements; surely this prodigal was just frightened out of his wits! Its highly probable the enemy isnt much of a problem, after all, even infantry could hold them back. The intelligence staff interjected, ording to the pilots report, the forces attacking Peniye are the enemys armored grenadiers and tank units. Additionally,bining intelligence from other directions, I personally believe that the force confronting Peniye is a mixedbat group led by Major Shrifen, a recipient of the Iron Cross. The headquarters fell silent.
The Chief of Staff of the Army Group scoffed, Youre telling me that a bunch of routed soldiers stopped Prosens elitebat group? Those are veterans who have participated in the Bohemian and Carolingian campaigns, and theirmander is a tough one! Since Count Rokossov proved to be so capable, I suggest that when he returns, we should send him to Loktov to reorganize the fleeing soldiers! After pondering, the Duke replied, That also gives him and his troops a chance to rest and regroup. Wang Zhong, of course, was unaware of what was happening back at the headquarters; his focus was entirely on the enemy. Thanks to a cheat, Wang Zhong could see the enemys formation clearly through the smoke. Besides the infantry skirmish line at the front, the Prosen had also sent tanks on a wide nk, seemingly preparing to attack the side of tank number 67. Unfortunately for them, the KV1 had good all-around defense, except for the engine at its rear, which was the only weak point. And now, tank number 67 was back against the remains of a house, with its rear shielded. The Prosen devils were about to be disappointed yet again, and the thought filled Wang Zhong with delight. The first Prosen soldier showed up from the smoke! The machine gun mounted on the second floor immediately opened fire. Freed from worrying about direct fire from enemy tanks, the Amur Groups machine gunner fought like a man possessed,nding precise shots that dropped several enemies in session. The remaining enemies all went prone. Their uniforms were ck, and the grasnd that had just been scorched was also ck, providing surprisingly effective camouge once they hit the ground! Wang Zhong had never imagined the Prosens dark uniforms could have this effect. He was still in shock when the enemy threw smoke bombs. One has to admit, the Prosen troops really were battle-hardened veterans. They reacted quickly, and the cement of the smoke bombs was urate. But experience was on this side too. They continued to fire through the smoke, reasoning that since they still had a lot of ammunition left from looting the third groups depot, they might as well use it up, lightening their load for the evenings retreat. More enemies emerged from the thick smoke, and the machine gun fire Yegorov had carefully set up continued to erupt. Without the cover of direct fire, infantry are helpless against machine gun fire. Not to mention the KVs high-explosive shells. The fierce battle raged on. The enemy tanks reached the side and opened fire on tank number 67. Wang Zhong clearly saw the armor-piercing shell hit the side of tank number 67s turret, scraping off the paint! After two days of intense fighting, Wang Zhong had never felt this rxed. He even began to feel like he was ying a game of Storm the Beaches, joyfully shooting at live targets. Just then, Wang Zhong heard an engine noiseing from the sky. This time it was not from the east, where their allies were positioned. He immediately raised his view and then realized that his cheat allowed him to see nes from even greater distances than he could see on the ground. It was rather logical for a cheat, despite being one. He saw a whole squadron of Stukas heading towards Peniye. Trouble. Wang Zhong knew at a nce that these Stukas were the B-2 model because he had flown them in games. He knew that in maximum load, they could carry one 500kg big potato and four 50kg little potatoes. The little potatoes couldnt threaten the KV1 unless they were dropped with pinpoint uracy, but the 500kg big potato was no joke. Tank number 67 had to get moving; a stationary target was too easy to hit. Wang Zhong rushed down the water tower, expertly untied Bucephaluss reins, mounted, and galloped away in a cloud of dust. Chapter 58: 52 Unforgettable Summer Memories Chapter 58: Chapter 52 Unforgettable Summer Memories
Wang Zhong spurred his horse into a gallop, dashing out of the vige. Most of the machine-gun fire was on the second floor, so Wang Zhong wasnt shot down by friendly fire. As he charged toward Xie Liaoshas tank crew, a tank shell fired by the enemy was deflected by Tank No. 67, which blew off Wang Zhongs hat. Wang Zhong had no time to care about that, as he sped along he shouted loudly, Enemy nes areing! Get moving! At this moment, the engines roar was already overhead, and lifting his head, Wang Zhong saw the dark shadows of enemy nes against the setting sun. Wang Zhong shouted, Move! Dive towards the belly of the enemy nes! This type of Stuka has serious locking issues during a dive; its not good at hitting moving targets!
However, Xie Liaoshas crew showed no response! Faithful to protocol, Xie Liaosha was hunkering down inside the tank turret duringbat, and with the tanks own mechanical roaring, he probably couldnt hear Wang Zhongs shouts at all. Wang Zhong had never cursed the Ante Empires terrible radio level so much. He nced at the enemy nes above, feeling that any second now he would hear the infamous Death Scream of a Stuka dive. At this point, he saw a nearby infantryman carrying a captured Smoke Bomb and he called out, Give me a smoke bomb! The infantryman turned out to be Sergeant Grigori, who, upon hearing Wang Zhongs shout, directly unhooked the belt carrying smoke bombs and flung it precisely onto Bucephaluss saddle. Wang Zhong pulled out a smoke bomb and, after pulling the pin, held it in his hand, but in his haste handled it upside down, causing smoke to spray out and smother his face. He quickly tossed away the smoke bomb and pulled a new one. Then, he tugged the reins to make Bucephalus run upwind, trying to use the smoke to cover Tank No. 67. As an experienced War Thunder yer, Wang Zhong was aware of how difficult it was to search for the enemy in the sky. Moreover, real-world smoke would drift with the wind, and if the battlefield was filled with smoke, the enemy aircraft could only drop bombs blindly. In the midst of the chaos, a Prussian soldier suddenly emerged in front of Wang Zhong! The enemy was startled by the sight of the white horse, and it took him a moment to think to shoot, but Bucephalus kicked him back into the smoke.
Wang Zhong hadnt even had time to react; he hadnt switched to the overhead view and so had no idea the enemy had gotten so close! Wasnt pulling this smoke actually helping the enemy get closer to the tanks? He quickly switched to an aerial view to confirm the position of the nearby enemies. Looking down, he saw the enemy nes circling overhead. Could it be that the enemys radio technology had improved to the point of coordinating between the air and ground, and the enemy nes knew that their biggest threat below was one heavy tank? They wouldnt drop bombs without being sure where the heavy tank was? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Wang Zhong saw an infantry officer on the ground pull out a re gun and fire it towards where Tank No. 67 was parked. A red re traced an arc through the sky, heading towards Tank No. 67. There was guidance from the ground! Was this really an army from the time of Operation Barbarossa? Wang Zhong could see it all too clearly from the overhead view, and naturally, so could the enemy aircraft. The enemy ne rolled into a diving posture. The famous shriek of the Stuka tore at Wang Zhongs eardrums.
Just then, Tank No. 67 began to move, whether it was because the smoke had obscured their line of sight, making it impossible to shoot, or because they heard the Death Scream. Anyway, it started moving. Seeing this, Wang Zhong pulled the reins and turned to flee. He had done everything he could; now it was up to the crews fate. At the first loud bang, Wang Zhong distinctly felt the wind blow from behind him. This was followed by a series of massive explosions. From the sound alone, Wang Zhong felt Tank No. 67s crew was done for. Looking down from the aerial view, indeed he saw Tank No. 67 had stopped, settling in the in, with severalrge craters visible from the air nearby. The enemy ne havingpleted its bombing run was pulling up, seemingly nning to find an angle to drop the 50KG little sweet potatoes hanging beneath its wings. Although 50KG was small among aerial bombs, for ground troops, one of these was akin to a gas cylinder; even if you were lying down, the st wave could still cause serious injury. At this moment, Wang Zhong saw Sergeant Grigori leading a squad of submachine gunners charge forward, using the craters from the aerial bombs as cover to protect Tank No. 67. Wang Zhong remembered his previous order to this group: protect the heavy tank at all costs and take down any approaching enemy. Even without knowing whether the tank had been destroyed, the order was being faithfully executed. The only good news was that the 500KG heavy aerial bombs st had dispersed the smoke, giving Grigoris group a clear line of sight and the chance to maximize the firepower of their submachine guns.
The enemy infantry rushing up only had submachine guns for the officers, so it was natural that they were outgunned in the firefight. Suddenly, a stick grenade was thrown towards the crater. Sergeant Grigori threw his submachine gun to the side and caught the grenade, tossing it back. The explosion sent the Prussian who threw it tumbling. But taking advantage of the submachine guns pause in fire, more grenades were thrown! Sergeant Grigori drew his entrenching tool and, like ying badminton, hit the grenades back one by one. There he was, the vic superman, the original Astarte! Just then, thepletely silent Tank No. 67s engine spewed out a cloud of thick smoke. The enemy troops, who had been swarming forward, stopped in their tracks, terrified by the awakening steel beast. The coaxial machine gun in the turret rang out, and tracers demolished the enemys remaining morale. But! The Stuka came back around!
Wang Zhong just happened to run near a machine-gun position at the edge of the vige and he shouted, Fire at the sky! Theres no visibility on the ground anyway! With smoke covering the ground, machine guns really couldnt be fully utilized. Chapter 59: 52 Unforgettable Summer Memories_2 Chapter 59: Chapter 52 Unforgettable Summer Memories_2
The shooter immediately swung the muzzle of his gun around, then realized he didnt have enough elevation. At that moment, a private hefted the tripod of the machine gun, raising the muzzle higher. The machine gunner immediately opened fire. The tracer rounds futilely tried to stop the fleet of aircraft. Just then, a rocket rose from the ground, its head blooming with a Venus-like glow in the sunset. Divine Arrow! The enemys lead ne scrambled to evade but was overtaken by the Divine Arrow as it curved in pursuit, plummeting to the ground with thick smoke and mes trailing behind.
The remaining enemy nes, unsure of how many more Divine Arrows there were, immediately turned to disengage, swiftly descending to treetop level and sped off. At that moment, a re shot up from the mountaintop. A yellow re. Yesterday, when the enemy had ceased their attack, Wang Zhong had seen such a re too. It must be the signal to stop the attack. Sure enough, the Prosen infantry began to retreat. Shrifen actually couldnt see what was happening in front of him; his view was blocked by smoke. But he clearly heard the tank engines, which had briefly stopped, roar back to life. The enemy tanks are still there! he shouted over the radio, Flying Eagle, Flying Eagle, I request a second strike! Use your 50kg bombs! Alright, this time we see the enemy tanks, let the infantry pull back a bit, the lead pilot confidently replied over them, Its time to show some real skill. As the words were spoken, a rocket ascended.
Shrifen: Enemy Divine Arrowunched! I see it, may Valha protect us! Then themunication cut off. Shrifen watched as the lead ne, trailed by billowing smoke and mes, crashed into the ground without any sign of the pilot ejecting. The other aircraft scattered like birds, retreating to low altitude and heading west. Major Franz: Damn it, the Air Force really cant be relied on. After saying this, he turned around, and before he could speak, Major Shrifen said, We should retreat. Major Shrifen turned to look at the sky and continued, Its getting dark. We have no way to deal with the enemys heavy tanks. In Carolingian, we used eighty-eight millimeter k guns against the enemys B1 heavy tanks. The anti-aircraft battalion should be up by tomorrow. Wang Zhong, mounted on his white horse, stood at the entrance of the vige. The setting sun dipped westward, casting a crimson hue over the entire field. After a relentless gallop and even knocking an enemy airborne, Bucephalus had only broken a small sweat, not even breathing heavily. With the enemy retreating, did it meanthe mission was aplished?
There were still two hours until eight oclock. The enemy likely wouldnt attack in this condition, right? Wang Zhong decided to use this opportunity when the enemycked the will to fight to move forward and verify their situation. As long as the enemy had suffered significant losses, it was highly probable they wouldnt attack again today. He gently kicked the horses belly, and Bucephalus, as if understanding his intent, immediately set off towards the sunset. The wind swept across the battlefield, lifting Wang Zhongs hair. Through his binocrs, Shrifen saw the officer who hade to provoke them in the morning appear again on a white horse. He faced the setting sun with the posture of a victor. Shrifens teeth clenched with a gritting noise. That bastard! Aim the infantry gun at him! st him to bits! Major, the infantry gun is out of ammo! Then use the mortar! The mortar cant hit that urately!
Then use a machine gun! Find a sharpshooter! Our best machine gunners are all dead, Major! Bring mymand vehicle! Ill run him over myself! Major, calm down! Wang Zhong looked puzzled at the disorganized enemy. He didnt bother to investigate further, as his objective was already achieved. Confirming that the enemy had suffered heavy losses andcked the capability to continue the attack, he could leave. If it hadnt been for Bucephaluss bravery today, kicking the enemy soldier into the air, he might have died. Wang Zhong reflected seriously, realizing he still needed to be cautious about preserving his life in the future. Speaking of which, when he had charged out earlier using the smoke to cover the tanks, he hadnt felt a trace of fear. Wang Zhong couldnt help but remember an olddy who had oncee to give a talk at his school. The olddy was a sanitary officer who had been recognized with three significant merits (before the reorganization, there were no different levels of merit, only major and minor). She had joked, Looking back now, I find it unbelievable. I never knew what fear was back then. Now, when Im on the street, seeing a pickpocket makes me worry whether he has a knife or aplices.
It seems that the courage I had back then has forever left me. Maybe its because the dreams I had back then havee true! With that, the olddy beamed with a radiant smile. That kind of courage, now Wang Zhong knew exactly what that kind of courage was. He had somehow resonated with the predecessors of his original timeline, despite having crossed over to this world, and the feeling was remarkable. With such sentiments, Wang Zhong returned to tank number 67, looking at Xie Liaosha, who was bandaging his wounds: Hows it going? Xie Liaosha smiled: Still alive. Were all alive. But this buddy has broken down. He patted the turrets top armor. Wang Zhong: Can it be fixed? Were retreating at eight tonight. However, Xie Liaosha shook his head: It cant be fixed. The spare parts we brought have been blown up. The engine can still turn, but who knows when it will break down too, then we can only operate the turret manually. Wang Zhongs chest suddenly tightened. He had a vague premonition that something was about to happen. Xie Liaosha spoke up: Well keep holding back the enemy here, fighting until thest bullet is fired. You can retreat in peace.
Wang Zhongs lips trembled. After a moment, he said, No, I order you to try and fix the tank in the night. If its not repaired by midnight, abandon the tank and retreat. Well rendezvous at Bogdanovka. Chapter 60: 52 Unforgettable Summer Memories_3 Chapter 60: Chapter 52 Unforgettable Summer Memories_3
` In order to keep Xie Liaosha from disobeying orders, Wang Zhong added, This is an order! Xie Liaosha slowly shook his head, a blood-like hue from the sunset on his face, Sir, we cannot leave the tank to the enemy. If they repair it, they will use it against us. The armor that the enemy cant prate, we will also have trouble prating. Think about how many of our own people would die if this oldrade falls into enemy hands. If we abandon the tank, we must destroy it. Right now, the enemy fears it, and as soon as it is destroyed, they will immediately begin pursuit. Trust me. Wang Zhong couldnt find the words to reply. Xie Liaosha continued, Give us a satchel charge. Then well resist until thest moment, and we can even take a few bastards with us using the satchel charge.
Wang Zhong watched Xie Liaosha, noticing a gleam in his eyes. Thinking back now, its incredible how the former me never knew what fear was. Wang Zhong, Ive taken your suggestion. Do you have any letters youd like me to pass on? Yes. Xie Liaosha pulled out a letter from his left breast pocket and handed it to Wang Zhong, The address is written on it. Just mail it for us. I have one too! And mine! Soon, all the letters from Tank No. 67s crew were in Wang Zhongs hands. Clutching the stack of thin sheets, Wang Zhong felt as though they weighed a thousand pounds. He saw Xie Liaosha and the entire tank crew smiling fearlessly. It took all of his strength to keep from crying in front of these brave young men. He pocketed the lettershis pocket already contained a bloodstained letter. Wang Zhong, mounted on his horse, saluted the soon-to-be-dead.
Then, he resolutely turned his horse around and headed east. Evening, eight oclock sharp. Wang Zhong lowered his hand and looked at the troops already lined up in the street. Compared to 38 hours before, the size of the force had drastically reduced, and nearly everyone was wounded. But everyone including those with minor injuries in the hospitalwas full of vigor. Wang Zhong dismounted, helped a wounded man onto the horse, and then ordered to the entire army: All units, march! The troops set off in silence. Wang Zhong also took steps. He saw the locals who had decided to stay, standing on the roadside, watching them withplex expressions. Wang Zhong, Liven up! Let the locals see our spirit! Let them know that one day we wille back to fight! Then, the orderly footsteps grew even louder.
Wang Zhong felt it wasnt enough, so he shouted, Sufang! Start us off with a lively song! We are the army of victory, we must have the bearing of victors! Sufangs voice came from the back of the column. I remember a small town in another province Peaceful, quiet, and mncholic With a church, a station, and a tree-lined pathway In the crowd, I sometimes glimpse That familiar, dear silhouette More people joined in the chorus. She wore a blue sun hat A blue short coat A dark skirt, the silhouette of a young girl Ah, my brief, passing love!
The chorus arrived, everyone singing in unison. The beat of the song mingled with the orderly steps, the forest of bays swaying to the song, like an impassible Great Wall! Tanya! Tanusha! My Takiyanne! Do you still remember that fiery summer I cant forget those moments That time of yearning love! The summer wind blew through the column, bringing the warmth of summer days. Someone unknown whistled yfully, as if scoffing at war and invaders! Tanya! Tanusha! My Takiyanne! Do you still remember that fiery summer I cant forget those moments That time of yearning love! `
Chapter 61: 53 Dawn Falls on You Chapter 61: Chapter 53 Dawn Falls on You
Ludm walked in the middle of the column, apanied by the nurses from the field hospital. She kept staring at the white horse carrying wounded soldiers not far away. Sufang asked curiously, Why are you looking at the white horse? Ludm whispered, He would have never let the wounded use his white horse before, definitely not. Who? Sufang didnt catch on at first, then realized, Oh, he huh, hes grown up, that word is yes, transformation! I read a book about insects; many insects start asrvae and end up inside a cocoon, and when they emerge, they turn into butterflies. Ludm looked at Sufang, The Book of Insects? The one written by that Carolingian biologist?
Seems like it. Ludm shook her head and continued watching the white horse, Can people really change thatpletely? Isnt there a saying that its easier to change rivers and mountains than ones nature? I grew up with him. He was a jerk since childhood, just grew up to be a lecherous jerk But now, I feel like hes apletely different person. Just then, a senior nurse walking in front of them turned around and said, Miss, you may not realize this, but men change when they go to war. This is what my mother said, my father was also a jerk in his youth, then he went to war in Anatolia, and he changed! My mother has long forgotten the events of the war, but my father remembers everythingwhomanded which unit, which general was a hero and which a coward, he remembers it all. If other old mene to visit at our house, they could sit in the living room and babble about these things all day long. War is like magic for men; in war, they either die or turn into men who can stand on their own two feet. This Auntie Nurse was evidently a chatterbox; once she started talking, there seemed to be no end, just rattling on and on. Finally, she concluded with a verdict, The count must be the same. The wounded in the hospital talk about how the Count rides his white horse through the artillery fire. If they were youngdies, theyd probably be smitten by now! Sufang looked awkwardly to the side. Ludm still frowned, But at the beginning of the war, he still err never mind, forget I said anything. It must be some mistake if Alyosha is actually charming enough to bewitch girls.
The Auntie Nurse burst intoughter. Alyosha Wang Zhong didnt care at all what the girls were talking about; he took a few steps and then looked back, always feeling like he heard the sound of an explosion. Walking beside Wang Zhong, Yegorovforted him, The enemy suffered more losses than we did, they wont attack tonight. Maybe by tomorrow the vehicle will be fixed, and they could even reach Bogdanovka and join up with us. Wang Zhong nodded, Lets hope so. If the enemy doesnt attack tonight, we should allow them to retreat. They want to blow up the vehicle; as soon as the vehicle explodes, the enemy will be alerted, Yegorov paused before adding, Moreover, maybe they can hold out in Peniye for another day, giving the 63rd Army at Bogdanovka more time to prepare their defenses. Pavlov chimed in, They came from Bogdanovka, so they know what the defense line looks like; maybe they deliberately stayed behind. Wang Zhong nodded, If thats the case, we must carry on their will and continue the fight. Of course. Wang Zhong then asked, Whats the process for applying for a medal? Although it was strange for an officer to ask such a question, Wang Zhongs original identity was that of a dissolute schr, so it somehow seemed not that surprisinging from him. Pavlov clicked his tongue, The application for a medal has to be signed by the Military Bishop, and you blew up the Bishop.
Wang Zhong corrected, I blew up the spy posing as the Bishop. Yegorov then turned and asked, Hey, do we still have a Military Chain in the troops? In the darkness, someone replied, All dead, Commander. The Chapiains are usually the first to die. Yegorov spread his hands to Wang Zhong in resignation. Pavlov went on, Our situation is a bit tricky; the entire highermand structure is wiped out, left in Ronied. From the clerical orders, only a Divine Arrow squad is left. We dont even know after reaching Bogdanovka who we will be taking orders from. Wang Zhong, It doesnt matter whomands. As long as we can fight the Prussian devils, thats good enough. At that moment, he suddenly remembered something importanthe had been fighting all along and had no idea what the date was today. So he feigned nonchnce and said, With these ceaseless battles, Ive almost forgotten what date it is today. Pavlov, June 29th, the first Sunday after the war starteddamn, its actually Sunday today! Yegorov also had a sudden realization, A week into the war already? I remember the night before it started, I was nning to try out some high-ss art, so I bought a ticket for the Ronied Grand Theater, and ended up falling asleep straight through, not even waking up for the apuse. Wang Zhong scratched his head, Its only been a week since the war started?
Yeah, just a week. And yet weve lost Ronied, the Prussians are advancing much faster than us during the winter campaign and the civil war. Pavlov clicked his tongue, Although they are the enemy, you have to admit they are formidable. Wang Zhong, Fortunately, the enemy advanced quickly, so we were not hit by heavy artillery. If the enemys heavy artillery came up, wed all have to fill the gap with our bodies. As he spoke, he recalled the feeling of being bombarded by the enemy navys 381-millimeter guns and sincerely hoped it wouldnt happen again. At this moment, the first light of dawn began to appear in the east. Wang Zhong nced at his watch and realized it was almost daylight. Without realizing it, he had walked through the night. But Wang Zhong didnt feel tired at all. Before he realized he had walked all night, he hadnt felt any difort in his legs, but now they began to swell and exhibit the fatigue of a long march. Wang Zhong, When can we get to Bogdanovka? Just then, the scout riding a gray horse returned and saluted Wang Zhong, Count, theres a farmhouse ahead! Yegorov, Is there a well? Yes,rademander. Yegorov immediately turned to Wang Zhong, I suggest we rest at the farmhouse for fifteen minutes, and fill our water bottles. It was at that moment that Wang Zhong realized he was sweating profusely and his mouth was very dry.
So he nodded, Rest at the farmhouse. Arrange the sentries, be on guard for pursuers. Yegorov immediately turned to give the order. Calling it a farmhouse was actually a bit of a stretch; it was just a smallplex of a single-story house, stables, and a granary, surrounded by a waist-high wall. The granary was a tall silo, and upon seeing it, Wang Zhong reflexively wanted to climb up to survey the surroundings. To him now, tall buildings were like the watchtowers in the Assassins Creed game series, naturally alluring and begging to be climbed. A three-generational family lived in the farmhouse, and under the lead of the old man Aleksandrovich, they weed Wang Zhong and his group. My lord, the old man said, ncing at the troops entering the yard, have you suffered a defeat? Are the Prussiansing soon? Wang Zhong, We won, held off an attack from an enemy several times our size, andpleted our mission to dy their advance, sir. The old man, So, the Prussians areing soon, right? Right, you should run with us. We have our defenses at Bogdanovka. After Wang Zhong finished, Pavlov added, The trains there should still be operational. Take the train back east! But the old man shook his head, My wife and I cant walk anymore. Can you take my daughter-inw and grandchildren? My son left the day the war started, to join the army.
He said we would quickly defeat the enemy and if he didnt enlist right away, hed miss his chance for glory. He even talked abouting back a noble! As the old man spoke, a look of sorrow appeared in his eyes, We wont be able to defeat the enemy quickly, will we? Wang Zhong, Indeed. Pavlov, the hospital could still use nurses, couldnt it? Let thisdy join. Pavlov, looking troubled, Thedy is fine, but the children Wang Zhong, Let theme along. There will definitely be nurseries in the rear. We can leave them at a nursery when the timees. Yes. Pavlov gestured for the daughter-inw toe. Just then, the sound of an engine came from the sky. Sergeant Major Grigori, who had been on guard next to Wang Zhong and the others, shouted, Take cover! Wang Zhong, Dont worry, its our ne. He had already seen the ne approaching from the east through a birds-eye view. The soldiers who had just hit the ground were climbing up when an Il-2 appeared against the morning light in the east. Yegorov muttered, The number is the same as the ne from yesterday, its the same one. Wang Zhong, Its the same one that helped us yesterday! Sergeant Major Grigori led the shout, Hoorah! Amidst the shouts of hoorah, the ne flew low over their heads, and they could clearly see the rockets mounted under its wings. The ne seemed to hear the sounds from the ground and rolled sixty degrees, allowing the pilot to look at the ground and salute the people below. Wang Zhong felt a sense of significance, feeling that this salute gave meaning to all the struggles they had enduredno, the struggles were definitely meaningful, but it was this salute that now gave those meanings a sense of reality. He too returned the salute from the ground to thank the pilot for his help the day before. After flying past the farmhouse, the ne rolled back to its normal position. Just then, the sun finally showed its face in the east, and the bright morning light shone on Wang Zhong. Chapter 62: 54: Rocossov Returns from Hell Chapter 62: Chapter 54: Rocossov Returns from Hell
Jules 914, June 29, Sunday, the 7th day of the war. At 0730 in the morning, Lieutenant Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky led thest organized remnants of the Ronied soldiers to Bogdanovka. Wang Zhong actually spotted the defense line of the 63rd Army even earlier than the scouts did. In order not to attract the attention of the people around him, he specifically waited for the cavalry scouts to return and report before issuing the order, Go immediately and inform our allies that we are the Third Rear Amur Group of the Vanguard of Upper Peniye, along with us are the Ronied Support Battalion, and the field hospital. Do not fire. The scout saluted, turned his little gray horse around, and galloped away at full speed.
Wang Zhong left the formation and put on the air of an officer, shouting to the soldiers, Soldiers! I know you have fought bravely for a day and marched all night, and you are very tired! But now a new mission falls upon our shoulders! We must exhibit the demeanor of a victorious army and inspire the morale of ourrades! Let them know the Prussians can be defeated! All troops, attention! The troops in front of Wang Zhong immediately came to a halt, and themand to stand at attention was passed down. Soon, the whole unit stopped moving. Wang Zhong: Dress right! Eyes front! Raise your heads and puff out your chests, and walk in step! March in unison! The previously disordered steps now became uniform, and everyones feet spoke with one voice. Wang Zhong stood on a mound, watching the forest of bays passing in front of him, and nodded in satisfaction. Although he felt that it was time to sing a song, considering that the soldiers were indeed very tired, he decided against it. The soldiers of the 510th Regiment of the 75th Division of the 63rd Army watched with amazement at this ragged but high-spirited unit. The regimentalmander, Borokino, stepped out of hismand bunker and stood on the hill watching this small unit.
The military chain stood by his side, marveling, They look wretched, but every one of them is full of energy. It feels like they are not the remnants of a defeated force, but a troop that has won a victory? Borokino: Dont you know? They broke through from Ronied, and then, without any reinforcements, held up against a Prussian assault group of elite forces at Upper Peniye. They destroyed dozens of tanks alone. Oh. The chain let out an admiring sound, Thats impressive. Whomanded them? Count Rocossov. The chain was stunned, turned his head with an incredulous look at themander: Who? Rocossov. Borokino repeated. Which Rocossov? the chain asked again, as the Rocossov surname was quitemon in Livonia and Moravia, and parts of these regions were under the rule of the Ante Empire, which, to consolidate its rule, once had the local nobles exchangends with the native nobility. Borokino: The one who graduated five sses after me, at the bottom of his ss. That Rocossov? The chain was shocked. Borokino pointed at the troop: Look, that one, walking next to the formation. Dont be fooled by his robust appearance, he worked out just to pick up girls. The chain scrutinized that Rocossov from a distance and said, He doesnt seem like the Rocossov from the rumors. At least by appearance, he looks now like a seasoned warrior of many battles. Borokino pursed his lips, not answering.
Suddenly, he stepped forward two paces and shouted, Aleksei Konstantinovich! Wang Zhong now no longer reacted slowly when hearing his own name. Looking up in confusion, he saw a colonel he did not recognize at all. Shit, he thought, who the hell are you? But he quickly realized that looking at an ally from an overview perspective would disy a name, so he decisively switched to remember the name and then switched back. Borokino Aleksandrovich, hello! I heard you did a good job this time! the other side said. Wang Zhongs expression darkened. If this were the past, Wang Zhong would definitely have started to strut and show off by now. But now, he could not feel happy at all when he heard the praise. He thought of the soldiers who had sacrificed themselves in battle.
He said: Its not good enough. I didnt do well enough. You see, Aleksandrovich, take a look at my troops, so few have returned, and they are all wounded. I did not do well enough. The man across from him was taken aback: Ah? Uh you are Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, right? Wang Zhong just nodded. The man waspletely baffled: Uh its already enough! After all, youve broken through and held your ground all alone, its enough! Wang Zhong just nodded his head and passed by the acquaintance with his troops. Borokino looked at Rocossov and then at the military chain. The chain said, He really seems to be ming himself, thinking he didnt fight well enough. So this is the kind of person Count Rocossov is Borokino stroked his cheek: Somethings not right, definitely not right. At that moment, the regimental staff officer emerged from themand bunker, reminding, We should report to the rear the passage of Count Rocossovs unit through our defense area. Oh yes, report it quickly. I need to make a phone call.
Wang Zhongs troops had just arrived on the outskirts of Bogdanovka when a jeep pulled up in front of the unit and brought the entire contingent to a halt. A major with a staff badge jumped off the vehicle and asked loudly, Are you the Third Rear Amur Group? Yegorov stepped forward, Yes, whats the matter? The major nodded, Duke Vostrom has ordered that we arrange lodging and provide meals and medical supplies for you. The houses have been cleared out, and the food is ready. Follow me. The soldiers, who had just been holding themselves up with forced pride, immediately let out cheers of genuine relief. Twenty minutester, Wang Zhongs soldiers and the wounded were settled in a school, and the hospital reopened its doors. Long tables and chairs were set up outside in the schoolyard, suggesting a makeshift dining area. The exhausted soldiers rushed to the tables and sat down as soon as they heard themand to disperse. Right next to the dining area was the mess, with rudimentary stoves made of stones andrge campaign pots perched on top. A field cooking team,posed of young women from Bogdanovka, bustled about. The girls, with their floral scarves and rolled-up sleeves, were busy beside therge pots. Seeing the girls, the spirits of the weary soldiers lifted noticeably, and whistling and bowl tapping became quite a scene. But the girls were too busy cooking to pay much attention to them, aside from the asional smile.
Wang Zhong watched the group and thought to himself how quickly they were able to switch gears. Justst night, they were still immersed in the grief for their fallenrades, and now, they were already flirting with the girls. But perhaps it was the sight of the brutal battlefield that made them realize they might not make it back the next time, so they seized the chance to approach the girls while they could. Who knows. Wang Zhong didnt intend to reprimand the surviving soldiers, instead, he stood by with a benevolent gaze. Wait a moment, speaking of which, Ludm seemed to have a nickname for me, indicating a rtionship where we could address each other in such familiar termscould she be my fiance? After so many days since his transmigration, Wang Zhong began to consider this possibility for the first time. He needed to ask about it as soon as possible. Just as Wang Zhong turned to look for Ludm, another jeep drove into the school and stopped next to the majors jeep that had directed them. Two burly men in church military uniforms disembarked from the vehicle, theirrge caps adorned with blue stripes. In the open-air dining area, a corporal was the first to spot the blue big caps and nudged his buddy, who was whistling at the girls, giving him a forceful shush. The whistler looked around, annoyed, but upon seeing the blue caps, he immediately sat up straight, as if hed seen a ghost. The others curiously turned their heads, and then swiftly shut up, with some signaling to theirrades who were still focused on the girls. The dining area became deathly quiet in an instant. Everyone watched the two Tribunal Judges approach. They came straight to Wang Zhong, saluted him, and asked, Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky? Wang Zhong returned the salute, Thats me. What can I do for you? Weve received reports that you were killed in action. Then allow me to enlighten you about the road back from hell, Wang Zhong replied calmly. The battles Wang Zhong had been through could indeed be likened to hell, and he really had returned from it. Of course, he had also truly died. The Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky standing before them was, in the truest sense, a changed man, body and soul. For a moment, Wang Zhong wondered if the Tribunal had sensed something amiss, to consider him some champion of the devil or the like. After all, in a world where God could guide the Divine Arrow, the existence of demons wouldnt be surprising, would it? The Judge, who bore one more star on his shoulder than hispanion, began to speak, We received information from Sergei Nikyevich Romanov that you were alive, and weve learned about yourmand up until reaching Upper Peniye. Wang Zhongs first reaction was, Who? Then he remembered that Sergei Nikyevich Romanov was the dukesdys sweetheart with whom he had exchanged trousers. At the mountain front west of Upper Peniye, Captain Lubokov, overwhelmed by tension, mistook Wang Zhong for a Prussian and took a shot at him. Sergeis head was injured, and he decided to stay put in the hospital, leaving Wang Zhong no choice but to send him back with the wounded in carts from his fellows. Wang Zhong: Is Captain Sergei alright? The Judge made a face of disgust, Hes doing very well, ranting all day about us sending him to Ekaterinburg Fortress, apparently, somedy is waiting there for him. Wang Zhong frownedthe dukesdys sweetheart, could that actually be true? Now the duchess was a widow, and he He shook his head, casting aside these thoughts. Why bother about others? I, Wang Zhong, just need to figure out how to give the Prussians another thrashing. Wang Zhong: I have no connection with him. I hope to replenish my troops quickly. Were still ready to fight. Apart from personnel, he also needed to restock on tanks and artillery, T34s preferred! Hearing Wang Zhongs words, the men of the Third Rear Amur Group all looked his way, their eyes sharp and expressions resolute, eager for another round of arm-wrestling with the Prussians. The Judge scanned the crowd, took a breath topose himself, and said, Before that, we need to understand the battle near Upper Peniye. Would you be willing to join us for a while? That was when Yegorov stepped in, Understanding the battle process isnt the mission of the Tribunal, is it? You dont handle military matters. You are mistaken, Colonel Ivan Panzhyevich Yegorov. The Army Groups bishop wishes to understand the battle process; its just us he sent to fetch someone. After all, the staff officers are swamped right now, as are the military chains and monks; only we are somewhat idle. The Judge cracked a smile that carried a hint of apology. Chapter 63: 55: Rocossov and His Band of Heroes Receive Commendations (Alliance Hierarch Added) Chapter 63: Chapter 55: Rocossov and His Band of Heroes Receive Commendations (Alliance Hierarch Added)
Wang Zhong stood up, but because he had walked for too long, his legs were still numb, and he nearly stumbled to his knees. The Judge with one more star reacted quickly to support him, Be careful, if you had an ident in front of us, we would gain even more infamy. So youre aware of your bad reputation, huh. Wang Zhong thought just that, while Yegorov outright said, So youre aware of your bad reputation, huh? Wang Zhong widened his eyes at Yegorov, wondering if he was always this bold. Pavlovs expression was as if he wereining, What is this peasant talking about!
The Judgeughed, Our job is to instill fear. If everyone saw us and wasnt scared, then the lurking enemies wouldnt be scared either. Theyd be reckless, right? So its better for us to be feared. Wang Zhong and his officer squad, which really consisted only of Yegorov and Pavlov, exchanged nces. He decided to skip over this matter and straightened his body, saying to the Judge, Lead the way. By your car? Alyosha! Before the Judge could respond, a call came from behind. General Wang turned around to see Ludm jogging over, holding a te in her right hand with bread, grilled sausages, and pickles, and carrying a cup in her left hand. Have something to eat, Ludm said, Thest time you ate was at dawn, and youve walked so much since then, you must be hungry. Wang Zhong nodded, he indeed was hungry. He first bit into the bread, then silently put it back. It was said to be a fragrantrge loaf, but this piece of wood obviously wasnt one. With apprehension, Wang Zhong picked up the grilled sausage and after one bite, stuffed the rest in his mouth without another word. He made a note to remember in the future, to trust sausageslikely all meats were trustworthy. Finally, Wang Zhong picked up a pickle. It tasted likewell, like a pickle.
After eating, Wang Zhong wiped his mouth and took the cup from Ludm. After a sip, he noticed it wasnt water in the cup, but milk. Wang Zhong: Where did the milke from? Theres a whole bucket over there, Ludm said, pointing to arge bucket with a faucet in the distance near the kitchen. Wang Zhong: Ah, cows milk. Yes, what else would it be? Ludm asked, confused. Wang Zhong tried not to let his eyes wander and answered, I thought it was mares milk. Ludm was even more perplexed, You want to drink mares milk? Isnt that difficult to get now? Wang Zhong drank the rest of the liquid in the cup in one go and handed it back to the girl, Cows milk is fine. Im off. Right, Ludm added, Monk Yeca Neiko has gone to the Army Group church; we might be deployed somewhere else. Alyosha, I Upon hearing that his Divine Arrow squad might be taken away, Wang Zhong became furious. He hadnt even secured a tank yet, and now they wanted to take his Divine Arrow? He raised his voice, Without my permission, none of you can leave! Im going to see the Army Group Hierarch now, Ill speak to him! Ludm breathed a sigh of relief, and her expression softened. She seemed pleased.
Wang Zhong, still fuming with anger, got into the Tribunals car and sat in the back, muttering, Taking my Divine Arrows, what a joke. Without the tank and my short-range anti-tank missile group (referring to the Divine Arrow squad, which Wang Zhong saw as an anti-tank missile group) being moved, this war cant be fought. I need to have a seriousint to the Brigade Commanderno, to the Army Group Hierarch! The two Judges also got in the car. Yegorov intended to get in the car as well, but the Judge said, You dont need toe. Write a report on thebat process, staff wille to get it. Yegorov clicked his tongue and looked back at Sergeant Grigori. The Sergeant immediately understood, picked up the captured MP40, and sat in the backseat of the jeep, next to Wang Zhong. Im a guard, the Sergeant said, Its normal to bring a guard, right? The Judge nodded and started the vehicle. The car thus left the school. After the Judge had left, all the soldiers from the Third Rear Amur Group breathed a sigh of relief, and the scene quickly livened up again. The young girls from the field cooking team began to discuss the Count who had just left.
They were all girls conscripted from the local area of Bogdanovka; some were even born after the civil war ended, and many were too young to remember anything during the civil war. Even though Bogdanovka had been bombed by the Prussians, the Prussian attacks were focused mainly on the train station and the lotive repair factory next to it, so most of the people from Bogdanovka had not really seen someone wounded or killed by Prussian nes. Therefore, these girls had little concept of the cruelty of war, and their imaginations of war were mainly influenced by movies, music, and poetry. They passionately discussed the words the Count had just said: Natasha, did you hear? The Count said Then I can introduce you to the road back from hell, so cool! Yes, when he said those words, his expression made my heart almost jump out! Right, who was that girl who just brought food to the Count? She seemed just a bit older than us. As the girls chattered excitedly while working, the auntie in charge of stirring the pot knocked the edge of the pot hard with herrge spoon, Stop chattering and focus on work, girls! Natasha, look at the potatoes you peeled; I can see spots where you didnt peel off the skin! No sooner had she spoken than someone from the soldiers yelled out, Ill eat that potato! This caused a round ofughter. Chapter 64: 55: Rocossov and His Band of Heroes Receive Commendations (Alliance Hierarch Added)_2 Chapter 64: Chapter 55: Rocossov and His Band of Heroes Receive Commendations (Alliance Hierarch Added)_2
But the olddy didnt even look at the soldiers, instead she continued to berate the girls, During the civil war, I was part of a field cooking team just like you. Im telling you, whether noble ormoner, handsome or mischievous, anyone can vanish without a trace! The lucky ones are gone instantly, the less fortunate end up in the hospital, missing limbs, facing a lifetime of hardship! Dont fall in love with soldiers, girls, dont! After the war is over, find a lucky fellow with nimble legs to marrythats the right way! The only right way! The aunts words silenced the soldiers. After a moment of silence, Pavlov said, Auntie, this time its different from the civil war! Weve seen with our own eyes that the Prosen devils are like demons, they ughter civilians at will!
Weve witnessed them dump entire families spanning three generations into manure pits! If we dont fight, if we dont annihte them, everyone will be killed, they will take ournd and use our corpses to fertilize their fields! The olddy stirred the potato and carrot soup in the big pot while replying, Yes, I know. Thats why Im cooking for you. While she spoke, the aunt suddenly couldnt hold back her tears and began to sob quietly, reminded perhaps of some sorrowful memory. The girls gathered around tofort her, but the aunt shouted, Peel your potatoes! The soldiers are waiting to eat! They are still waiting to eat Meanwhile, at themand headquarters. The Chief of Staff of the 41st Army Group ced a map on the table. This is a map drawn by the staff officers. If it were the ignorant Rokossov, he definitely wouldnt be able to clearly exin how they made it to Upper Peniye, boasted the Chief of Staff, He would be exposed instantly, and all his lies would copse without a fight! The Archbishop of the Army Group came over to look at the map and asked, Is this map urate? urate, drawn strictly to scale. The biggest difference from a real map is that this one includesndmarks based on aerial photos, all specifically picked ording to the route described by Captain Sergey. If it was indeed Rokossov who directed their retreat to Upper Peniye, he would definitely remember! The Archbishop nodded and turned to the Duke, the Commander of the 41st Army Group.
The Duke said, Very well, lets use this to test Count Rokossovs mettle! If his previous disy of ignorance was all an act to charm the Crown Prince, then we shall rmend him for a medal. If he truly is ignorant, then we must find the real person whomanded this battle and put them to good use! The Tribunals vehicle stopped in front of an unimpressive little building. Wang Zhong looked at the building with confusion, The headquarters is here? It looks just like an ordinary house. It was even less impressive than the mechanical mill in Upper Peniye. The driving Judge pointed toward the city hall building not far away, Look over there, weve put up a military and national g on the roof, and it gets bombed everyday. Fortunately, the building itself is made of reinforced concrete, which is quite sturdy. Wang Zhong replied, I see, its to avoid air raids. The Judge said, A traitor tried to guide the Prosen Air Force to the headquarters with a Smoke Bomb, but we caught and executed him by firing squad. Now, military vehicles are not allowed to stop nearby, nor hang colors that are easily identifiable from the air. After you get out, Ill have to drive the car away. Hurry on, my lord Count. Only after Wang Zhong opened the door and got out of the vehicle did the jeep drive away, and once everyone else had gotten out as well. At the entrance of the headquarters stood a young officer with a golden aiguillette on his uniform. Looking at that cord, Wang Zhong felt it resembled the adjutant cord of a Sturmtiger, with a golden one indicating the adjutant to a general. The adjutant made a weing gesture.
Wang Zhong, however, was not in a hurry. He observed the in headquarters, adjusted his clothes, and then strode confidently towards the entrance. Upon entering the headquarters, he heard the familiar beep-beep of telegraph machines, and by looking down the hallway, he could see a room full of telegraphs with a crowd of operators busily working. The Judge led Wang Zhong into the room opposite the telegraph room. Inside was a table with a map, around which stood a crowd of high-ranking officers invish uniforms, their medals nearly dazzling Wang Zhongs eyes. Wang Zhong shifted his perspective to survey the room and got a rough idea of who was present, then saluted the highest-ranking among them, the Duke of Vozdrom, Your Excellency the Duke, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov, at yourmand. The Duke returned the salute, Konstantinovich, Im d you could make it. Come, tell us how you managed to escape from the encirclement in Ronied. As he spoke, the Duke pointed to the map in front of him. Wang Zhong immediately went forward and began to exin, using the map. He was already well acquainted with maps, having spent years ying various war games before he was transported to this world, some of which were purely about map exercises and aiming for realism. And on his way out of Ronied, he had constantly shifted to an overhead view, bing thoroughly familiar with the terrain. About fifteen minutester, Wang Zhong stopped talking. The adjutant with the golden cord immediately passed him some water.
The Duke and the other senior officers looked at each other, perplexed. Eventually, the Archbishop of the 41st Army Group spoke up, Aleksei Konstantinovich, werent youst in your ss at the military academy? Our understanding is that you could barely read a map. Chapter 65: 55: Rocossov and His Band of Heroes Receive Commendations (Alliance Hierarch Added)_3 Chapter 65: Chapter 55: Rocossov and His Band of Heroes Receive Commendations (Alliance Hierarch Added)_3
Wang Zhong thought to himself, what the hell, is the original host such a waste as toe to this? What to do, would it be too obvious if I im to be guided by God and get branded a heretic by the clergy and beaten? He spoke up, I might indeed be thest in my ss, but I can still read a map. The so-called inability to read maps must be a rumor spread by my ssmates, yes, a rumor! The Army Groups Priest looked toward Duke Vostrom. The Duke said, How can you be sure that the front is a defensive gap in the enemys line? Wang Zhong: I wasnt sure; initially, I only ordered a smoke screen to block the enemys superior firepower. As a result, the third wave from the Amur Group charged and went straight to the enemys front-line headquarters.
At that time, my judgment was that the enemy must have deployed heavy troops to the east to block the breakout forces, so why not reverse the thinking. A few senior officers looked at each other once again. The Duke asked again, Why did you decide to defend at Peniye? That was not an order given to you. Wang Zhong: At that time, we were riding in a captured Prussian truck, and as soon as we saw Lubokovs troops, we got shelled. Continuing to ride in Prussian trucks would undoubtedly result in more shelling. We had no choice but to dismount and proceed on foot. And there were only a few T28s responsible for guarding Peniye, thin-skinned and filled with fillings; the enemy could take the vige in no time and then continue to advance. We would be caught up with; the enemy is mechanized troops! Those beside the map table exchanged nces, and finally, the Duke said, Then tell us about the defense at Peniye. As soon as he finished speaking, the staff brought out a new map, which surprisingly detailed theyout of Peniye vige, with the position of every house marked on it. Upon seeing the map, Wang Zhong immediately said, This map is wrong here; this house should be directly south of the machinery mill. He was all too familiar with Peniye, having overlooked it for two days, with many of his soldiers having valiantly sacrificed their lives there. Perhaps even when Wang Zhong grows old, he will still remember this little vige, remembering every brick and tile, every de of grass and tree. The Army Groups Chief of Staff said, Just make do with it and talk. This is drawn by the staff based on aerial photographs. Its not precise, but its usable. Wang Zhong nodded and began to recall the battle thatsted for 38 hours.
30 minutester. The Alliance Hierarch spoke first, Well done, Aleksei Konstantinovich, well done! After you have rested, go and repeat this to the Priest of the propaganda department! Make sure they promote it well; we can defeat the Prussian Army with courage and wisdom! The Army Groups Chief of Staff chimed in, With close-quarters city fighting, you destroyed so many of the enemys tanks! You have destroyed more tanks than many tank armies! Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: So, Ive passed? He could tell that these senior officers didnt believe he couldmand and win a battle; they were testing him on purpose. The Duke walked around the map table and patted Wang Zhongs shoulder, Aleksei Konstantinovich, I admit we were a bit incredulous initially about you fighting a splendid battle, but now we arepletely convinced. Perhaps youre just not good at taking tests at the military academy! Wang Zhong responded seriously, Your Grace, it wasnt I who fought the amazing battle, it was my soldiers who fought the amazing battle. I only I only cheated. But Wang Zhong couldnt say that, so he stopped there. Yet the Duke seemed to understand everything with an I get it, I get all of it expression, turned to the Priest and said, Nikita, apply for the honorific of guards for the third wave of Amur Group. And that tank regiment too, the thirty-first tank regiment, right? Apply for them too! The Priest looked troubled: The Amur Group is easy to say, but the thirty-first regiment ispletely wiped out; theres no precedent for granting the title of guards to a unit that has been destroyed without leaving a number.
Wang Zhong was deeply distressed when he heard these words, remembering the letter from Gunner 422 in his pocket and Lubokovs smiling face. Just then, a staff officer came in, Report, aerial reconnaissance results are in. The enemy has not yet upied Upper Peniye, the pilot saw a number 67 heavy tank still in battle. Wang Zhong was shocked, Theyre still fighting? Yes, theyre still fighting, the staff officer nodded. Wang Zhong stepped forward, grabbing the Dukes hand, Quickly send armored troops to their aid! The Duke looked troubled, Aleksei Konstantinovich, the Fourth Tank Army is thest armored unit we have. Wang Zhongs shoulders slumped, but then he remembered something and asked, What is the situation of the defenses, I mean, here at this location? Themander of the 63rd Army said, We have constructed a basic trench system, but there wasnt enough time, and due to ack of cement, there are not many anti-tank piles and strong defensive positions built, the situation is very bad. If only we had one more day. Having received the answer, Wang Zhong became more certain that Tank 67 must have known this. A mechanical failure was just an opportunity, because of the mechanical failure, these brave people decided to simply stay and dy the enemy for another day, to buy time for the defensive line. Wang Zhong once again tightened his grip on the Dukes hand, Please apply for apply for the highest honor for Tank 67s crew! He was initially going to say Hero of the Soviet Union, but halfway through he remembered there was no Soviet Union here and he didnt know what the highest honor of the Ante Empire was.
The Alliance Hierarch nodded, We will apply for the Gold Star Medal, the highest honor for them. The Army Group Chief of Staff chimed in, As for you, Aleksei Konstantinovich, we are preparing to send you and your troops to Loktov for rest and reorganization. Youd be in charge of reorganizing the disarrayed soldiers from the front. How about that? Wang Zhong, No! I can still fight, give me troops, I can kill more Prussian devils! The Duke shook his head, No, I have a premonition that this war is going to be long and nasty, theres no need for you to hurry to kill Prussians. You look very pale and extremely exhausted, without a trace of color. You and your troops need to rest. We will hold the enemy at Bogdanovka for at least three weeks, by then, after you have rested, I assure you, you will be sent to the most dangerous ce. Wang Zhong thought about it and felt that with the Dukes confidence, there must be ample troops at his disposal, so taking a rest might be good. With personnel and equipment replenished, they could better deal with the Prussian devils. So he changed his request, Then, I want to replenish personnel and equipment, I want tanks, artillery At this moment, he looked at the Alliance Hierarch and, remembering something, said, And, dont transfer my Divine Arrow squad! The Hierarch, The Divine Arrow squad currently assigned to your division, the prayer hand is your childhood friend, right, Aleksei Konstantinovich? I wont transfer this Divine Arrow squad. Although we are short of Divine Arrows at the front, I think Yeca Neiko Monks squad also needs to rest. Wang Zhong felt relieved.
What about the tanks? he continued, I want T-34 tanks, the more the better! The Duke interrupted Wang Zhong, You will definitely get personnel reinforcements, but as for equipment, we are all short on equipment now. Loktov is our supply center, go there and ask the logistics department for what you need. Youll rest in the city today and leave tomorrow morning, taking the empty cars heading back, The Duke turned to the Chief of Staff, Tell the logistics department to send good wine and good cigarettes to the 3rd Rear Amur Group! And of course, beef, as much as they can eat, give them all they want! Chapter 66: 56 Young Friends Chapter 66: Chapter 56 Young Friends
` Following the meeting, Wang Zhong felt like he had joined a praise group, showered withpliments by everyone. But he didnt care about that at all; he strove to find a time to hunt for the overall map. From his birds-eye view, he could only see about two kilometers around the troops under hismand and those he couldmunicate with directly; climbing heights allowed him a slightly farther view. This distance might correspond to just one centimeter on the map. He needed to find a map, preferably one of the entire battlefield or even the whole country, to understand the current situation.
Knowing that only a week had passed since the beginning of the war, hepared it to the Barbarossa he knew of; in the first week, the furthest German units had only advanced 170 kilometers. If both worlds progressed simrly, then the next week should see the Minsk encirclement. Wang Zhong scanned around and spotted the overall battlefield map on the most conspicuous wall with a staff officer attaching markers to it, using a smalldder. So, he left the still-praising officers behind and headed straight for the map. When he got there, he suddenly remembered a scene from a movie and, to emphasize his professionalism, he asked, What times reports have the map been updated with? The staff officer on thedder replied, The north is updated with thetest reports; the situation in the south was updated at five in the morning. Wang Zhong nodded and began to scrutinize the map carefully from north to south. After Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky raced to the map, Duke Vostrom collected his smile and looked towards hismand team. Theyd praised Rokossovsky not only because he had indeed fought well, but also because Rokossovsky had a good rtionship with the Crown Prince. This wasmon knowledge among the nobility. Otherwise, a count like Rokossovsky wouldnt be so well known that even the fifty-five-year-old Duke Vostrom had heard of him.
Of course, the Duke had only heard rumors about Count Rokossovsky and hadnt interacted with him directly. Even if they were at the same social event, the Duke wouldnt engage much with a dissipated young aristocrat. The Duke watched Rokossovsky for a while, then turned to his adjutant and asked, Have you interacted with Count Rokossovsky? Is he always like this? The adjutant nced at Rokossovsky and lowered his voice, I dont know. The Crown Prince only befriends those who share his interests, and those people are usually the bottom of the ss in any schoolI graduated top of my ss from the Suvorov Military Academy. The Duke looked at Rokossovsky, then questioned, Now hes in Peniye, holding off several times his number in enemy forces. Do you have the confidence to do the same? No, the adjutant answered without hesitation, especially not the part where he personally took a T28 to nk and take out Prosen tanks. I couldnt aplish that. At that moment, the Army Groups main chain joined the conversation, He also rushed to the map with great urgency, obviously very concerned about the war, but Ive heard hes only in the military to make money and chase women. The adjutant spread his hands, Maybe hes just pretending, in order to get close to the Crown Prince. Who knows? Wang Zhong was troubled in front of the map. As a yer of the Hearts of Iron game series, he was very familiar with the Eastern Front of Earth, having fought on it countless times and on both sides. He found that although many details were differentlike the shape of coastlines, specific flow of rivers, and distribution of mountainsthe maps majorponents were simr to the Eastern Front he knew. For instance, the northern line was mainly forest and swamp, while the southern line was primarilyrge ins.
While the countries were organized differently, Wang Zhongs first stop, Ronied, was on the southern coast, with its location seemingly analogous to Odessa on Earth. Traveling southwest along the coastline, nations like Romania would be bordering, but here the map directly showed borders with Prosen. No wonder Prosens battleships could dock and shell Ronied from the coast. What had happened in this alternate timelines history? But at the moment, Wang Zhong had no leisure to ponder history; through the map, it was clear that three massive Prosen enemy clusters were advancing triumphantly. Even though the specifics of cities and river courses were different from the Eastern Front Wang Zhong knew, he could still tell that the Ante Army in the central line was about to be encircled. The situation on the southern line where he was located was also dire; they were in Bogdanovka, the capital of the Vostrom Principality and a major city on the southern front. Behind it ran the Dnieper River. This was arge river running roughly north-to-south, which would bend in an L-shape westward after passing the Vostrom Principality. Looking at the marks on the map, it seemed as if the upper Dnieper was connected to the Bog River, which leads to the northern sea, via a canal. It was obvious that this river defense line was extremely important. And Bogdanovka was the most critical barrier before the southern segment of the Dnieper River, with a tributary running through here all the way to the coast. Initially, Wang Zhong had thought his current location was thiss version of Kiev, but then it didnt seem right.
It was too far south. The Ante Armys huge southern group was deployed near the border, which was already doomed. Now the main southern forces were concentrated in Argesukov, northeast of Bogdanovka, right at the bend of the Dnieper. The ode Su Fang received earlier seemed toe from Argesukov, saying that it was the headquarters of the Southwestern Front Army. Looking at the administrative divisions, Argesukov also appeared to be the capital of the Kazarlia Kingdom, which was the overarching division above the Vostrom Principality. ` Chapter 67: 56 Young Friends_2 Chapter 67: Chapter 56 Young Friends_2
` Could that be this timelines Kiev? The more Wang Zhong looked, the more it seemed so. If the Central Army Group continued advancing, breaking through the canal and then turning south, they could encircle Argesukov. But where is the other half of the southern pincer that was blocked by me yesterday? Why does it feel off? Wang Zhong desperately pondered over the map, as if he were the yer strategizing in Hearts of Iron once again.
At that moment, Duke Vostrom approached him and asked, Aleksei Konstantinovich, what is your opinion on the overall situation? Wang Zhong replied offhand, I think the Prosen Central Army Group will encircle Argesukov to the south after breaking through the canal, destroying our heavy troop concentration here. The Duke looked at the map without giving his opinion, but the Corps Chief of Staff said, There is the entire reserve force of the Southwestern Front Army there, just the reserves amount to three hundred thousand men. No, no, that wont be the case. If the Prussians couldplete this encirclement, it would be arge-scale encirclement of over seven hundred thousand men; it would make their splendid victory in the Carolingian campaign seem insignificant. I think even the Prosen generals wouldnt believe such a thing is achievable. Wang Zhong looked at the map with a heavy heart, beginning to consider what he, a mere lieutenant colonel, could do in such a situation. Just then, the Duke patted his shoulder, You should go back to rest. When was thest time you slept? Wang Zhong: Twenty hours ago. Go and rest, you are too tired to think straight, the Army Group Chain also said. Wang Zhong looked at them, feeling that not only himself but even these generals probably couldnt influence the overall direction of the war. This was only a corpsmand, and looking at the map, only the 63rd Army of this Army Group was in position, the other armies were still on the trains. Based on what the Duke had just said, the 4th Tank Army was also part of the 41st Group, but the 4th Tank Army had already been nearly wiped out in a counterattack. A general inmand of such an Army Group could only do so much in a conflict of this scalesimply hold his own line andplete his mission.
Although worried, Wang Zhong, realizing his helplessness, epted the Army Group Chains suggestion, Alright, Ill go rest now. The Corps Chief of Staff said, We will arrange for a vehicle to pick you up from your station tomorrow and take you to the train station. The empty cars will also be organized to depart early in the morning, evading the Prosen bombardment. Wang Zhong nodded. Duke Vostrom gave a subaltern a meaningful look, and the young aide stepped forward to gesture Wang Zhong out. Sergeant Major Grigori was outside the map room, smoking and waiting. Maybe because he exuded an aura of severity, the staff officers kept their distance as they passed by. Seeing Wang Zhong, the Sergeant Major put out his cigarette: Earl, how are things looking? Not bad, we can enjoy some good wine, meat, and cigarettes tonight. Were setting off early tomorrow. I see. The two followed the guide out of the headquarters and then saw arge group of people gathered across the street. On closer inspection, they were all young kids, probably only sixteen or seventeen years old, about half boys and half girls. The youngsters had blocked the road all the way to the intersection.
The young people leading the group were shouting, Why wont you let us enlist? Wang Zhong stopped and watched them from across the street. A middle-aged mans voice could be heard responding, Kids, were only mobilizing adult men right now. Look at yourselves, youve just graduated from tenth grade! Boys and girls, we really cant draft you! We can hold guns too! I can drive a tractor! So I can drive a tank! ` Ive also been in a flying club! I can be a pilot and beat the crap out of the Prosen bastards nes! Wang Zhong looked at them and suddenly remembered a memoir he had read, which recounted how, just two days after the war began, all the children of themune had made up their minds and ran together to the enlistment office to join the army. When they got to the enlistment office, it seemed as if all the young people of the Soviet Union hade. Looking at these young people, Wang Zhong suddenly thought that if he hadnt traveled through time and then the Americans hade over, he probably would also rush to the local military department. Thinking this way, these foreign faces suddenly became familiar to him. So, under the call of an inexplicable sense of mission, Wang Zhong climbed onto a truck that was blocked in the middle of the road, stood on the footboard, and shouted, Young friends!
He did not use children. The kids turned their heads curiously, looking at Wang Zhong. At this moment, Aleksei Konstantinovich RokossovskyWang Zhongwith the unique aura of a warrior returning from the battlefield. His military uniform was dirty, the bandage on his shoulder was dirty, his face was also dirty, but this did not stop him from emitting a dignified, solemn temperament. So the young people quieted down, all looking at Wang Zhong in unison. Wang Zhong said, I understand your feelings! But even if you enlist now, you wont be sent to the front line immediately. Because that would be sending you to your deaths! Were not afraid of dying! some young person shouted. Right, I know. Wang Zhong nced at the one who had shouted, But if you die without taking down a single Prosen bastard, that kind of death is worthless! The person who had just shouted shut his mouth. Wang Zhong: The battlefield is hell! Even those who havepletedprehensive new recruit training and passed numerous tests, most wont survive the first hour! No, not even half an hour! So even if you enlist now, you will be sent to the rear, to train for at least three months! However, I have a way that can get you involved in the action against the Prosen bastards right away! Look over there! Thats where the city defense engineering team is recruitingborers! You can join now and build fortifications around the outskirts of the city!
Each trench dug will ensure a toon survives the enemys artillery! That toon could then inflict heavy casualties on the Prosen bastards! Each anti-tank stake you set up could stop a Prosen tank! The young people turned their heads towards the engineering station. Wang Zhong: That is the right way to contribute to the country! First dig trenches, then when the enemyes, retreat and enroll in the military in the rear, join the training! Im looking forward to seeing you as new recruits in my unit in half a year! The kids looked at each other. Then someone, not knowing who, yelled out: If digging trenches is so important, well go dig trenches! To dig trenches! Lets go! The crowd surged towards thebor recruitment point of the engineering station. When most of the crowd had left, a colonel from the enlistment office came over. The colonel was missing an arm and could only salute Wang Zhong with his left hand. Youve been a great help, Major, he said.
Wang Zhong saluted back: Dont mention it, thats what I should do. The colonel looked at the kids again blocking the entrance of the engineering station and said, Looking at these kids, I suddenly feel confident. We wont surrender like the Carolingians. Wang Zhong stated firmly: Of course not. Dont worry, of course not. Chapter 68: 57: Brigadier General Rocossov and His Battle Group Chapter 68: Chapter 57: Brigadier General Rocossov and His Battle Group
` Wang Zhong actually couldnt remember very clearly what happened after June 29. Mainly, he had returned to the garrison, had a hearty meal, and then fell asleep in the bathtub while bathing. By the time he opened his eyes, it was already daylight on the 30th. Wang Zhong scratched his head in confusion as he looked at the clean shirt on his body and the newly changed bandage on his shoulder. What happened? Who changed my clothes? Who changed my dressing?
Where am I? As he sat up, he found himself more energetic than ever before, and besides the pain in his legs, he could hardly find anything ufortable. The high fever from a few days ago seemed as if it had never happened. Getting out of bed, he found that a new military uniform had already been neatly ced in a cab beside the bed. Wang Zhong touched his head, remembering that he hadnt brought any military uniform with him; in fact, he hadnt brought any luggage at all, as the situation had been rather urgent when he left Ronied, hadnt it? He picked up the military uniform with a sense of puzzlement, quickly put it on, and then found that it fit perfectly, as if tailor-made. The only person Wang Zhong could think of who could prepare such a perfectly fitting military uniform was one person. Just then, someone knocked on the door. Wang Zhong: Come in. The door opened, and Ludm entered the room with breakfast, and upon seeing him in the new uniform, she said joyfully, How is it, it fits well, doesnt it? I had it prepared by the supply department! It really was you. Wang Zhong: Was it you who pulled me out of the bathtubst night?
No, it was Sergeant Major Grigori who did that, he also changed your clothes, I mean, your shirt and boxer shorts. Wang Zhong nodded, but then realized something was off and looked at the girl: How do you know Im wearing a shirt and boxer shorts? Because I prepared them, Ludm said proudly, then ced the tray on the table, Have breakfast. On the tray were oatmeal, bread, fried eggs, bacon andmilk. Wang Zhong skipped the bread and directly forked a fried egg into his mouth, then was pleased to discover it was a soft-boiled egg, cooked just right with the yolk perfectly in between liquid and solid states. After finishing the egg, Wang Zhong picked up the bacon. Ludm: You need to eat some carbs! You didnt have any carbs yesterday! As she spoke, she picked up the bread, added bacon to it, and handed it to Wang Zhong: I personally picked out this bread, it absolutely suits your taste! You even know my preferences Could it really be a fiance? Wang Zhong sized up Ludm up and down, thinking back to the first time he met her when he had nned on adding her on WeChat, and now, it seemed he had moved forward in one big step, resolving the great difficulty! Before Wang Zhong could indulge in the happiness brought by the girls tenderness for much longer, the air raid siren sounded. Then came the sound of anti-aircraft gunfire.
Ludm was very nervous: Quick, to the air-raid shelter! Wang Zhong: Its fine, the Prosens target is the headquarters ammunition depot and the train station, not us. Yesterday the corpsmand even said if we left earlier, we wouldnt get bombed by the Prosens, look at this now! As he spoke, he activated his tactical view, only to find that, possibly because the entire troop was resting, he had lost quite a bit of vision, only the sentry at the school gate had some visibility. Wang Zhong thought that he needed to remind Yegorov, as the enemy could be very cunning, capable of infiltrating troops simr to the Brandenburgmandos. You could never ck on sentry duty. As he was thinking, the Prosen airnes appeared. Then Wang Zhong was shocked, for he saw a bomber with six engines! Switching back to his normal view, Wang Zhong rubbed his eyes hard. Not sure, take another look! Ludms face was full of question marks. After returning to the tactical view, Wang Zhong indeed saw a heavy bomber with six engines. He counted the gun turrets and was surprised to find that this thing had four quadruple machine gun turrets at the nose, tail, and trailing edges of the wings.
Additionally, there were two twin-mounted machine gun turrets, one on top and one on the belly. An Air Force version of the BV238? The BV238 was a seane made by Sturmtiger, which had ns to be converted to and-based version, but those ns were never implemented. After all, even on Earth, Sturmtiger discarded heavy bomber projects like the Me 264 to focus on manufacturing fighters for homnd air defense. But in this alternate timeline, the Prosens actually managed to develop this thing? Combining this with the Prosen Empires territorial map he saw at the Army Group Command the day before, Wang Zhong began to wonder whether this timelines Prosen was actually whats known as Greater Germany, or even Jude. When ying Europa Universalis or Victoria, Wang Zhong would always strive toward this goal when selecting Prussia. And now, this actually came naturally in this timeline? Then, the six-engined heavy bomber didnt seem so strange, did it? So the question was, had the United Kingdom been pushed back to India? Because he hadnt seen the world map, Wang Zhong wasnt too clear on this matter. At that moment, the enemy nes began to drop bombs, and their target indeed was still the train station, along with the adjacent marshalling yard and lotive factory. Amidst the rolling sounds of explosions, Wang Zhong switched back and saw Ludm tilting her head, looking at him intently. Wang Zhong: Whats up?
What were you daydreaming about? You even rubbed your eyes just now, whats wrong with you? the girl asked, puzzled. Wang Zhong: Dont mind it, just woke up from some extra sleep. ` Asleep while sitting? Uh, pretty much. During a bombardment? Ive grown used to that rumbling sound, havent you? Wang Zhong countered. Thats true, Ludm sighed. After you fell asleep yesterday, I went to the telegraph office in town to send a telegram home, but the ce had been requisitioned. Being a maiden of honor didnt help at all; they just wouldnt let me send a telegram. Wang Zhong frowned involuntarily. Maiden of honor was a rank in the Russian court hierarchy. Unmarried noble girls were generally maidens of honor, and those of lower nobility might not have the maid of addition, being simply honor. It seemed that Ludms family must also be of count rank. A match of equal social standing, eh? The probability of her being my fiance just went up! Wang Zhong shook his head to rid himself of the thought. Now was not the time for romantic distractions; the day would likely be spent on the journey. Once they reached Loktov, they needed to promptly reinforce their ranks and acquire equipment
Just then, someone outside shouted, Report! Wang Zhong recognized the voice as Sergeant Majorg Grigori. Ludm whispered, The sergeant major really seems to think of himself as your bodyguard. He didnt leave your side all day yesterday. Wang Zhong nodded. Come in! The sergeant major opened the door. My lord count, a clerk from the headquarters has arrived. Wang Zhong: A clerk? What for? If it were about delivering orders, it should have been a courier or a staff officer. The arrival of a clerk indicated that it was rted to personnel matters. Ludm: When I went to the telegraph office yesterday, I saw people distributing extras on the streets, with headlines about the great victory at Upper Peniye. Wang Zhong was astonished. Thats considered a great victory? I havent even spoken to the propaganda bureau about the battle process yet! The girl shrugged. Byst evening, some rumor had spread, and citizens started bringing gifts to our encampment. Everyone wanted to meet the heroic Rokossovskys Troops. Wang Zhong: Rokossovskys Troops? Ive never heard of this formation before. Thats what theyre calling us in the extras. At this point, the clerk outside seemed to have run out of patience and coughed at the doorway. Grigori turned and red at the clerk, who immediately stepped back and hid his figure behind the doorframe. Wang Zhong: Let him in. Only then did Grigori step aside from the doorway. The clerk came into the room, ncing at Ludm: Um, is this a convenient time? Wang Zhong: Its fine, go ahead. The clerk nodded. All right. He took out a small box, opened it, and ced it on the table. Inside were a pair of major generals shoulder straps, including versions for dress uniform andbat uniform. Then he took out an order: From the Personnel Department of the Southwestern Front Army, based on the outstanding performance of Colonel Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky at Ronied and Upper Peniye, with immediate effect, he is promoted to the rank of major general. Wang Zhong: Promoted two ranks at once? Clerk: It seems the report submitted was for colonel, but the approval came back for major general. Are you dissatisfied? No, not at all, Wang Zhong shook his head. What troops will I bemanding as a major general? Surely I wont be a general without an army? Though the Third Amur Group had been under Wang Zhongsmand, it was actually a result of a change in the order ofmand on the battlefield; he didnt really have the authority tomand the Third Group, he was even on par with Yegorov. The clerk looked somewhat troubled, fiddling with the order in his hand. Ludm stood up and took the order: The order has indeed been received. So there was this step as well. The clerk seemed relieved and then unfolded another new order: By the current order, Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is to organize Rokossovskys Battle Group in Loktov. The remnants of the Third Rear Amur Group, the remnants of the 31st Regiment of the Fourth Tank Army, and all remnants of Ronieds troops are transferred to Rokossovskys Battle Group. Wang Zhong was bbergasted: Assigning me a group of remnants? What about my reinforcements? The clerk shrank his neck. Only then did Wang Zhong realize he had raised his voice, so he calmed his emotions and asked again, What about my reinforcements? Where are the tanks and artillery I requested? I dont know, the clerk said, clutching the order. I just brought two orders. This order, you Wang Zhong stood up and personally took the order to establish Rokossovskys Battle Group, scanning it briefly. At that moment, Yegorov and Pavlov came in. Yegorov casually grabbed a piece of bread from the table, and while eating, said, It seems youve received your order, Count. Weve just received ours too. It looks like the higher-ups want to follow the Prussians example and form battle groups. Prussian devils, Wang Zhong corrected. The clerk tentatively asked, So may I leave now? Wang Zhong waved him off, and the clerk ran off as if he had wings. These clerks! Yegorov said disdainfully. Pavlov frowned: Technically, Im a clerk too. Yegorov: Right, which is why Im not very fond of you either. After saying this, he looked towards Wang Zhong: So, whats the n, General? Wang Zhong: First, lets head to Loktov and see the situation. Its a supply center. If the top brass dont give us good equipment, well have to find our own way. Just like we did in Upper Peniye. In Upper Peniye, Wang Zhong and his men had essentially robbed the local Boye lords distillery. Yegorovughed heartily. Chapter 69: 1 Battlefield “Leisure Time Chapter 69: Chapter 1 Battlefield Leisure Time
Jules Year 914, July 2nd. The Rocossov Combat Group arrived at Lokhtov on the third day. Wang Zhong, with his leanmand team, was waiting on the tform at Lokhtov Train Station for the guests scheduled to arrive today. The guards and logistical personnel on the station tform were all tense, after all, a brigadier general was here. The brigadier general, formerly known as a brigade general, was renamed after the civil war to align with international standards, adopting the United Kingdoms usage of the term. There were only five people beside Brigadier General Wang Zhong.
The first was Colonel Ivan Panzhyevich Yegorov, themander of the 31st Imperial Guard Infantry Regiment. Although the designation of his troops had changed, they were actually the remnants of the third-ranked Amur Group; they were granted the Imperial Guard designation but had neither the Guards standard nor the characteristic rain capes, and the special weapons supplied to the Imperial Guard hadnt been issued at all. The second was Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Sergeyevich Pavlov, the former staff officer of the third-ranked Amur Group, now the chief of staff of the Rocossov Combat Group. After being promoted to thebat group staff officer, Pavlovs staff team consisted only of an ountant temporarily conscripted from the locale, without even amunications officer; logistics were still managed by the old quartermaster who had been brushed in from the locales defense forces. In short, it was but an empty shell. The third person was the Monk Sufang Batu Wendusu, who had just been promoted to the main priest monk, responsible for leading thebat groups chorus, which currently hadjust one person. The fourth was Monk Yeca Neiko, currently serving as the vice-knight andmander of the Divine Arrow Company of thebat group. Thepany currently had just one firing frame, ten Divine Arrows, a single truck, and one prayer attendant. However, at least the Divine Arrow Company had been replenished with ten Divine Arrows; the lone firing team was also fully staffed, and they had acquired an extra truck and a driver, making it the best-supplied unit in the entirebat group. This was all the senior military officers of the Rocossov Combat Group at present. The others had either been sacrificed or were lying in hospitals. Thest person was Sergeant Major Grigori, temporarily serving as the Brigadier Generals bodyguard; he was watching the surroundings with vignt eyes. Lokhtov was not only a railway transfer station and a logistics center but also the location of thergest hospital in the nearbybat zone; most of the casualties were sent here, and the Ronied battlefield hospital that moved with the third-ranked Amur Group was also merged into the local hospitals system.
Wang Zhong paced back and forth on the tform, making small-talk, The third-ranked Amur Group became an Imperial Guard regiment, so why is it numbered 31? Have we made 30 Imperial Guard regiments in less than two weeks since the war began? The senior officers of thebat group, as well as the guards nearby who heard this, looked at Wang Zhong with surprised eyes. Wang Zhong frowned, Whats wrong? Yegorov, There were already thirty Imperial Guard Infantry Regiments before the war began. Oh, is that so? Wang Zhong had be ustomed to ying the part of a manckingmon sense; since the original owner was terrible, nobody would find it strange, I see. So were the first to obtain the Imperial Guard title since the war started? Yegorov nodded, Yes. Wang Zhong, Thats wonderful. No matter what the future holds, we have made history. If it had been two days earlier, Wang Zhong would definitely not have said such a thing because the honor of bing an Imperial Guard was earned through great sacrifices, and he wouldnt mock the new designation in such a jesting manner. But Wang Zhong was probably the kind of person who adapted easily to the environment, no matter what happened or how sad it was, he would mostly forget about it after a few sleeps. This morning, Ludm even teased, saying, The old Alyosha is back, though only halfway. That is to say, the original Rocossov and Wang Zhong shared somemon characteristics in personality. Of course, it has now been proven that Wang Zhong certainly wouldnt wet his pants on the battlefield; on this point, there was a significant difference between them.
Just then, the distant sound of a train whistle was heard. Wang Zhong had already confirmed through an overhead view that the train wasnt the one they were waiting for, but at this moment he still had to y along, so he asked Pavlov, Is this the one? Pavlov looked towards the switchmans hut at the northeast end of the station and shook his head, No, the switchman hasnt gone to adjust the tracks yet. This train is just passing through. No sooner had he spoken than the train whistled again, showing no sign of slowing down, and it barreled past the tform on a track far from the station. The engine was pushing a railway repair car at the front, and pulling a coal wagon behind, with an anti-aircraft car, atop which were mounted quadruple Maxim machine guns on each of its three gun positions. The railway repair car was fitted with tracks on both sides, clearly prepared to immediately repair any section of the railway that might have been bombed by the Prosen Air Force on the spot. The soldiers in the anti-aircraft car were all tense, for now that it was daylight, Prosen nes could arrive at any time. Further back were the sealed cars, each with its doors open, and new recruits peered curiously at the outside world from the edge of the cars. A recruit shouted, Your Excellency the General, hows the frontline? Wang Zhong, Its terrifying! You guys might as well get ready to wet your pants! The young recruits, utterly unaware of what awaited them,ughed heartily in brave ignorance. After saying this, Wang Zhong realized
He nced at Yegorov and Pavlov. No one spoke anymore about wetting pants, but those who came from Ronied had heard more or less about it. Chapter 70: 1 Battlefield “Leisure Time”_2 Chapter 70: Chapter 1 Battlefield Leisure Time_2
Two officers started pretending to look at the scenery. Shit, this wont be a famous meme in the future, will it? I dont want anything like that! To hide his embarrassment, he asked Yegorov, Can the Imperial Guard get specialized equipment? Yes, rainproof cloaks, very useful in the muddy season and when it snows heavily. Then theres the Tokarev Model 8 rifle. In this time and space, the Tokarev semi-automatic rifle was standardized in Jules 908, hence the Model 8 designation. Submachine guns were only suitable for closebat; theoretically, the Tokarev semi-automatics had an advantage over submachine guns in open terrain.
Prosens regr infantry was still pulling bolts, so the firepower advantage brought by the Tokarev would allow the Imperial Guard to have a better middle-distance advantage over the Prosen Army. Theoretically, thats the case, but since Prosen Army infantry squads generally organized around a machine gun, a squad with one machine gun, the advantage of the Tokarev over bolt-action rifles would be negligible. Still, having an advantage was always good. Wang Zhong now dreamed of getting more good equipment for his troops. Although the oue of a war does not depend on the superiority of equipment, having good equipment is certainly better than using poor equipment, as it can reduce a lot of losses. Wang Zhong then asked, So when can we receive these Tokarevs? Pavlov jokingly said, The bullets have already been transported here, were just missing the guns and the people to use them. Wang Zhong rubbed his forehead; these past few days, he had experienced the chaos brought by the front copsing. The good news was that everything was recovering, the bad news was that it wasnt recovering fast enough. Wang Zhong continued pacing on the tform. Monk Yeca Neiko then said to Pavlov, Id rather have the men replenished quickly than the guns. The barracks are so empty and quiet, its so silent at night that you might even have nightmares. The orders given to Wang Zhong did not specify the scale of the Rocossovbat group but, because the leader of the troops was a brigadier general, the local logistics department allocated barracks based on the standard for a brigade. Therge base could simultaneously amodate three thousand people, as well as their assigned vehicles, ammunition, and fuel.
However, Wang Zhongs group had fewer than two hundred people in total, with only fifty-five infantrymenpletely uninjured. Of all the troops that had retreated from Ronied, only their group had arrived. It was unclear whether the other scattered soldiers were fighting guerri warfare, had been captured, or had been shot by the Tribunal, but in any case, they had note here. After all the servicemen with minor injuries had been admitted to the recovery center of the battlefield hospital, the vast camp housed only fifty-five fully intact people, plus various other logistical personnel, such as the field cooking team and fieldundry team, totaling just over three hundred people, which made the ce incredibly empty. The barracks housed more sparrows than people. All fifty-five of these fully intact men were promoted to nonmissioned officers; in theory, each person wouldmand at least one squad in the future, but there were currently no soldiers to lead. Wang Zhong paced the tform, talking to himself, I thought the future would be nothing but fight after fight, after fight. I didnt expect to have such a break. Yegorovughed and said, This is your first time on the battlefield. Actually, this is the norm. A war generallysts for a month, even just one or two weeks if its fierce, and then theres a long period of rest. It was the same rhythm during the civil wars. Only the Air Force battles passionately with the enemy every day. Wang Zhong actually knew about this because he liked ying war games, and he had read a lot of military history. For example, he knew that before the Battle of Kursk, to wait for the muddy season to end, both armies on the southern front had rested for more than three months, with some units resting since February.
But thats how it is, shallow knowledge is gained without experience. Even though he had read so much military history and memoirs, Wang Zhong had not expected to have such downtime before he arrived in Loktov. Fortunately, Yegorov and Pavlov had experience. They had brought in musicians with the Bayan and blaika to y music during meals, and they had found a propaganda hall movie projection team to screen films every night. Wang Zhong only now learned that what he had always thought was an ordion was actually a national musical instrument called Bayan, which sounds quite different from the ordion. And the blaika is a type of triangr guitar, also a national musical instrument. Yegorov continued, During the civil war, I took a liking to fishing. It was an excellent way to pass the time. Just sitting by theke, an entire day would fly by. Plus, at night, you could eat salmon. Wang Zhong thought to himself, you better not, agreeing to go fishing for salmon at Lake Baikal is not a good omen. Just as he was about to say this, many trucks drove into the station, stopping on the side of the tform without rails. Numerous stretcher bearers and nurses jumped down from the trucks. Wang Zhong and the others silently made way on the tform. Soon after, a whistle sounded from the west. The track worker came out from the cabin, performed a series of operations, and then raised a greenntern. The sound of the train braking came from the distance. At the same time, a few jeeps drove into the train station, each one carrying three doctors.
Wang Zhong greeted the medical director Losonov, Doctor, good morning! Losonov nodded, his expression exceedingly haggard. By then, the decelerating train glided into the tform and slowly came to a stop. The people on the train immediately sprung into action, lifting one wounded soldier after another off the train. There were no lightly wounded soldiers, probably because all the light casualties had remained at the fronts to continue fighting. The doctors fanned out, examining each wounded soldier lined up on the tform, and ced ssification tags on their chests. Each doctor was followed by a nurse whose sole duty was to administer anesthetics to those tagged abandon. The stretcher teams continually carried the wounded tagged for priority treatment onto the trucks. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, as precise as machinery, all faces expressionless. Wang Zhong also watched all this expressionlessly. All his recent idle thoughts about the battlefield had been washed away. It was just an illusion; the cruel war was still ongoing.
At that moment, a wounded soldier tagged abandon reached out towards the direction of Wang Zhong and the others: Father! Yeca Neiko walked toward him, taking out his old, faded holy book as he did so. Kneeling down, he took the severely wounded soldiers hand and ced it on the cover of the book, whispering, Speak, child. I am listening, and so is He. Perhaps the anesthetic was taking effect; Wang Zhong couldnt hear the soldiers voice. He could only see the Monk bend down and bring his ear close to the soldiers mouth. Looking at all this, Sofya suddenly said, You know? The wounded in the sanatorium all like female nurses, but these dying men trust Monks like Yeca Neiko more. Even though as a Hymn Monk, I am more favored. Wang Zhong did not respond. By now, Yegorov had already made a round by the wounded and came over, whispering to Wang Zhong, Lots of bay wounds. Yesterday was all shrapnel and st injuries. Today theres been an increase in gunshot and bay wounds. Wang Zhong replied, Closebat has begun. Its unclear whether Bogdanovka could truly hold out for fifteen days. We must hurry. The problem is, even if we hurry, we cant get more people, the reinforcements are all headed to Bogdanovka, said Yegorov, frowning. Its as if weve been forgotten. At that moment, the train station master came out of the dispatch room and shouted to Wang Zhong and the others, Your Excellency the Brigadier General, the train youve been waiting for will arrive soon, but under these circumstances, it can only stop at the more distant dispatch tform. Please take the trouble to walk there, the pedestrian bridge is that way! Chapter 71: 2 The First Lesson of War Chapter 71: Chapter 2 The First Lesson of War
Wang Zhong and the others had just crossed the overpass to the other side of the tform when they saw the track workers emerge from the hut again, beginning to adjust the rails. He switched to an overhead view and indeed saw a training from the northeast. There were no emergency repair cars on the trains head, and the anti-aircraft cannon mounted on the anti-aircraft car had been reced with a 25mm gun. Following the anti-aircraft car, as was customary, was a line of ck tank cars, though the first car had the churchs sun emblem painted on its top. The car marked with the sun emblem had noticeably fewer people inside, and Wang Zhong, adjusting his angle, saw through the doors of the tank car, now open, an office desk within. It seemed that the distinguished guest they were to receive was in this car, while the people in the following tank cars were likely reinforcements being sent to Bogdanovka.
As a brigade-level unit, the Rocossovbat group was about to be assigned a Military Bishop, primarily responsible for managing arge number of Priests and for presiding over more significant Masses. Of course, what Wang Zhong valued most was the Bishops role inmunication with the church, and he had already decided that once the Bishop arrived, he would cry poverty to him every day until the Divine Arrow Company was at full strength. When Wang Zhong switched back to his original perspective, he could already hear the trains whistle. The train slid slowly onto the tform. A solidly built officer in the churchs military uniform, draped in an Imperial Guard rain cloak, stood in the wide-open doorway of the church car, hands on hips, watching Wang Zhong and his group. Seeing this man, Wang Zhong did not know why, but he felt like marching up to him and saying, You son of a bitch, youre my Bishop? The train had not yete to aplete stop when the Bishop jumped down and strode towards Wang Zhong and his party. Wang Zhong had intended to meet the man, but the unloading of other cars had started, and arge group of young men in khaki uniforms and boat-shaped caps began to disembark, immediately drawing his attention. By this time, the Bishop had already approached Wang Zhong: Its been a long time, Aleksei Konstantinovich. Wang Zhong, originally turning his head to watch the new soldiers disembark, immediately focused back upon hearing this form of address, a chill running down his spine. What did it mean, have we met before? The other party had not introduced himself, so he was definitely someone Wang Zhong knew. However, Wang Zhong had only seen the others name inmand orders and could not even have remembered it without switching to an overhead viewit was Niki Nikanorovich Popov. Thankfully, it seemed their rtionship was not close, and Wang Zhong had never been so grateful for theplex vic naming conventions.
So he also referred to Popov by his name and patronymic: Its been a long time, Niki Nikanorovich. Popov examined Wang Zhong carefully: You seem like a different person, Aleksei Konstantinovich, quite unlike how you seemed when you graduated. Wang Zhongughed: You jest, I am still the same, maybe just with a bit more of the battlefields aura about me. I thought you might say the aura of hell, Popov said. It appeared that the Tribunal had already reported that line, Then I can introduce you to the road back from hell. Popov went on, Before I came here, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sought me out to ask me to take good care of his dear brother. I promised His Highness, so I will use these eyes to see if yourmand skills truly are as reported in the telegrams. Dammit, Wang Zhong thought, what kind of embellished tales has the Duke of Vostok been telling upstairs? ` Lucky for me I had cheats and a wealth of war game experience, or you would have seriously screwed me over! Wang Zhong: You wont be disappointed. Oh, I noticed youre already wearing the Imperial Guard cloak, so does that mean the Third the Thirty-first Imperial Guard Infantry Regiments equipment is also on this train? He almost gave the wrong number. Popov released Wang Zhongs hand and shook his head, No, this is a memento from my time in the Guards Infantry Regiment. Your supplies are on the next train. This train, Ive brought the Thirty-first Regiments Guard g and reinforcements.
As Popov said this, several Judges with blue caps came down from the train, followed by three Priests, one carrying a rolled-up g, another holding the Double-headed Eagle emblem, and a third carrying a box. Just as Wang Zhong was about to receive the g, Popov held him back: The g must be presented in a ceremony before I can give it to you. These three are special clergy from the Grand Patriarch of St. Ye Katerina Fortress. Wang Zhong frowned: Do we really need to go through this kind of formalism? Trust me, its very helpful for the troops morale, Popov said. Yegorov then said, But what were absolutely not short of is morale, weck everything but morale. The Judges behind Popov immediately gave Yegorov a sharp look. Sergeant Grigori returned the look with an equally piercing gaze. Just then, a young man dressed in khaki military uniform ran up to Wang Zhong, snapped to attention, and saluted: Major General, the 535th Cadet Battalion has assembled. Wang Zhong frowned: Cadet battalion? Which cadet battalion? From the Pokachi Infantry School and Artillery School, Major General, the young man reported, holding his head high. Wang Zhong then noticed that his shoulder straps bore no insignia, only a border, which is the mark of a military school student. What a mess! He immediately turned to Popov, These men will all be officers after some time of training, how can you assign them to front-line units as reinforcements just like that?
Yegorov also agreed, ording to regtions, the Imperial Guard is supposed to be replenished with veterans returning from recovery, whats going on with assigning us new recruits? Pavlov interjected, Youre the one causing trouble, the war hasnt even been going on for half a month yet, where are the veterans returning from recovery? Look, the Major General is just slightly wounded, he just finished dealing with the pus! These words made Wang Zhongs shoulder start to feel phantom pain. He was reminded of the day before, when he cleansed the wound with alcohol during dressing changes. At this moment, a young man stepped forward from the ranks of the academy, loudly saying: Report! We have receivedprehensive training, our military skills are much better than average recruits! Wang Zhong pushed aside the student in front of him and walked over to the reporting student, Its not that we doubt your military skills, its that you should be ying a greater role. How much longer until youplete your studies? One year, Major General! But, Mother Ante is calling! All of Wang Zhongs words were choked back by this statement, Mother Ante is calling. He turned to Popov, Are there really no other units left? What about the people called up by the total mobilization? Theyre in training, Popov answered, and those who are already reserves have their own units which are now heading to the front line in formation. I think its more efficient than disbanding them to reinforce units that have taken casualties on the front. The Reserve Army believes that the first batch of inexperienced adults conscripted in October willplete their basic training by the end of the year. ` Wang Zhong: The penal battalion? Popov: How could we possibly assign a penal battalion to reinforce the Imperial Guard? Aleksei Konstantinovich, youd better consider how to use your miraculousmand skills to help them survive the war as much as possible.
Wang Zhong frowned, always feeling that Popov was being sarcastic. However, Popov did have a pointif hemanded with more finesse, perhaps a majority of these young men could survive their first battle. He turned to ask the cadet unitmander: How many of you are there? 1,200, General sir, themander replied. Yegorov muttered under his breath, Not even enough for a full regiment. Pavlov red at him. Yegorov immediately raised his hand in a gesture of surrender: Alright, alright, Ill shut up. Youre the regimental staff officer, youre the boss. In fact, as the Guards Regiment Commander and a colonel, Yegorov held a slightly higher rank. Wang Zhong ignored these two old foes; he walked to the far right of the cadet ranks and ordered, Everyone, take out paper and pen and write down your full name! Although everyone was puzzled, they obeyed the order. Starting from the first row on the right, Wang Zhong collected the slips of paper and read the names aloud: Alexey Nikyevich Melekhov!
After Wang Zhong had read a few names, the young man who previously shouted about his mother calling out asked, General, are you really going to read all 1,200 names at once? Wang Zhong: Yes, thats the only way I can remember all your names and match them with your faces. His statement instantly caused whispers to spread among the young men. The same mother calling cadet shouted again, Thats impossible to do! Why waste the time? Wang Zhong: I can do it. Even if he couldnt, he could rely on a temporary trick to help, but Wang Zhong swore that he would gradually associate all their faces with their names. As for the reason Wang Zhong: Most of you will die within the first hour, maybe even the first half hour ofbat. I cant guarantee to bring all of you back alive, but I can at least remember your names and faces. He approached the mother calling cadet, took the slip from his hand, and read out loud, Vasily Alexandrovich Leonov! Here! Vasily responded loudly. Wang Zhong: Ive remembered you, I promise. Vasily held his head high, as if it were something to be proud of. Just as Wang Zhong was about to move on, Vasily spoke again, General, they say you destroyed 20 enemy tanks at Peniye, is that true? Wang Zhong corrected him indifferently, It was eight. And nearly my entire crew died, with the only surviving driver suffering a leg injury, now lying in the hospital. This statement excited all the cadets: One against eight! Didnt they say the Prussians had superior armor? Looks like theyre not so tough after all! Wang Zhongs eyebrows knitted together as he raised his voice, The Prussians are very strong! Underestimating them will cost you dearly! Many of them are veterans who have fought in numerous wars! The young men fell silent, looking at Wang Zhong with seriousness. Lets continue. With that, he started collecting the slips of paper from the young men again. Sergeant Grigori appeared with a wooden box from somewhere, following Wang Zhong, allowing him to ce the slips inside. Momentster, Wang Zhong read thest slip and put it into the box, saying to the Sergeant, Seal this well and keep it in my quarters where I can see it at any time. The Sergeant nodded. Just then, the train transporting the young students started moving, slowly leaving the tform, while on the opposite tform the train carrying the wounded had already left earlier. Only the grievously wounded who had been given up for treatment remained on the tform, while the station staff were washing away the bloodstains with water. The bloody water flowed down the cement tform, staining the concrete and the roadbed stones below a deep red. Seeing the scene, Wang Zhong was struck with an idea: Attention, everyone! About face! The 1,200 reinforcements turned to face the opposite tform, which was drenched in blood. The sight of blood quieted even the rowdiest cadet. All but one. Vasily asked in confusion, Why are those wounded soldiers left there? Wang Zhong: Their injuries are too severe, and its not worth using medicine to try to save them. In a while, they will be carried to the local church and handed over to the Priest. Silence hung over all the young faces. Wang Zhong: This is your first lesson from war, students. Chapter 72: 3 The True Courage (Alliance Hierarch Sponsored) Chapter 72: Chapter 3 The True Courage (Alliance Hierarch Sponsored)
The crowd was silent, fixated on the tform across from them when Vasily suddenly shouted, Filippov, beat the drum! Wang Zhong was startled; how could this troublemaker still be alive and kicking? Beat the drum? He looked at Vasily, who was exceptionally tall, standing out even among the cadets who were already quite tall, easily distinguishable over the rows of people. And that Filippov, obedient as ever, actually took down the marching drum strapped to his back and began to beat it. From the drumbeat alone, it was impossible to tell what song it was, but Vasily immediately began to sing: Our march is long and hard~
Soldiers, look ahead! Wang Zhong instantly recognized the song; it was Departure, but wasnt it a work from the fifties or sixties? The other cadets immediately joined in the singing: The teams banner flutters in the wind, themanders lead the way! Then they entered the songs signature section; the Departure in Antenguage sounded like a bang made with the mouth, the beauty of this song being its use of the word Departure repeatedly, like the pounding of the drum or artillery firing. Soldiers, advance, advance, advance! With the sound of Departure, the cadets began to move in unison, as if marching in step. The chorus suddenly leaped from natural minor to major, opening up into a bright and clear sound: My dear girl On my way, I will write to you as I return! Hear the bugle calling, soldiers, depart! The railway workers cleaning blood on the opposite tform stopped and looked over across the tracks.
Even those severely wounded, barely hanging on to life, struggled to turn their gaze this way. Yegorov also joined in the singing: Each soldier, brave and young, Their gaze sharp as an Eagle! We all have the highest glory For having achieved great deeds in battle! It was only then that Wang Zhong snapped out of his shock. He was infected by the vibrant energy and fearless courage of the youth and began to sing loudly, Soldiers, advance! Advance! Advance! My dear, I will write to you, on my way as I return! Hear the bugle calling, soldiers, depart! After one round, Vasily began to whistle, his shrill whistle much like the screech of a seagull, mocking the storm with abandon! As the song entered the second verse, a transport train coincidentally arrived at the station, its driver looking on in amazement at the soldiers swaying in unison on the tform. After the anti-aircraft carriage passed, the countless young faces in the sealed freight cars looked at the tform and also began to sing loudly. Soldiers, advance, advance, advance! My dear, I will write to you, on my way as I return!
Hear the bugle calling, soldiers, depart! In the grand chorus, it seemed as if the train itself was hastened by their singing! At that moment, Wang Zhong could only think of one thing: There is only one kind of true heroism in the world, and that is to still love life after recognizing its true nature. And on the battlefield, there is only one kind of true heroism, which is to gear up and set out again after recognizing the horrors of war. He paced on the tform, each stepnding on the beat. At the end of the song, Wang Zhong said, Vasily, for not following parade discipline, you will clean thetrines today. The drummer, you will do it with him. Eh? Vasily protested loudly, Didnt I just boost everyones morale? Wang Zhong replied, Thats why you are not being confined. But breaking discipline is breaking discipline. Remember, you go to clean after everyone has gone to sleep tonight, and youll also have to carry the waste pails to the dung pit. Just then, Priest Popov came over: Dont take my job from me. He turned towards Vasily: Boosting morale ismendable, but discipline must not be broken. After everyone has gone to sleep tonight, clean thetrines, and then carry the waste pails to the dung pit. The hell is the difference from my order! Before Wang Zhong couldin, Popov turned to the priest holding the guard g: Give me the guard g; I think this regiment really doesnt need any formalistic stuff. They are worthy of this g.
Yegorov immediately protested: The new recruits indeed have high spirits, but my veterans are even more spirited! And they earned that g with their struggles! It should go to the veterans! Wang Zhong dered, Its all the same. Give it to me. Popov took the g, nted the gpole, and fully unfolded the banner. The white background, adorned with St. Andrews Cross, and then the Double-headed Eagle and the number 31, as well as the Infantrys insignia. To be honest, Wang Zhong always felt there was something off about this gthe Double-headed Eagle was grand andvish, yes, butwell, when the g wasnt unfurled, it somewhat resembled a white g. He shared his thoughts truthfully. Vasily: Pfft. Wang Zhong: Do you want to continue cleaning toilets tomorrow? The thorn in the side immediately tightened his face and stood at attention, chest out. Yegorov: Its not bad, at least St. Andrews Cross is blue. Carolingians g is what really looks like a white g. Pavlov frowned: Their g has a silver fleur-de-lis pattern on it, its just the silver on white that makes it hard to discern from afar. Comints notwithstanding, Wang Zhong still took the Guards g on behalf of Yegorov.
He suddenly realized he didnt know what to do next with this g, as he hadnt seen this procedure before. Was just handing it to Yegorov all there was to it? As he was pondering, Popov said, You should pass the g to the color bearer; if there isnt one, then you need to select one. Wang Zhong immediately looked toward Vasily, who lit up with excitement at once. Theoretically speaking, Vasily was the tallest, and when Wang Zhong was in junior high, high school, and during university military training, it was always the tallest person who became the color bearer and walked at the very front of the ss formation. But he hesitated. Would being a color bearer make one an easy target? In the end, Wang Zhong handed the g to the second tallest, Zakayev. Vasily: Why not me? Wang Zhong: If you dont want an extra day of toilet cleaning, shut it. Then Wang Zhong turned to the leader of the trainees formation: Fall in, prepare to return to the barracks. Yes, General sir! All present! Eyes right!
Inside the barracks, the veterans were gathered on the parade ground, idly chatting, when suddenly someone ran past quickly, shouting, Theyreing! Not just with the Priest, but also a whole bunch of new recruits! Quick, fall in! The veterans promptly stubbed out their cigarettes and started to fall into ranks,pleting the formation in less than a minute. Then the sentry at the gate of the barracks lifted the barrier gate and presented arms. A tall new recruit carrying the Guards g led the way at the front, followed by the new recruits arranged in four columns. Observing the new recruits marching, the veterans murmured, These guys march so well, are they really recruits? They might have served in the reserves. At least we wont need to teach them how to march in formation. Why are they still equipped with the old-fashioned bolt-action rifles? What happened to the Tokarevs we were promised? No cloaks either! Quiet! barked the only unscathed Warrant Officer Sergeant Major of the regiment, Shut your traps! A momentter, the trainees halted in front of the veterans, and at themand, they executed a crisp left turn to face the veterans. Between the two groups, General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky spoke loudly, These are our reinforcements. You veterans are all squad leaders now. I will personally assign the new greenhorns to you! Those called out, step forward! Thirty minutester, the only new recruit left, Vasily, looked at Wang Zhong with admiration and asked, Did you really memorize all of our names? Wang Zhong thought to himself no, I cheated a bit, but you,d, I definitely remembered. Yes, he unapologetically admitted, I said I would remember you all, remember every person who sacrifices. Its my responsibility. Vasily nodded, then asked, So which old senior sergeant will take me under his wing? Wang Zhong: Youre a headache, and I dont trust anyone else to handle you. Grishka! Grishka was Grigoris nickname. Sergeant Major Grigori stepped forward promptly: Present! Wang Zhong: Youre in charge of him! Teach him as much as you can about surviving on the battlefield before the war breaks out. Chapter 73: 4 The Swindling Brigadier General Rocossov Chapter 73: Chapter 4 The Swindling Brigadier General Rocossov
That evening, Vasily and Filippov cleaned thetrine by candlelight. Vasily said, I think the brigadier really likes me! Filippov, shocked, looked up at his much taller ssmate, Why? Just because he made you clean thetrine? Vasily replied, Its a feeling, think about it, why didnt he let the tallest one, me, carry the g? Because you irritated him, Filippov answered instantly. No! Its because carrying the g is dangerous! Vasily said confidently, He wants me to stay alive. Later, he even found the best old sergeant to train me!
The term old sergeant is an informal nickname for an experienced and respected senior nonmissioned officer. Filippov said, He just doesnt want you causing trouble! I think Natasha was right; youre always daydreaming! At the mention of Natasha, Vasilys face darkened; she once was his girlfriend, but she took the initiative to break up with him because youre always daydreaming. Realizing his friends gloominess, Filippov quickly tried to make amends, She also said you were full of idealism and romanticism, look on the bright side. Vasily stubbornly said, I think this time its not daydreaming. The brigadier really thinks I suit his taste. Ohe on, youre the first person our principal cant stand! Which general would think you suit his taste? You dont know? I heard that when the brigadier was at the military academy, he was the person his principal despised the most! Thats why he sees himself in me! Filippov was left speechless. Just then, Sergeant Grigori entered, Whats taking you so long? Before he could finish talking, he frowned deeply and snatched the tool from Vasilys hand, Thats not how to use this! Havent you ever cleaned out the privy in the vige? No, the two of them answered in unison. Vasily said, Were both city folks.
Filippov added, His dad is a music professor! Dont talk about that, Vasily said, his brow furrowed, his expression even worse than when he heard Natashas name. Grigori paused, then looked at Vasily, Music professor, huh? No wonder you sang well this morning. Too bad the enemys bullets wont go around you just because you have a good voice. Let me teach you how to clean out manure first. Vasily asked, Sergeant, have you done it? Of course, in the vige, everyone except the nobles children has done it. Dont look down on this stuff. Its dirty, but its the promise of a good harvest next year. Without it, the cost of fertilizer is unbearable! Grigori spoke while skillfully working. Meanwhile, Wang Zhong, who was despised the most by his principal during his school years, was meeting with hismand team at the regimental headquarters. They covered the electric light with a pillowcase and drew the curtains, gathering around the map table. Currently, Prosens aircraft werent conducting nighttime bombing, so there was nomand for a ckout, but the men still consciously implemented light control measures. On the table, on top of the map,y a list book, and Yegorov tapped the list with his index finger, It seems like a lot of equipment has been replenished, but when ites to anti-tank weapons, we only have the anti-tank rifle, and thats not enough! Bishop Popov asked, So, the anti-tank rifles are not effective? Hitting the side is a matter of luck; the front can only target the viewing ports. Sometimes, if youre lucky, you can jam the turret ring, Yegorov shook his head. Most of our battalions anti-tank rifles were abandoned in Ronied. The anti-tank rifle operators were either killed or captured.
Popov frowned, You managed to destroy so many tanks at Peniye without anti-tank rifles That was done with Molotov cocktails. First, we need to use fire to cut off the enemy infantry and leave the tanks without infantry protection, then approach and throw the Molotov cocktails, Yegorov sinctly exined. But the problem is, most of the weapons weve been supplied with are Tokarev semi-automatics, suitable for exchange of fire with the enemy on the ins. The appropriate engagement distance is one to two hundred meters. Molotov cocktails, on the other hand, are for closebat and can only be used within fifty meters. At such times, submachine guns are much more useful than semi-automatics. After a brief pause, Yegorov raised his voice, We need anti-tank guns, even 45mm ones would do, but preferably the heavy 76mm anti-tank guns! Popov sighed, In theory, there should be no shortage of 45mm guns. If they havent been assigned yet, its probably because the logistics system hasnt been fully restructured yet. And because of the bombing by enemy nes. Yegorov: What about the 76mm? Those are already in short supply and difficult toe by, answered Popov. Also, Im here to be a bishop, okay? Dont treat me like a supply battalionmander. Shouldnt logistics be handled by the staff officers? Pavlov, who suddenly received the conversational ball, replied immediately, Thats true, but look, do I have anyone here? If you dont believe me, just take a look at this map on the table! Pavlov pushed aside the supply lists to reveal the map. This map is what I copy every day by running to the local military depot myself and copying their maps.
Normally, staff officers are responsible for updating the situation of friend and foe on the map based on the battle reports they receive, but without any staff officers, Pavlov had to update it himself. Pavlov continued toin, Because we have no logistics staff, naturally no one is arranging supplies, and even theundry and cooking teams in our camp are ones I had to request personally. Before, feeding a couple hundred people wasnt a big drain on supplies, but now all of a sudden we have over a thousand. Tomorrow Ill have to go to the military depot again to ask for supplies. Besides logistics and maps, we also need amunications staff officer. We dont even have amunicationspany, nor do we have any mounted couriers. When you add it all up, were missing quite a lot! Popov: Shouldnt the local military depots supply you with radios? They did, but we dont have telegraphists or cryptographers. Are we supposed to learn how to use radios and decipher codes using a codebook ourselves? Pavlov sighed, I know this is because the war started less than two weeks ago, and we have just recovered from the rout, but the situation is still beyond my expectations. At this point, Wang Zhong spoke up, Tomorrow Ill visit the hospital to see if there might be some telegraphists or cryptographers who were only lightly wounded. After all, they dont need to operate on the front line. The others shook their heads in unison. Pavlov said, All the wounded thate here are seriously injured. Where can you find lightly wounded? Wang Zhong: Its always good to check, right? What if I get lucky and find someone? Pavlov shrugged, Sure, you can try. Yegorov: They say were reorganizing the troops that have broken ranks, but its been three days, and only we havee here. Where are the troops that broke ranks?
Everyone fell silent. The truth was not that there were no troops breaking ranks, but rather that none hade from Ronied. Wang Zhong pped the table, Now we have people. Tomorrow well set up checkpoints outside the city to pull in recruits. The fleeing troops are bound to head east and surely pass through here. I refuse to believe we wont find anyone! Popov reminded him, The order was only to reorganize the troops retreating from Ronied. Wang Zhong pped the table again, Screw it! Among the civilians fleeing through here, if there are any who understand paperwork, logistics, or can send telegrams, well persuade them to join too. Well tell them they dont have to go to the front line. Popov said, Why not just conscript them? Yegorov added, You can die away from the front line just the same. Our headquarters is just a brigademand, we cant be too far from the front, and were sure to be bombed all the time. Wang Zhong replied, Thats why we have to tell them the truth and then persuade them. Bishop Popov looked at Wang Zhong for a few seconds and said, Is this really you speaking? Aleksei Konstantinovich? It seemed the original owner wouldnt have been so considerate of the civilian sentiments. Confidently, Wang Zhong said, It really is me. Along the way here, I received a lot of help from civilians, which changed my attitude towards them! Popov wore a Youve got to be kidding me expression.
Ignoring Popovs skepticism, Wang Zhong dered, That settles it. We cant just assume that Bogdanovka can hold for half a month. We need to act. If the higher-ups wont supply us, well find our own way. Just like we nned beforeing here! Yegorov mmed the table with force, Thats the spirit! These past few days Ive been so idle Im practically getting sick from it! Early the next morning, the Rocossov battle groups streamlined team immediately sprang into action. Popov took his men to the train station to receive the military supplies designated for the battle group. Yegorov led people to set up checkpoints on the western roads of the city to detain passersby. Pavlov went to the military depot headquarters to plead poverty. Yeca Neiko and Sofan went to the local church to plead poverty. Wang Zhong went to the hospital to see if there were any loopholes to exploit. Everyone was in motion. Wang Zhong, apanied by Grigori and his assigned driver Vasily, boarded the Jeep, with Grigori at the wheel. Just as they were about to set off, Ludm suddenly rushed out of the dormitory, grabbing the rear car door, Wait, take me with you, Alyosha! What are you going to do? Wang Zhong asked in confusion, Can you treat the wounded? After all, she was a prayer hand, and since she could guide rockets to their target like missiles, she could probably make use of Holy Light or somethingright? Ludm said, What are you rambling about? Isnt the healing power of Holy Power only found in legends? Its like Prosens Valha. Wang Zhong responded, Then what use are you at the hospital? Its dirty and Suddenly, Wang Zhong saw Pavlov off in the distance, wobbling on a bicycle as he appeared! With Pavlovs size, he would need at least a 26-inch bike to fit him, and a 28-inch would feel right. But he rode a 24-inch bike, looking like a bear curled up on a fire hydrant. Looking at his posture on the bike was so ufortable for Wang Zhong to watch. Pavlov charged towards Wang Zhong, stumbling as he got off the bike, but luckily Vasily was quick to jump out of the Jeep and catch him. Confused, Wang Zhong asked, Whats going on? Did the enemy break through the line? Where is your Jeep? Pavlov panted, I left left the driver to guard it! Guarding what? Grigori immediately flipped off the safety of his submachine gun and checked the chamber with a click. Pavlov waved his hands frantically, No! Thats not it! I damn it, let me catch my breath. After tossing aside the bicycle and leaning on Wang Zhong, Pavlov caught his breath for about half a minute. Having recovered somewhat, he said to Wang Zhong, This morning, I went to the military depot headquarters I know that part. Get to the point, Wang Zhong interrupted him. Pavlov replied, Oh. Do you know about the repair factory in the city? Wang Zhong nodded, I know. They fix cars, what about it? Pavlov exined, They have more than just cars there. They also keep the stuff that wasnt destroyed when the cars were strafed. Anything intact was taken by the military depotmand, and the broken pieces were left there. Then the mechanics saw all those broken guns piled up and took parts to assemble three guns. Two 45mm ones, and one 76mm! Wang Zhongs mouth formed into an O shape. Doesnt anyone want the guns? he asked. Pavlov eximed, They just finished assembling them yesterday and reported it today. I rushed to the repair factory when I saw the report and had the driver guard them with a loaded pistol, forbidding anyone to take them. If we grab them now, theyre ours! I cant drive, so I borrowed this bicycle from one of the mechanics Wang Zhong questioned, Then why didnt you stay there yourself and let the drivere back in the Jeep to report? Pavlov paused, confused, Huh? Oh, right. No, wait, the guns! Hurry, weve got to grab those guns! Maybe no one wants the 45s, but the 76mm is a treasure! Wang Zhong pped his thigh, Great! Vasily, run and order the first squad to stop their training and assemble here on the run! Vasily didnt move. Wang Zhong asked, Whats the matter with you? Vasily replied, We should send the third squad, theyre from the Artillery School after all. Wang Zhong and Pavlov looked at each other, then cursed, You stubborn mule, cant you follow orders for once without arguing? So, Ill go call the first squad? No, call the third squad. Wang Zhong red at Vasily with a murderous look, Run! And run fast! Dont make me kick your ass! Chapter 74: 5: The Dispute Over the Cannon Chapter 74: Chapter 5: The Dispute Over the Cannon
Loktov City isntrge; walking from the northernmost to the southernmost end takes just half an hour, and if you walk a bit faster, it might take only a little over twenty minutes. If you had a bicycle, you could ride from any point in the city to just about anywhere else within fifteen minutes. Wang Zhong sat in the jeep, leading the third toon in a jog, and it took less than fifteen minutes to reach the repair shop, including the time they gathered. Before they arrived at the repair shop, Wang Zhong could already see another group of people blocking the entrance from afar. This group, led by a Priest, was moring at the entrance, Why wont you let us in! The cannon is firste, first served!
These cannons were supposed to be resupplied to us! Pavlovs driver, who had also survived from Peniye, showed no fear and shouted with his pistol in hand, Nobody is allowed to touch the cannons! Staff Officer Pavlov has already requisitioned them! The other side retorted, We dont know which Pavlov youre talking about! Is it the one who raises dogs? Wang Zhong was shocked, what, there is also a Pavlov known for raising dogs in this world? But this isnt surprising, as Pavlov is a fairlymon surname. Sergeant Major Grigori was very adept, directly driving the jeep so close to the Priest leading the opposing group that he almost crashed into him before braking sharply, even pulling a tailslide and almost hitting someone. The kicked-up dust went straight into the faces of that group of people. Wang Zhong straightened his clothes, about to get out of the car, when Vasily got out ahead of him and opened the car door. Vasily: Your Excellency General! The previously noisy crowd suddenly quieted down, all looking towards the jeep. Seeing the generals stars on Wang Zhongs epaulettes, everyone hastily snapped to attention and saluted. Under everyones gaze, Wang Zhong got out of the vehicle and casually returned the salute, At ease, whats all the noise about?
Pavlov got out of the car on the other side, hurriedly walked around the vehicle to stand behind Wang Zhong, and signaled to his own driver. The driver immediately reported, Reporting to the General, these people are trying to take our artillery! The opposing Bishop immediately said, Wheres the order that assigned these cannons to you? Show it to us! Wang Zhong nced at the Priest. Though Wang Zhongs general uniform was brand new, it couldnt hide the imposing aura honed on the battlefield. The Priest immediately toned down his arrogance. Wang Zhong: Which unit are you from? Actually, Wang Zhong could see the allied forces unit numbers with his external device, but it was more proper to ask at this moment. Besides, the device showed only numbers and no further detailed information. The Priest answered, We are the Fifth Byshensk Infantry Division, retreated from Anlisovka. Anlisovka, to the northwest of Bogdanovka, it seems the front lines of Prosens offensive have fully advanced to the Bogdanovka to Voznesenye line now. Wang Zhong suddenly realized, since when was he so intimately familiar with maps? It seems pondering over the map these past few days has borne fruit!
No, cant get distracted, must deal with the matter at hand first. Wang Zhong nced at the soldiers of the Fifth Byshensk Division and asked, Where is yourmanding officer? Howe only a Priest has led you here? There arent Bishops at the regimental level in the Ante Empire. Each regiment should have a militarymander and a chief of staff, and now with only a Priest leading the group, it was very likely that both the regimentalmander and the chief of staff were casualties. But Wang Zhong still needed to ask, what if when they heard there were cannons, both the regimental leader and the chief of staff were in thevatory, and only a Priest could lead the troops over for the time being? The Priests expression darkened, All have been sacrificed, I am now the highest-ranking officer of our regiment. ording to themand hierarchy, I have taken overmand. Wang Zhong: Sorry. How many of you are left? The Priest answered, There are still three hundred seventy able-bodied soldiers. Pavlov remarked, So you all are deserters The Priest immediately got angry and raised his voice, We are not deserters! Afterpleting our blocking task, we retreated in good order! Give us orders, and we can build defenses and continue to resist anywhere! Wang Zhong: In the view from above, thats still desertion. We have beenbeled deserters too. Your Excellency General! The Priest looked solemnly at Wang Zhong, I cannot ept this characterization! We fought as bravely as the third rear Amur Group at Peniye! Its just that we didnt have tanks or Divine Arrows, so we didnt destroy as many enemy tanks, thats all! We need these artillery pieces; in the next battle, we will surely achieve better results! With a stern face, Wang Zhong nodded, Hmm, I believe you can. But my troops can do better.
The Priest and his soldiers all looked unconvinced. The Priest: Your Excellency General, what unit is your troop? Wang Zhong: The Imperial Guards Thirty-first Infantry Division. Hmph, the Imperial Guard all have their signature capes, and you which division? The Priest suddenly paused, eyeing the soldiers lined up neatly behind Wang Zhong with suspicion. Wang Zhong: The Imperial Guards Thirty-first Infantry Division. The Priest raised an eyebrow, Is that the Peniye Hero Division that destroyed sixty tanks at Peniye? Wang Zhong was taken aback for a moment, as that number probably included the half-tracks that were counted as tanks. But it was not the time to puncture the propaganda of the Church Propaganda Office in this kind of desperate situation, with morale failing, heroic deeds were needed to inspire the troops. So Wang Zhong solemnly nodded: Yes, thats us. The Priest took a step back and scrutinized Wang Zhong, Then you are the esteemed Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, the White Horse General? What the hell is a White Horse General? Wang Zhong nced at Pavlov, who whispered, It was reported in the newspaper yesterday, or perhaps it was an enemymunication passed back by the followers of the Eastern Holy Church in Prosen.
An intelligence report passed back by the followers of the Eastern Holy Church in Prosen? In these past few days, Wang Zhong had learned about the local situation; Prosen did not follow the Eastern Holy Church, and the war also had a bit of the vor of the Crusades. Perhaps because of the existence of mystical things like Divine Arrow, the power of the church here was far stronger than on Earth. Wang Zhong, The enemy says I am the White Horse General? Yes, they say you specifically ride a horse to provoke Prosens armored troops, arrogant and domineering! Wang Zhongughed, he had only ridden a horse to scout too far ahead; he originally intended to stop as soon as he reached the smoke but found the overhead view difficult to control the horse, and Bucephalus ran fast, charging out of the smoke. So in the eyes of the enemy, he had gone out specifically to taunt them. Wang Zhong, Actually, I was just on a reconnaissance ride. The driver of the 422 vehicle I was in was injured and couldnt drive, so I had to mount a horse to scout. This was the truth, the absolute truth. But to others, it might seem like modesty. At this point, the attitudes of the people from the Fifth Blyatensk Infantry Division changedpletely, looking at Wang Zhong with added respect. Wang Zhong struck while the iron was hot, Now that you know Im the White Horse General, are you still thinking of taking this artillery piece?
The Priest clenched his teeth, looking like he still wanted the artillery. After all, he had been through bloody battles and knew how important a gun was for the next fight, how an extra gun might mean much less bloodshed. It was true that he couldnt give it up easily. At that moment, Wang Zhong had an idea and asked, Which division do you belong to? The Eighty-first Infantry Division, the Priest answered. Wang Zhong, Where is that division now? Dont know, weve been out of touch with division headquarters for a long time, the Priests voice lowered. Pavlov said, Although there is no notice of the divisions number being revoked, theres no supply for this division in the logistics transportation n anymore. The supply for this group should be separately allocated. Its the precursor to disbanding the number. Wang Zhong, Then its simple; you no longer have a division above you, and my Rokossovsky Battle Group is missing a group. Pavlov, prepare the documents, apply to have them incorporated into our battle group. This way, if we take the gun, its as if youve got it! The Priest scratched his head, This doesnt follow the usual procedure, does it? Wang Zhong, During wartime, you handle special cases in special ways. Plus, the orders I received were to incorporate the routed soldiers here, and while you dont count as routed, your division is gone. You from the Eighty-first Division count as routed, right? A division thats been annihted is certainly routed, logically. Pavlov looked tired as he nced at the sky, murmuring in a low voice, Damn, do you know how much paperwork this involves? Wang Zhong pretended not to hear and continued looking at the Priest, So, what do you say? The Priest pped his thigh, Alright, that settles it. Well go back and wait for the orders! After the Fifth Blyatensk Group left, Pavlovs driver finally opened the door. An old craftsman had already been waiting inside, and as soon as he saw Wang Zhonge in, he immediately greeted him. Weve been waiting for you! Weve greased the big guns, just waiting for you to take them to continue firing on those Prosen devils! As he spoke, the old craftsman made a weing gesture, then while leading Wang Zhong to the factory building, continued to say: We actually dont know how to repair big guns. But look, with so many guns, each with different parts broken, you canpare and figure out the overall structure, so we assembled three guns. Two of the 45s are original parts. The 76 is missing parts, but we turned them ourselves on athe; theyre passable. Wang Zhong wanted to inspect the gun thoroughly but soon realized he didnt understand artillery at all and wouldnt be able to tell good from bad, so he thought it best to let those who knew how take a look. So he turned back to the young soldiers of the third toon and asked, Are you from the Artillery School? The leader of the young soldiers nced at the NCO leading them. The NCO said, The Brigadier General is asking you a question, so answer it. Dont look at me. Yes! Brigadier General, sir! Wang Zhong, Send out the two with the best grades to inspect this gun. All the new recruits turned to look at a curly-haired youngster. The young man stepped out of the rank and saluted Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong nodded, Dmitri Ivanovich, tell me right away if this gun can be fired sessfully. Surprised to hear his own name, the young man was slightly taken aback, You really remembered our names? Of course, now check the gun. Wang Zhong did try to remember everyones names yesterday, but he hadnt seeded yet; he still relied on his external aid for help. But now, he knew there was a young man who was great at handling guns called Dmitri Ivanovich. Chapter 75: 6: Even in Such Hell, the Flower of Love Blossoms Chapter 75: Chapter 6: Even in Such Hell, the Flower of Love Blossoms
The result of this assault was a line of people jubntly hauling the big guns back to base. Generally, the Ante Army artillerists would use mules and horses to tow these cannons, but with none to be found in the entire factory, they had to borrow three trucks used for transporting parts and materials to pull all three guns back to base. The gunners, finally with cannons, were overjoyed, standing in the truck beds with a proud and spirited demeanor, as if with these few guns they could drive all the invaders out of their homnd. After driving into base anding to a stop, Wang Zhong jumped down from the jeep and shouted to the men disembarking from the third truck, Hurry up and unload the guns, and weve got to return the trucks to the factory! You guys push the guns under that tree over there, and chop some branches to cover them up! Dont let the enemy nes spot them! The Prosen Armys nes had been bombing Loktov these past few days, but they mainly focused on the railway stations, paying little attention to this empty base.
However, today this base had over a thousand people, more than enough to catch the attention of Prosen pilots. Wang Zhongs orders were quickly carried out. The trucks left the base, the gunners pushed the guns into the shade of the trees, and then climbed up to chop down branches with machetes. These kids seemed to be ying rather than working as they climbed the trees, theirughter audible across the whole parade ground, distracting the infantry who were training with the veterans. Wang Zhong had no choice but to scold, Stop messing around! Act your age! You veterans should keep them in line as well! A former veteran of the Amur Group, now a squad leader, immediately took a serious tone, scolding the new recruits and giving their backsides a few kicks for good measure. The work was quickly done, and Dimitri came over to Wang Zhong and saluted, Your Excellency General, where are the shells? Wang Zhong turned to Pavlov, Where are the shells? Ill go write the request now, dont rush me. Wang Zhong, While youre at it, request some military trucks too, or mules if necessary. At the start of Operation Barbarossa on Earth, the level of mechanization on both sides was not as high as one might think; a considerable number of Soviet artillery units relied entirely on mules and horses for transport, and logistics, apart from trains, also depended heavily on these animals. Not only were a significant portion of the German logistics reliant on mules and horses, but many of the non-armored and non-grenadier units also maneuvered by marching and with the aid of mules and horses. The only army in World War II that was essentially free of mules and horses, fully mechanized, was the US Army, with its vast fleets of ten-wheel trucks and Willis jeeps, making them a force that truly operated on wheels.
The Ante Army wasnt the American Army. The number of GAZ trucks was quite limited, and now, in this state of copse, Wang Zhong wasnt really expecting Pavlov to find enough GAZ trucks. It would be fine just to make do with mules and horses for towing. In response to Wang Zhongs request, Pavlov looked troubled andined, General, you only need to move your lips, but its me whos running around until my legs break. Not to mention, I have to prepare a pile of paperwork. At least get the staff at brigade headquarters to work with me. Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow and pointed to the cadets before him, Arent they military academy students? Cant we get a few to act as staff officers? No, what theyve mainly learned is how to be warrant officers, only knowing how to handle the paperwork a toon leader mighte across, Pavlov shook his head, I need civilians with at least the rank of a level-nine civil official, level ten would do as well. Or students who havepleted the staff officer courseeven those who haventpleted it, but at least they should have studied it. Wang Zhong, Is that so? Maybe we could find a few with weaker constitutions and start from scratch? Im already running myself ragged just getting around, and now you want me to teach students? And those with only a little bit of foundation? Pavlov retorted. Wang Zhong also felt that seemed to be the case. However, Pavlov added, Still, we can consider finding a few who are better at cartography to update the maps daily, so that I dont have to do it myself. Copying the signs from themand headquarters map exactly as they are is something even newbies can do. Wang Zhong pped his hands, That settles it. Vasily, who among you is good at drawing maps? Vasily pointed to the thirdpany of the artillery academy, They have to learn surveying and mapping, after all, they may lead artillery observation teams in the future, while we just report coordinates based on the map.
Wang Zhong nodded, then turned to Dmitri and said, Recruit two volunteers toe to the headquarters to draw maps. Anyway, we dont need so many people for just three guns. Yes! Just as Dmitri left, the sound of engines came from the gate, and Wang Zhong turned his head to see one GAZ truck after another driving into the encampment. Wang Zhong muttered, Whats going on? Has themand finally gone mad? The supplies theyve given us before have always been measly Then he saw Popov sitting in the lead truck, whose task should have been to go to the station to receive the supply train that was due today for Rocossovs battle group. It seemed that the trucks were loaded with supplies for the battle group, but where did the truckse from? The truck Popov was in drove up to Wang Zhong and stopped in front of him. The bishop jumped out of the door and blinked at the perplexed brigadier, Do you have a question to ask, Aleksei Konstantinovich? Wang Zhong, Yes, where did these truckse from? Borrowed from themand headquarters? Can I keep the trucks? Dont worry, these trucks are for us. Popov turned to shout at the convoy, Quick, unload the trucks, stack the weapons on the side, and take the ammo to the storage. Those messing with the artillery over there, hurry up ande helpartillery? It was only then that Popov realized that what was covered by branches under the tree was artillery, and he quickly asked, Where did this artillerye from? You didnt snatch it from a brotherly unit, did you? I wont support you if you break military discipline! Wang Zhong, Dont worry, this is something the mechanics from the auto repair shop assembled from scrap guns. Absolutely no rules were broken!
Popov raised an eyebrow, If it were before, I definitely wouldnt believe you. Now, well, Ill trust the White Horse General of Peniye for the time being. Howe youve started using that nickname too! Popov shrugged, Everyone at the station is talking about it, and they know were the troops of the White Horse General. Dont let everyone down in the next battle. After speaking, he turned towards the soldiers, Quickly unload, hurry up, otherwise we might be hit by enemy air raids! It wouldnt be good if the hard-earned ammo got blown up! Actually, the soldiers were already unloading, and Popovs urging only made everyone move a bit faster. The bishop turned back, took out a thick stack of registration forms from his briefcase, and handed them to Pavlov, This is the inventory list. Pavlov sighed and turned to his driver, Go call the ountant! Wang Zhong asked, Are all these GAZ trucks sent along with the military train? Yes, the trucks are loaded with supplies, fastened directly onto the train, it seems His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had given strict instructions to the Imperial Logistics Department. Popov crossed his arms and watched everyone bustling, Just Tokarev alone sent us three thousand pieces, we couldnt possibly use all of them. Theres also a heap of heavy machine guns and anti-tank rifles. Wang Zhong: So, can we swap our surplus weapons with the supply depot for other things? It seems there isnt such a system in ce, Popov said, seemingly unsure, and then turned to look at Pavlov. Pavlov handed the checklist to the ountant who had hurried over: Go and verify the quantities against the list.
After passing his look of worry to the ountant, Pavlov replied to the two men, his face rxing, Indeed, there is no such system. However, I think themand of the supply depot wont mind taking the Tokarevs back. My suggestion is to barter with neighboring units for what we need. No sooner had he finished speaking than one of the unloading cadets shouted, Look, cloaks! The Imperial Guards cloaks! The cadet who yelled snatched a cloak, draped it over his shoulders, and stood in the bed of the truck, primping. The others crowded around, each eager to try on a cloak. Popov yelled, Dont touch anything! Wait for the quartermaster to issue them! If anyone takes one now, theyll be locked up! The first scallywag who grabbed a cloak could only reluctantly put it back. Wang Zhong heard someone say, Alyosha, better wait until you have your cloak before you bring flowers! Since Wang Zhongs nickname was also Alyosha, his first reaction was to think he was being called, but he soon realized it wasnt for him. Russian names often coincideda whole bunch of Alekseis, and Wang Zhong even suspected that Russians unfamiliar with each other would use both the first name and patronymic to avoid confusion. Clearly, this Alyosha was referring to another soldier named Aleksei. From his vantage point, Wang Zhong quickly spotted this Alyosha: Aleksei Balfionovich. So Wang Zhong called out loudly, Aleksei Balfionovich! Who are you giving flowers to?
The cadets going for the cannon and those heading to the station to receive supplies all stopped in their tracks and stared at Wang Zhong, surprised. Aleksei Balfionovich said with excitement, You remembered my name? Wang Zhong nodded, Dont be so surprised every time. Ive said I would remember all your names. As long as Im alive, you will not be nameless heroes. Aleksei, who are you giving flowers to? A sharp-tongued scallywag blurted out, Its theundry squads Natalia, Your Excellency! Wang Zhong: Then I wish you a sessful mission. To the west of the encampment, in front of the perimeter wall, theres awn where starflowers are blooming beautifully. In fact, Ludm was the one who had discovered this, and she immediately told Wang Zhong, even making him a wreath. Aleksei Balfionovichs face lit up with joy, Really, Your Excellency? Really. You can pick them during the rest time after dinner tonight, and present them to yourdy as the sun sets, Wang Zhong advised. Popov chimed in, As expected from the Casanova of Yekaterinburg, always understanding the way of love. Wang Zhong shrugged; in truth, he had zero experience with romance, but he had read two hundred romanceics! Not two hundred issues, but two hundred series! Popov: Alright, enough! Lets continue with the orders! As the soldiers resumed the orderly transfer of ammunition, Popov turned to Wang Zhong: Actually, theres some good news. Wang Zhong: Oh? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ns to send over those troops from the capital that are specialized in parades. Those units are under the management of the courts ceremonial service, and the Crown Prince can direct them. Upon hearing this, Pavlov frowned: You mean the ceremonial troops equipped with T35s? What good are those besides serving as a royal parade vehicle? The thickest part of their armor is only 30 millimeters, and the thinnest is just 10 millimeters! Wang Zhong: Youre quite well-informed about this, huh? Pavlov with a deadpan expression: Ive seen those things during the Winter War; theyre absolutely terrible. Whoever ordered them to be taken into battle should be shot. Popov: But you cant deny they look very imposing and majestic, perfect for parades. Wang Zhong recalled and indeed, they did. Damn it, before they equip me with T34s, am I supposed to try out all the Soviet Unions quirky machines? Just as he finished his thought, the air raid siren sounded. Wang Zhong shouted, Stop loading, get away from the trucks, stay clear of the ammunition, and find cover! Usually there was a bit of time to find shelter before the enemy nes arrived when the air raid sirens went off. Wang Zhong, Pavlov, and Popov quickly took cover in a nearby bunker, craning their necks to watch the sky. From the direction of the supply depot came the sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire. Pavlov breathed a sigh of relief: Theyre hitting the supply depot again. Just then, the sound of engines approaching rapidly from the direction of the depot could be heard, and soon two Stukas that had just dropped their payloads appeared. Noticing the Gas trucks parked in the encampment that had not yet been concealed, they took the opportunity to strafe them. One of the Gas trucks in the middle of the line immediately exploded into mes, and several more caught fire. The enemy nes engine noise gradually faded into the distance. Wang Zhong, peeking through his overhead view to confirm the enemy nes had left, climbed out of the bunker and looked at the burning trucks: Damn it, the mechanics at the repair shop have got their work cut out for them again. Anyone hurt? Any casualties speak up now! Wang Zhongs typical humor immediately triggeredughter among the younger soldiers. The solemn atmosphere brought on by the enemy air raid was thus somewhat lightened. Stopughing! Popov yelled angrily, Get the fire extinguishers! If youre artillery cadets, you shouldve learned firefighting! Put it out quickly! Dont let it spread to other vehicles! Chapter 76: 7: Heavy Hammer Chapter 76: Chapter 7: Heavy Hammer
Ten minutes after the air raid. Thest flicker of me was finally extinguished through thebined efforts of the Third toon and the First toon, which had rushed in to assist. When the mes disappeared, the young people cheered as if they had won a great battle. Popov shouted, Dont celebrate just yet! Quickly check the burned-out vehicles for any usable parts! Inspect those that were strafed, fix any malfunctions, and if there are none, drive them to the auto repair shop for the mechanics to check again. The soldiers cheers died down, and Wang Zhong murmured, Isnt it okay to let them be happy for a moment? I dont think its good for the future, Popov replied, with an upromising attitude, this is within my scope of work.
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue. However, the army did indeed need to maintain good discipline; Popov was not wrong, so he said nothing more. Popov issued a newmand: Squad leaders, check your numbers and see if anyone is injured or lost. In truth, Wang Zhong had already confirmed there were no casualties through his overview perspective, but he had to pretend he didnt know and watched as the veteran squad leaders did a headcount. At that moment, a cart appeared at the entrance of the encampment. The guard at the gate initially thought to stop it but chose to open the barrier after clearly seeing the person driving the cart. Yegorov was wielding the long pole used for driving the cart, leading an old horse pulling a two-wheeled cart into the camp. Wang Zhong: You have this skill too? Yegorov sighed deeply as he stopped the cart and jumped down, handing the driving pole to the guard and looked at Wang Zhong solemnly: Im a farmer, theres no farmer who cant drive a cart. At this time, several civilians got off the cart, and upon seeing Wang Zhongs generals stars, became uneasy, standing there awkwardly. Yegorov: Let me introduce you to these folks who volunteered to help us. This is Andreyevich, a tailor; this is Pierre, a cook; andstly, this is Niki, a cobbler. Wang Zhongs brows twisted into knots: What do you need these people for?
Yegorov replied seriously: Tailors and cobblers are very important! Otherwise, when the muddy seasones, just wait for the soldiers to get sick! Are you really an Ante person or not? Hello, no. But Wang Zhong could only pretend to be a spoilt fool oblivious to the hardships of the world. To change the subject, he asked, What about the cook? We already have a field kitchen team. Yes, yes, every day its soup boiled with potatoes, onions, and carrots, dry bread. Im not disparaging thedies cooking, but we need to diversify our diet! Yegorov said, turning to the cook, What dishes are you good at making? Pierre pushed up his sses: Carolingian traditional dishes. I was the head chef for Lord Boye back home. Wang Zhong frowned: So, your name isnt Peter but you are called Pierre; your real name is Pierre? Because there was a time when all of Europe aspired to the French court, Russians would sometimes change the pronunciation of their names to sound French. For instance, one of the protagonists of War and Peace named Pierre is actually called Peter, but its read the French way, which seems more fashionable. Wang Zhong originally thought this cook was the same. Pierre straightened his clothes: I am indeed Pierre, I am Carolingian, and I fled here after Carolingian fell. Wang Zhong: AhI see Popov said jokingly, Great, Aleksei Konstantinovich enjoys French cuisine; you can be the generals cook.
Do I really have this setting? Wang Zhong shook his head: Well, its good that youre here. As a chef, you must be proficient in managing food supplies, right? Yes. I was the head chef for the lord. I managed the entire kitchen operation, Pierre replied proudly. Wang Zhong: Alright, youll manage the food supplies for the troops, and if we run out of food, Iming to you! On July 4th of the year 914 by the Jules calendar, just as Wang Zhong had put on his generals uniform, Popov burst into his bedroom: Aleksei Konstantinovich, Ive foundmunication personnel! Wang Zhong: Really? So no one needs to go to headquarters to copy maps anymore? Typically, battle reports are publicly broadcast by Argesukovs Front Army headquarters, and as long as theres the capability to decode, anyone can receive, interpret and restore the situation to the battle maps. Up till now, the Rocossov battle group had no radiomunicationspany of its own and had to visit the station headquarters every day to copy the newly updated maps. Until yesterday, this was a task Pavlov had to do himself, but today, he could finally pass it on to two artillery cadets. Having their own radiopany would spare them the time wasted visiting the station headquarters. More importantly, with their ownmunicationspany, they could receive orders directly. Currently, any orders from above for the Rocossov battle group had to be ryed by the station headquarters.
However, Wang Zhong always felt that those above might deliberately let his battle group sunbathe here. After all, the reports from headquarters were already iming that a counter-offensive was imminent. Wang Zhong, after realizing he had be a celebrity yesterday, specially looked for newspapers from thest few days to readpreviously he didnt do this because asking a 21st-century young man from Earth to read newspapers was quite a challenge. If one only read the newspapers, the front line was performing excellently, the Prosen Empire suffered heavy losses under the resolute resistance of the Ante Empire army, and the war situation could reverse at any moment. The style of this Annihte the enemy by millions with lightning speed felt all too familiar. Wang Zhong had a bad premonition. All he could do was to prepare his troops as best as he could. Lets go, Wang Zhong draped the Imperial Guard cloak assigned to him, lets take a look. Where are they now? Chapter 77: 7: Heavy Hammer_2 Chapter 77: Chapter 7: Heavy Hammer_2
Popov: The house next to the headquarters is ready. Ill take you. Two minutester, Wang Zhong frowned as he looked at the Tribunal squad lined up before him. Didnt you say it was themunicationspany? he asked Popov, Why is it a supervisory team? Popov: Youve misunderstood, Aleksei Konstantinovich. They are the local Tribunal counter-espionage unit, responsible for using radio direction-finding vehicles to detect spy radios. They all know how to use telegraphs and decipher codes. The best part is, they are judges themselves, so when theyre deciphering, theres no need for a secret Judge armed with a gun to watch over them. Captain, introduce yourself to the Brigadier General.
The leading captain stepped forward: We have obtained the radio and codebook, and weve already started decoding todaysbatmuniques before you arrived! Wang Zhong: What about the counter-espionage work? Captain: All local suspects of espionage have been executed by firing squad, so theres no longer a need for radio location. Such efficiency indeed, should one say this is worthy of the blue-capped Tribunal? Popov added from the side: They were free anyway, so I pulled them in. It saves timepared to waiting for reinforcements from themunicationspany. At that moment, Pavlov came out from the headquarters and frowned upon seeing the group with blue caps: You actually brought over the Tribunals electronic reconnaissance squad! Do you know how many reports I have to write for this! Wang Zhong replied seriously: I know you can handle it, Pavlov. Youre a professional military officer full of honor, an excellent clerk! Dont butter me up. Look at the bags under my eyes. Youre well-rested, just look at me! Pavlovs dark circles were indeed very noticeable, clearly showing that the chief of staff was worn out. Wang Zhong decided to quickly get away, unwilling to listen to Pavlovs grumbling: Your Excellency the Bishop! Isnt it time to receive the ceremonial troops that are being sent to us today? As mentioned yesterday, the Crown Prince intended to cram the pce ceremonial troopswho were experts at paradesonto Wang Zhong, possibly the multi-turret heavy tanks T35 which might be shy but of questionable utility. Wang Zhongs current idea was to use them regardless of their effectiveness.
If the T35s armor was thin, then just dig a ditch and bury part of it to use as a fixed gun position. After all, the tank gunsa 76mm and a 45mm on the tankwere not just for show. The tank also had machine guns! If used properly, they could eliminate the Prosen devils. Popov checked his watch and nodded: Right, if the military train isntte, it should have arrived. However, military trains were often dyed due to enemy air raids. Wang Zhong indeed had nothing else to do at the moment, as all his current tasks were logistical in nature, and his advantage couldnt be used. He was also clueless about handling the Ante Armys administrative paperwork; the original Wang Zhong wasnt skilled at this, with a score of zero in rted subjects, graduating only because of his good rtionship with the Crown Prince. Wang Zhong, a Chinese, was doing well just tomunicate with his inheritednguage skills; writing documents would be riddled with grammatical errors. Previously when Ludm asked him to write a letter home, he had scribbled a page which Ludm pointed out had seventeen mistakes. Since then, Wang Zhong resolutely decided to stick to his illiterate persona. In short, Wang Zhong, who could not and did not want to deal with clerical tasks, decided to leave and wait for the ceremonial troops. Im going to the station to wait, carry on with your duties! Grigori! Bring the car over! As Wang Zhong called out, he started walking towards the car.
Popov: Ille along. Pavlov: Why would you? Help me with the paperwork! As the bishop, you have to stamp a part of the documents anyway! Popov: The Crown Prince specifically instructed me to ensure that the goods are received by the Rocossovbat group. I am carrying out his orders. Wang Zhong: No, I can receive them personally; you go help Pavlov with the paperwork. Popov looked at Wang Zhong with a resentful face. It seemed he disliked clerical work as well. As the two exchanged res, the Gunner Dmitri ran over with a trainee: Your Excellency General! Please have a look at the ammunition the depot provided us! Wang Zhong had one foot on the jeeps running board when he heard this; curious, he looked over and saw that Dmitris trainee was holding a cratebeled 76mm ammunition painted on the outside. Wang Zhong: Whats the matter? The 76mm gun was his only prized possession; if the T35 proved unreliable, anti-tank efforts would hinge solely on that 76mm gun. Dmitri flipped open the crate lid, revealing the tightly packed ammunition: These shells! He pulled out a bullet to show Wang Zhong.
Its a pickle can! Wang Zhong held his forehead. In various memoirs, he had read about many anecdotes of supplies being delivered incorrectly, but it was usually the wrong caliber; he hadnt seen too many cases of the wrong type of goods being sent. Critically, the crate was evenbeled as shells. Wang Zhong, Go find the Chief of Staff! Pavlov, Me again? Okay, this does seem like something for me Show me the supply order! Taking this opportunity, Wang Zhong got into the jeep, patted Grigori on the shoulder, Lets go! At the train station, Wang Zhong wrinkled his nose at the smell of blood. He stopped a stretcher, asking the wounded soldier who seemed to be in not too bad shape, Hows the front line? The soldier opened his eyes, and upon seeing Wang Zhongs uniform and the stars on his shoulder, immediately tried to salute, but Wang Zhong pressed his hand down, No need for formalities. Hows the front line? Its bad, Im from the Army reserve, and we were alreadymitted yesterday. The enemy is close topleting their encirclement, and by tomorrow, I reckon the evacuation trains for wounded wont be able to get out.
Wang Zhongs brow furrowed deeply. He looked towards Popov, It seems we need to hasten our battle preparations. I think we can start building defensive fortifications today. Popov, Have you chosen a location for the defenses? Yes. Wang Zhong nodded. These past few days he had been studying the overhead maps, and had already memorized the whole terrain of Loktov. He continued, Our defensive strong point should be set up at the fertilizer nt to the southwest. The nts buildings are sturdy reinforced concrete, and severalmanding heights are very suitable as observation points. If we had howitzers, after establishing an observatory there, wed be able to control the entire southwestern side of the city. The walls of the fertilizer nt are doubleyered red brick structures; by creating a few small openings for anti-tank guns, the gun positions can be swiftly moved under the cover of the walls after they are exposed. If we had tanks, there are several belts of woods on either side of the southwest highway where we couldy ambushes for the enemy. Popov looked at Wang Zhong, who recited all this like clockwork, You when did you learn all of this? Wang Zhong, Before you came, I had already scoped it all out while riding Bucephalus around. He meant that he had seen it all clearly while riding around and using an overhead view. Popov, But are you sure you want to use T35s for the ambush? That thing can only crawl at 10 kilometers per hour on uneven ground, slower than a person walking.
Wang Zhong also frowned, I mean if we had good tanks. Even with BT7s, I would go for an ambush. At that moment, a siren sounded in the distance. The old man from the control room emerged, and he looked much older than just a few days ago, Hey, General, your train is on another tform, go over the footbridge. Wang Zhong waved at the old man, and as he walked, he said to Popov, The day you arrived, he was still using honorifics. Now can you feel it? Popov nodded, The people are panic-stricken. The two men, apanied by their guards, crossed over the footbridge to the other side. At that time, the train had already begun pulling into the station. Wang Zhong stopped, standing on the bridge, looking over the long line of t cars with their secured cargo. He suddenly realized he had been led astray by that bastard Pavlov. That guy had taken it for granted to mention the parade star T35 heavy tank, causing Wang Zhong to forget that the pre-WWII Soviet Army had another darling of the parade ceremonies. That was the B-4 M1931 203mm howitzer, the Hammer of Steel. Wang Zhong looked at the eight 203mm B4 heavy howitzers steadilying to a halt on the train below, his mouth agape. Dammit, the fight just got rich! Crown Prince! Although I dont know who you are, well done! Chapter 78: 8 In the Name of the Crown Prince Chapter 78: Chapter 8 In the Name of the Crown Prince
Wang Zhong was ecstatically dancing when he suddenly realized something, Wait a minute! Why do I only see ammunition vehicles, and not towing vehicles? The B4 howitzer looked like a self-propelled gun, but it actually had no power. Although it used a tractor chassis, it couldnt move by itself and needed another tractor to tow it. On Earth, there were models of this thing with their own power, but it turned out to be too heavy; its two small tracks couldnt bear the weight and would sink into a lot of ground surfaces, so they eventually gave up on it. Is this world different? Indeed, in this timeline, the tracks of these heavy guns looked longer than those of the tractors on Earth.
So, Wang Zhong tentatively asked, This cannon Is it towed by the ammunition vehicle? Can it even pull it? Popov cast another disdainful nce at him, Aleksei Konstantinovich, what were you doing during the parades? Wang Zhong shrugged, unabashedly answering, Looking at womens chests, what about it? Pfft. Vasily, who was serving as a guard with Grigori, couldnt help butugh, then received a re from Popov, immediately standing at attention and looking straight ahead. Popov turned back to Wang Zhong, saying, These things are for the parade, it doesnt look good to tow them with the gun barrel facing backward, so theye with their own power now. Wang Zhong was shocked, With the power added, how heavy would it be? Around twenty or thirty tons, I think. Im a cleric, ask the artillerymen for specifics. Anyway, its not light. Wang Zhong: So, how fast can it go? If this thing could run 30 kilometers per hour on the road, it might be more useful than its Earthly cousin. The B4 howitzer on Earth had a scary-sounding name for a reason given by the German soldiers. In fact,rge-caliber 203mm artillery wasmon on the Eastern Front; the Germans had them too, and the Soviets didnt give them a nickname like XXXs Hammer. Mainly, the German forces used their 21CM howitzers as howitzers should be used, bombarding enemies over a dozen kilometers away, with those being bombed unable to see the big guns firing. But the Soviets werent like that. Although the B4 heavy howitzer was indeed a howitzer with a maximum indirect fire range of 17 kilometers, the Soviets liked to push this thing to within 500 meters of the German bunkers and open fire.
They even pushed it into cities for street fighting. The Germans could clearly see this thing slowly advancing, aiming at them. It was terrifying; a single shot could either kill or cripple by the shock alone. Over time, it gained the nickname The Hammer of Steel. Latterly, the thing became so famous, and yet was so slow to position, that often by the time it was in ce, people inside the bunkers had run away. If this thing could hit a road speed of 30 kilometers, those in the bunkers probably wouldnt have time to run. After all, its killing range was truly vast. Popov shrugged: Dont get your hopes up. This thing moves at the same speed as the marching pace during a parade when its on its own, its travel mechanism is specifically designed for parades. Wang Zhong was deeply shocked, the idea of cheering it up specifically for a parade was beyond his imagination. He sighed, asking, Can this thing be towed quickly with a vehicle for fast maneuvering? Popov: Im just a bishop, you might consider asking the soldiers of the Ceremonial Artillery Corps about that. By this time, the train hade to aplete stop, and the Ceremonial Artillery Corps disembarked on the tform, lining up in formation. Wang Zhongs first impression of these Guards of Honor was that a bunch of nutcracker toy soldiers had arrived.
The uniforms of the Guards of Honor made it feel like a chronological mess; those dressed in such uniforms should go and duel with Napoleon, not appear on such a modern battlefield. Wang Zhong asked Popov, Can I order them to change intobat uniforms? As long as you can get that many uniforms, then yes. Hmm, thats the way it is, Wang Zhong smiled, Im sure Pavlov can get hold of them! At that moment, Wang Zhong noticed several railroad workers looking anxious as they crossed the railway and began to operate the rail switch in the middle of the parallel tracks. From his recollection since his arrival at Loktov with his troops, he hadnt seen the rail switch operators move that switch. In fact, the tracks between the two tforms were seldom used, probably for passing trains during peak times. However, now the train traffic towards the battlefield was so severely disrupted by lotive losses, it never ran at full capacity, so the extra passing track wasnt needed. Wang Zhong watched as the workerspleted the rail switching operation and raised a greenntern. Soon, a train sounded its whistle and slowly glided into the station. This train didnt carry track repair cars or anti-aircraft carriages; it was a haphazard mix of all kinds of carriages, including tank cars and ordinary passenger and freight cars all strung together,pletely disregarding order, giving the impression it was hastily assembled and dispatched promptly. Wang Zhong murmured, Why do I get the feeling that this train looks like the product of send one more before the encirclement is closed? Popov: I feel the same way.
The train came to a slow halt and before it had fully stopped, the driver opened the boiler release valve; a white steam immediately spread out from the front, engulfing the lotives wheels. A driver jumped off, shouting, The lotives cylinder is punctured; it cant go fast anymore! We need to change engines! Wang Zhong paid little attention to the drivers words, instead fixating on the passengers of the train. Civilians. Mostly women and children, with many little faces pressed against the ss of the carriages, gazing out. No smiles on any face. Railway workers pulled over hoses to refill the trains water supply, offering water at each window. Countless hands with various water containers reached out,peting to provide water for the boilers. Chapter 79: 8 In the Name of the Crown Prince_2 Chapter 79: Chapter 8 In the Name of the Crown Prince_2
Wang Zhong saw a little girl gulping water from a sk as if she had not had a drink in a long time. Theyre trying to send the women and children out before werepletely encircled, he muttered quietly. Popov, Hold out for half a month looks like we cant hold out anymore. Wang Zhong suddenly got a jolt, Nows not the time formenting! If they cant hold out there, we have to start moving! He leaned over the railing of the overpass and shouted to the troops below, Im Brigadier General Rokossovsky, stop forming up, quickly unload the cannons and move them to the No. 3 stockyard over there! Then go to the nearby air defense camp to get camouges. I need you to turn No. 3 stockyard into an artillery firing position by this afternoon! The guard of honors major saluted, Yes, General!
Popov looked at Wang Zhong with surprise, How do you know No. 3 stockyard is suitable for artillery positions? Ive looked into it. It was just a birds-eye view. Wang Zhong, Next to it is the anti-aircraft battalion protecting the station, with a certain defensive capability against enemy air raids. If well-camouged, it can survive for a long time. Thats not important, follow me to the military stationmand! Given the current situation, the ammunition and weapons supplies sent to Bogdanovka definitely cant get through, we must requisition them immediately! As he spoke, Wang Zhong walked back along the halfway crossed overpass, and the others quickly followed. After leaving the train station, Wang Zhong sat down next to Grigori and urged, To the military stationmand! Popov had just gotten into the vehicle when Grigori started the engine. Vasily was about to get in the car but hesitated, didnt get on, and turned to sprint back to the garrison. At the military stationmand, as soon as the jeep arrived, Wang Zhong strode inside, only to run into themander of Loktovs defense battalion. Wang Zhong stopped him, Where are you rushing off to, Aleksandr Alexandrovich?
Hearing his own name, themander was startled; Wang Zhong was speaking to him for the first time, and the voice was unfamiliar. He looked up, saw the generals stars and the cloak of the Imperial Guard, and immediately stood at attention and saluted, Your Excellency! Wang Zhong waved his hand casually and repeated his question, Where are you rushing off to, Aleksandr Alexandrovich? The military stationmand has ordered my battalion to build defensive fortifications outside the city. Wang Zhong, Havent you been building them up until now? We dug, but not enough, themander said with a somber face. We were mainly focused on concrete pillboxes, and now they want us to dig anti-tank ditches. How can we possibly dig anti-tank ditches to shield the entire southwest of the city in one day? Wang Zhong, You can mobilize civilians in the city to dig. Aleksandr, Threebor camps have already been organized in the city, but theyve all been sent to repair the railroad. Now, there are only women left in the city. Women can hold up half the sky; let them dig. Its better than failing toplete your task. With that, Wang Zhong patted Aleksandr on the shoulder. Thetter nodded and strode away. Popov asked, You know him? No, just took note of his name. After all, hes themander of the local defense battalion.
Wang Zhong continued toward themand center and upon entering the map room saw a scene of flurry and chaos. The military stationmander was shouting into the phone, What? What? How many lotives are left? It seemed he was on the phone with the station. Wang Zhong paced over to the map and looked at the most recent updatesnot that long ago, Bogdanovka on the map had yet to be encircled; the enemys pincer movement still had some distance before closing in. Popov also came over to look at the map, his expression serious. Finally, the quarter-master finished his phone call and muttered Everything is going wrong before looking up at Wang Zhong, Good afternoon, General. Actually, it was still a while before noon. The quarter-masters station at Loktov was quiterge, hence, the quarter-master here held the rank of brigadier general. In such work settings, officers of equal rank could skip saluting to save time. Wang Zhong said, Bogdanovka is about to be surrounded; I guess the supplies scheduled to be delivered there can no longer get through. I believe Loktov will be the next Prussian target, and I need to requisition these weapons and ammunition immediately to prepare for defensive operations. The quarter-master asked, Do you have orders? Wang Zhong replied, The enemy ising! Are we not to issue weapons and ammunition now and let the enemy capture them to use against us? I have not been notified of the enemys approach, the quarter-master said, Bogdanovka is trying to break the encirclement.
Wang Zhong asked, With what? The 23rd Tank Army isunching an attack, the quarter-master answered, These are freshlymitted troops. Wang Zhongmented, I didnt see them passing by us, did I? They didnt take the railway; tank units can maneuver through most rural roads. Wang Zhong said, Then most of the tanks will break down on the road due to mechanical failures! And the enemy has an Air Force too, those that dont break down will be destroyed by the enemys Air Force! That I do not know, the quarter-master said resolutely, Anyway, these weapons and ammunition will be transported to Bogdanovka after the breakout. Without orders, no one can move them. Wang Zhong cursed under his breath, and just then, a staff officer rushed in, eximing, Its bad, Commander, look outside! The two manders in the room turned to look outside the window as the staff officer had pointed. Severalrge trucks drove into the headquarters yard, soldiers wearing Imperial Guard cloaks and brandishing brand-new Tokarev semi-automatic rifles disembarked from the trucks and lined up in the yard. The 31st Imperial Guard Infantry Regiments g pped in the wind in the courtyard. The quarter-master turned and red at Wang Zhong, General Rokossov, what are you nning to do? Wang Zhong was also perplexed; he hadnt ordered any troop movements.
Then he saw Vasily in the formation. Understood. However, given the situation, he could probably use this to pressure the quarter-master. Wang Zhong looked at the quarter-master, I have fought and defeated the Prussians before! No one understands them better than I do! My intuition tells me that Loktov will soon be under attack! You think so too, dont you? Otherwise, you wouldnt have ordered the garrison to dig anti-tank ditches! The quarter-master pursed his lips, offering no rebuttal. Wang Zhong said, Simrly, you know that the supplies for Bogdanovka can no longer be delivered! They might never be able to use these supplies! The quarter-master replied, Even so, I cant give you anything without orders! Wang Zhong felt like punching the bureaucratic idiot but then had an idea. I can give you an IOU, Wang Zhong paused, saw that the quarter-master remained unmoved, and added, In the name of the Crown Prince! The quarter-master blinked, then nodded, Alright, you write an IOU, and then take whatever you want. I see that you have brought the trucks, I dont feel right about stopping you.
Chapter 80: 9 Encounter Battle Chapter 80: Chapter 9 Encounter Battle
Wang Zhong: Good! Bring me your inventory list! A momentter, an inventory as thick as an encyclopedia was delivered to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong frowned at the sight of the list, wondering when hed get through it all! So, he asked directly, Do you have any mines? In the uing defensive battle, he definitely couldnt rely on having a superior force or equipment; hoping to annihte the enemy was unrealistic, his only choice was to cause dy. And when it came to dying the enemys advance, there was nothing better than mines. Wang Zhong still appreciated mines; before he crossed over, he yed a WWII RTSpetitive game Company of Heroes 2, and during 1V1 ranking matches, hed habituallyy mines, letting the engineers bury them where the enemys light armor mighte without even caring if he hadnt scouted them.
His impression of mines was: cheap to bury anywhere, and one would profit from the enemies misfortune. So now, the first thing he asked was whether there were any mines or not. As far as I remember, no, the logisticsmander shook his head, these things are taken away as soon as they are delivered. You can ask the defense battalion, they received a batch of mines before setting up the defenses and arranged minefields in the southwest of the city, there might be some left over. For fucks sake, Wang Zhong thought, why is it that whatever I want is missing! Yet theres no shortage of pickled cucumber cans! At that moment, he caught a glimpse of Vasily sneaking into the room, standing behind Staff Sergeant Grigori. Wang Zhong: Vasily Aleksandrovich! Vasily snapped to attention: Present! Wang Zhong: Do you know why Im calling you? To continue picking manure tonight! the young man replied with clear enunciation. Wang Zhong: Well, very clever. Youre knowinglymitting a mistake! Just as he was about to scold him further, Popov interjected between him and Vasily, seriously saying, Did you falsely order the troops to assemble? I thought we might need more manpower to transport equipment, Your Holiness!
Popov: Go write a self-criticism report, no less than five hundred words, and while youre at it, carry out todays manure too. Yes! Wang Zhong: But now, I have another honorable task for you! Do you speak Prosen? Vasily: Yes. You can? Popov was greatly surprised, What does your family do? My father is a university music professor, Your Holiness! He speaks both Prosen and Carolingian, so I do too. Wang Zhong nodded: Very well, I want you to find two familiar ssmates, go to the logistics motor pool to get a jeep, and then fetch some wooden signs. Vasily looked puzzled: What is this for, General? You three will drive the jeep, make a round in the southwest part of the city, and whenever you see a suitable ce forying mines, ce a sign that reads in Prosen, Caution: Minefield. Vasily brightened up at this: Alright, I like this kind of job! The guy really did like this sort of task! Vasily added: I would also like to request some explosives and detonators to set up pull-activated explosives under the signs, to give the Prussians a little surprise!
Wang Zhong, liking the proposal, also became interested and said: Then I suggest you get some firecrackers and white phosphorus. If the enemy knocks over the sign, the phosphorus will naturally ignite the firecrackers, to liven up the Prussians spirits! Vasilyughed even harder: Perfect, perfect! Youre full of ideas, General! Wang Zhong kept a straight face: Go on, then. Vasily turned and ran off. Popov called out to his retreating figure: Remember to write the self-criticism and pick manure when youe back! Wang Zhong looked at the bishop, ready to speak but hesitated. Popov: What is it? This is my job. I dont interfere with militarymand, and you shouldnt interfere with me either. Just then, the logisticsmander spoke up: Will this be effective? Wang Zhong: I dont know. But its certainly better than doing nothing. The logisticsmander asked further: Then why write in Prosen? Wang Zhong: Because the Ante People cant understand it, so they wont pay attention to the sign. Makes sense.
Wang Zhong: Enough about this, no mines then, what about cannons? I guess there arent any, right? Right, the logisticsmander spread his hands, now with the Prosen tanks being hyped up to the skies, everyone is crazily demanding anti-tank guns. Of course, if transportation were smooth, the 45mm guns would suffice, but transportation is problematic right now. As for the ZIS-3, those are already rare as it is. The 76mm anti-tank gun ZIS-3 was indeed a scarce item at that point in time. Just then, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered something and said: I remember now; you sent me 76mm shells that were pickled cucumber cans! Get me the real 76mm shells! The logisticsmander remained calm: That was an issue with the rear packing. Before, there were cases where 82mm mortar shell boxes contained 60mm mortar shells, nobody knows how they managed to fit them in despite the incorrect caliber. Where are the real 76mm shells then? They are plenty of them with the supplies for Bogdanovka. Next, Wang Zhong began to enumerate: I also want submachine guns, methrowers, anti-tank grenades, empty bottles, and alcohol The logisticsmander: How about this, Ill open the warehouse, youll issue an IOU for each warehouse, and you guys can go in and take what you need. Your men are already in ce anyway. Thatll do.
As Wang Zhong was having the trucks loaded up, Yegorov drove into the logisticsmands courtyard in a jeep, and before the vehicle had even stopped, he called out loudly, Whats going on? Wang Zhong: Bogdanovka He suddenly realized it wasnt appropriate to discuss such news loudly and cut himself short, waiting for Yegorov to approach before whispering, The enemy ising soon. Yegorov: I guessed as much. I saw lots of countrymen with their families on the run at the southwest junction. Wang Zhong: Were going to move into positions today and start building fortifications, selecting the fertilizer factory we saw before as the defense point. Chapter 81: 9 Encounter Battle_2 Chapter 81: Chapter 9 Encounter Battle_2
Okay, Ill arrange it, Wang Zhong then asked, In your experience, after the enemys attack on Loktov is thwarted, where would the headquarters of the front-line troops be located, like the divisionmand post? Yegorov: Thats really hard to say. In theory, the headquarters could be anywhere. Once themunicationspany sets up the telephone lines, that ce bes themand post. But its easy to guess where the soldiers might assemble because if theres a house, it would make no sense not to use it, right? Wang Zhong: So, where could it be? Karlinovka, Novorossk, either is possible. Wang Zhong turned to Grigori and said, Drive over here. I want to personally inspect these viges.
Grigori: Just the two of us? If the Prussians have already surrounded Bogdanovka, their reconnaissance units may have infiltrated our southwest, which could lead to an encounter at any moment. Wang Zhong: Then lets take a squad with us, add a machine gun, and have a truck follow us. Yegorov: Ille too Wang Zhong stopped him, Youre the one tomand the defenses, and youre good at this. After all, Wang Zhong had only yed video games, and although he had also looked at some military manuals avable online, such as the German Infantry Tactics Handbook tranted and published by Zhidu Books, he only skimmed through them. When it came to arranging defenses, Yegorov was the professional, much more so. But when it came to reconnaissance, that was definitely Wang Zhongs strong suit, especially because he had the Heavenly Eye. Moreover, the cheatpelled Wang Zhong to do the reconnaissance himself. His troops field of vision couldnt even highlight enemies and their overall visible range was shorter; he needed to be on the front line himself to maximize the effect of this cheat. Incidentally, all the memoirs Wang Zhong had read emphasized the importance of personally inspecting the front line, especially if they were written by junior or middle-ranking officers. Wang Zhong was ready to put it into practice. Yegorov saluted Wang Zhong with an expression that said, Youre indeed thepetent leader I thought you were, assuring him, Leave it to me. And you, be careful. Wang Zhong: Ive got Sergeant Grigori with me.
Having a vic superman who could toss back seven or eight grenades with a shovel was quite reliable indeed. Sergeant Grigori looked into the distance, seemingly a little embarrassed. Wang Zhong thus set off in a jeep to survey the terrain. On the jeep, besides Wang Zhong in the back seat and Sergeant Grigori in the passenger seat, there was also Dimitri, temporarily drivingthe very Dimitri who was excellent with artillery. Following behind the jeep was a Gaz truck with a DP28 light machine gun, colloquially known as the big te chicken, mounted on top of its cabin. A squad of Imperial Guard soldiers, armed with brand-new Tokarev semi-automatic rifles, sat in the bed of the truck. The vehicles had just left the city when Wang Zhong shouted, Dmitri, stop the car! The jeep immediately braked to a halt on the dirt road. Wang Zhong got out, stepped down the road shoulder, and pressed his foot into the fertile ck earth. He turned and asked Grigori who had followed him, Are you a farmer, Sergeant? Yes, Your Excellency.
Wang Zhong continued, Then at this time of year, how fast would mules and horses travel on this kind of ck earth? Grigori shook his head, Not fast, and it would also ruin their hooves. The vige cksmith would curse a lot. Only in winter, when the ground ispletely frozen solid, do mules and horses move more efficiently on this type ofnd. But then, the snow is usually very thick. Wang Zhong nodded. If trucks lose speed off the main road and might even get stuck, and if mules and horses cannot leave the road either, then the enemys offensive would have to unfold along the road. nking movements would only work for light infantry with rtively low supply demands. In the case of Peniye vige, where the enemy troops bypassed them, the number was small and the detour brief, ensuring that their half-tracked vehicles wouldnt stall out due to ack of fuel. But encircling a city like Loktov, with quite a few factories, escted the difficulty substantially. Besides, Loktov wasnt an isted ind on an ocean; around the city were plenty of units like the Rocossovbat group, reorganizing themselves. These units upied the viges surrounding the city and would likely initiate defenses on the spot. From this perspective, theres no need to worry about being encircled for now. Wang Zhong climbed into the vehicle, and after Grigori got in as well, he waved his hand grandly, Keep moving! Karlinovka was a vige that reminded Wang Zhong of Upper Peniye.
Standing on the hill north of the vige, Wang Zhong had an even clearer impression. Of course, this vige should be much smaller than Upper Peniye, at least through his binocrs Wang Zhong hadnt seen a distillery or Boye Manorsrge estate. However, the church looked exactly the same as the one in Upper Peniye. That bell tower looked like it could easily be toppled by one shot from a Prosen Tank. From his vantage point, Wang Zhong discovered that there were troops from the Ante Army in the vige. So he decided to go in and take a look. After entering the vige, Wang Zhong quickly found a lieutenantmanding a small unit at the vige post office. General sir! The lieutenant saluted, looking tense. After all, the men Wang Zhong brought with him were all cloaked in Imperial Guard capes. Wang Zhong gave a casual hand lift in return as a salute, then got straight to the point, What unit are you from? Reporting to the general, were the 133rd Air Defense Observation Post, our mission here is to report to Loktov by phone as soon as we hear enemy aircraft engines, the lieutenant reported. Wang Zhong gave an Oh and asked again, Judging by the uniform, are you Priests?
The lieutenant replied, No, we are not; we are from the Guardian Army. Guardian Army? Does your organization also include ve workers and mechanical servants,manded by a mechanical Priest with eight octopus-like limbs attached to his body? No, that cant be right, it must just be a coincidence in names. After all, the Warhammer 40K setting was also cobbled together by Brits using various historical prototypes. Wang Zhong asked, Where are your Priests then? Theyre upstairs listening out for the enemy nes, the lieutenant responded. Listening? Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows. Yes. Take me to see, Wang Zhong said, then realizing his tone was a bit too forceful C after all, they were not from the same unit C he hastily added, May I go up to take a look? Please follow me. Wang Zhong followed the lieutenant, climbing up to the third-floor tform of the post office. There were manyrge loudspeakers installed on the tform. Wang Zhong had seen such devices in picture collections rting to World War I; the British used simr equipment to listen for the sound of Zeppelin airships attacking their homnd.
Afterward, with the invention of radar, this kind of steampunk-esque device was abandoned. A male Priest was sitting under the massive array of loudspeakers, wearing headphones. Wang Zhong softly asked the lieutenant, Does this Priest also have the power to guide the Divine Arrow? Probably not, the lieutenant replied, Those able to guide the Divine Arrow would have angel wings on their Monk insignia. Brother Peter can only operate this sonic array. It seemed that this devices formal name was a sonic array. Just as Wang Zhong wanted to ask more, Brother Peter suddenly frowned, began to manipte the panel in front of him, and the mechanical device turned the loudspeakers that were aimed at the sky towards the ground. Wang Zhong realized something and asked, Brother, did you hear something unusual on the ground? Although Brother Peter did not remove his headphones, he still responded, Yes, and its very close, keep quiet! Im identifying the sound pattern! He picked up a book with a leather cover and flipped through it quickly, finally stopping on one of the pages. Its Prussian motorcycles! There are at least three motorcycles approaching the vige! Chapter 82: 10: Outsmart the Vanguard Chapter 82: Chapter 10: Outsmart the Vanguard
Wang Zhong immediately rushed to the railing on the rooftop and lifted his binocrs. I cant see anything! Brother Peter: Of course, this device can hear much further than it can see! The problem is that sound takes time to travel, and the terrain might distort it. Its possible there are more than three motorcycles. He widened his eyes and took another look at the sound array setup. A millimeter-wave radar that can detect ground units?
Or is it not emitting electromaic waves and purely passive? He walked around the sound array, pointing at the wire and asking, Whats this wire for, a sound amplifier? No, its for the base motor. Peter pointed to his own ears, The recognition of sound relies on my blessed ears. Wang Zhong: Oh. I thought Prayer Hands, Hymn Monks, and the like were all sistersI mean, girls,dies. He changed his terms three times beforending on a more formal address. Peter frowned: How could you be socking inmon sense, General? The gifted Monks are about half men, half women. Wang Zhong: I just happened to meetdies, sorry. When will the enemy arrive? Brother Peter took out a watch, noted the time on a clipboard, then took out a slide rule, checked the numbers on the ruler, and copied them onto the clipboard. Wang Zhong leaned in to look at the pair of rulers and realized they were specially designed for Doppler calctions, a kind of mechanicalputer. At that moment, the Monk finished his calctions: ording to my calctions, we should still have ten minutes. Wang Zhong snapped his fingers and said to Grigori, Prepare to ambush them. The enemy is on three motorcycles, with an estimated six to nine enemies arriving within ten minutes! Grigori turned and left, and soon Wang Zhong saw him appear downstairs, starting to assign tasks.
The terrain of Karlinovka was much simpler than in Peniye, with just one central vige road, no side alleys, and the whole vige was like a straight intestine. Grigori instructed the guards to hide the cars in the courtyard by the roadside, covered them with hay used for feeding horses, and arranged the machine guns in the church bell tower, covering the entire road. Wang Zhong also went downstairs to personally check the condition of the new soldiers he had brought. The new soldiers were very excited and eager to try. Dmitri, who excelled at gunnery, had a worried expression andined to Wang Zhong, General, why am I stuck guarding the cars? I want to fight too. Can the car drive away on its own here? Wang Zhong: Idiot, Im having you guard the car with the engine running in case we need to make a quick getaway in an emergency. Dmitri: Run? Its just three motorcycles, at most nine enemies, we outnumber them, and we have the element of surprise! Wang Zhong: On the battlefield, you always have to be prepared for the unexpected, always have an escape route. After speaking, Wang Zhong thought to himself, geez, I sound like Im an experienced veteran whos been in the army for fifty years! However, whether it was Wang Zhong from Earth or the original owner of this body, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov, neither was much older than Dmitri. But Dmitri didnt think about any of this and instead nodded earnestly, Ill remember that, General. With such a serious response, Wang Zhong himself felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly turned around and shouted to Grigori, Defeating the enemy isnt enough! I want prisoners, Sergeant Major Grigori!
The Sergeant Major nodded: Understood. Then he turned to the young men and said, Youll shoot the first and third motorcycles; leave the second one to me. Ill capture one alive. Can you do it alone? a young man asked. Grigori smiled slightly, giving no answer. At that moment, a Lieutenant from the Guardian Army rushed out of the post offices entrance and saluted Wang Zhong, Report, General, Brother Peter says the enemy is within visual range! Got it. Wang Zhong immediately switched to birds-eye view. At this time, his own vision was limited to the vige road because he was on the ground, but since there were machine gunners in the bell tower, he could directlymand them, and their field of vision was shared with him. The two machine gunners concealed themselves, lying at the edge of the bell tower windows observing outward, just in time to see the three motorcycles in the field. The motorcycle riders were all in ck leather jackets; on Earth, this type of jacket was exclusive to the Sturmtiger motorcycle troops. Other motorcycle units had to custom order these jackets. An officer whose rank couldnt be discerned dismounted, stood at the front of the lineup, and observed Karlinovka through binocrs. Wang Zhong shifted his view as well, confirming that his people were well hidden. Then he saw the huge sound array on top of the post office. Well alright, it seems they cant be hidden anymore.
Shit, just now both Wang Zhong and Sergeant Major Grigori naively assumed the enemy woulde straight into the vige. On second thought, they were a reconnaissance force; upon arriving at unfamiliar vige, they would certainly observe from a distance first. The observing officer put down his binocrs, turned back, and said a few words; those who had remained on their motorcycles now dismounted, pushed their bikes off the road, and concealed them with wheat from the field. The nine-man reconnaissance team formed a small formation, and one who carried a backpack with an antenna moved next to the officer, handing him an earpiece. A field telephone! Wang Zhong couldnt help but smack his lips upon seeing the field telephone. Want! Im desperately in need of radio equipment! Even if I could just capture one field telephone without the corresponding pair to use it, thats a start; I could use it to listen in on enemy conversations, right? But if the enemy wont enter the vige What can be done to lure the enemy into the vige? Suddenly, Wang Zhong had an idea.
He switched back to his natural field of vision and said to the Guardian Army in the post office, Quick, start a fire, burn something inconsequential. Just make sure you dont burn any important documents. We need thick smoke! Guardian Army Lieutenant: This Just now, Grigori crept over to report, the machine gunner said the enemy isnt entering the vige. It seems like they saw the sound array on the rooftops. Wang Zhong was puzzled, How did you guysmunicate the information? The machine gunner ran down from the bell tower to tell us. Wang Zhong looked toward the small door beneath the bell tower, where a soldier was leaning against the wall, gasping for airhe seemed to have run a bit too fast. Guardian Army Lieutenant: What does this have to do with lighting a fire? Pretend like were burning documents and running away, Wang Zhong turned to Dmitri, When the smoke goes up, you drive the jeep, dragging a broom and racing along the road, kicking up as much dust as possible. Come back when you hear machine gun fire! Dmitri: Okay, Ill tie up the broom first! Move quickly! Dont let the enemy call in more troops; it will be difficult to handle then! Who knows what kinds of demons and monsters are lurking behind this group of recon scouts. Ten minutester, thick smoke rose from the postal offices courtyard.
Wang Zhong, through an overhead view, made sure the enemy noticed the smoke and then mmed the door of the jeep hard: Quick! Go! Dmitri floored the elerator and the jeep, dragging the broom, burst through the gate, raising a cloud of dust as it sped northeast along the road. It was fortunate that most of the roads in Kazarlia were these smooth dirt tracks; if it had been asphalt, there wouldnt have been as much dust! Wang Zhong switched his view, watching the enemy tensely. He didnt have much confidence, after all; the strategy was too rudimentary. He could only hope that the enemy was blinded by their desire for victory, betting on the adage that pridees before a fall. But at least they had tried. Just as Wang Zhongforted himself, the enemymander started shouting, and the scattered troops regrouped and pushed their motorcycles back onto the road. An officer climbed onto the first motorcycle and sat in the sidecar. The radio operator with the backpack set straddled the back seat. Wang Zhong immediately shouted, Grigori, the officer is in the sidecar of the first car! Dont hit the wrong one! Grigori: Did you hear that? Hit the second and third ones, leave the first one to me! The enemys three vehicles charged toward the vige, unsure whether they were in a hurry to chase the escaping jeep or to rescue the burning documents. Maybe they wanted both? Anyway, they would know once they captured prisoners and interrogated them. As Wang Zhong watched the enemy, Grigori was signaling to the people in the bell tower, probably also telling them to target the second and third vehicles. The first motorcycle charged ahead into the vige. Grigori, hidden at the roadside, raised a hand. All three motorcycles entered the vige, but Grigoris hand still didnt drop. The first vehicle was fast approaching the courtyard where Grigori was hidden! The sergeant major swung his hand forward. The machine gun on the bell tower immediately opened fire, and the driver of the second car was hit right away, tilting to the left and skewing the handlebars, causing the motorcycle to veer off course and crash into a low wall, its rear wheel lifted high into the air. The Prosen soldier on the rear seat flew up, flew over the wall, and smashed through the roof of the woodshed,nding in the neatly stacked pile of wood. The machine gunner in the sidecar was unharmed, picked up the machine gun to resist, but a grenade was thrown into the sidecar. The next moment, the machine gun flew sky-high. The third vehicle was fired upon by Tokarev, with all three leather-d Prussians being hit by several shots immediately, the car itself crashing into a roadsidepost heap. In an instant, only the first vehicle, carrying the officer and the backpack set, remained. Grigori leapt over the low wall by stepping on the pile of firewood against the wall,nded directly onto the sidecar, knocked the officer unconscious with a knee strike, punched the driver off the motorbike, then, dragging the officer, jumped into the roadside pile of horse feed. The radio operator left behind tried to raise his submachine gun, but the uncontroble motorcycle collided with a parked cart, and the operator flew onto the cart under the force of the collision, dazed. Suddenly, several Imperial Guard soldiers rushed out, Tokarevs gun pointing at the radio operator. Wang Zhong became anxious: Dont shoot! Dont ruin my backpack set! My backpack set! A minuteter, Wang Zhong looked at the prisoners in front of him, satisfied. A total of four alive, exceeding the mission quota. The backpack set was sessfully captured, and they even found maps and manymand documents in the officers personal file bag. The young Imperial Guard soldiers, thrilled with the captured universal machine gun, even vainly draped the ammunition belt over themselves, cosying another dimensions Rambo. Wang Zhong was also very satisfied, hands behind his back, strutting back and forth in front of the prisoners, showing off. The enemy officers face was half-swollen, several teeth gone; he couldnt be more miserable. Wang Zhong: Does anyone speak Prosen? Dmitri, who had just returned from driving, raised his hand: I do! I have participated in military technology exchanges with Prosen and specifically learned it. It seems there are quite a few military academy students who speak Prosen; after all, the two countries were friendly nations before the war broke out. Wang Zhong: Good, Dmitri, youe and lets properly interrogate this officer Just then, from the top of the post office, Brother Peter called out: Enemy nes iing! The enemy officerughed loudly, saying in Ante, Before we started chasing you, we called in air support. Theyre here! Youre going to die! Chapter 83: 11 “Blow the Enemy to the Moon Chapter 83: Chapter 11 Blow the Enemy to the Moon
All the new recruits, including Dmitry, went pale. Even Grigori looked ready to pounce on Wang Zhong at any moment. But Wang Zhong wouldnt be fooled by such talk. Damn it, where in World War II could you get such fast air support? Do you think this is the U.S. Army in the Gulf War? This isnt the game Steel Division 2, where you call for the Air Force to read a bar, and they just fly in from the edge of the map! Wang Zhong stepped forward and pped the officer, Nonsense! You cant provide air support that fast! That ne is bombing somewhere else, just passing by nearby! Youre trying to fool us, to cause trouble while were hiding!
The officer stood tall, It seems you arepletely ignorant of the advancements in our countrys military technology, foolish inferior! Wang Zhong burst outughing, Still talking about military advancements, look at your so-called proud tank forces, arent they being pounded by our KVs? The officers expression immediately turned sour. At that moment, the sound of engines came from the southwest; there was no need for a sound array to hear it directly. The officer wore a smug look, while Wang Zhong pursed his lips, smiling as he watched him. Dmitry said, Maybe we should still hide! Wang Zhong said, Look at this vige. Do you see any signs of enemy bombs having fallen here? This isnt the enemys target, and its not possible for enemy calls for support to be responded to so quickly, so isnt the answer obvious? The real reason Wang Zhong was so calm was that he had already seen the enemy ne from a birds-eye view, and its path indeed did not pass over Karlinovka vige. If it wasnt for that, he would never have risked everyones lives to verify whether his spection was correct or not. The roar of the engines continued to approach, and Wang Zhong walked straight out of the courtyard, standing in the middle of the vige road, gazing into the sky with a fearless air. The Prosen officer shouted, Youll be riddled by the nes machine guns! Youll all die! Wang Zhong replied, So will you, probably a bit earlier than us.
By now, the engine noise was so intense that the windows of the surrounding houses began to shake. The Imperial Guard soldiers all clung to the walls and crouched down in their positions. Among the captives, some simplyy t on the ground, but that officer was still staring at Wang Zhong in the middle of the road. Then, the sound of the engines faded away. Wang Zhong turned and looked at the enemy lieutenant, Where is your air support? The lieutenants face turned ashen. Brother Peter peeked out from the rooftop, The enemy ne is gone! It flew towards Loktov! Wang Zhong spread his arms, weing the admiring looks of his subordinates, Dont be so surprised, I told you, the Prosens integration of air and ground forces isnt that good, they couldnt have brought in nes that fast. Even if he really did call for nes, it would take those guys at least an hour to fly here from the airport! And this vige has not been bombed at all, its not a target for the Prosen Air Force! Wang Zhong pointed to his temple, Use your brains, ssmates. As long as you are smarter than the enemy, you can beat them! The officer red at Wang Zhong, looked him up and down several times, the scornful expression he had earlierpletely gone.
In Antenguage, he asked, May I know who you are, or rather who are you exactly? Wang Zhong said, It seems that Prosen people dont understand etiquette very well, shouldnt you introduce yourself before asking about someone elses identity? Youre right, I am Second Lieutenant Joseph von Hoffman of the 220th Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion. May I ask who you are? Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, Major General. Second Lieutenant Hoffman was startled, instinctively took a step back, but the surrounding Imperial Guard stepped forward, several gun barrels pressing against his back. The lieutenant nced at Wang Zhong again and shouted something in Prosen. Wang Zhong turned and asked Dmitry, What did he say? The White Horse General. The newspapers say its a nickname the enemy gave you. Wang Zhong stepped closer to the enemy, smiled slightly, Thats right, I am the White Horse General, the enemy you cant kill. I will fight until your empire is destroyed. The lieutenant said, Impossible! Since its establishment, the empire has won every war! Then, this! Wang Zhong pointed to the ground beneath his feet, This will be its final war! In at most five years, we willpletely destroy it! The enemy officers lips quivered, but Wang Zhongs confidence suppressed any rebuttal he might have had, until atst, he finally lowered his proud head.
Wang Zhong gave a grand wave of his hand, Load them onto the truck, prepare to retreat! Just then, the door of the courtyard next to the post office opened, and an old man with a walking stick came out, looking at Wang Zhong, Your Excellency, are you leaving? Wang Zhong, We will return. The elder, When? In five years? It turned out the old man had overheard the conversation. Wang Zhong, Maybe not even five years, old sir. The elder hesitated to speak, then finally fished a few potatoes out of his pocket and put them into Wang Zhongs hands, I told my daughter-inw to take the kids and our belongings and run away, this is all thats left in the house. Wang Zhong keenly caught the key term: daughter-inw. He had a feeling he already knew where the son had gone, no need to ask. He looked at the potato and realized that the old man must have been carrying it for a long time, possibly as emergency rations for himself. Old man, weve had our fill. You should keep the potato for yourself. The elder said, I am already old. During the civil war, I tried to join the army to fight for the Secr faction, but they wouldnt have me. The civil war in the Ante Empire was a conflict between the Eastern Holy Churchs Secr faction and the Sanctified faction. In the end, the Secr faction won and elevated the current Tsar to divine status.
The elder said, Consider this potato as myst contribution to fight for The Saint Andrew! The Saint Andrew, the founder of the Secr faction, is the origin of the Andrews Cross on the imperial g. Wang Zhong stared at the old man for a few seconds and took back the potato: I will make good use of them. The elder said, If need be, throwing them at the enemy works too! Wang Zhong nodded, and at that moment, he thought to ask the old man about the local wind direction and such. So he asked, Old man, have you lived here for a long time? All my life. Wang Zhong asked, What kind of wind predominates in this area during this season? The old man chuckled: Youre nning to fire the artillery around here, arent you? Ill tell you, at nine oclock in the evening during this season, its mostly windless. If you fire the artillery at that time, just aim using the map coordinates, and youll be set. Wang Zhong nodded. Just then, Grigori came over to salute Wang Zhong: Your Excellency the General, all the spoils have been ounted for. We have captured a total of five submachine guns, two machine guns, and various ammunition, plus one functional motorcycle! Wang Zhongmanded, Paint our military symbols on the motorcycle and requisition it.
He turned to look at the Prosen soldiers bodies scattered on the street and said, Bury grenades under these soldiers bodies, hang the pins on them, so when the enemy tries to move the bodies, the grenades will be triggered. Yes, Grigori turned and ordered, You all heard him, get to it! Then he said to Wang Zhong, The walkie-talkies have been checked; theres no damage. Dmitry is studying the instruction manual found on the enemys radioman. Wang Zhong nodded, prepared to check the walkie-talkies, but then remembered he hadnt said goodbye to the old man and looked his way again. You have matters to attend to, General! said the old man as he shakily saluted. Wang Zhong solemnly returned the salute before heading over to his subordinates who were fiddling with the walkie-talkies. Leaning against the gate of a small courtyard, the old man watched Wang Zhongs figure and whispered softly, What a brave and youthful general. May The Saint Andrew protect you. At the same time, to the southwest of Loktov, Vasily showed the newly made sign to his temporary subordinate Filippov: Take a look at this! Filippov stopped hammering, resting against the sign he just drove into the ground, Dont show me, I dont understand Prussian script. It says: There are nondmines here! Filippov furrowed his brow: Using such phrases to bluff, will it really work? Feels like a childs prank to me! Vasily retorted, Well ce arge mine underneath this sign so the enemy will have to believe it. Come on, lets go nt it over there, just opposite the one you just hammered in stating theres a minefield. Filippov shook his head: If the academy instructors knew, theyd scold you for only having petty cleverness! They would also tell me, In real war, these petty clevernesses are useless! Vasily mockingly impersonated the instructors. Filippov said, As long as youre aware. But look, the brigadier assigned me to this, doesnt he know I only have petty cleverness? He must do, its to give the enemy a little surprise using these exact tricks! While talking, the two arrived at the spot. Vasily tossed the sign onto the ground and started digging a hole. Filippov took detonators and explosives out of his backpack: How much should we use? Give it a block! That much? That could st a man to the moon! Hey, with tricks like this, better to st with force than bury a lot. Ideally, all the Prosen Army will see one explosion and then they wont dare to push over these signs anymore! Just put one block in there! Filippov ced a whole block of explosives in the hole, then started installing the detonation device. Since both might be assigned to lead sapper squads, they had studied demolition and were adept at handling explosives. Finally, Filippov tied the detonation pull ring to the base of the sign with a wire: Done! Vasily nted the sign into the hole and began refilling it with soil. Filippov yelled, Be careful! That thing couldunch us to the moon too! Vasily, unconcerned, said after finishing, Lets go find some tin cans to throw in the fields behind, to make the enemys mine detectors screech. I support this idea, Filippov agreed, But where are we going to find tin cans? Lets buy some from the locals; Ive got rubles, said Vasily, suddenly sighing, Better use it now, or we might not get a chanceter. Filippov asked, Would the locals who stayed behind take rubles? If not, well just say were from the Tribunal and theyll take it, Vasily replied. But were not wearing blue caps. Thats easy, well hide our caps and tell them the enemys bullets blew them away! Come on, Filippov, lets give the Prussians a little surprise! Chapter 84: 12 Where’s My Carolingian Cook? Chapter 84: Chapter 12 Wheres My Carolingian Cook?
Twenty minutester. Vasily looked at the scant pile of metal on the jeep and couldnt help but hold his forehead, This little stuff is hardly enough to cause the enemy any real trouble. Filippov said, After all, the fake minefield we created is quiterge. If the enemys pathway isnt where we ced these things, then it would have been for nothing. Vasily looked around. The open fields near Loktov were scattered with numerous civilian houses, mostly barns and cattle sheds, with few actual homes. Even if there were homes, the locals had long since fled to the city, leaving behind very little metal.
Touching his neck, Vasily muttered, Now what do we do Filippov pped his thigh, Ive got it! The supply depot sent us pickled cucumber cans thinking they were shells. The jars are made of ss, sure, but the lids are metal! Vasily looked surprised, Eh? Thats something I should have thought of, howe you came up with it this time? Ah, I get it! He gave Filippov a half-smiling, half-mocking look, Youve been picking up bad habits from me! Filippov replied, Do you think you, being that bad influence, should be saying that? Vasilyughed, Lets not worry about that, your idea is great, lets go! A jeep probably wont fit all that, well need a truck to transport the can lids! Then the two of them, along with the rather taciturn Mikhail, jumped into a vehicle and sped away. The scrap metal in the truck bed ttered on without cessation. When they took to the main road heading toward Loktov, they suddenly saw people dressed in Civil Defense uniformsying mines. Vasily hit the brakes, stopping before the mines, and shouted, Who authorized you toy mines? The weary sapper from the Civil Defense replied, Commander Alexander Alexandrovich. Hurry up and pass by, the mines are not armed yet. Damn it! Vasily stormed out of the vehicle, fuming with rage as he approached, grabbed the sapper by the cor, and hoisted him up, Dont you know that General Rocossov is out there reconnoitering the terrain? Are you trying to assassinate the General?
Only then did the sapper notice the Imperial Guards cloak and hear the Generals name; the anger on his face evaporated instantly, This It was the Commanders order toy the mines! We had no idea the General had gone out to reconnoiter! After saying this, he turned to his subordinates and shouted, Quick, call the Commander over! Alright, stop digging, cease work! A momentter, Commander Alexander Alexandrovich came running up, Whats happening? Why the stoppage? Before the sapper could reply, Vasily interjected sharply, General Rocossov took a squad for reconnaissance up front, hes at Karlinovka! Are you trying to blow up the General byying mines here? The Commander was shocked, I had no idea! The Generals out reconnoitering? Nobody notified me! There was also no report from the bunkers on either side of the road about seeing the General! Vasily stated, In any case, the General is out doing reconnaissance, and youre not toy any mines on the road until he returns! The Commander nced at the opened crates ofndminesid out on the road, Its not great to just leave the mines here. They could get strafed by enemy aircraft. Well have to remove them back to the bunkers Vasily proposed, Heres what well do: give the mines to us. Were setting up a fake minefield on the Generals orders. To make this fake minefield convincing, well need to bury some real mines. These few crates of yours are just the ticket! If you nt them on the main road, an enemy tank rolling over one would quickly reveal the whole road is mined, and theyd simply use explosive devices to clear it. Give them to us, and we can mix the real with the fake, dying the enemy even longer! At this point Filippov interjected, Hold on, our minefield signs are written in Prosenian. What if the locals cant understand them and walk into the minefield? Vasily replied, Thats easy enough to fix, just add a line in Antenguage!
He continued, looking at the Civil Defense Commander, What do you say? The Commander stroked his chin, The crate near the bunkers, we cant give that to you. We still need to block off the roads near the bunkers when the General returns. But you can take the rest. Then, turning to the sappers, the Commander ordered, Start withying the mines in the fields. Post someone by the road to stop the Generals vehicle when it appears, and inform them that wereying mines on both sides of the road, and to pass through with the convoy! Vasily nodded in approval, Thats more like it. Filippov, grab the mines and lets go! And pick up the can lids. The Commander looked puzzled, Can lids? But the Imperial Guards jeep was already driving away. C In Karlinovka vige. At the post office counter on the first floor, Dmitry adjusted the frequency knob to the frequency written in pencil on the manuals title page, and indeed, he heard the call sign. Standing by his side, Wang Zhong couldnt help but ask, What are they saying? Shh! Dmitry raised his index finger to his lips, signaling silence, then cleared his throat and spoke a few rapid sentences into the receiver.
The other side instantly responded with simr rapid utterances. Prosenian gave the impression of arguing, simr to the so-called efficient German Dmitry had seen in some short videos before the crossing. After the other side finished talking, Dmitry replied with a few sentences, then put down the receiver and said to Wang Zhong, The enemy says the nes are being loaded with bombs and refueling now. They can depart in an hour and will arrive in two hours. Immediately, young men started cursing, Damn it! Knew it was a fake! Lucky we have the General! Wang Zhong paid no attention to his subordinates ttery and confirmed, So an hour to load the bombs, and two hours to arrive, right? Right. Wang Zhong dered, Flight time, one hour! With that, he rushed over to the mapthis was the Guardian Armys listening post, naturally equipped with a map because they needed to record the enemy nes daily routes to provide intercept guidance for their forces. Chapter 85: 12 Where’s My Carolingian Cook?_2 Chapter 85: Chapter 12 Wheres My Carolingian Cook?_2
` Of course, the Ant Air Force didnt yet have the power to intercept. Wang Zhong found apass among the mapping tools next to him, spread the legs in proportion to the scale, then inserted the steel needle into Karlinovka and drew an arc westward with the ruling pen. He didnt know the specific performance of the enemys attack aircraft, but thanks to the game War Thunder, he had a rough understanding of the speeds of most World War II-era attack aircraft. The arc represented Wang Zhongs estimate of the enemys fastest possible speed, meaning the enemy airfields were definitely closer to Karlinovka than this curve. Damn it! he muttered, The enemys field airfields have advanced to this area. Bogdanovka will be a yground for enemy bombers. No, it probably already is.
At that moment, Brother Peter came down from the top floor and directly said to the Guardian Army lieutenant, We need to leave, check the vehicles. Wang Zhong: Are we leaving? Yes, I heard the messages you guys derived from the enemy upstairs, and I dont want to stay here and get bombed. Also, you eliminated the enemys reconnaissance team, and they hadmunicated with their rear, I dont want to wait here for the enemys vanguard. Before Wang Zhong could speak, the Guardian Army lieutenant interjected, We havent received any orders Shouldnt we ask for instructions first? By the time we finish asking for instructions, well already be captured by the enemy. Those heathens will execute every capable monk. I dont want to die! the Monk said decisively. During the days Wang Zhong was resting in Loktov, he had crammed a lot of knowledge. The Prussians didnt believe in the Eastern Holy Church, so for them, this invasion also had overtones of holy war. Of course, the clergy on the Prussian side had secrized, so they didnt use the term holy war. Wang Zhong: I support Brother Peter. If the lieutenant doesnt want to go, then Monk, youe with us. Brother Peter,pletely misreading Wang Zhongs plot, nodded: That could work. But I think the lieutenant wille. After all, he doesnt want to face the Prussian Armored Division with such meager forces. Lieutenant: Youre right. Ill go check the vehicles and fill them up with fuel now. At that moment, Dmitry suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to be silent, and turned up the volume on the walkie-talkie with a serious expression. Prussian wasing through the speaker. Dmitry listened while consulting themunication soldiers manual, picking out the code words one by one.
The walkie-talkie conversationsted for about twenty seconds. Once the voice ceased, Dmitry reported, I am certain that was themand vehicle of the 15th Armored Division of the enemy calling their reconnaissance vanguardpany. They said the apple orchard is about to be bombed, and the reconnaissancepany should upy the apple orchard after the bombardment. Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows, reminded of the famous AF has no fresh water anecdote. If the apple orchard is to be bombed and then upied by the enemys reconnaissance vanguard, then its highly probable that it refers to Karlinovka. Brother Peter: Its this ce. Was the leather-d guy you captured from this reconnaissancepany? No, ording to his papers, hes from the 220th Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion, part of the Prussian Air Force. Dmitry showed everyone the first page of the seized documents. Wang Zhong thought, wow, even the Air Force has its own motorized infantry unit, how very German. Despite his quip, the task at hand remained unchanged: Lets go Wait a second, arent we going to dismantle the sound array on the roof? By now Wang Zhong hade to regard both the sound array and Brother Peter as his own; he certainly couldnt just leave it behind. Brother Peter shook his head: Theres no time, that thing is too finicky to dismantle. Wang Zhong looked disappointed, but he still turned around and took the lead out of the post office, only to find several Imperial Guard soldiers gathered around the woodshed, staring at two legs sticking out of a hole in the roof. Wang Zhong: Whats going on here?
Report, General! Were discussing whether to set an IED on this man as he is, or to drag him out of the hole first andy him on the ground. After all, this posture is just too The Imperial Guard soldier struggled for a while before squeezing out an adjective: humorous Well, isnt it humorous? Such arge man stuck in a woodshed in such aical posture, one would typically only expect to see this in aedy film. Wang Zhong: Theres no need to ce a booby trap on this soldier. Just slip a note in his pocket that reads: General Aleksei Konstantinovich wishes you a pleasant upation. I have left you twenty surprises, hope you like them. ` In fact, there were not that many cunningly ced mines, but iming there were more could make the Prussians even happier. Wang Zhongs orders were swiftly executed, and soon after, the convoy, now with an additional vehicle, left Karlinovka. Leaving the vige, Wang Zhong saw the old man who had given him potatoes, along with a group of elderly people too frail to walk, standing at the entrance of the vige. He called a halt to the jeep, got out, and said to the elderly people, We still have room in our vehicles, you shoulde with us. When the Prussians arrive, well bombard this ce with heavy artillery. The old man who had provided the potatoesughed, General, you still worry about these matters! If there are still people in the vige, will your heavy artillery not shell it? Is it worth it to save us old bones if the enemy doesnt lose anything and can attack at full strength, causing your young men to sacrifice themselves? Wang Zhong, This You must shell it! Isnt that what war is all about? If shelling us could let our sons and daughters live, then st away, weve lived long enough anyway.
I know youre kind-hearted, General, but if we go to the rear, well only consume supplies and really wont be able to do any work. I have experienced war, I know how scarce food will be; its better to leave it for the children, they need to be well-fed to kill the enemy. The other elders nodded in agreement. Unable toe up with a response, Wang Zhong could only climb back into the vehicle and order it to start. Looking back, he saw the elderly standing at the vige entrance as if they had been abandoned in the times gone by. By evening, Wang Zhong had finallypleted the reconnaissance of all the viges that could potentially serve as enemy encampments. On his way back to the city, he unexpectedly found that the garrison troop had arranged for someone to lead the way at the entrance to the minefield. Arriving at the headquarters, Wang Zhong decided to start interrogating the prisoners right away, but was stopped by Popov. They are Prussian soldiers, they just keep reporting their units and ranks, soldier numbers, said Popov, unless you use some unconventional means. Wang Zhong asked in confusion, Cant we use them? Popov, After all, we are a regr army, and so are they; it wouldnt be appropriate.
Just as Wang Zhong was about to object, he saw people from the Tribunal arrive. Popov, You see, its better to leave this kind of thing to the professionals. Handing it over to the Tribunal is also more proper procedurally. Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, realizing that it indeed seemed to be the case. So he said, Of course, we should do things by the book. Dear Judges, thank you for your hard work. The Judge nodded and moved forward to take away a prisoner with a my fate is sealed expression. Popov said, Alright, you must be hungry too. Lets go, have some food at the mess. Wang Zhong was indeed hungry. He turned to everyone who had been with him on reconnaissance that day, as well as the members of the Guardian Army who had been brought back, and said, Lets go, time to eat. Follow me! Then he led a group of people to the mess. After that, he frowned at the messs serving area where big pots were lined up. They were all full of pickles. Every pot was filled with pickles! Wang Zhong admitted that the pickles were quite refreshing and not bad to eat, but this was too much!
At that moment, the cookdy came out and said, That restless kid, whats-his-name Vasily, said it was your order to remove the lids from the pickle cans. I saw all these cans opened and figured they would go bad quickly if not eaten, so I decided to cook them all up, make do with what we have! Facing the vast expanse of pickles, Wang Zhong yelled, Where is my Frenchno, wrong, where is my Carolingian chef? Chapter 86: 13 Incompatible as Water and Fire Chapter 86: Chapter 13 Ipatible as Water and Fire
After dinner, the senior officers of the Rocossovbat group met again, with a defense map of Lokotov Cityid out on the table they gathered around. Yegorov was the first to speak, Ive ced both the first and thirdpanies in the chemical nt. To be honest, its fairly sturdy there. When ites to withstanding enemy heavy artillery fire, the casualties should be lower than in the garrison. Another location that is quite suitable for artillery defense is here. He pointed behind the fertilizer nt. The warehouse district, which is also made of very strong concrete buildings, where we can station the reserve troops, meaning the secondpany. Lokotov is half an industrial city, with many concrete structures, which is one of the few pieces of good news.
Yegorov paused, then added, By the way, the logisticsmand has allocated one of theirmunicationspanies to us, and they have been busy all afternoon getting the telephone lines up. As he spoke, Yegorov picked up the telephone on the table and continued, This is finally no longer just for show. We can now call the main position at the fertilizer nt, the hidden B4 howitzer battalion, the position of Gods Arrow Company, and the Lokotov Defense Brigade. After finishing, he put the handset back in ce. Wang Zhong: There seem to be too few ces that we can reach. After all, the lines were justid this afternoon. Pavlov frowned, Why is there a phone line to the defense brigade? It isnt under ourmand. Now it is, Popov answered, Weve established contact with Argesukovs Front Army headquarters. The Front Army has ordered us to unifymand of thebat troops in Lokotov, to hold off enemy raids by small units, and to support General Antons counter-attack. Wang Zhong sneered, Small units? Weve clearly heard that an Armored Division is advancing on us, with its vanguard reconnaissancepany already in Karlinovka. Popov, did you actually report the intelligence weve gathered to the intelligence department of the Front Army? I reported it, but they need time to analyze, Popov looked rather helpless, They might also simply not believe it, given that its just eavesdropped radiomunication. The higher-ups think truly important information would definitely be transmitted through a telegraph, while the enemys Enigma machine was prepared for this purpose. Hearing the familiar term Enigma machine, Wang Zhong immediately thought of the story of a bunch of mathematicians gathered at Bletchley Park in Ennd to decipher the Enigma code and asked, How advanced is our countrys mathematics? I remember that both the Russian Empire andter the Soviet Union had a very high level of mathematics, so if the British could handle it, the Russians should tooright? After all, this is an alternate world; maybe in this world the entire Ante Empire cant mentally calcte multiplication or division within 100?
In Wang Zhongs view, his question is closely rted to the topic, but to others, it seemspletely irrelevant, if not utterly non sequitur. The room filled with confusion as everyone looked at Wang Zhong, and themand center quieted down, leaving only the sound of the beeping from the neighboring Tribunals radio surveince units improvised telegraph operators. Pavlov: Mathematics huh? Popov: What does this have to do with mathematics? Wang Zhong: Didnt we just mention the Enigma code? Just find a bunch of mathematicians to decipher it. Its only a mechanical device, not truly indecipherable. Of course, thats assuming that Ante has a sufficient number of outstanding mathematicians. Everyone looked at each other perplexed, and Yegorov asked, Then why not capture an Enigma machine? Wang Zhong: Simply capturing one is not enough, the Enigma machine can adjust its encryption by changing its initial settings, and even with the exact same settings, the encryption effect will differ if the starting positions of the rotors are different. So even if we capture an Enigma machine, we still need arge number of cryptologists Why are you all looking at me so affectionately? Popov: I never knew before that you had such knowledge. I thought you just knew the dress sizes of the high societydies in the capital. Wang Zhong was shocked; was this what it was like to be a yboy immersed in the game of romance? Id like to know too! Inserting himself into the conversation, Pavlov said, None of this matters, whether its mathematicians or corsets, theyre not what we need to worry about right now. Whether the higher-ups believe it or not, we know an Armored Division is advancing on us. Its said that Prosen has onlymitted 20 Armored Divisions in total, and one of them ising right at us! And against them, all our anti-tank weapons consist of only ten Divine Arrows and three anti-tank guns! Regarding the Divine Arrow, Wang Zhong interrupted Pavlov, where is it currently deployed?
Yegorov: At the fertilizer nt, the second floor of the factory building provides a good vantage point, suitable forunching the Divine Arrows, and after firing, they can move to a safe new position swiftly. Yeca Neiko is very pleased with the new firing position. Wang Zhong: They should be pulled back. What? Yegorov frowned, Pulled back? Wang Zhong: I n to use the Divine Arrow for anti-air defense. You intend to use the Divine Arrow to protect our 203 mm gun position? Yegorov was amazed, Thats quite suitable, indeed. If the 203s survive an extra air raid, the damage they could inflict on the enemy would be far greater than destroying ten tanks! No, Wang Zhong shook his head, I captured a motorized reconnaissancepany in Karlinovka today; they are part of the enemy Air Forces ground guidance unit, which inspired me. The Air Force needs to know where the targets are to bomb them. Do you get my drift? Yegorov shook his head: I dont follow. Wang Zhong: Lokotov is a reasonably sized city, full of buildings, and the surrounding terraincks any high mountains. I saw it clearly when I went out reconnoiteringthe highest observation point the enemy can find is the barn outside the city. Chapter 87: 13 Incompatible as Water and Fire_2 Chapter 87: Chapter 13 Ipatible as Water and Fire_2
The ground guidance troops will definitely not be able to see where our heavy artillery positions are. The enemy will need to conduct aerial reconnaissance. Wang Zhong stopped, hoping the others had grasped his meaning. Pavlov asked, And then? Wang Zhong replied, Weve rescued a Monk from Karlinovka who has excellent hearing You mean a Sound Array Master? Popov inquired. Yes, although he discarded his listening device, he said that the towns cksmiths could quickly forge some makeshift ones. Hell be ready by tomorrow!
He can distinguish the engine sounds of the enemys reconnaissance nes! Yegorov finally understood, Are you suggesting we use the Divine Arrow to take down the enemys reconnaissance nes? Wang Zhong confirmed, Yes, a fighter bomber pilot is highly nervous when dropping bombs under fire from our anti-aircraft guns and might not spot a well-camouged B4unch position. But reconnaissance nes can take photos for reconnaissance, and the enemy intelligence staff can study the photos closely in a safe ce. They have a good chance of finding our artillery positions! The others nodded in agreement, That makes sense. If we suppress reconnaissance and maintain good camouge, those cumbersome B4s might survive longer! Inflicting greater damage on the enemy! Yegorov proposed, If we find anotherunch position and spread the B4s out, we can withstand more attacks! Wang Zhong added, If we use wood and such to create fake positions, without firing, the real and fake wont be distinguishable. We just have to not fire when the enemy nes are in the air. Exactly! Yegorov mmed the table, Ill have my boys No, Popov interrupted him, its not a task for our boys. The church is organizing civilians and home guards for this, let them do it. Some of them are carpenters and cksmiths. Wang Zhong queried, The church is organizing this? Yes, we are part of the Secr faction, and the local parish priest has great influence among the citizens. It would be different if it were the Sanctified faction. Popov said with some pride.
Wang Zhongmented, Thats good. The best cards we hold right now are these B4s. The good news is, weve captured the enemysmunication codebook, and as long as they dont change their codes, we can guess where and what units are by monitoring theirmunications. I personally scouted the viges within the B4s firing range. They are mostly inhabited by the elderly, those who do not follow the Eastern Holy Church, and a few from the Sanctified faction, so we can bombard with confidence. Especially at night, when the enemy is encamped, we should be able to inflict significant casualties. Karlinovka. The lead reconnaissance tank of the Prosen Armys 15th Armored Division halted on the road five hundred meters from the vige, as Captain Hank peered out from the turret with his binocrs to observe the settlement. The smoke from the Air Forces bombing rose high into the sky, and the airborne particles formed expansive clouds turned blood red by the sunset glow. The terrain of Karlinovka vige consisted of a straight road running from one end to the other, so Captain Hank could see the exit on the other side of the vige from outside its perimeter. Therefore, he could clearly see the motorcycles belonging to the 220th Motorcycle Reconnaissance Battalion toppled over in the vige. Clearly, these friendly forces had been ambushed. The captain put down his binocrs andmanded, Gunner, shoot into every window of the vige. The tanks machine gun immediately began firing, stuffing at least three 20mm high-explosive rounds into each window.
Since most houses in Karlinovka were made of wood, the machine gun even tore down the window frames. When firing at the fifth window, the captain shouted, Stop! The machine gun fell silent. No one came out from the vige, nor was there any return fire. Wait, someone wasing out from the vige! An old man wearing a military uniform from the time of the Ante Empire and Anatolian Empire war staggered out from the vige, stood at the entrance, and looked toward the Prussians. The captain ordered, Catch him, ask where the people who ambushed the motorcycle battalion went! The reconnaissance soldiers, who had been in hiding by the roadside, immediately stood up and advanced toward the vige entrance. After the infantry moved fifty paces, the captain ordered the tank forward. By the time the tank reached the entrance, the infantry had already pinned the old man to the ground. A lieutenant, holding a saber, approached the tank, Captain, this is all he had on him! The captain took the saber, examined it closely, and admired, What a fine de! No sooner had these words left his mouth than an explosion sounded from within the vige.
The Prosen soldiers around the tank immediately hit the ground, and the captain himself retreated into the turret, abandoning the fine de on the ground. The steel helmet flung by the explosionnded on the ground with a ringing sound. Seizing the moment, the pinned old man stood up, grabbed the saber from the ground, and aimed to strike the nearest Prussian, but a submachine gun fired. The old mans body tensed sharply, bathed in the blood-red sunset. He fell down little by little. Although dynasties had changed, he still shed thest drop of blood for his hometown. Major Hank climbed back out of the turret and asked loudly, What was that explosion just now? Report Major, the enemy buried mines under the bodies! The Major cursed and then ordered, Drag everyone in the vige out, ask where more mines are! Those who dont talk are resistors, shoot them all! Soon, more than a dozen elders were brought under the birch tree at the entrance of the vige. The interpreter asked the first olddy, How many mines have been buried here? Where are they? The olddy spat in the interpreters face.
The interpreter said, This one is a resistor! Execute them! The submachine gun immediately rang out, the olddy fell, eyes still fixed fiercely on the invaders. The interpreter approached the second elder man in line, asking, How many mines are buried? Where? The elder man said, I am a sergeant of the Thirteenth Guard Grenadier Corps, soldier number Im asking you! The interpreter pped the old man across the face several times. The elder man wiped the blood leaking from the corner of his mouth and continued, I am a sergeant of the Thirteenth Guard Grenadier Corps This ones a resistor! Shoot! Rat-a-tat-tat The interpreter walked toward the third one, a middle-aged man, who said before the interpreter could speak, I believe in the Prosen national religion! My family secretly worships The interpreter cut him off, Then tell me how many mines there are! Only five, all buried under the corpses of the Imperial soldiers in the vige! These damned inferior races, how dare they desecrate the bodies of Imperial soldiers! The interpreter said, Thats right, you are an inferior race, thats why youd betray your own neighbors.
Speaking, the interpreter turned to the surrounding Prosen soldiers and said in Prosen, Just now, they were defiant to death, one after another; I thought their national spirit had elevated! Lucky theres this one! They really are an inferior race! The Prosen soldiersughed heartily. The traitor looked nkly at the Prussians, fear written all over his face. The interpreter stepped forward, patted his shoulder, Dont worry, we treat those loyal to the Empire well. You did well, very well. By the way, who buried these mines? The traitor answered, It was a person named Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky! He ims to be the White Horse General! The interpreters smile froze on his face. Then, ance corporal ran up to the deputymander, reporting loudly, A note written in Prosen was found on the body of our soldiers! Read it! Major Hank said. General Aleksei Konstantinovich wishes you a pleasant upation, I have left you twenty surprises, hope you like them. Major Hank frowned, Is that really whats written there? Yes! The Major exchanged a nce with the interpreter. The interpreter immediately pped the traitor in the face, Motherfucker! You dare to deceive us! Clearly, there are 20 mines! What? Twenty? I swear I didnt know! I was hiding too far away to hear clearly what their order was! I only saw them bury five! The interpreter drew his Luger pistol and chambered a round himself. The traitor knelt abruptly, Im wronged! Those who deceive the Empire must die! the interpreter said emotionlessly, raising the gun to the traitors forehead. In desperation, the man shouted, Long live the Prosen Empire! Emperor Reinha Before he could finish, the interpreter pulled the trigger, the bullet hit the target right in the middle of the forehead, passing out the back of the skull, creating arge hole, his brain matter spraying onto the roots of the birch tree. Then the interpreter kicked the corpse away. The olddy standing fourth in line spit on the corpse. The interpreter said, I suppose you wont talk either? The day my sones back, hell send all of you to hell! Pop. The gunfire continued. Chapter 88: 14 Firepower Supremacy Chapter 88: Chapter 14 Firepower Supremacy
Jules Year 914, July 5th morning. Wang Zhong had already taken his position at his wartimemand post: actually, it was the office building of a fertilizer nt. This reinforced concrete building was quite sturdy, suitable as a front-linemand post and could also serve as a defensive position. More importantly, the fertilizer nt already had a telephone, which greatly reduced the workload of themunicationspany. The brigademand post was manned by Pavlov, and the radio was with the brigade HQ as well. Pavlov was strongly against Wang Zhongs practice of going to the front himself, but he was ignored. Yegorov actually liked this: This was supposed to be my wartimemand post. If you want to use it, Ill let you have it, and Ill go down to the troops!
Wang Zhong: You can go, but make sure to stay within the reach of the telephone. Yegorov sighed, Then I might as well not go anywhere. This front-linemand post was already at the furthest extent the telephone lines could reach. Themunicationspany that was hauled over from the quartermasters headquarters couldnt extend it any further, at least not for another day before they could ensure the telephone lines reached the battalionmand post below. Ignoring Yegorovs sighs andments, Wang Zhong moved to the window and raised his binocrs. In fact, as soon as he raised his binocrs his perspective changed; where could a binocrs get a good birds-eye view? To the southwest, the in was quiet, and there was no sign of the Prussian Army. After surveying the area, Wang Zhong shifted his view back and saw Dmitri and another soldier from the thirdpany carrying in the artillery observation scopes. The forwardmand post had the best field of vision, so naturally, the artillery observation post was also set up here, which also allowed the sharing of the telephone line with themand post. Dmitri was the artillery cadet with the best performance among those supplemented into the 31st Guards Regiment and was naturally assigned to the artillery observation post. The field telephone was now watched by Vasily, who also understood the Prosennguage. Dmitri set up the artillery observation scopes, the two tubes spread out in a V-shape, then he pressed his eyes against the eyepiece and adjusted the knobs toward the distant targets. The target was the fake minefield signs nted by Vasily and his men yesterday.
Wang Zhong watched Dmitri operate and realized he didnt understand at all. After all, the military training he had received was only at the level of college military courses. But suddenly he discovered something he could advise the professional artillery cadet Dmitri on: if the artillery observation scopes were just left there, they might reflect light and be noticed by the enemy far away! So Wang Zhong said, Dmitri, like this, the enemy might notice your position through the reflection. I suggest you drape the lenses withting that hasrger holes. Before Dmitri could respond, Vasily spoke, Then wouldnt we see nothing at all? Wang Zhong: Are you stupid? The cloth is so close to the objective lens, and the image is formed way in front of the eyepiece, so you wont see the fabric through the eyepiece, it will just affect the amount of light entering. What? Vasily was puzzled, What are you talking about? Dmitri, did you understand? Dmitri: The general is right; it really wont affect the observation too much! Artillery observation scopes are different from binocrs, which are only raised when looking. Artillery scopes are left out after the parameters are set, and indeed, they can be noticed by the enemy because of the reflection. Why didnt I think of that The teachers at school didnt teach us this! Wang Zhong: Now Ive taught you. Dmitri looked at Wang Zhong, hesitant to speak.
But Vasily had no such reservations and directly asked, How did you graduatest in your ss, Colonel? Your military literacy is quite high! Wang Zhong felt embarrassed; by now, he couldnt admit that he learned this knowledge from Operation Red Sea. Dmitri turned to the cadet who had helped him carry the artillery scopes and said, Mishka, go get some gauze from the medic, the kind with the biggest holes, used for dressing. Mishka nodded and ran off. At that moment, the telephone rang and Yegorov, who was closest to the phone, picked it up: Hello, forwardmand, go ahead. What? You should have informed Divine Arrow Company first, Brother Peter! You did? Okay, were aware. Yegorov hung up the phone and looked at Wang Zhong, Brother Peter used that rudimentary auditory array to hear that a reconnaissance ne is flying towards us. Gods Arrow Company is already prepared. Wang Zhong: Order the assignment of three soldiers who can drive, along with a jeep and a DShK machine gun, to immediately head to the crash site as soon as the reconnaissance ne is shot down, to ensure that the enemy cannot obtain the reconnaissance information. Vasily: Let me go! You stay put! Wang Zhong red at him, Have you heard anything valuable? Vasily shook his head: No, the enemy is very cautious, not revealing their whereabouts at all, just mentioning progressing smoothly, reached the first objective. This notebook only has the call signs of the units and a few location codes; theres nothing about the objectives. Besides, some of the conversations are in dialects, really heavy ents, basically unintelligible. Wang Zhong was amazed: Dialects, huh
He was reminded of the movie Windtalkers, where the Americans used Native Americans as radio operators, using Native Americannguages as codes, iprehensible to the Japanese. Therefore, Native Americans were useful to the United States for more than just scalps. Vasily continued toin, Whats the use of listening to this Id rather be on the frontline Wang Zhong ced a finger on his lips and hushed, Listen! The sound of engines, distinct from those of bombers. Wang Zhong moved to the window and lowered his body to look up into the sky. After switching to a birds eye view, he finally saw the ne, a Focke-Wulf 189 reconnaissance aircraft. This was a professional reconnaissance aircraft that could be fitted with a camera gun. Its cockpit offered an excellent view, allowing the pilot to clearly see the ground in front of the ne in order to ensure a precise flyover of the reconnaissance target. Chapter 89: 14 Firepower Supremacy_2 Chapter 89: Chapter 14 Firepower Supremacy_2
Moreover, this thing was good at surviving and had decent low-altitude performance, so it often carried out low-altitude reconnaissance and could incidentally drop a few small bombs. In short, it was a highly threatening type of dedicated reconnaissance aircraft. However, because it was a light aircraft with twin engines, it was rtively easy to be detected by Brother Peters sound array. Wang Zhong stared at this ne as it crossed the minefield and flew into the urban airspace The Divine Arrow wasunched! The Prussian pilot immediately tried to evade to the left but was chased down by the Divine Arrow after it turned a corner, and following the explosion, the right engine of the enemy ne burst into mes, trailing a long plume of ck smoke.
It plummeted to the ground, tilting as it fell. Wang Zhong: Well done! Yegorov, the ne is heading toward the police station, send out a search team quickly, there are three people on board, they may have weapons, be careful! Yes! Yegorov picked up the phone, Search team, move out, the enemy ne may have crashed near the police station. Wang Zhong added, You must destroy the film! Vasilyughed, If we could always block reconnaissance like this, maybe our cumbersome tractor naval guns would survive until the end of the fight! Dmitri nced at him and said, Dont jinx it! Yegorov repeated the order into the phone and then hung up. He had just put down the handset when the phone next to him rang, and he casually answered, Headquarters, go ahead. What? Okay, I understand. After hanging up, Yegorov informed Wang Zhong, Brother Peter has heard a lot of tactical bombers and Stukas, possibly over 20. Wang Zhong: Everyone, into the shelters! As Yegorov issued the order, Dmitri asked worriedly, Should we go too? Wang Zhong patted Dmitri on the shoulder, This building is reinforced concrete, with very thick external walls, dont worry.
While talking, Wang Zhong saw the enemy nes; he counted 15 Stukas and 12 Do 215s, along with several escorting Messerschmitt Bf 109s. As the nes approached the city, the anti-aircraft guns in the city opened fire, creating a fire in front of the formation. The Do 215 formation plunged into the fire, heading straight over the train station to drop bombs, while the Stukas entered their characteristic rolling dive. The ear-piercing Death Scream ruptured everyones eardrums. That scream involuntarily made people want to duck and lie t on the ground. But Wang Zhong saw very clearly, all the enemy nes were heading towards the defense groups bunkers. Only then did he realize his vantage point covered only the Guard 31st Regiments field of view; it was all dark on the side of the defense group, with only a unit emblem floating above the maps real scenery. This situation was very simr to when Wang Zhong had just takenmand of the then-named Third Rear Amur Group in Ronied. Could it be that by calling the defense group, he could share their field of view, just like back then? After the enemy nespleted their bombing, bombs fell on the defense groups position, but Wang Zhong couldnt make out the specifics of the damage, only the smoke blooms created by the explosions. Wang Zhong: Yegorov, call the defense group! Yes! Hello, connect me to the defense group! A few seconds of waitingter, Yegorov said, Its connected!
As he spoke, the territory of the defense group lit up, and Wang Zhong gained vision of the defense group. So it was. The troops I [personally] [directly]mand have vision, theyre under mymand, but for the troopsmanded by their own officers, I only have their location. Only by connecting via the phone and establishing directmand do I gain vision of the troops. At that moment, Yegorov came to Wang Zhong and handed him the handset. Wang Zhong took the handset: What are your losses? I saw the Stukas heading towards you. The defense groupmander, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, responded, Two bunkers werepletely destroyed, work of these past days gone to waste, but we didnt man the positions, so we only lost equipment like machine guns inside the bunkers. Wang Zhong: Only the bunkers? Also, seven or eight bombs fell on our positions, destroying the wooden decoy tank guns we had made. Just then, a voice from the phone yelled, Enemy nes areing back! Wang Zhong switched to the overhead view and saw the Stukas, after finishing bombing, circling back and starting to strafe. But most of the defense group was still hiding in the bomb shelters, so they didnt suffer many casualties. Wang Zhong: As soon as the enemy nes leave, immediately restore the positions. The enemy vanguard may arrive today. Understood.
Wang Zhong gave the handset back to Yegorov, who hung up the phone, and in that moment, the vision of the defense group disappeared again. It turned out this way, vision from non-directlymanded troops was only avable during a call. It seemed I would need to make frequent calls to various front-line units in the future. Thats what Wang Zhong thought. Just then, the phone rang again. Yegorov picked it up, responded a few times, and then hung up, reporting, Brother Peter has heard enemy mechanized forces, apparently a considerable number of light tanks. Wang Zhong nodded. This Brother Peter and his sound array were more useful than expected, feeling almost like the listening vehicle from Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, hearing everything. Vasily took off his headset, excitedly asking, Are we going to use the B4 to bomb the enemy now? Wang Zhong: Keep listening to your walkie-talkie! If you miss critical information, Ill have you shot! Hearing that the punishment was execution rather than mucking out, Vasily shrank his neck and put the headset back on. Wang Zhong looked out again, waiting for the Prussians to arrive. At that moment, Mishka came back with the gauze, also carrying rope for fastening; together, they draped ayer of cloth over the artillery scope and secured it with the rope.
Chapter 90: 14 Firepower Supremacy_3 Chapter 90: Chapter 14 Firepower Supremacy_3
Dmitri pressed his eye to the eyepiece and joyfully said, I can see very clearly! Just at that moment, Wang Zhong, from an overlooking perspective, spotted the enemy. A Mark II tank appeared on the southwest main road. It seemed that the Prosen Army of this era also assigned the already outmoded Mark II tanks to the reconnaissance troops. Behind the Mark II tank was a wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, followed by a half-trackden with soldiers. Even though it was only a reconnaissance unit, why did so many of theme marching up in such a grand procession
Suddenly, Wang Zhong noticed that this group seemed unrested, their faces showing extreme fatigue, their clothes all wrinkled and covered with leaves, as if they had slept in the wild overnight. Could it be thend mines had taken effect? At this moment, the second and third Mark II tanks entered his field of view; the strength of this vanguard was somewhat substantial. Seeing so many people, Wang Zhong decided to give them a surprise, while also shaking the enemy forces. He said to Yegorov, Call Artillery Unit A. After deciding to split B4 into two positions yesterday, they took action overnight, distributing the four guns to different locations and renaming the original position Artillery Unit A. Of course, this A was a Cyrillic letter. While picking up the handset, Yegorovined, Ive be a telephone operator! Vasily said, Then let me do it! You listen to your walkie-talkie, otherwise the brigadier will get angry again. Connect to Artillery Unit A. Dmitri hurriedly began calcting the enemys coordinates. Yegorov said, Connected. Here!
Wang Zhong took the handset and immediately began to report the coordinates. Just having calcted halfway, Dmitri was shocked, his eyes widening as he looked at Wang Zhong. Major Hank stuck his head out of the turret, observing the city with a telescope. The Air Forces bombing appeared to be highly effective, and the destruction of the citys outer defenses was clearly visible. The Ante People were hastily repairing the damaged fortifications. Perhaps this was an opportunity for a rapid assault? As Major Hank thought this, he let out a huge yawn. Last night, the reconnaissance battalion did not dare to camp in Karlinovka for fear of mines, as they had no engineers to deal with thend mines. Camping in the field, Major Hank hadnt slept well. He hadnt gotten a good nights sleep in many days and had hoped to take a bath and get a good rest in a clean bedst night, but it all fell through! Damn General White Horse! Too cunning, too bad! Just as he was thinking, a sharp screech suddenly came from the sky; it was the sound of artillery shells tearing through the air!
The moment the screeching sounded, the reconnaissance battalion, still not deployed around the tank, dropped like flies to the ground. Those still on the half-track also rushed to jump off and flopped down in the fields off the road shoulder. Major Hank immediately ducked back into the turret and closed the hatchthis had all be muscle memory. Only afterpleting these actions did he realize that the whistling sound was clearly that of heavy artillery, at least 122 millimeters. With the armor of a Mark II tank, resisting such heavy artillery might be problematic That instant, the shells hit the ground. Wang Zhong called for a volley, with a total of four rounds. The first round fell right in the front of the enemys formation, about four or five meters from the leading Mark II, and the st wind simply flipped the small frame of the Mark II tank onto the road. When the tank flipped, Wang Zhong clearly saw two prone infantrymen get crushed underneath. The dust cloud from the explosion immediately swallowed up the surrounding prone enemies. The second round fell into the field, a bit far from the enemy column, but the chunks of earth it tossed flew tens of meters,nding on the road and nging against the enemy helmets.
The third round flew over the target andnded at the rear of the column, overturning the rear half-track vehicle. The fourth round hit dead center in the middle of the column, among a cluster of densely packed prone figures. Wang Zhong distinctly saw a Prosen soldier, along with his equipment, literallyunched dozens of meters into the air, as if he caught a ne. By conservative estimates, this vanguard of the enemy had lost half its force to these four 203 millimeter shells! No wonder they say artillery is the God of War! Is it really that powerful? Wang Zhong couldnt help but think back to the day he had first traversed to this world, when he was weed by a 381-millimeter artillery round in Ronied; it was nothing short of a miracle he survived. There must have been about a hundred people in that room, and only two lived; he was one of those lucky survivors, unbelievable. At this moment, cheers came from outside. The soldiers didnt have telescopes, their field of view wasnt as good as Wang Zhongs, but the dust clouds created by the four artillery rounds rose tens of meters high, and they could see them clearly without scopes. Ura! Dmitri didnt cheer but calmly recited, Adjustment for firing, adjust the elevation to
Mishka, the artillery trainee nicknamed with a clipboard, was quickly taking notes on the side. Wang Zhong said, No, theres no need to fire again. Dmitri replied, No need to fire? More urate attacks could deal a heavy blow This is enough. The key is to tell the enemy that we have such weapons so they will never take us lightly again, Wang Zhong lectured with the tone of an elder to a junior. Major Hank crawled out of the tanks bottom hatchnow it was no longer the bottom hatch, it should be called the top hatch. He looked around. Five vehicles were burning, and at least 80 motionless Prosen soldiersy on the ground. They had adopted the correct prone position for shell avoidance, but still could not withstand the local overpressure produced by heavy artillery. More people were lying on the ground, howling; cries of Mama rose and fell in waves. Major Hank wanted to soothe his troops and decided to stand up on the overturned tank. But as soon as he tried to pull his leg out of the hatch, he realized it was bent at an impossible angle. The moment he realized his leg was broken, the pain which adrenaline had been blocking finally surged through him.
Major Hank screamed at the top of his lungs, Sanitater (medic)! Chapter 91: 15: Blocking the Enemy with a Minefield Chapter 91: Chapter 15: Blocking the Enemy with a Minefield
Following this, Wang Zhong gained an even deeper understanding of the role of heavy artillery. It was just a salvo, but out of four shells, two missed their mark; it was actually thest one to fall that hit the enemy smack dab in the middle. Even so, for the next hour, the enemys armored reconnaissance battalion couldnt do a damn thing except rescue the wounded, collect equipment from the wounded and the dead, and push the destroyed vehicles to the side of the roadthree tasks that kept them incredibly busy. At first, Wang Zhong paid close attention to the enemys next move, but after a while, he let out a sigh, pulled up a chair, and sat down by the window to look at the sky. Officially he was looking at the sky, but he was actually still using a birds eye view to watch the enemy. His mentality had changed, now feeling like a child squatting on a school yground, having just destroyed an ants nest with a bottle of mineral water, and now watching with relish as the ants attempted to save themselves.
In truth, an armored reconnaissance battalion didnt pose any threat to Loktovs defenses to begin with, and now that theyd been shelled by heavy artillery, they were even less of a threat. At eleven oclock in the morning, it seemed like the enemy had finally regrouped, and they spread out across the fields. Then they encountered the first present Wang Zhong had prepared for them: the fake minefield. No, thats not right, the minefield close to the main road had beenid by the urban defense forces, and those were definitely real. Vasily also reported that they had buried two boxes of real mines in the fake minefield, mixed with a bunch of pickle jar lids to confuse the enemy. That should give the Prussians something to worry about. As Wang Zhong was thinking about this, the enemy infantry searching on both sides of the highway stepped on the mines that the urban defense forces hadid. One man was blown three meters up into the air, and his legs flew even farther, crossing the road andnding on the other side. Wang Zhong was dumbfounded, Youre telling me this is a mine? Through the optic of the artillery sight, Dmitry said, Normal. This thing has a 300-gram charge, not killing those nearby would be considered a malfunction. Wang Zhong was shocked, Were these anti-tank mines that wereid? Anti-personnel mines! Vasily said, I personally buried two boxes, and they were definitely anti-personnel mines.
What kind of infantry needs 300 grams of explosives to be killed? Could it be that the Prussians have Aesir gods? Valkyries? That cant be killed without using this much explosive? No, it might just be the typical Russian brute-force approach. Wang Zhong continued to watch the enemy, and after one person was killed, the rest of the enemy silently withdrew from the minefield. It was at this moment that the scattered enemy troops found the signs Vasily had nted. The soldier who discovered the sign called an officer over, probably to ask what to do. After a brief exchange, the soldier grabbed the sign, looking like he was preparing to pull it out to show to a higher-ranking officer. No sooner said than done, the ground surged upward! And then it exploded like a burst balloon! The fountain of soil sent the group of Prosen soldiers flying into the air. Excited by the sound, Vasily eximed, That sound! Could it be the big one I buried getting detonated? I buried a whole block of TNT underneath, over two kilograms! Wang Zhong was sweating bullets, Youre cruel, man. Do you know how far the enemy flew? he asked. Vasily: How far?
Dmitry interjected, I saw onend on the top of a barn ten meters away. Hahaha! Vasily pped his thigh andughed loudly. Wang Zhong: Pay attention to the monitoring, you idiot, I think youre nning to pick dung for the rest of your life! Vasily hurriedly adjusted his headphones properly. The recent explosion had the entire Prosen Army hitting the dirt, thinking that the heavy artillery bombardment had started again. An officer was yelling something, and then the soldiers started to get up in twos and threes. A messenger ran along the line in which the troops were spread, shouting the new orders. Wang Zhong guessed that it was probably instructing all the soldiers to stay away from those minefield warning signs. The enemy began to retreat, stopping only two hundred meters away from the minefield, almost leaving Wang Zhongs field of vision. Dmitry said happily, The enemy has retreated! It looks like they dont have engineers equipped to handle the mines! At that moment, Yegorov, who had been manning the phone, also came to the window, holding binocrs to observe the enemy, and said in astonishment, If it was me, I would probably send out a reconnaissance team to follow along the minefield, to see how wide it is and where it ends. No sooner had he spoken, two half-tracked vehicles loaded with soldiers headed northwest and southeast, clearly the enemymander had the same idea as Yegorov.
Wang Zhong marveled, If we had more Divine Arrows, we could take out those two reconnaissance teams, or at least damage the vehicles to slow down the enemys scouting. Yegorov: But we dont have any Divine Arrows. Suddenly Vasily shouted, I hear the enemy at the frontmunicating with their superiors, their report says Let me check! As he spoke, he flipped through the notebook that Wang Zhong had personally led a team to capture yesterday, checking the recorded radio call signs and location codes. The armored reconnaissance battalion is reporting to the headquarters of the 15th Division, saying that Loktov is covered by Army Group-level artillery firepower, and theres a massive number of mines! The intelligence on the defending forces numbers here may be wrong! After tranting, Vasily looked at Wang Zhong excitedly, General, weve been mistaken for an entire Army Group! Wang Zhong smiled slightly, Mainly thanks to the B4 heavy artillery. Yegorov was impressed, They certainly wouldnt imagine that theres heavy artillery here just because themander is the Crown Princes wastrel brother. Vasily was about to chime in when suddenly he pressed his headphone to his ear, listening intently, apparently someone was speaking again. While listening, he frantically flipped through the notebook and after a moment said, The 15th Divisions headquarters says that the engineers will get here around three oclock in the afternoon! The officers in the room collectively checked their watches. Yegorov: Its three oclock. There are only five hours left until dark, probably not enough time to clear all these minefields. Looks like the first day ofbat will end like this.
Wang Zhong: Do we have any firepower that can reach the engineers clearing the mines? Yegorov: Our heavy machine guns have a max range of 1000, but experienced veterans can lob shots up to 1500, but the uracy ispletely unreliable. Wang Zhong: No matter, dont expose the firepower points we really want to use. Set up the machine guns in temporary positions, and lob fire to cause trouble for the enemy engineers. If its just to cause trouble, Yegorov blinked his eyes, you can lob from behind obstacles, making the gun and the shooter invisible to the enemy. Of course, rookies cant do this, but the few machine gunners who survived in my old unit can manage it. Anyway, its all about probability; as long as you get the bullets close to the enemy, leave the rest to Saint Andrew. Saint Andrew, the founder of the Eastern Holy Churchs Secr faction, was also the only one from the Secr faction who had been sainted. Wang Zhong: Good, get on it right away! Yegorov immediately went to issue the orders. At this time, Vasily asked, What do we do before the enemy engineers arrive? Just wait around? Wang Zhong: Seems so right? Vasily: What was it like between the enemys two assaults at Peniye? Wang Zhong: I was running a fever then, went to sleep after the enemy retreated, so dont ask me. Vasily was shocked: A fever? The fever Im thinking of?
Yes! And you still won? Now that youre not feverish, the enemys in trouble. Even Dmitry, who had been intently observing the enemy, couldnt help turning back to say. Vasily: No, maybe you fight better when you have a fever. Wang Zhong red at Vasily, thinking to himself, damn it, this assholes mouth really does deserve a beating, any other general might have had him shot by now. Just then, Yegorov returned, so Wang Zhong took the opportunity to pass the question to him: Yegorov, the new recruits are asking how to pass the time between battles. Yegorov immediately answered: Clean your guns. The first time I went to battle, thats what the veterans taught me. We were fighting the civil war as part of the Secr factions army, defending a ce called Charytin. The enemyunched a total of seven attacks in one day, each repelled in about 20 minutes, then they would take an hour and a half to organize a new assault. So from four in the morning until nine at night when it got dark, after repelling the first attack, I asked the veterans why the enemy didnt just attack immediately. They told me the enemy needs time to regroup the forces that ran back, which takes about an hour, then resupply ammunition and form a new attack, another half an hour gone. And during this time, the first thing we as defenders needed to do was clean our guns; certainly a lot of sand and dust would have gotten inside during the battle, and without a proper cleaning, you might jam the next time you fire, and then youre dead. After listening to this, Vasily looked down and counted on his fingers, then asked, From four to nine, seventeen hours, each assault taking two hours, they attacked seven times, what about the remaining three hours? The room grew quiet. Wang Zhong somewhat regretted having chosen to focus on cultivating this troublesome soldier. Well, just a little. Yegorov: The enemy needs to eat, you idiot! Youre on dung duty tonight, thatll teach you! Vasilys face showed his misery, and the smile shifted to Wang Zhongs face. At that moment, the radio suddenly rang again, and Vasily hurriedly put on the headset to listen, flipping through the notebook while listening: This is The 15th Armored Division is requesting the Air Force to destroy something unknown. I guess theyre targeting our howitzers. Wang Zhong: Any response from the Air Force? No response yet wait, here ites. The Air Force is asking the 15th Armored Division to provide the location. Wang Zhong: It seems our tactic of sealing off reconnaissance is working. There really was no ce around Loktov where you could see the two positions of B4; they could only rely on aerial reconnaissance. Vasily: The 15th retorted, isnt aerial reconnaissance supposed to be the Air Forces responsibility? Do the Prussians have bad rtions between their army and Air Force? Yes, their inter-service rivalry was quite bad, amon issue among many countries during World War II. Vasily listened for a while longer and said, No more information. Both sides are silent. Wang Zhong: Tell Brother Peter to be extra vignt for enemy reconnaissance nes. And try to fake more artillery positions. Yegorov immediately passed down the orders. Vasily: Besides cleaning guns, what else do you do to pass the time? Really, are you still on this topic? Yegorov: y cards. y cards? Vasily eximed. Yes, its better than drinking. Either way, its just killing time, it makes no difference. War is like that, mostly doing nothing, and its only that one percent of the time when youre licking blood off the knife edge, but you never know when that one percent wille, so youre on edge all day long. Wang Zhong: Did you bring any ying cards? Yegorov pulled a deck of ying cards from his shirt pocket. On the front line, we usually gamble with cigarettes. he said. In the afternoon, Yegorov contentedly stashed away the cigarettes he had just won into his document case: Ive now beaten a legenda future legendary general. Wang Zhong tossed the ying cards onto the table with a click of his tongue: I dont smoke much anyway, I let you win on purpose! Oh, is that so? Yegorov said proudly, With your card-ying skills, youll quickly be an easy target. Just then, Dmitry, who had been at the artillery sight all this time, shouted: A Number One tank! A barricade-breaking vehicle modified from a Number One tank! The engineers areing up! Chapter 92: 16: Anti-aircraft Guns are for Ground Firing (Alliance Hierarch Additional Release) Chapter 92: Chapter 16: Anti-aircraft Guns are for Ground Firing (Alliance Hierarch Additional Release)
The staff at the forwardmand post immediately rushed to the window and observed with binocrs. What came wasnt just a No. 1 tank modified into an engineering vehicle for breaking through barriers, but also a range of other Prussian engineering vehicles. It seemed that themander of the sapper battalion wasmunicating with themander of the reconnaissance unit that had already deployed outside the minefield. Wang Zhong was just about to call for another artillery barrage when the gathered sapper battalion began to spread out, likely told by the armor reconnaissancemander that they could be targeted by artillery fire. Although the enemy scattered, they clearly underestimated the caliber of the artillery barrage and didnt disperse enoughperhaps the Prussian Armys advance had been too smooth, making them careless. No matter what, Wang Zhong was ready to hit them with another round; position Bs B4 hadnt fired yet. Each gun there had one more shell in reserve than those at position A, so it was time to fire a salvo and bnce out the ammunition.
Wang Zhong himself picked up the phone, Connect me to position B. One moment, the male switchboard operator answered, Okay, General. This is position B! Wang Zhong, This is Rocossov, fire a salvo immediately, with a one-second interval between shots, coordinates These heavy guns created a muzzle st when firing; when the firing positions were cramped, firing all at once could affect the trajectory of the shells, so even with a salvo, it was one shot after another. Of course, if the position was more open, there wouldnt be this problem, and they could fire at once, but it was impossible to find such a concealed and open terrain within Lokotov City. After performing his mental calction of the coordinates again, Wang Zhong stood by the window with the phone and observed. The sound of shells tearing through the air reached them. Perhaps because of the aftereffects of being repaired by a 381mm heavy cannon, Wang Zhongs nape went numb at the whistling sound, and he instinctively wanted to duck. The enemies simplyy t on the ground, everyone adopting the standard artillery avoidance position. The first shellnded, clearly hitting too close to the minefield, even triggering an actual mine. From his birds-eye view, Wang Zhong saw lids from pickle cans flying everywhere within the fake minefield.
He hoped the next shell would be on target! No, the next shell must hit the mark! The next onended farther away, right at the edge of Wang Zhongs field of vision, but it was much better than the first onehe clearly saw at least ten enemies lose their highlights, though he didnt know if they were dead or merely knocked unconscious. At that moment, Wang Zhong felt like he was gacha gaming, silently chanting, Hit it, let me hit it! The third shell fell right between two engineering vehicles. The st wave instantly overturned both vehicles. From Wang Zhongs perspective, a whole patch of enemies lost their highlights around the impact point. He couldnt help but clench his fist and silently nod, Good! One more shot, just one more! Hit it! Then, something embarrassing happened. A silo far from the first three impact points suddenly exploded; its stone walls shattered to pieces, and the stored grain gushed out like floodwaters, bizarrely spreading a patch of yellow onto the green field. What the hell? How could itnd so far off? Even if they wanted to hit a granary, they should have targeted the silo near the shelling area, since there was an enemy observation team on itdispersing the observation team would have been worthwhile!
As Wang Zhong puzzled over why thest shell had gone astray, Dmitry reported loudly, Thest gun either got the aiming solutions wrong or theres a malfunction in the gun mount or sighting equipment. Wang Zhong immediately picked up the receiver that had been resting on his shoulder, B position! Thest fired gun either got the aiming solutions wrong or theres a malfunction! Check it quickly! Yes, came the answer from the other side, Checking now! A momentter, they responded, Report, General, the aiming solutions are correct, it must be a malfunction with the gun, the cksmith and the mechanic are inspecting it now! Fix the malfunction as soon as possible! There wasnt much else Wang Zhong could order beyond that. He put down the receiver and continued to observe the enemy. Yegorov clicked his tongue in amazement, This cannon has always been prone to malfunctions since the Winter War, and when it first entered the battle, it sometimes took six to seven shots to destroy a Manahaim bunker. Wang Zhong, So you mean having just one malfunction is already not bad? I mean the Empires Ordnance Department is indeed working hard, the rate of malfunctions has been significantly reduced, Yegorov shrugged. Then the enemy realized the shelling was over, stood up, began rescuing the wounded, and started gathering the scattered equipment and weapons. Wang Zhong, Have your machine gunners open fire, add some fuel to the enemys fire! Understood!
Yegorov turned to give the orders. A minuteter, two heavy machine guns began firing, the arcing trajectories of tracer bulletsnding on the enemys positions, like urinating. At this distance, hitting the target truly depended on faith, but as long as the intensity of fire was enough, they could always pee a few to death. The most important thing was the catastrophic effect on the enemys moralelike a whip of death moving back and forth above your head, how could you not panic? It made it impossible to work properly. Before Wang Zhong could rejoice, a Type 2 tank on the enemys side began to retaliate, firing its machine guns in the same manner towards the courtyard of the fertilizer nt. Thus, a spectacle of both sides peeing tracer rounds at each other ensued! But the Prussians had a 20mm cannon, and regardless of how fragile the Type 2 tank was, it was still a tank! The DShK heavy machine gun could indeed prate a Type 2 tank, but here the gunners had no protection, making them obviously more vulnerable under the strike of the 20mm cannon. ` However, Yegorov didnt ce the machine gun on open ground; instead, he positioned it inside the factory building, firing through the windows. Both sides were sloppily shooting, neither with uracy, which made it difficult for the enemys machine guns to target such small windows to prate the room. Yet the machine gun could continuously inflict casualties on the enemy out in the open. This was arcing fire, so even if the enemyy on the ground, they could still be hit in the back.
When Wang Zhong saw that the enemy had been forced to seek cover in the shadow of armored vehicles and still asionally lost one or two unlucky souls, he felt frustrated by the low kill efficiency of the machine guns. If only he had the sort of autocannon that the enemys mark II tanks were equipped with. In various war games on Earth, Wang Zhong had always favored decimating infantry with autocannons; the Skeld River, in his hands, became an infantry ughterer. If only his cheat was more powerful, being able to summon an anti-air gun like the Skeld River out of thin air, then he could use a quad 23mm cannon to massacre the enemy infantry Hmm? Wang Zhong turned his head to ask Yegorov, The 72K anti-aircraft gun of the air defense regiment, its a 25mm autocannon, isnt it? Though Wang Zhong had operated the GAZ truck that transported this in War Thunder, he still asked just to be sure. Yegorov replied, Yes, what about it? Quick, call the air defense regiment! Ask them for two 72K anti-aircraft guns, to be towed over here by truck! And bring 2000 rounds of ammunition as well! Why hadnt he thought of this before! Wang Zhong thought to himself that if the enemy could use their anti-aircraft guns in direct fire, then so could they! Twenty minutester, two 72K anti-aircraft guns, usually reserved as spare parts by the artillery regiment, were dragged into the factory building of the fertilizer nt. After four test shots, the shellsnded among the enemy, so Wang Zhong gave the order, Begin barrage fire! The two anti-aircraft guns fired tracer rounds steadily falling among the enemy.
Although they were only 25mm high-explosive shells, their killing efficiency was much higher than that of a heavy machine gun. All the enemys mark II tanks engaged in shooting, yet they were unable to prate the concrete walls of the factory building. Yegorov joked, Wow, theyre trying so hard they might see the firstyer of rebar in the factory soon. Meanwhile, the Ante Army paid no attention to those few tanks, instead focusing all their efforts on reaping the enemy infantry. Finally, a truck carrying explosives for the engineers exploded, turning into a soaring fireball. This, seemingly thest straw that broke the camels back, caused the Prussian Army to release smoke and start retreating backwards. All the armored vehicles began reversing, and the soldiers, as if they had had enough, quickly withdrew. Dmitri shouted, The enemy is deploying smoke! I cant see them! Wang Zhong: The enemy is retreating. Alright, ceasefire! In fact, Wang Zhong could have continued to direct the autocannon fire using his cheat that wasnt bothered by the smoke, but as the distance increased, the spread of the shells would be too great, wasting them unnecessarily. He had no idea how long Lokotovs supplies wouldst, or how long he would need to hold this position, so he had to improve the ammunition efficiency. Following the order, the shooting stopped. Immediately after, from various ces in the fertilizer factory, soldiers who had just been driven back to their shelters by the mark IIs machine guns now poked their heads out. Is it over? Why did the firing stop? Are they using smoke to attack? Doesnt seem like it; the smoke screen is so far away, and the fake minefield hasnt been cleared yet. They must be running, right? The soldiers questioned each other, not daring to believe they had won. Wang Zhong stuck his head out of a window and shouted outside, The enemy is retreating! We have repelled the enemys first attack! The crowd exchanged nces. Then cheers erupted. Hurrah! It wasnt that big a deal! The young men in themand post also cheered, their faces filled with joy. Vasily couldnt resist a bit of ttery, Is victory that easy? General, you trulymand like a deity! Wang Zhong frowned and turned to Yegorov, saying, We cant allow our troops to develop an attitude of underestimating the enemy! Immediately conduct ideological work with the soldiers, despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically! The enemy was well-trained, as evident by their immediate counterfire with tank machine guns! As they were speaking, Popov came in, sighing, Why are you always taking my job? Wang Zhong: What brought you to themand post? A train just arrived at the station, on it were Priests assigned to us, so I brought them over. ording to the rules, eachpany should have a Military Chain, and we have actually been in vition of that. Popov shrugged, The Priests have already gone to thepanies, I came to see if theres anything I could help with. Wang Zhong: Go to the church immediately and request capable Monks, as well as the Divine Arrow! I almost used the 76mm gun to hit the enemys mark II at such long range. But in the end, I didnt want to reveal the gun position, so I didnt fire. Popov shook his head, The church has responded; they said the prayer masters of the Divine Arrow suffered heavy losses in the previous ten plus days of fighting, and now theyre nning to let kids in grade ten of the monasteries graduate early to fill in the front lines, but they need to undergo military training. Wang Zhong was taken aback, Forget it then, lets just fight with the equipment and personnel we have now. Chapter 93: 17: Wildflowers of the Battlefield Chapter 93: Chapter 17: Wildflowers of the Battlefield
After a peace thatsted until seven oclock in the evening, as the daylight began to fade, Brother Peter heard the sound of the enemy reconnaissance aircraft again. Five minutester, the forwardmand watched the reconnaissance ne, trailing thick smoke, plummet to the ground. The Divine Arrow is really effective against low-flying air units, Wang Zhong eximed. Popov: Yes, its a pity it doesnt work against high-flying enemy aircraft. Wang Zhong: Its difficult for the enemy to spot our well-camouged artillery positions through high-altitude reconnaissance. He could say this mainly because, first, he had seen photos taken by Sturmtiger high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in military history before he was transported, and second, he had confirmed the camouge of his own artillery positions from an overhead view.
From high altitudes, it would be difficult to locate these positions with the naked eye. Popov: Lets hope so. Looking at Popov, Wang Zhong suddenly had a guess and asked, Are you sticking around at the forwardmand because you dont want to help Pavlov handle a mountain of paperwork? Popov said seriously: How could that be! I would never shirk my responsibilities! But many documents do not require my signature as the Archbishop of thebat group. Wang Zhong was about to speak to Popov when Vasily, who was manning the field phone, suddenly began frantically flipping through a captured notebook. Everyones attention instantly shifted to him. After searching for a while, Vasily reported, The enemys 223rd Armored Grenadier Corps is encamping tonight in Karashnoye! Wang Zhong immediately found the vige on the map: Its here; weve scouted it. Its arge vige with nearly 100 houses, all abandoned. ording to inquiries in other viges, theres generally no wind around nine oclock in the evening, which would make an artillery attack more effective. Yegorov picked up the telephone, but instead of immediately asking the operator to connect to the artillery positions, he asked Wang Zhong, How much ammunition to fire? Wang Zhong: Three rounds per gun should do. Twenty-four rounds ought to be enough to cause trouble for the enemy. No telling when well get more 203 mm shells, so we should conserve. Yegorov then instructed the operator, Connect to the artillery positions.
The 223rd Armored Grenadier Corps had entered Karashnoye, ten kilometers southwest of Loktov. Based on thetest aerial reconnaissance report, the nearest Ante Army troops were at Dolini Villiage to the northeast, where aerial surveince had spotted defensive positions. By tomorrow, the 223rd wouldunch an attack on Dolini Villiage, and once captured, they could encircle Loktov. The 150 half-track vehicles of the 223rd were now crammed into Karashnoye to the point that the self-propelled mortarpany assigned to the corps could only stop in the threshing yard at the entrance to the vige. Also in the threshing yard, filling it up, were the supply trucks of the logistics unit assigned to the corpssince the 223rd, as infantry assigned to an Armored Division, had no mules or horses in their establishment. The eight Panzer IV tanks assigned to reinforce the 223rd were lined up northeast of the vige, with the tank crews checking the running systems. After finishing the maintenance of their firearms, the infantrymen were now gathered around the fires, sharing canned food and captured sausages. Someone had ced a radio on the roadside gasoline drum, and from its speaker came thetest popr love song in Prussia, Lili Marleenmusic broadcasted to the entire army by the Prussian military radio station. This night seemed no different from the first thirteen nights since the 223rd had entered the territory of the Ante Empire. Suddenly, the screech of heavy artillery shells tearing through the air came from the sky. The battle-hardened Prussians of this battalion could roughly gauge where the whistling indicated the shells wouldnd, so they left their bowls full of meat broth behind and scurried into whatever could provide cover.
The first shellnded, striking the vige church at its center, causing the bell tower to copse from the base. Then, one after another, shells kept falling, demolishing houses, flinging vehicles into the air, and flipping one of the half-track vehicles in the middle of the road. After the first salvo, the entire vige was alight with mes and moans of the wounded. The surviving Prussians shakily lifted their heads but did not leave their shelters. About 30 secondster, a second wave of howls came from the sky again. A truck exploded violently, turning its fuel tanks into glowing orange spheres that rose slowly, illuminating the night like daylight. Therge pot of soup the cooks were tending was overturned; the scalding broth poured onto the unlucky ones nearby, creating desperate screams. The second round of artillery fire passed, and no one from Prosen dared to raise their heads anymore, all waiting for the next round of shells to fall. Some people whispered prayers, and at this time, no one mentioned See you in Valha C a responsemonly heard from the glorious imperial soldiers of Prosen propaganda when facing death. The third round came. The church finally copsedpletely, and senior officers and staff at the headquarters hurriedly ran out. The cattle that the locals had no time to take away caught fire and charged violently down the street, trampling over several unlucky fellows lying in the middle of the road.
After the third round, the only sounds in the entire vige were groaning and the crackling of the massive fire. Almost a minute had gone by before themander of the 223rd Armored Grenadier Corps, still frightened, got up, nced at the copsed church behind him, and then gazed at the burning half-track vehicle on the street and the bodies scattered all over, his brow twisted into knots. Count the casualties! Quick! And notify headquarters immediately C we had just reported our position when the artillery came. I suspect the enemy has our codebooks! We must change the codes ahead of schedule! The radio call signs of a typical Prosen Army unit changed every three days C such a change was a hassle, necessitating couriers physically delivering new call signs to various units. Yes! the staff officer answered. Themander looked at the devastated vige and shouted, Quick, rescue the wounded! Put out the fires! Wang Zhong looked at his watch, The shells should have hit by now, but I dont know how effective they were. At ten kilometers from Loktov, even with Wang Zhongs advantage, he couldnt see the effects of the artillery barrage. Yegorov offered reassurance, Dont worry, these are 203 mm heavy guns. That unit must have suffered heavy losses; whether they can even move tomorrow is a question. I hope so. Just as Wang Zhong finished speaking, Vasily shouted, Enemymunication! Theyre actually using clear text! Our unit just reported its position and was then hit by precise artillery fire. The radio call sign is definitelypromised. Please change call signs ahead of time. General, we hit them!
Good! Wang Zhong clenched his right fist as if he were a young man riding the crest of sess. Yegorov: This will seriously weaken the infantry attached to the enemys Armored Division, reducing the pressure for the citys meat grinder battle tomorrow. But thats a problem for tomorrow, Popov said. Todays fighting should be near its end; we should let the soldiers rest as soon as possible, excluding the sentries, of course. Vasily: And clean their guns! Yegorov nced at him and nodded, Yes, and clean their guns. At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly realized he was very hungry, having been too focused earlier to notice. And as if on cue, just when Wang Zhong felt his hunger, the voice of the cooking teams matron called out from outside, Boys! Dinners ready! Lets go eat! Wang Zhong said excitedly. After dinner, Wang Zhong, apanied by his guard Grigori, strolled around the position to digest their meal and took the opportunity to perform themanders duty of checking posts. Having made the round and on their way back, they passed by a factory building where a 72K anti-aircraft gun and heavy machine guns were deployed. Wang Zhong stopped in front of the south-western wall of the factory, examining the dense bullet marks on it. Just looking at the bullet marks, one could imagine how fierce the exchange of fire had been that afternoon.
Wang Zhong followed the wall, walking up to a turn where he saw a group of young people crowded at the corner of the factory building, seemingly gazing at something. Grigori stepped forward, intending to let the youngsters know theirmander was there, but Wang Zhong stopped him. Then, Wang Zhong tiptoed to the back of the youngsters, peering along with them. In the night, someone held a bottle where, under the stars, one could faintly see it filled with babys breath flowers. He passed the bottle of flowers to the girl in front of him, Natalia, I found these at the station, they are as beautiful as you are! Wang Zhong remembered C this was the new recruit named Aleksei, who was the same as himself, and he had a crush on Natalia from the fieldundry unit. What a move, bringing romance to the front! This calls for a serious critique! So, Wang Zhong moved a bit closer. Chapter 94: 18 “Just Got Promoted and Already Floating Away” Chapter 94: Chapter 18 Just Got Promoted and Already Floating Away
Aleksei Barfinovich waspletely oblivious to everyones stares, focusing solely on the girl. Natalia took off the floral scarf from her head, allowing her hair to cascade down in the moonlight as she gazed affectionately at the boy. She received the ss jar filled with stars, and impulsively rushed into the boys embrace, where they kissed each other. Wang Zhong was beside himself with astonishment. Was this direct? Were they skipping some steps? He nudged the rookie in front of him, Were these two dating before? No, Alyosha just took a fancy to her yesterday, picked flowers secretly at night, and wanted to make a move during the day, but then the enemy attacked, the rookie exined without turning back.
Wang Zhong was immensely shocked. This was their first date? Is this what people do on a first date? In the midst of his shock, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered something and prodded the person in front of him again, Isnt this Natalia from theundry team? Howe shes at the front line? If she were from the cooking squad, it would make sense for her to show up here, carryingrge pots of vegetable soup on a shoulder pole. But why would theundry teame to the front? He hadnt heard of soldiers changing their clothes before a battle was over. The girl fancies Alyosha as well, whats so strange about that? the rookie replied. At that moment, the kissing couple began to do things better left unsaid, and Wang Zhong was even more shocked, continuing to nudge the persons back, This quick? Isnt this wrong? After asking, Wang Zhong remembered that in the West things tend to move quickly, like in Titanic where the two just took a liking to each other, drew a picture, and then went straight to the car. In a foggy car, suddenly a handprint pped onto the window. The first time Wang Zhong watched this scene he was too young, and immediately thought of The Shining, imagining the scene where an axe chops through the door, and burst out crying. Wang Zhong understood, but the person in front of him did not, Why are you making such a big fuss? Its just like the mature age ceremony back in the vige, making eye contact and then sneaking off into the haystacksOh my! General, sir! The rookie snapped to attention and saluted so quickly! Wang Zhong was standing too close and got smacked in the chin by the suddenly attentive rookie, letting out a yelp of pain.
The moment he stood up straight, the person behind him got hit squarely and let out a surprised cry, Hey? Alyosha, dont suddenly stand up like that! As Wang Zhong was holding his chin, he heard the voice and became puzzled, turning around to see Ludm holding her chest, clearly in pain from the collision. Alyosha? a surprised shout came from behind Wang Zhong, probably from the girl of theundry team. Realizing the potential for a misunderstanding, the Brigadier General called out loudly, The one over there is also called Alyosha; were not the same person! Ludm tilted her head, I know, I saw the girl call the boy Alyosha. It was only then that the surprised rookies realized, and they all snapped to attention, saluting, Brigadier General, good evening! Wang Zhong waved his hand in return and continued to watch Ludm, Why have youe to the front line? You should be with the Divine Arrow Company! Ludm pouted, Yeca Neiko, the vice knight, said there wouldnt be any reconnaissance tonight, and I could take a break, so I came! On my way here, I also went to check on your horse! Wang Zhong, Oh, is Bucephalus doing well? Alright you just care about the horse, not about me? Wang Zhong, Are you alright? Yes, the enemy bombers were far from us, so its okay. Ludm nced at the awkward couple and asked, You have so much free time? Watching people date?
Wang Zhong replied seriously, I am checking on the posts. Dont believe me, ask Sergeant Grigori! Sergeant huh? The sergeant had disappeared. Not only had the sergeant vanished, but the military academy cadets who had just been saluting beside Wang Zhong were gone too, the speed of their concealment truly befitting professional soldiers. Even the dating couple had fled into the shadows, running hand in hand. Suddenly, there wasnt a soul in sight. Wang Zhong, Sergeant! Its your duty to protect me! From somewhere came a response, Dont worry, Im here. Great, now Im the monkey put on disy. He looked at Ludm with a solemn face and said, I really am checking the posts! I just happened toe across them while crowd-gazing. And then you decided to join in for a look? Ludm cut in. As amander, I must fully understand the soldiers lives! What about your life? Ludm asked.
Wang Zhong took a moment to register the question, Huh? Ludm continued, Before, Alyosha, you needed seven or eight servants to wait on you, and you couldnt even polish your shoes. Wang Zhong frowned, Was I that useless before? Ludm shrugged, Now you may still not polish your shoes, but you can do everything else by yourself. Wang Zhong looked down at his dirty military boots. He suddenly remembered that in foreign armies, polishing shoes is akin to our army folding tofu blocks. And Wang Zhong, having transmigrated, hardly wore dress shoes most of the time in his previous life; he would only wear them for job interviews after college, and once he started working, he always wore sneakers. Now, Wang Zhong thought, its a good thing he ended up in such a good-for-nothing body that no one suspected him for not polishing his shoes. At that moment, Ludm looked up at the sky and said, I wonder if Misha and the others have survived. Huh? Misha? Whos that? Wang Zhong spected it might be someone familiar, so he tried to act knowledgeable, They must have You dont even know who Im talking about! Youve never remembered the names of the servants, have you?
Ah, so thats it. Lucky that Im wearing such a carefree skin. Wang Zhong simply asked, So who are you talking about? Misha, your maid, and Menjileliev, the old man, your steward. They all stayed in Ronied. Ah, oh, them. Wang Zhong tried hard to say something, but having witnessed the atrocities of the Prussian Army, phrases like they must be fine just couldnt be spoken. Ludm looked at Wang Zhong, After I arrived in Loktov, I finally managed to write a letter home to tell them were still alive, and that youve be a general on a white horse. But so far, theres been no reply. But with the situation as it is, its normal not to get a reply. Wang Zhong: Dont worry, the Crown Prince knows about our situation and even sent us B4 howitzers. He will surely take care of our family. Ludm smiled, Him? As disrespectful as it sounds, I dont think hes attentive to such an extent. I rather think hes probably boasting about your achievements as his own everywhere right now. Sending the cannons over was also to let you achieve even more impressive results in battle. Is, is it so? The image of the Crown Prince suddenly became very clear!
At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered the question that had been troubling him, What exactly is Ludm to me? It could be ruled out from their names that they were siblings, as both their surnames and patronymics were different. And since she was so familiar with him and could even send word home on his behalfshe could only be his fiance. Having such a beautiful fiance was rather thrilling, especially considering Ludms silver hair and her bust, which seemed perfectly crafted for Wang Zhongs entertainment, hitting right in the sweet spot. Although a voice in his head was saying, This isnt the time to be thinking about such things, Wang Zhong still couldnt help but want to confirm whether Ludm was indeed his fiance. At this moment, Ludm said, Walk with me. Since Im already here. Hmm. Wang Zhong nodded and gestured for her to follow, Lets go this way, Ive already checked the post behind us, walking with you gives me a chance to check the other posts. Ludm: You didnt use to be this conscientious. I now have the self-awareness of amander. Ludm just smiled. Then, quite naturally, she linked her arm through Wang Zhongs, allowing her armor toe into intimate contact with his arm, unconcerned. If things have gotten this intimate, she must be the fiance, right? No sooner had Wang Zhong thought this than Ludm said, Your father said that he would ask for my fathers permission to marry me in October. With the war starting, I dont know if it can still happen. Alright then, she was a prospective fiance. Wait a second, do I still have a father in this timeline? Damn, I cant bring myself to call a stranger father Ludm: My mother alwaysined about you, saying that even if it were for a political alliance, there could be better options. She probably has no objections now. At that time, Wang Zhong suddenly thought of a question. Ludm was such a beautiful girl and a noble at that, surely she must have had no shortage of suitors. How could she have fallen for the original owner of this body? So, Wang Zhong asked, You dont have any objections to me? I Ive actually always treated you as a brother, after all, Ive been cleaning up your messes since we were young, and over time, I got used to it And besides you, everyone in your family is pretty nice. Ludm looked down at the ground. But, after the war broke out you changed became like a hero from the stories, and you liked riding a white horse I Because her face was now thoroughly flushed, Ludm leaned on Wang Zhongs arm, using this as a way to block his line of sight. Too bad Wang Zhong had an overhead view and could adjust the angle to see the girls face! What did this mean? Did my heroic actionspletely win over the girls affection? Does she like the current me, not the worthless person I was before? At that moment, Wang Zhong thought about the inappropriate behavior of those two just a while ago. Now it seemed like he could just pick her up and start kissing her without issues. Its their custom, after all! A certain part of Wang Zhongs body started to chant, You can go for it! The only thing holding Wang Zhong back now was the dignity of a Chinese man; all he had to do was let go of that dignity At that moment, a new thought entered Wang Zhongs mind. What if I die? Although he had so far survived many dangerous situations, the fact that he had been dancing with death had not changed. An old song echoed in Wang Zhongs ears: Maybe Ill say goodbye and nevere back Do you understand, do you know? Maybe Ill fall and never get up. Will you still wait forever? At this moment, all vulgar and reproductive thoughts vanished, and Wang Zhongs mind was filled with unshakable conviction. One should not make a loved one wait forever. One should not bring children into such hell. Not until the day when the cruel and evil great enemy is defeated, not until the day when smoke rises again from the homnd and angels can peacefully slumber. Only then can I embrace the girl without worries and build a future together with her. So Wang Zhong suppressed the impulse. Ludm, he said, I will defeat the enemy as soon as possible, conquer the Prosen Empire, and then formally respond to you. Ludmughed, The way you say that, its as if youre the grand marshal who can decide the fate of this war. Youre still the same, floating on air just because youve barely be a major general. With that, the girl yfully punched Wang Zhongs shoulder several times. Chapter 95: 19 “It’s up to you! Chapter 95: Chapter 19 Its up to you!
Jules, July 6, 914, early morning. Wang Zhong rolled out of his makeshift camp bed and saw Yegorov sitting on the bed beside him, polishing his boots. Yegorov: How did you make it back to the frontmandst night? We all thought youd find a vehicle to spend the night in. Wang Zhong: It wasnt convenient for her. How could she possiblye looking for you when it wasnt convenient? Yegorov countered, No, no, she came to sleep with you. That Natalia, too, dont believe me? Let B4 fire a shell and as soon as the boom echoes, youll see another Alyosha scrambling out of some corner with his pants in his hands. Wang Zhong was amazed. Are Westerners really so open about these things?
Yegorov waited a few seconds but got no reply, so he looked up at Wang Zhong and asked again, So what really happened? Why didnt you make thedys wishe true? Wang Zhong could only tell the truth. Yegorov was shocked, his polishing hand paused: If the war drags on for three to five years, does that mean youll go without touching a woman for that long? What if you get frustrated? Oh, I see, youre talking about seeing a prostitute, right? Wang Zhong had tough; how did the conversation end up here? That shows my ambition! He wanted to recite a few frontier verses to Yegorov, to express his own wont return until Lon is conquered heroic aspirations, but suddenly realized he couldnt trante the poetry in his mind into Antenguage. Damn, no more showing off with poetry. Just then, Popov got up too. All three of them were sleeping on camp beds set up in therge room next to the frontmand, each bed three meters apart. Popov looked at Wang Zhong with suspicion: Aleksei Konstantinovich, this doesnt sound like something youd do. Although Ive indeed heard that you havent been messing around with Ludm Vasilyevna, youre famous for not being able to control yourself. As he spoke, Popov nced at Wang Zhongs crotch: Could it be that youre injured? Wang Zhong: Is that something a bishop should say? Popov: Im from the Secr faction, remember?
That secr, huh? I think youre more of the high-speed faction! You go fast! Wang Zhong decided not to linger on the issue. If he did, Popov might start to think he was possessedthough in reality, he was. Looking at Yegorov, he said, I think the enemy will definitely try to remove mines today. Theyre going to use smoke to obscure our line of sight and cover the demining. Definitely, Yegorov replied as he spread new polish onto the boots and then carefully smeared it with the shining cloth, evening it out on the surface, I heard before the war that the Prussians liked to use smoke. I didnt expect theyd be such fans of it. Whenever the Prussians attacked, there was smoke everywhere, their usage of it was sublime. Yegorov continued: Inparison, weve neglected the use of smoke. The front-line infantry doesnt even have Smoke Bombs, we have to capture them from the Prussians. Wang Zhong: Theres so much we need to capture from the Prussians, like field telephones! Why are there so few radios? Because the marshals still prefer using couriers, shrugged Yegorov. Wang Zhong shook his head and stood up to stretch his aching body caused by the too-hard camp bed. Unfortunately, he carelessly pulled at a wound on his shoulder, grimacing in pain. Itd been nearly two weeks. Why hadnt a simple gunshot wound healed yet? Yegorov didnt care whether Wang Zhong was in pain or not; he asked, Arent you going to polish your boots? Dont you want to? Wang Zhong thought, Is it that I dont want to polish them? I dont know how! Ive hardly ever seen anyone polish boots in my life. How am I supposed to polish them when Ive never even seen a pig run!
All he could do was change the subject: Today, we need to figure out a way to prevent the enemy from demining in the smoke. Any ideas? Yegorov looked at Wang Zhong: You are the White Horse General, and Im just an ordinary regimentalmander, as ordinary as theye. You should be the one to tell me what to do! Wang Zhong: Lets exercise some military democracy! Crowdsource some strategy, you know? Yegorov: Then you should go ask that entric Vasily, he might have some oundish ideas. Isnt that why you value him? Wang Zhong didnt reply because he was already thinking of countermeasures. Since he had received absolutely no military education, he could only start with what he knew from games. In games, dealing with smoke was simple: userge caliber guns and fire explosive shells at the ground. When ying Advance Command, seeing the enemy deploy smoke, he would unleash a barrage of BM21 Hail rockets, which generally could effectively dy the enemys offensive and even eliminate quite a few of the attacking forces. Drawing inspiration from the game Wang Zhong asked Yegorov, What do you think about us blindly firing 76mm guns at the enemy? The firing elements for several preset positions for the 76mm guns were determined the day we set up defenses, ensuring urate hits on enemy tanks at various distances. After switching to explosive shells, the trajectory would be more curved than Armor-Piercing Shells, and the gunners familiar with the guns performance could deliver the explosive shells to roughly the same position based on the firing elements of the Armor-Piercing Shells. Yegorov nodded: We dont have many 76mm guns, but we do have plenty of shells.
Pickles, too, added Popov. All of them thought of some unpleasant things and frowned together. Just then, the on-duty new recruit pushed the door open and came in: Report! Brother Peter called, saying enemy reconnaissance nes are flying towards us from the southwest. Wang Zhong: Has the brother informed Gods Arrow Company? Yes. Then no need to worry. Yegorov quipped: Lets hope the big sister of the prayer hands doesnt mispray because her beloved general doesnt understand human emotions, leading to a misfire. Wang Zhong: That wont happen. He himself wasnt sure why he was so certain. A momentter, the sound of an airnes engine was heard. Wang Zhong went to the window and looked out; he made a slight shift in his viewing angle and spotted the enemy neit was the same Focke-Wulf Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft as yesterday. As soon as the ne entered the city area, it was shot down by Divine Arrow and crashed in the residential district to the north of the city. When Wang Zhong switched back his view, Yegorov said, It seems weve shot it down, so the big sister with the divine hands probably doesnt want to sleep with you that much.
Wang Zhong shrugged: Speaking of which, are the pilots of the two reconnaissance nes we shot down yesterday still alive? Answering him was Popov: One of the captains in charge of reconnaissance survived. Hes been sent to the Tribunal, and any information we get out of him will be ryed to us. Wang Zhong nodded and decided to go out to inspect the positions. He left therge room where several people slept and entered the adjoining operations center, where he saw Vasily frowning and sitting in front of the field telephone, continuously jotting down something in a notebook. Wang Zhong: Hows it going? Vasily took off his headset and stood up to salute: General! At ease, Wang Zhong waved his hand, Whats the situation? Vasily handed the notebook he had just written to Wang Zhong. The notebook was full of tranted content from enemymunications. While reading, Wang Zhong asked, It seems you dont need to refer to the seized notebook for call signs anymore? Yes, Ive basically memorized them. Wang Zhong: Then why did you look so serious just now?
Because I find it strange. Yesterday, the Prussians rarely mentioned their own units call signs and locations, even in code words. Today, look at this, so muchmunication early in the morning. Wang Zhong nodded, he too felt something was amissperhaps the enemy was deliberately leaking false information. But he didnt say it directly; instead, he encouraged Vasily: Why do you think that is? I think they are intentionally leaking false information. The Prussians are very methodical and wouldnt suddenly change this much. There must be someone ordering them to change their practice. Wang Zhong: Youre right, I have the same feeling. At that moment, Dimitri entered the operations center and saluted Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: Dimitri, dont take over the artillery sight for now. Let me ask you, whats the trajectory difference between the 76mm guns shrapnel and armor-piercing shells? How can we adjust it so that the shrapnel shellsnd in approximately the same area, based on the armor-piercing shell data that weve already determined? Dimitri: That depends on how far away the target is. Do you want the trajectory to end on the ground, detonating the shrapnel shells? Yes, I anticipate that today the enemy will use smoke to cover their engineersying mines. Our response is to use yesterdays calibrated data to fire shrapnel shells to disrupt the engineers operations. Its simple; Ill produce a new set of data immediately. At that point, the phone rang. Wang Zhong picked up himself: This is Rocossov, whats happening? Youd bettere over to the Brigade headquarters. Weve received orders from the Front Armymand, said Pavlov on the other end of the phone. Brigade Command. Your unit is to hold its current position until 8 pm on July 11th to allow the Front Army to form a new defensive line. After reading the orders, Wang Zhong looked up at Pavlov, So the Front Army has finally realized that Bogdanovka has been lost? Pavlov shook his head: Not yet, weve received many telegrams from Bogdanovka. But the 23rd Armored Division tasked with the breakout has already been destroyed. Whats left of them is said to have retreated to our north at Dolgy. Pavlov tapped on the map where there was a marker for an armored force. Wang Zhong: Was the map updated this morning? Yes. The Front Army intelligence department believes the force opposite us is part of the 15th Armored Division, with some auxiliary forces added. They think we can hold perfectly with our fortifications. Wang Zhong frowned: The enemys armored division has at least fifteen thousand men. Including our defensive battalion and the reconstituted 5th Bieshensk Battalion, we have just over two thousand men, and we are extremely short of technical equipment with only three anti-tank cannons! The enemy could have hundreds of tanks! Pavlov looked distressed: The Front Army insists we only have a part of the 15th Armored opposite us. Wang Zhong was just about to curse when explosions sounded outside. However, the sound was faint, like distant thunder. Wang Zhong: Whats that? Is another area being shelled? Grigori rushed into the Brigade headquarters: Its mortars, sounds like the 120mm heavy mortars. Wang Zhong: That must be the divisional artillery of the 15th Armored. He hadmanded the 15th Armored in the game Steel Division and was familiar with their capabilities. He ced his hand over the phone, just waiting for the ring. He didnt have to wait long. This is Rocossov, go ahead. Yegorovs voice came from the operations center on the other end of the line: The enemy has started using smoke. Theyre likely prepping for mineying by engineers. Before the smoke rose, the artillery sight caught one of the engineer tanks moving along the road, probably to clear mines there firsteven though we have no mines on the road. Wang Zhong: Open fire first, and remember to cover the front of the 76mm gun position with smoke. Since the firing was based on pre-set coordinates for blind firing, it made sense to cover the front of their own gun positions to prevent the enemy from spotting them. Ill head back right away. After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong told Pavlov: Keep pleading poverty with the higher-ups; we definitely cant stop an entire armored division with just these troops we have now. Its up to you! Chapter 96: 20: The Arc of Fire Chapter 96: Chapter 20: The Arc of Fire
When Wang Zhong arrived at the forwardmand, the enemys engineers had already been sted into retreat. However, that isnt entirely urate, as after losing three of their modified breach vehicles from the number one tanks, they still managed to sessfullyunch rockets with explosive cords. From his birds eye view, Wang Zhong could clearly see the traces left by the explosive cords in the middle of the road. After observing for a while, Wang Zhong clicked his tongue and said, Now the enemy knows we havent buried mines on the main road. Yegorov added, If the enemy attacks via the main road, arent they just asking to be hit? Weve already destroyed three of the engineers number one tanks; they would certainly suffer more losses if they advanced along the road. Once theyre blocked on the road, theyre sitting ducks. They cant even disperse, since the actual minefields are on both sides of the road.
Wang Zhong nodded and said, Indeed, lets see what the enemy does. Major General Randolph,mander of the 15th Armored Division, stood on top of his armoredmand vehicle, observing the destroyed number one tanks through his binocrs. The enemy has already calcted the shooting elements, even managing to hit our engineers tanks through the smoke, Randolph put down his binocrs, Although the Ante Army has long been a cluster of expendable goods, this time they did a good job. An attack through the main road would result in serious losses. The chief of staff agreed, We absolutely cant take the main road. The engineers also reported that both sides of the road are mined without warning signs. If the attacking troops get stuck on the main road, they would truly be sitting ducks. Perhaps we should deploy moreprehensive smoke cover and let the engineers begin mine clearance? Major General Randolph hummed and, with his chin in hand, fell into deep thought. It was at this moment that Wang Zhong noticed something: the enemys mortar carriers were within his line of sight. Previously, while up on Peniye, hed been able to see the enemys mortar carriers. It seemed this was a standard operation in the Prussian military tactics manual, to push mortar carriers to this distance to fire. Back on Peniye, Wang Zhong had no indirect fire capability, and the enemy parked their vehicles behind the reverse slope of a high ground, so indeed, there was not much he could do about these mortar carriers. But now, the situation was different. First of all, there was a vast in to the southwest,pletely devoid of reverse slopes, and secondly, Wang Zhong now had indirect fire capability.
From his high vantage point, Wang Zhong watched the enemys mortar carriers: it appeared to be a battalion of vehicle-mounted mortars, with twelve carriers, various ammunition trucks, and half-tracked vehicles transporting the gunners, all huddled together on the in in a big cluster. The enemys other units, to avoid 203mm fire, were spread out quite far, but this battalion seemed to limit its formation spread for operational convenience. Indeed, who would anticipate having irvoyance here, to see past so much smoke to the mortar carriers. Of course, the position Wang Zhong was in was elevated, so it wasnt entirely impossible to see the half-tracked vehicles housing the mortars, but such poor visibility made it difficult to urately determine the targets location. Therefore, they could only try firing blindly, and then adjust the point of impact. By then, the mortar battalion would have long fled, since they were all half-tracked vehicles with decent mobility. But if they didnt adjust the fire, and just mmed them with arge volley, the mortar battalion would likely be half destroyed. Wang Zhong was confident in the power of the B4 heavy artillery. So, he picked up the telephone handsetafter yesterdays live test, the phone had been moved close to the window. Connect to Artillery Position A. After getting through, Wang Zhong read out a series of coordinates and called for a barrage. Dietrich, curious, who was over at the artillery team, asked, What are we firing at? These coordinates are quite a way behind where we targeted the enemy yesterday will it hit anything?
Before Wang Zhong could speak, Yegorov chimed in, Arent we hitting the enemys mortars? Just now, when the enemy released smoke, I saw the trajectory of the shells in the sky; the mortars cant be that far from the front line. The flight of mortar shells was indeed slow, but to visually confirm the trajectory was a bit terrifying. However, thanks to Yegorov, the shelling of the enemy mortar positions now seemed reasonable, as it was impossible for them to know if they hit the target on this side, making it purely a guess from their perspective. As for why the guess was so precise, that must be Saint Andrew showing his power! After hanging up the phone, feeling that a barrage from one position wasnt enough, he picked up the phone again and said, Connect to Position B! Take my eight massive 203mm shells, invaders! After a brief period of contemtion, Major General Randolph made a decision: The mortar battalion will continueying smoke to thoroughly obscure the enemys line of sight, and have the engineers prepare for de-mining. No sooner had he spoken than a howling came from the sky. Randolph, being an old soldier, knew upon hearing the howl that the shells wouldnd behind him, so he immediately turned around At that moment, the engine hood of a half-tracked vehicle carrying a 105mm heavy mortar suddenly caved in, the edges of the cover flipping up under the stress. Randolph couldnt see what was causing this phenomenon because the next moment, the half-tracked vehicle exploded violently.
A handbrake flew over the top of Randolphs head, and the gust of wind blew off his crookedly worn cap. The major general dove from the top of themand vehicle. With his hands over his head, he couldnt see the second shell fall. It was only when the third shellnded that the major general thought to prop his body up to keep a distance from the ground, to prevent his organs from being damaged by the shock. The explosions continued, and amid the cacophony of the heavy artillery, smaller sts could be heard, likely mortar shells being detonated. The artillery bombardment came quickly and left just as fast; it appeared that the enemys heavy artillery battalion had only fired a salvo. Once the whistling and explosions had stopped, Major General Randolph got up. The orderly immediately rushed out to start dusting off the Major Generals uniform, but inadvertently pped the knee that the Major General had injured when he had dived from themand vehicle. With an angry roar, Randolph yelled, Be gentle! Youre killing me! Get the medic! My leg, its As it happened, Randolph already had a condition of bone hypersia, and this incident had opened the gates to his agony; he was in so much pain that he couldnt stand firmly and sat down abruptly. Two guards rushed over and helped the Major General lean against the side of the nearbymand vehicle. It was then that the Major General had a chance to survey the damage to his troops.
Across the fieldy many half-track vehicles aze, and it seemed like some of the half-tracks had tried to move out of the artillery zone only to have their tracks broken, leaving them skewed across the field. The bodies of the artillerymen were scattered among the half-tracks. Randolph knew without needing a casualty count that the artillery battalion would not bebat-ready for a long time. He was about to issue an order when suddenly an ammunition vehicle exploded in a sympathetic detonation, scattering shells around it that triggered secondary explosions, sending up orange fireballs that made the sun seem dim inparison. Randolph, a nobleman, rarely cursed, but he couldnt help himself at that moment: Damn it! Reconnaissance battalion! Sweep through all the high ground outside the city, and find the enemys artillery observation team! Even if it takes using radio detection vehicles, find them! Randolph naturally assumed that this was the result of cunning Ante Army observers concealed at high vantage points outside the city; it never urred to him that the enemy had something like Brother. One should say, within the realm ofmon sense, he had made the most correct judgment. At this moment, the division staff officer came limping over, clearly having also made an intense move to hit the ground just before. General, should we wait for the divisional artillery to arrive before acting? With the help of observation nes, the divisional artillery can locate the enemys artillery positions. ording to our intelligence, the enemys heavy artillery is not easily moved, and our artillery can counter-battery them and they wont be able to escape. Randolph nodded, then added, Also, have the 223rd Regiment ready to try to capture Lininy Vige and nk Loktov from the side. Ill reinforce them with a tank battalion to make up for the losses they sufferedst night. The staff officer replied, No problem. And the front? Randolph looked out at the glimpses of Loktovs grey urban area through the smoke and shook his head, Unless we take out the enemys heavy artillery, a frontal assault on the city would be too costly. We cant afford that kind of loss. We still have to strike at Argesukov. We have to carefully use the troops that His Imperial Majesty has entrusted to us! Pull back three kilometers and establish sentry positions to prevent enemy observers from infiltrating out of the city.
The staff officer nodded and shouted to the signalman, Pull back three kilometers! - Wang Zhong was the first person on the scene to notice the enemy starting to retreat, and he might have been the only one to see it. He couldnt help butugh out loud. Were the Prosen people so dependent on their routines? So, a few bombed smokeunchers and you cant fight anymore? He thought about how this cheatbined with artillery was really useful. He could foresee a time when he would be known for masterful artillery deployment. If I ever write an autobiography, maybe Ill call it The Arc of Fire. Unfortunately, this cheat only had a slightly longer range of visionpared to someone using binocrs. In the future, he might have to personally go on a reconnaissance ne, circle over the enemys heads to see all of their deployments, and thenmand the troops via radioah, given the Ante Armys radio proficiency, perhaps air-dropping orders would be quicker. At that moment, the phone rang, and Yegorov picked it up, Fieldmand, go ahead. Are you sure? Uh-huh, I understand. Wang Zhong guessed who was calling even before Yegorov hung up, and true enough, Yegorov said after hanging up the phone, Brother Peter heard engines of enemy vehicles moving away in the distance. The enemy might be retreating. Although Wang Zhong already knew, he still feigned surprise, Really? Thats great! The others in the room also sighed in relief. Vasily, who was manning the field telephone, stretchedzily, The enemy is too weak! Is that all? I never knew war was such an easy business. Just blow them up with the B4, and they run away! Popov put on a stern face, ready to fulfill his duties as a chain to eliminate the soldierscence, when the phone rang again. This time it was Pavlov. I couldnt get the 203 shells. They are deployed along the border, and so is the ammunition. The rear services have told us they have sufficient 122 and 152mm shells. Wang Zhong replied, Then why dont they just give me 122 or 152 mm howitzers! Actually, the 152mm gun had overall better performance than the B4, with nearly the same range, slightly less power, but a much faster rate of fire. When loading a B4 howitzer, you had to use the crane attached to the ammunition vehicle; it was simply impossible to load it by hand, whereas the 152 could certainly be manually loaded by strong Ante men. No, a sigh came from Pavlov over the phone. Also, the supply train that was supposed to arrive today was destroyed en route by the enemys bombers, and the wreckage has blocked the railway. I dont know when it will be cleared. Wang Zhong asked, What about our reinforcements? If they want us to hold until the evening of the 11th, we need reinforcements! There was silence for a long while before the reply came, Im trying. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue in disbelief. He knew it wasnt Pavlovs fault; in the current situation where defeat was cascading, simply holding the line was already an achievement. The good news was that they had repelled the enemys morning offensive. The bad news was, it was only July 6th, and the order had been to hold out until July 11th. Chapter 97: 21 Horizontal Bombing Chapter 97: Chapter 21 Horizontal Bombing
Despite being given a seemingly overwhelming task, the senior officers of Rocossovsbat group, having done everything that could be done at hand, decided to engage in an intense game of bridge. It was a bit like ying a round of Gwent regardless of how urgent the situation was. Wang Zhong had gradually be ustomed to this pace. When theres nothing to do on the battlefield, there is truly nothing to do, but a Sword of Damocles hangs over ones head at all times, never knowing when it might fall and destroy everything. Those new to the battlefield might spend every day terrified of the sword hanging above their heads, but old soldiers like Wang Zhong be ustomed to it over time. Yes, Wang Zhong had only been a soldier for less than two weeks but he had already be a seasoned veteran; the battlefield was indeed a crucible for training people.
As Wang Zhong was looking at his cards, the telephone rang. He picked up the receiver as a matter of course, This is Rocossov, go ahead. This is Brother Peter, I hear arge enemy air group approaching. I dont know if its for bombing or passing through. Theres arge number of six-engine heavy bombers. Got it, Wang Zhong said, putting down the phone, and said to Yegorov, Air raid rm! No sooner had he spoken than the air raid rm outside began to sound; clearly, Brother Peter had already notified the towns military stationmand and the air defense troops. Wang Zhong threw down his cards and went to the window to look up at the sky. Dmitry asked, Do we need to evacuate? The city doesnt have a subway, and there was no nning for standard air-raid shelters before, so if you want to hide, your only choice is the cer where they store cabbage in winter. Wang Zhong said, This ce is more solid than most basements. While he was talking, Wang Zhong saw the formation of nes. He switched to a birds-eye view, allowing him to observe the entire formation without the limitations of the windows field of vision. Arge formationprised of 30 six-engine heavy bombers and an equal number of fighter nes was approaching. If this was targeting Loktov, it meant there were no longer targets in Bogdanovka that required the cover of such a formation. Wang Zhong was thinking when Vasily suddenly shouted, I hear the enemy clearly calling out, it sounds like ground-to-Air Forcemunication.
What did they say? Wang Zhong asked, though he had a vague idea. Vasily: Theyre asking the Air Force to deal with the heavy artillery in the city. How did the Air Force respond? The Air Force said to find the tactical bomber squadron since theyre tasked with bombing train stations and supply warehouses. Yegorov clicked his tongue, Luckily, we moved the artillery position from near the station before. The initial location Wang Zhong chose for the B4 position was the stations stackyard, which had now been moved to the city park north of the station and the small garden in front of the municipal building. These ces were naturally camouged due to dense vegetation, and its hard to spot them from the air with the added camos Wang Zhong had personally confirmed this with a birds-eye view. The citys anti-aircraft guns began to fire, but sadly, the 25mm anti-aircraft guns had little effect on the high-flying enemy nes; they fired now simply because they were air defense troops. As the enemy nes approached the chemical nt, they began to drop bombs Loktov wasnt big, so with the altitude the enemy was flying at, dropping bombs near the chemical nt meant the explosives wouldnd near the station and supply warehouses. The shrill whistling of the bomb tail fins made Wang Zhongs ears ache. Yes, different from the whoosh of shells falling, this whizz came from whistles specially mounted on the tails of the bombs. The enemy nes that hadpleted their bombing began to turn around.
Wang Zhong moved to another window and watched as the bombs fell towards the ground. Thirty heavy bombers conducted a carpet bombing. The closely packed bombs carved thirty bloody scars on the ground. A cloud of dust engulfed the streets of Loktov. Plumes of smoke rose up one after another. Wang Zhong suddenly felt relieved that he did not have a view of the streets being bombed; otherwise, he would have seen the heartbreaking scene below. Unlike the viges outside, Loktov had many civilians living in it. Men who followed the Secr faction of the Eastern Holy Church formed militias, women joined the volunteerbor camps, and numerous elderly and children were waiting to be evacuated by train. It was unknown how many civilian casualties such heavy bombing would cause. Ludm rose from the ground. She and the Divine Arrow sniper team were stationed on the roof of the only Anatoly public bathhouse in Loktov, ready to snipe any enemy reconnaissance nes at any moment. The B4 artillery position was just a street away to the north of the public bathhouse. If any enemy dive bombers targeted the artillery positions, Divine Arrow could offer some protection.
One of the scars plowed by the recent level bombing was not far from the bathhouse. If the enemy had dropped their bombs just a few secondster, the Divine Arrow team would have perished in the mes. Lying on top of the rooftop railing, she looked down at the devastation below. Suddenly, she saw something. Ludm sprinted off, rushing downstairs, with Brother Yeca Neiko shouting after her, Where are you going? Reconnaissance nes might take this chance to confirm the results of the bombing! We have to be ready for battle! Ludm shouted back, Ill be right back! She sped along the makeshiftdder beside the bathhouse and onto the street, rushing to where she had seen the object. It was a ss jar that had shattered on the ground, its babys breath flowers scattered all around. A hand was still tightly gripping the jar, its skin wrinkled from using rough soap to wash too many clothes. Ludm picked up the hand, which was now just a palm and half of the wrist, and looked around for the owner of the hand. Then she saw not far away was the ce whereundry soap was distributed, where several girls assigned to Rocossovsbat group to wash clothes were squatting on the ground, sobbing loudly.
Chapter 98: 21 Horizontal Bombing_2 Chapter 98: Chapter 21 Horizontal Bombing_2
Ludm took a bandage from her body, tore off a part, wrapped the starflowers on the ground, and cradling the severed hand, she approached theundry girls. She could not recognize the girl lying on the ground since it had already been darkst night. But the girls severed hand said it all. Of course, there were also these starflowers. Theundry girls were crying, The captain only ordered us toe get soap! How could this happen Ludm stood silently.
At this moment, Brother Yeca Neiko rushed to her side, You must return to your post! Without you, Divine Arrow cannot be guided! The Monk nced at the girl on the ground, sighed, took the severed hand and starflowers, Ill take care of this here, you go back to your post! Ludm nodded her head, walked towards the bathhouse, looking back with every step she took. Wang Zhong withdrew his gaze, came to the telephone, and ced his hand on the receiver, ready to answer the call at any moment. If the artillery positions suffered damage, they would report to Wang Zhong immediately. He was waiting for that call. Thirty seconds passed, and the telephone did not ring. Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, It seems our artillery is alright. Yegorov said, Moving the artillery positions away from the targets that would be bombed was really a smart move. Popov asked, Should we change the artillery positions? Could the enemy pilots have spotted that they are artillery positions? Wang Zhong replied, No, the enemy never flew directly over the artillery positions. They probably finished dropping bombs and turned away right above our heads.
As he said this, he made a circling gesture overhead. At that moment, the telephone rang again. Wang Zhong still picked up the receiver himself, This is Rocossov, speak. This is the Fifth Byshensk Battalion, we spotted enemy armored scout vehicles on the small road southeast of our position. The Fifth Byshensk Battalion had not received reinforcements, and their equipment had not been replenished much, so Wang Zhong had disbanded them and mixed them with local militia to monitor the two main roads leading out of the city to the southeast and northwest. Loktov might only be a small town, but it was impossible for Wang Zhongs small force to encircle the city in a tight defense. He could only focus on defending the front and let less important forces monitor the roads on both sides. Wang Zhong inquired, Southeast? Half-tracked vehicles? Both half-tracked vehicles and a Panzer II. On the suggestion from workers at the tractor station, we disguised a tractor as a tank, which scared the enemy away. Wang Zhong burst outughing, What? A tractor disguised as a tank? Yes, and it worked brilliantly. As long as we piled up straw in the front, it looked just like a tank cannon turret camouged with straw. We drove this thing out, let the gearbox tter, and the enemy immediately ran away. Wang Zhongughed heartily, and the others, who hadnt heard the conversation through the receiver, looked at him with puzzled expressions. Youve done very well, keep scaring the enemy and dont let them discover our actual weakness here! Great job! Having said this, Wang Zhong hung up the receiver and ryed the Byshensk Battalions method to everyone.
Vasilyughed out loud and then was stared down by Popov, Do your job well! Yegorov remarked, But a fake tank can only scare people after all. I still hope we get real tanks soon. Then His Excellency the General will be able to showcase his talent in tankmand. It seems in Yegorovs eyes, Wang Zhong has already be a genius tankmander. Wang Zhong, I saw from the brigade headquarters that we have remnants of the 23rd Tank Army to our north, and I dont know if we can get them toe over. No matter what tanks they are equipped with, they should be able to y some role. The role he referred to involved own cheat-like personalmand of a tank to sneak behind the enemys blind spots, a staple for the War Thunder groundbat gamers. Popov, They should be equipped with the fast series of tanks. Upon hearing this, General Wang frowned. Although the T28s had thin armor, at least their guns were decent. The BTs didnt even have decent firepower; at this time, many of Prosens tanks had been reinforced on the front, following the experiences of the Carolingian campaign, and the small guns of the BT7 might not be able to prate the enemys armor. The BT7 itself was exceedingly fragile; even heavier machine guns with slightly higher pration could pierce its sides. The onlymendable feature of this tank was its mobility. It utilized the famous Christie suspension system, so during high-speed maneuvers, it could even have its tracks removed and speed along the highway on wheels. As he spoke, Wang Zhong began to ponder whether he could do something remarkable with the BT7 once he got it, thanks to its astonishing mobility. Just then, the phone rang again. Vasily, I never knew before that war was about ying cards in themand post, and then constantly answering the phone.
Cut the chatter, said Wang Zhong before picking up the receiver, This is Rocossov, go ahead. This is Brother Peter. I heard a lone Do 215, possibly at high altitude. And theres also a Focke-Wulf 189 at low altitude. Wang Zhong frowned. In this era, bombers generally flew in clusters, forming a dense formation convenient for mutual defense with their machine guns, intercepting enemy aircraft. A lone Do 215 at high altitude Wang Zhong, One at high altitude and one at low? Brother Peter answered, Yes, if you count the time it takes for sound to travel from high altitude, the Do 215 is ahead. Its flying particrly high, only the MiG-3 could intercept it. And obviously, we dont have any MiG-3s. Perhaps they had been avable at some point, but they were all destroyed on the airfields on the first day of war. Wang Zhong, Got it, thank you. After hanging up the phone, he looked towards the others, A lone Do 215 at high altitude, likely a reconnaissance ne. And theres a 189 at low altitude. What do you make of it? Yegorov and Popov exchanged nces. Vasily, I know! The enemy has been losing 189s over Loktov, so they want to see whats been happening! Wang Zhong and the others exchanged nces.
Major General Rundolf of the 15th Armored Division heard the sound of the aircraft overhead and looked up. His chief of staff said, Its flying very high, must be a recon ne. Perhaps observing the effect of their recent carpet bombing? As soon as he finished speaking, a Focke-Wulf 189 flew closely past their heads. Because the Focke-Wulf 189 had an advanced appearance, the soldiers saw it as a symbol of Prosens cutting-edge technology and cheered, taking off their hats. The chief of staff frowned, I heard the Air Force has lost several reconnaissance nes over Loktov, and these are very hard to shoot down. Could it be they want to see whats been shooting down their own nes? Major General Rundolf cursed, Weve mentioned the artillery positions so many times! Those B4s have already caused us more than a thousand casualties, and the Air Force does nothing! They raise a fuss over losing a few recon nes! After speaking, the general sighed. Lets wait for our divisions artillery to arrive, then think of a n, said the chief of staff. The general nodded, Thats all we can do for now. When will our coordination between the Air Force and ground forces be as good as what Duke Meyer ims? Chapter 99: 22 “Big Baby Chapter 99: Chapter 22 Big Baby
This is Wang Zhong. Intercept as usual, Wang Zhong said, exposing the position of Divine Arrow is not important, it can be moved. After the battle at Upper Peniye, Monk Yeca Neiko should be quite experienced now. Yegorov: Hes indeed very experienced, prepared trucks especially for transferring, and even connected each alternative Divine Arrow position with telephones. Wang Zhong nodded: Then intercept! After the interception, run immediately! As he spoke, he picked up the phone: Connect to the current position of Gods Arrow Company. Two secondster, the voice of Ludm came from the phone: Hello?
Wang Zhong: Why is it you? Where is Monk Yeca Neiko? The Monk has gone to perform rites for the deceased. Whats up? Can the Divine Arrow squad fire now? Yes! Enemy aircrafting, right? Leave it to me, Ill shoot it down! I can recognize the enemys reconnaissance aircraft even with my eyes closed! Wang Zhong always felt as if Ludm was forcing a smile, deliberately acting cheerful. Could it be an illusion? Had something happened? Wang Zhong really wanted to ask, since this was his almost fiance, but he could not inquire due to the urgency of military affairs. So he said: Ill leave it to you! The enemy aircraft will be arriving soon! Mhm! At least thisst sound, the girl sounded quite spirited. After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong immediately switched his perspective to survey the situation. The first thing he saw was the high-flying Do 215hmm? Wang Zhong observed that Do 215, feeling that this ne wasrger than the standard Do 215. Could this possibly be a Do 217?
And it didnt seem like it was here for reconnaissance. With its sluggish speed, it looked like it was carrying bombs. Reconnaissance Do nes should not carry bombs to allow them to fly higher and faster. As Wang Zhong was puzzling over this, the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft entered his field of vision. Before Wang Zhong could get a clear look, Divine Arrow was already soaring into the sky. However, the reaction of this 189 was strange, as if its pilot had been prepared all along and immediately bailed out with a parachute. Other reconnaissance aircraft would struggle a bit, like trying to enter the blind spot of Divine Arrows praying hands, but this one just gave up! Wang Zhong had a bad feeling, but could not articte what was wrong, until he saw the suspected Do 217 twin-engine heavy bomber in the sky and what it dropped. The Prosen Royal 55th Bomber Squadrons tenth squadronmanders ne was tasked today with dropping an experimental weapon. In fact, this squadron had been transferred to the Kingdom of Bavaria in Prosen before the Carolingian campaign to participate in the testing of experimental weapons. This was the empires grand attempt to rece the divine with technology; its sess would prove that the gods of inferior races, too, were negligible false deities. Now, the day hade for this great, symbolic weapon to be tested in actualbat, and its target was none other than the Miracle that the false god used to deceive the world!
The observer shouted: Divine Arrowunched, Divine Arrow trail confirmed! The radio-guidance operator: Visual on target, guidance preparationplete! The observer: Course parameters inputplete! The mechanicalputer installed in the bombers guidance office quicklypleted the calctions and spit out the course adjustment parameters. The squadron leader of the tenth squadron tore off the paper with the course parameters, nced at it, and personally pushed the control stick to turn the aircraft towards the calcted course. The observer: Aimingplete, 20 seconds to bomb release window! The squadron leader pressed the timer installed beside the operators seat. As the timer hit zero, he shouted: For the empire! For the Emperor! As the timer reached zero, he pressed the bomb release button, and the heavy radio-guided glide bomb left the rack under the fusge. A small drogue parachute helped the bomb adjust its attitude. The guidance operator reported: Drogue parachute discarded, bomb tail light observed! Beginning radio guidance! At this moment, within the guides field of vision, the tail light of the bomb emitted a very conspicuous glow.
Ludm and the members of Gods Arrow Company sprinted down the stairs to the ground and climbed onto the GAZ truck that had been prepared earlier. The only driver of Gods Arrow Company was smoking when he saw everyoneing down so frantically, heughed and said, Whats the rush? Are the Prussians about to attack us right now? Ludm, The enemy has a reconnaissance ne in the sky. Weve been exposed. An attack wille soon, it could be artillery or bombers. Hey, it wont be that fast. Plus, look, Yeca Neiko is still over there praying for the girl who died! Wait a moment Ludm grabbed the drivers cor, pulled him out of the drivers seat, and threw him onto the ground, then she climbed in and deftly started the truck. The driver, seeing stars after being thrown, still didnt take it seriously: Whats the rush? These past few days, Ive been watching that brigadier, and I dont think hes all that impressive! Its just that No sooner had he spoken than the dome of the Anatoliy Bathhouse was suddenly smashed by something, as if someone had cracked an eggshell. The next moment, an explosion inted the bathhouse like a balloon and then with a pop, it burst. The st wave picked up the driver from behind, threw him against the stone wall on the other side, twisting his neck into an unhealthy angle in an instant. Yeca Neiko, who had been conducting the service, also flipped over andy prone on the ground. The shockwave also caused Ludms GAZ truck to sway erratically, as if it had guzzled fiverge bottles of vodka. In her haste, Ludm hit the brakes, which resulted in the truck flipping over and sliding a whole five meters.
When all settled. Ludm struggled to crawl out of the drivers seat and stood up, covering her scratched right hand, looking at the bathhouse that had been reduced to rubble. Yeca Neikonow a deputy knightalso got up, joining her in looking at the bathhouse. Yeca Neiko, What happened? I didnt hear the sound of enemy nes. What sted us all of a sudden? Ludm looked at Yeca Neiko, Youll need to find a new driver, one who will follow orders. Wang Zhong was deeply shaken. After confirming that Ludm was alright, he started to ponder. He recognized the thing that had just been dropped from Route 217, the Fritz X radio-controlled bomb! Could it be that Prosen was stimted by the Divine Power guided weapons of the Eastern Holy Church and the Lutheran Church, resulting in the development of their guided weapons outpacing Earths Sturmtiger? Or is it that Jude has abundant resources, thereby advancing their scientific research faster than Sturmtiger? No, thats not right. Prosen was still using a mix of short-barreled Panzer IVs and early model Panzer IIIs; it didnt seem like their technology far surpassed that of Sturmtigers contemporaries.
They must have seen other peoples guided weapons and went all out to develop one of their own. Now the question is, how many of these do they have? If there are many, then the fertilizer nt he was at is also not safe; one hit from that thing and everything would go sky-high. Damn, how can this be fought? The opponent is Jude with higher technology Can we only rely on Divine Power? The problem is that there isnt much Divine Power either, only a total of ten Divine Arrows, and nearly half have been fired already. Wang Zhong decided not to think too much for nowoverthinking was pointless, the ship will go straight when it reaches the bridge. He exited the overhead mode and picked up the phone, Connect with Brother Peter. Brother, did you note the sound characteristics of the Route 217 overhead? Im telling you, it carries a heavy guided bomb. If you detect the same sound footprint next time, notify me immediately. Considering the threat of this weapon, they might have to take it down using the Divine Arrow, as the frontlinecked the MiG-3 high-altitude fighter needed to reach Route 217. At this time, on the Prussian Armys side. Themunications staff officer ran over from the radio vehicle, saluting Major General Randolph, Report! The divisions artillery just passed through Karlinovka and is now selecting artillery positions! Major General Randolph pped his hands together, Excellent! Perfect timing! Give them two hours to set up their positions and get ready to open fire! He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, Well start artillery preparation at 4:30 am tomorrow. It will take us three hours to clear a path through the minefield, and at 7:30 am, artillery fire will begin extending towards the enemy positions. We n to deploy an armored grenadier battalion, plus two reinforced Panzer IV tank toons, tounch a probing attack! The enemy will certainly use heavy artillery to stop us. Tell that damned Air Force, no matter what, they must send a reconnaissance aircraft aloft! Even if they cannot dive on the enemys positions, they must help our divisions 15cm heavy artillery eliminate those annoying B4s! Chapter 100: 23: The Longest Day Chapter 100: Chapter 23: The Longest Day
July 7th, at 4:30 in the morning. Wang Zhong was suddenly awakened by the thunder. Is it thundering? he asked Yegorov, who was in the bed next to him, as he sat up. Does it thunder so violently in this season? Its an artillery barrage, General, Yegorov stood by the window, peering outside from the edge. Wang Zhong hurried to his feet and joined Yegorov at the other side of the window. Outside, on the in, numerous plumes of dust had risen, formingrge flowers, with new flowers blooming every second.
Wang Zhong: The caliber seems quiterge. Its 152 mm heavy artillery, Yegorov said, The enemys heavy artillery hase into y. At Peniye, the enemys curved fire support at most had 75 mm infantry guns. If they had heavy artillery then, we would not have been able to hold it at all. Wang Zhong nodded and then asked, Are they clearing our minefields? Yes, I expect they will start advancing after the bombardment. Wang Zhong nodded again. At this moment, he switched his viewing angle to an overhead view, hoping to catch the enemys artillery with an external aid. This was amon technique in the War Game series. Even if there was no visualization of the enemys artillery, you could still see the animation of the artillery shells ascending, so this method could be used to quickly locate the enemys artillery and counterattack with your own. Wang Zhong wanted to give it a try. What if it worked? If they could take out the enemy heavy artillery, the fight would be much easierter on. However, no such luck. He could only see the trajectory of artillery shells that had entered the falling process. Perhaps a math expert could deduce the firing position from this trajectory, but Wang Zhong was no math expert; he had barely passed his college calculus exams after retaking them. Just then, the sound of a telephone rang from the neighboringmand post. Five secondster, a duty officer came in to report, Your Excellency General, Brother Peter heard a Do 215 in the high altitude. He is sure it is not the Do 217 carrying terrifying weaponry from yesterday. Wang Zhong looked at Yegorov: Is this waiting to observe our artillery positions? Possibly, but if the enemy really makes a chargeter, we will still need to fire and block the enemys follow-up troops, Yegorov looked at Wang Zhong.
Wang Zhong: Speak your mind. Yegorov shook his head: No, I was going to remind you that sometimes amander has to decide which parts to sacrifice for the overall situation, but considering the battle at Peniye, I think you dont need any reminders. Wang Zhong understood. Yegorov meant that only half of the B4 should fire, so even if discovered and counterattacked, only one artillery position would be lost, trading the forces on the artillery position for the enemys attacking strength. But was that really the only option? Wang Zhong stroked his chin, listening to the rumbling artillery outside, racking his brains for countermeasures. Then he really came up with one. He remembered the movie ck Hawk Down, in which the Somali warlords burned tires to create ck smoke, blocking the U.S. Air Forces aerial reconnaissance. Actually, with enough smoke generators, one could create a smoke screen around the artillery positions, but the Ante Army didnt have that many Smoke Bombs. So they might as well burn tires like the Somali fellows. After all, indirect fire artillery does not require direct line of sight, firing ording to preset data was sufficient. Wang Zhong looked toward Yegorov. Yegorov: You have another idea?
Wang Zhong: Yes. We pile up tires on the upwind side of the city and set them on fire. The burning tires will produce a lot of ck smoke, interfering with aerial reconnaissance nes observation. Yegorov was amazed: Thats really a n. Wang Zhong continued brainstorming: Dont we have captured Smoke Bombs? Use them at our fake artillery positions to create a smoke screen, making the enemy think those are key areas we want to protect. Feasible, Yegorov nodded repeatedly, Ill go issue the orders right now. Major General Randolph was enjoying breakfast in hismand vehicle when someone knocked on themand vehicle door. The major general looked up and saw that it was the chief of staff. He asked, What is it? Any reaction from the Ante People? The chief of staff: The artillery observers report arge amount of thick smoke rising from the southeast of the city, possibly a fire. The major general frowned: A fire? Just like that? He put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth with a napkin, downed his coffee in one gulp, and then stood up. The orderly immediately brought over his hat and baton. The major general dressed neatly and finally took the binocrs the orderly handed him, striding out of themand vehicle.
The divisions artillery scope was set up next to themand vehicle. The major general walked directly over and patted the shoulder of the staff officer using the artillery scope. The staff officer immediately vacated the spot, snapping to attention and saluting. After observing for himself, Randolph said, This smoke is a bit strange. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows and asked, Has the Air Forces reconnaissance ne arrived? Dont tell me we applied for it yesterday and theres still no reconnaissance ne today? It has arrived, said the chief of staff, and it has established radio contact with the divisions artillery. Its observing Loktov from high altitude. Major General Randolph was amazed: Could it be that the Ante People have generated this smoke specifically to block the reconnaissance nes vision? The chief of staff: Its possible. Randolph: Do you know who ismanding the Ante Army at the front? ording to the note we found in Karlinovka, it should be Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. Major General Randolph frowned: Why are the Antes names so long? So who is he? The White Horse General, the chief of staff said. Major General Randolph whirled around: The White Horse General?
Yes. Major General Randolph pursed his lips, walked away from the artillery scope, and started pacing nearby. Chapter 101: Chapter 23: The Longest Day_2 Just then, amunications officer came running over with a message: "Telegraph from Armored Cluster Command." Randolph took the telegraph, nced at it, and handed it to the chief of staff. The chief of staff read it out: "The siege task of Bogdanovka has now been transferred to the infantry units of the Sixth Army Group. Our cluster will carry out repairs here for one day before advancing. Your unit should strive to capture Loktov by dawn tomorrow. "We believe there are at most two brigades of infantry troops there." After the chief of staff finished reading, Major General Randolph asked, "The shell fragments we found yesterday, they were 203mm, weren''t they?" "Yes, General." "Two brigades of infantry with 203? That''s artillery from an Army Group!" The staff officers remained silent. After pondering for a while, Major General Randolph said: "Did the artillery observers see many mines detonated by the big guns?" "Very few." Randolph then asked: "How many booby traps did the sappers clear in Karlinovka?" "Four, and they were all makeshift booby traps made with hand grenades, easy to clear as long as the tripwire isn''t pulled." Randolph clicked his tongue: "This General White Horse sure likes to bluff. The minefield is probably only partly real, the rest fake. However, if we want to expand the offensive scale, we need time to organize the troops. "Just let the artillery turn those fake minefields upside down! "Begin the artillery bombardment on the enemy positions in the urban area at six o''clock, and our attack will beunched at eight in the morning, doubling the troop strength from the original n!" Launching an attack is aplex affair, only slightly easier than organizing a retreat. Doubling the attacking forces often meant that the attack formation needed to be reorganized. "Also!" Major General Randolph added, "Don''t release smoke when attacking. The Air Force said yesterday that they had destroyed the enemy''s only Divine Arrowuncher. I don''t trust the Air Force, but the enemy has been using Divine Arrows against reconnaissance nes in the air and not our armored reconnaissance battalion; I think they might not have many Divine Arrows left." Over at Wang Zhong''s position, six o''clock sharp. The first to notice the enemy''s artillery fire moving toward the urban area was Yegorov, who shouted, "The enemy artillery is extending toward the urban area!" As soon as his words fell, a shellnded in front of the forwardmand post''s window. Although to prevent injury from window shards after the fighting started, all the ss had been removed before the enemy arrived, the st wave still surged into the room, tearing off the entire wooden window frame, which now had no ss, and smashing it on the desk and telephone behind the window. The artillery periscope was directly pushed over onto Dmitry, who caught the mirror with a grab, carefully ced it on the ground, and theny down. Wang Zhong alsoy on the ground. Yegorov shouted to him, "Your Excellency General! You can''t lie like that! Your internal organs will be damaged!" Wang Zhong raised his head and looked at Yegorov''s method of lying downwasn''t this just a nk? With the physical fitness Wang Zhong had before crossing over, he wouldn''tst long in that position before muscle breakdown. But he did it anyway; this Aleksei had no other skills, but his body was well-trained, so maybe he could withstand it. The shells continued to fall, and nothing could be heard over the explosions. Wang Zhong always felt the house was shaking and could even hear the steel bars groaning. Constant fine sand and stones fell on his head, on his neck, inside his cor. Suddenly, a palm-sized piece of concrete fell with a smack not far in front of Wang Zhong, making him involuntarily raise his head just in time to see the ceiling decorations copsing and crashing down. The artillery barrage continued, as if it would never stop. Wang Zhong heard someone shouting hysterically. He switched to an overhead view and immediately saw that the shouting came from a group of young men responsible for operating the switchboard next door; they were curled up in the corner, holding their heads, using shouting to alleviate their fear. As the duration of the bombardment increased, Wang Zhong became increasingly worried that the house the forwardmand post was in would not hold. The sensation of the earth shaking made him feel like the house could copse on him at any moment. The impulse to stand up and run out of the house grew stronger, making his breathing more rapid. Is this what the enemy''s artillery preparation was like? No wonder some troops with low morale and organization disintegrated after being shelled. This would cause a breakdown; otherwise, it would take more courage to stand up and run... The relentless bombardment finally ended. Wang Zhong waited for a while before raising his head: "Is it over?" Just raising his head caused arge amount of white dust to fall from atop him. Now he was covered in ayer of dust, as if he had been lying in the snow for two hours during snowfall. Popov spat and wiped off the dust from his watch to have a look: "Damn it, they bombarded us for two hours!" Wang Zhong was shocked: I actually held a nk for two hours? The instant he realized this, his muscles began to ache, so he simplyy on the ground and let out a long breath. Dmitry got up, ced the artillery periscope back by the window, then looked outside and said, "The field...has been entirely sted into a different color. Can thisnd still grow crops? The ground is full of metal!" Popov also got up: "Don''t worry, the wounds of the earth heal themselves, just like humans." Yegorov picked up the telephone from the ground, grabbed the handset: "Connect to Brother Peter! Connect to Brother Peter! What? The telephone line is broken? Hurry and repair it!" Putting down the handset, Yegorov looked at Wang Zhong: "The enemy is likely to attack now; we need to check with Brother Peter to confirm the scale." Wang Zhong thought that Brother Peter''s ears were almost on par with radar; except for not being precise in localization and ranging, the reconnaissance effectiveness was indeed unquestionable. Chapter 102: Chapter 23: The Longest Day_3 He also stood up, enduring the sour pain in his shoulders, and moved to the window, cutting into a bird''s-eye view to observe the distance. Then he realized that there was no need for Brother Peter. The enemy''s armored units had arrayed in an inverted V formation on the open field, moving mightily towards the city, with arge number of infantry following behind each tank. The Prussians didn''t even deploy Smoke Bombs! In this way, the enemy''s advantage in direct fire could be fully utilized! Did the enemy know that there weren''t many Divine Arrows left on this side? Wang Zhong: "Quick, notify artillery Position A, fire for interdiction!" Yegorov: "I''ll fire the signal re." This was a backupmunication n prepared under Yegorov''s insistence, specifically in case the phone lines were disrupted. However, this type ofmunication couldn''t specify precise coordinates for bombardment, so the B4 would bombard a predetermined area based on previously set data. That was the area the enemy was about to cross. As Yegorov left to fire the signal re, Wang Zhong checked the variousbat positions. Yegorov had exined his defensive concept in detail: to fully utilize the experience gained in Peniye, engage the enemy in rugged terrain, use automatic firepower and hand grenades to eliminate the infantry apanying the tanks, then get close to throw Incendiary Bombs. Of course, it was necessary to make full use of outer defenses to weaken the enemy before engaging in closebat. Of the three anti-tank guns that the 31st Guards Regiment currently had, the 76 mm was ced at the outer defenses'' strongest and most concealed position, with a toon of infantry for cover. This toon also had captured Smoke Bombs to cover the artillery as they retreated to the next position. For the maneuverability of the 76 mm, Yegorov had prepared mules in the house next door and had assigned someone to look after them so the mules could haul the big guns if needed to move. As for the 45 mm guns, they could be dragged by the infantry. Yegorov had cleared a retreat path in advance. However, the 45 mm guns weren''t very effective in prating the front of enemy tanks, so Yegorov''s original intent was to have them distract attention, covering for the 76 mm. Simply put, the 45 mm were used as a shield for the 76 mm, and the gunners assigned to the 45 mm were cannon fodder for the 76 mm. Knowing this, Wang Zhong looked at the tense young faces operating the 45 mm and silently revisited each of their names. This was the only thing he could do as a brigademander at this stage: Order his soldiers to die, and then remember their names. Suddenly, Wang Zhong noticed a name: Aleksei Balfionovich. It was the guy who sneaked away from the battlefield for a romantic date; he was actually tasked with operating the 45 mm gun! It looked like he was the Gunner! Although the 45 mm gun was bing obsolete, ten people were assigned to operate it. Gunner, loader, aimer, breach operator, ammunition handler, and five Coachmen responsible for managing the mules, who were also reserves, ready to step in if an operator was killed. However, the mules assigned to this gun crew had already been blown up. The ammunition cart was still intact, and the ammunition handler was squatting next to it, clutching an Armor-Piercing Shell. Wang Zhong looked carefully at each face. The young men weren''t scared but rather excited; evidently, the recent shelling and the dead mules around them hadn''t daunted them. Their shiny, dust-free boots were stained with the blood of the mules. At that moment, the signal re wasunched. Only one signal re, which meant that Position A artillery was to start firing at the predetermined area. The sound of the guns immediately came from the city, and the whoosh of the heavy artillery overhead made the back of Wang Zhong''s head tingle. He immediately shifted his gaze towards the enemy and saw that the shells hadnded just in front of the enemy''s columns. This round of four shells all hit in front of the enemy''s formation, causing no casualties. After all, the artillery was firing at coordinates preset. If the phone lines hadn''t been cut, the enemy would have had a hard time! From Wang Zhong''s position, one could already hear the tter of the enemy tanks'' gearboxes. At that moment, the second wave of shells flew overhead. This time, all the shellsnded precisely in the middle of the enemy''s advance columns! A Panzer IV was directly flipped over by the st, and the infantry behind were all knocked down by the shock wave. Someone''s leg, broken by a shrapnel, flew high into the sky. The barrage of four 203cal shells, directly halted the advance of four tanks, and the infantry following behind the tanks suffered heavy casualties. However, the Prussian Army did not stop their advance; instead, they elerated! They might have realized that the big guns were targeting this area; the faster they moved through, the safer they would be, and the fewer who would die! By the time the third round of heavy artillerynded, most of the enemy had already passed through the targeted area, but one unlucky shell veered severely off course and exploded between two tanks, severing the tracks of both tanks instantly. This isn''t a game; repairing broken tracks takes a long time, so the enemy tank crewmembers immediately abandoned their tanks and ran backwards, waiting to repair their tanks after the battle ended. The infantry following the tanks joined the queues on the sides. Although they were the enemy, Wang Zhong had to admit that they were indeed well-trained. At this very moment, in the sky. The 103rd Air Reconnaissance Squadron''s Do 215 was circling above Loktov. The observer reported, "Because of the thick smoke on the ground, we can''t see the position of the heavy artillery." After a brief thought, the pilot gently pushed the control stick forward, causing the ne to enter a shallow dive. The copilot immediately eximed, "If we dive into low altitude, we''ll be hit by the enemy''s Divine Arrows!" Captain, "That''s why we need to calcte the coordinates of the enemy artillery positions before we fall, and inform our artillerymen on the ground!" Copilot, "What?" "That''s our mission; we mustplete it! Self-defense gunner, copilot, and navigator can bail out now!" Saying this, the captain personally unfastened the copilot''s seat belt: "Go now!" At that moment, Do 215 plunged into the thick smoke created by burning tires on the ground. The smoke even seeped through the cracks, making the captain cough vehemently. The copilot looked solemnly at the captain, "I''ll see you in Valha." After saying this, he resolutely turned around. Just then, the ne burst through the thick smoke, with the ground only a stone''s throw away. Captain, "Observer! Do you see the artillery position that is firing? I see it! Inform the artillery of the coordinates!" "15th Artillery! The coordinates of the enemy artillery positions are..." A voice came through the inte, someone shouting, "Divine Arrow!" The next moment, the ne was hit, and the captain was struck by shrapnel from the Divine Arrow, his flight jacket soaked in blood. He still strived to maintain the course of the ne, yelling, "Quick, report the bearings!" Observer, "Artillery! The coordinates of the enemy artillery position... I repeat..." Suddenly, Vasily shouted, "The enemy''s ne has spotted our artillery positions! They are reporting to the enemy artillery!" Wang Zhong looked through the rear window and asked, "How could they see through such thick ck smoke?" Then, through the window, he saw a ne dragging ck smoke from a fire plummeting toward the ground. Was that a reconnaissance ne from high altitude that had forciblye down below the ck smoke to confirm the location of the artillery positions? No, it wasn''t the time for astonishment; he had to immediately inform Position A to move! Wang Zhong grabbed the telephone handset, only to find there was no sound from the other end. He remembered thenthe telephone lines had been destroyed by the artillery fire that had just covered the area! This was far too dying! However, the aim of the artillery preparation was to destroy themandmunication system, so it seemed quite normal. Why doesn''t the Ante Army value radios more! Wang Zhong, "Runner! Runner!" Before the runner arrived, the sound of shells tearing through the air came from the sky, clearly targeting the city behind the position. The artilleryman, Dimitri, muttered, "That was quick?" Explosions were hearding from inside the city. Wang Zhong, with a stroke of luck, took an overlook perspective, and then saw the enemy''s shells falling around the artillery unit symbol of Position A. It was uncertain how many of the four B4 guns at Position A would survive. It was then that Dimitri shouted, "The 76mm anti-tank guns have opened fire!" Chapter 103: Chapter 24: Bloodbath in Loktov The only 76mm cannon on the position fired. Sparks flew when the armor-piercing shell hit the enemy tank, followed by the tank turret sting into the sky. Themanders of the other tanks all turned their periscopes around, trying to locate the 76mm cannon position amidst a pile of camouge. But to protect the only 76mm cannon, the camouge in front of the position was meticulously arranged; even if the smoke from the cannon''s muzzle was significant, it was still rather difficult to spot. The only issue was that during the recent firing preparation, the camouge had been affected, so there were some ws. Yet the Prussians, who had been suddenly attacked, still couldn''t locate the cannon position. And that''s when the 45mm cannon fired. Compared to the immediate effect of the 76mm cannon, the performance of the 45mm cannon was quite embarrassing. One armor-piercing shell struck the front armor of a Panzer IV, another simply missed entirely, bouncing off the external armor like a ping-pong ball, flying far away before finallynding again on the now-bare field. The Prosen tanks began random machine-gun fire in an attempt to flush out the hidden anti-tank guns. At that moment, the Panzer IV, with tactical number 251, suddenly stopped and fired. It took a wooden fake anti-tank gun as real. The fake gun was sted into the sky by a 75mm high-explosive shell, along with a scarecrow dressed as a gunner, which even had a smiley face pinned to its head made of paper! Watching all this from a bird''s-eye view, Wang Zhong recalled the praise for the Soviet anti-tank gun''s exceptional camouge techniques in the autobiography of "Tiger King" Carius. Despite the smoke and sh from cannon fire, Yegorov''s guided camouge of the gun position had not yet been revealed! Yegorov, observing next to Wang Zhong, remarked, "This is what we learned from the Mannheimers during the Winter War." Mannheim is a region, and its residents are called Mannheimers. Upon hearing Yegorov''s words, Wang Zhong felt it made sense that the camouge was so effective; he wouldn''t be surprised if Yegorov camouged an anti-tank gun to look like a talking tree in the future. The 76mm cannon fired again. The struck Panzer IV continued to move forward at its original speed, but its crew members started jumping out one after another, followed by mes bursting from the base of the turret, turning it into a "Fiery Chariot" that continued to rumble forward. It wasn''t until the ammunition inside the tank detonated that the vehicle finally came to a slow stop. Then, themander of the enemy vehicle number 231 finally spotted the 76mm gun position, and the tank stopped and began to rotate its turret. But in the nick of time, a 45mm anti-tank shell hit the space between 231''s turret and the turret ring, jamming the turret. The enemy didn''t give up and started to turn the whole vehicle to aim, and, shockingly, the gunner fired directly. The inurately aimed shell hit the open ground in front of the 76mm cannon, sting all the camouge into the sky. This explosion also signaled the other tanks, and at the same time, eight tanks came to a stop! The Prussians'' dense attack formation had this advantage: although they''d suffer terrible losses under barrage from the heavy 203mm artillery, with one shell taking out dozens or even hundreds, against direct anti-tank gunfire, the benefits of this formation were immense. In the blink of an eye, eight high-explosive shellsnded around the 76mm cannon. Wang Zhong frowned, initially thinking that the enemy had good eyesight to spot the 76 hidden behind a wall, but then realized that at least six of the eight vehicles had fired at the spot where the shells from vehicle 231 hit. Only two of this round''s shots were rtively urate,nding in front of the 76mm gun, sending the protective sandbags flying into the sky. Three members of the crew operating the 76mm gun were suddenly killed. The gunmander shouted, "We''ve been spotted, retreat quickly!" Then, the remaining men desperately dragged the opened supports of the 76mm gun, pulling the cannon back. Upon seeing this, those guarding the mules and horses immediately led two mules over, hoping to use them to drag the gun away. At this time, machine-gun fire swept over them, ttering against the cannon''s mantlet. The two 45mm guns fired with all their might, trying to cover the 76mm gun''s retreat. The 45mm gunmanded by Aleksei Balfyonovich hit a Panzer IV three times in a row, finally forcing the crew of that Panzer IV to abandon the vehicle. As he was directing the cannon to aim at a second target, he suddenly saw the target stop and turn its gun barrel toward them. "Retreat quickly!" Aleksei shouted while personally dragging the gun, and the crew forcibly pulled the cannon from its position. Enemy high-explosive shellsnded immediately after, with fragments from the st hitting the small mantlet of the 45mm gun. Aleksei''s shoulder twitched, exposed beyond the mantlet, but he bit down hard and didn''t speak, continuing to push the gun while shouting, "Fast! To the backup position!" The mules originally assigned to this gun crew had all been killed by enemy preparatory fire, so they could only move the gun by man-power. Wang Zhong was observing when Yegorov put down his binocrs and said, "Three gun crews have been driven away, leaving one to keep firing would be dangerous." Saying this, he leaned out of the window and made a gesture below. The veteran stationed below saw Yegorov''s gesture, nodded, and ran off. Curious, Wang Zhong asked, "What did you say?" "I told thest gun crew to withdraw to the second preset sniping position," he replied. Wang Zhong: "We have a second sniping position?" Since Wang Zhong had entrusted the task of arranging the defense entirely to Yegorov and had gone out to scout the viges outside, he had little concept of the main position''syout back at the fertilizer factory. Chapter 104: Chapter 24: Bloodbath in Loktov_2 Yegorov exined, "I referred to our experience at Upper Peniye. Once the enemy tanks enterplex terrain, their firing range and observation field are limited, whereas infantry can use their familiarity with the terrain to their advantage, quickly eliminate the tanks'' apanying infantry, and then use Molotov cocktails to destroy the tanks." "This fertilizer nt''s terrain is far moreplex than just the Y-shaped road at Upper Peniye. If the enemy dares to enter, we''ll make this fertilizer nt their graveyard!" ------------- The Prosen troops were unaware of Yegorov''s arrangement and did not know that all the anti-tank guns had already left the first line of positions and were standing by in the second line of defense. They continued to fire at anything that looked like an anti-tank gun. The fences around the fertilizer nt were thus shot through with many gapsin fact, these fake gun positions were deliberately arranged so that the Prosen Army would enter the nt through these locations. As the enemy gradually approached to closebat distance, upon themand of the battalionmander, the infantry that had been hidden behind the tanks spread out to both sides, forming skirmish lines and advancing past the tanks. They stealthily approached the breaches in the fence just sted open, then found that there were no anti-tank guns, only sticks, mantlet-shaped decoys, and straw men dressed as gunners. A sergeant stepped over the sandbags at the fake gun position, only to be cut down by a burst of machine-gun fire. The machine-gun''s position was very tricky, just out of sight of the tanks outside the wall, which made it impossible for the tanks to fire directly and eliminate it. The Prosen sergeant leading the troops at the wall habitually threw a smoke bomb. However, the machine gun did not care about the smoke bomb and kept on with bursts of three shots, continuously blocking the entrance. In a situation where getting shot didn''t kill you but would leave you crippled, even the brave Prosen soldiers dared not lightly try to cross the kill zone. The situation at another breach was simr, and the Prussians were thus blocked outside the fence. At that moment, the Prosen Army''s toonmand tank decided not to wait any longer, took the initiative to act and broke the stalemate; the toon leader who had been peering out withdrew into the tank turret, and the massive steel beast charged at full power toward a section of wall without any breaches. It seemed that the toon leader thought that an intact section of wall surely did not have precisely aimed machine guns blocking it. The brick wall was directly knocked down, and the steel colossus roared into the yard, only to be greeted by two Molotov cocktails. The first one was thrown off target and hit the driver''s observation window, with a small amount of burning liquid sshing into the driver''spartment, which was immediately extinguished by the electrotechnician with a fire extinguisher. The second hit the tank engine''s air intake and cooling fins very urately, immediately causing secondary damage as the entire engine caught fire. The Prussian tank crew reacted quickly, abandoning the tank without waiting for themander''s order, but as soon as they climbed out of the hatch, they were mowed down by submachine guns. The tank subsequently blew up. After the toon leader "sacrificed himself for the country," the other tanks immediately stopped. Then a tank fired a grenade at the wall, sting a new hole in it. The tank toon started firing grenades in rapid session, quickly leveling a section of the wall. The apanying infantry charged in, screaming, only to be swept down by the machine guns ced on the sides. ------------- Wang Zhong watched the battle from a bird''s-eye view and couldn''t help but admire, "Your crossfire setup is excellent." "This fertilizer nt has gone through three expansions, each nned separately, leading to incrediblyplex terrain. Moreover, most buildings are reinforced concrete, which is why it turned out like this," Yegorov humbly replied. Wang Zhong was about to speak when he suddenly noticed a toon of enemy tanks and apanying infantry turning to the right, seemingly nning to nk from the north of the chemical nt. Regardless of the fact that he could not actually see these people from his real vantage point, he immediately asked Yegorov, "The enemy is nking us from the north! What do we do?" Yegorov replied, "There''s only a narrow road wide enough for one jump and one carriage over there; if two vehicles meet, they''ll have to have a standoff. I''ve already made arrangements, just watch." ------------- Vasily''s buddy, the drummer Filippov, immediately retracted upon seeing the Prosen Army tanks and said to his partner, "They''reing, they''reing!" The partner began frantically cranking the generator to charge the detonator. After about ten turns, the partner touched the switch with his hand, got a shock that made his hair stand on end, and eximed, "Done!" then picked up the detonation rod and inserted it into the detonator. Yes, the detonators produced by the Ante Empire had to be charged on-site because the battery performance was so poor, and whether it was fully charged could only be determined by the pain of being shockedif it hurt, it was full. Just... very much in the style of the Ante Empire. Filippov peeked out again, watching the enemy tank and infantry enter the alley. He waved vigorously, and his partner twisted the detonator handle hard. The explosives buried in the road immediately exploded, engulfing the lead tank and apanying infantry. "Ura!" someone shouted, and the young soldiers hiding behind the wall hurled their lit Molotov cocktails over the wall. In an instant, the road turned into a sea of mes. The tank at the rear tried to reverse and leave this hell, but an agile soldier flipped over the wall, jumped onto the tank, flipped open the hatch and threw in two grenades. The soldier was immediately mowed down by the Prussians. More soldiers peeked over the wall, shooting into the alley. A Prosen squad was thus wiped out in the ambush! ------------- Wang Zhong eximed in awe. Yegorov, unaware that Wang had seen the whole process,forted him, "Don''t worry, the boys are doing fine; the enemy will be eliminated." Chapter 105: Chapter 24: Bloodbath in Loktov_3 ``` Indeed, although some people lost their lives due to being too careless, the enemy was indeed wiped out. At that moment, the telephone rang. Wang Zhong was startled, "It''s fixed?" Yegorov had already picked up the phone, "This is the frontmand. What? Alright." He covered the receiver and said to Wang Zhong, "The defense regiment reports no enemy attacks and is asking if we need support, they can spare a battalion." "We need it," Wang Zhong replied decisively, "Order them toe immediately. We are going to drive out all the enemies who have prated the factory area!" Actually, the situation had already be clear at this point. The enemy hadmitted only two battalions reinforced with tanks, which had been severely depleted by a single battalion of their own relying on the terrain. With another fresh battalion arriving, the enemy should be retreating, and one might even capture an intact Panzer IV tank. The tank that was taken out by the grenade should still be operable once the mashed flesh on the dashboard is scraped off. Major General Randolph observed the front lines, "The enemy appears well-prepared; with so few forces, it''s unlikely that they''ll break through." The Chief of Staff agreed, "Our artillery barrage might not have been very effective. Tomorrow we should focus our firepower for artillery preparation, to inflict maximum casualties and destroy their fortifications." "Tomorrow? No, let''s do it today. Have the troops release smoke and fall back! Then continue the artillery bombardment, as they haven''t used much ammunition on the way here." After all, many times the artillerybat was over before it could evenmence. At this moment, amunications staff officer came running, "General, the 223rd Grenadier Regiment has taken Sorinni vige, and they can soon start encircling Loktov from there." Randolph, "Is the information confirmed?" "Confirmed." "Hmm, then let''s postpone the artillery preparation until the 223rd Regiment arrives. Estimated to be" Randolph looked at his pocket watch, "at three o''clock this afternoon. At that time, deploy all units on the front arc and begin the artillery preparation. After two hours of preparation,unch a full-scale attack! Coordinate with the Air Force as much as possible, though it doesn''t matter if they''re not avable." When Wang Zhong saw the enemy releasing smoke, he immediately realized that they were retreating. "Yegorov! Have the boys charge, remember not to rush out of the smoke, inflict as many casualties as possible within the smoke!" Yegorov promptly turned, "Sergeant, blow the whistle to attack." After giving the order he asked Wang Zhong, "Do we need the artillery to fire? There shouldn''t be any reconnaissance nes in the sky, and firing from Position B shouldn''t be detected." Wang Zhong, "No, I''d like to keep this secret for a bit longer, give the enemy a little surprise when it really matters." No sooner had he spoken than the phone rang again. Wang Zhong picked up the receiver, "This is Major General Rocossov." Pavlov''s voice came through, "General, we have some new developments here; you shoulde to the brigademand. The telephone lines might be tapped by spies." Wang Zhong nodded, "Alright, I''m on my way." After hanging up, he shouted to Grigori, "Prepare the car! Is there still one avable?" Grigori nodded and walked away. As Wang Zhong came out from the frontmand, he saw Aleksei Balfyonovich, nicknamed "Star Boy," receiving first aid and said, "You should go to the hospital if you''re wounded. You''ve done your duty." The young man looked at Wang Zhong, "General, aren''t you wounded too? Why are you still on the front line?" Wang Zhong nced at his shoulder and suddenly realized he had been supporting himself in a static position for two hours while wounded, chalking it up to nothing more than sturdy Russian constitution. As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, the young man asked again, "General?" Wang Zhong, "Ah, it''s a light wound." "So is mine, the bullet went right through without causing much damage, it didn''t even hit the bone," Aleksei Balfyonovich said proudly, "That''s why I want to stay on the frontline, with my artillery crew!" At this, his loader shouted, "Actually, he just wants to show off, so he can brag about it to his girlter!" Everyone started tough, including Aleksei himself. Wang Zhongughed too; despite the city being bombed and shelled, surely Natalia in theundry unit was much safer than being on the front line. As the banter continued, someone started singing, not knowing who led the way: ``` I remember a small town in another province, Lonely, remote, heartbreakingly sad. The town''s shaded avenues, marketces and churches, And the lingering mist over the water that echoed back. I saw Dear familiar figures, Blue berets, Blue overcoats; Dark skirts, the silhouette of a young girl, My love that blossomed then withered away! Tanya, Tanusha, my Tatiana, Do you remember that sweltering summer? I cannot forget those times, That passionate time! Wang Zhong stood by until they finished the song then turned to get into the car driven by Grigori. Perhaps it was because death and destruction were so near, but love on the battlefield held a unique kind of beauty. Wang Zhong sincerely wished the couple well. It was only when he reached the regiment headquarters that he learned of Natalia''s death in an air raid. Because he didn''t know how to face the young Alyosha with such news, he never got the chance to tell him before he died in battle. "All in all, I have three pieces of good news, and one bad news," Pavlov looked even more haggard than thest time Wang Zhong saw him, and he had even less hair. It wouldn''t be long before Wang Zhong had a bald chief of staff. Wang Zhong, "Let''s hear the bad news first. I wonder how bad it can be." Pavlov, "The enemy''s armored grenadiers have taken over Nizhne vige, driving out our forces that were resting there. Now they can nk us from Nizhne. We must dispatch troops to defend the city''s southeast." Wang Zhong immediately frowned deeply. This meant that the defensive line had just doubled in size, and if his limited forces were spread out over such a broad front, it would be as thin as paper. "Then tell me the good news," he changed the subject. "First, our orders have changed." Pavlov paused, as if waiting for Wang Zhong to ask a question. Wang Zhong, "Changed how? We don''t have to hold out until July 11 anymore?" "That''s right, it''s changed to holding out until the 63rd Army Group arrives to take over defense." This might as well be worse than holding out until the 11th! At least that had a specific time. What if the 63rd Army Group doesn''t move if their allies are in trouble? Wouldn''t that be awful? Wang Zhong, "What''s the second piece of good news?" "The remnants of the 23rd Tank Army have entered the city and will soon be here. They still have about 20 BT7 tanks." Wang Zhong "oh"ed, which barely counted as good news. Although the BT-7 had almost no defense, it was fast, and its guns could prate the sides and rear of a Panzer IV. ording to War Thunder standards, "this is a good vehicle"; as long as it''s fast and can shoot through, it''s good! "And the third?" Wang Zhong continued to ask. Pavlov, "The railway is expected to be repaired by nightfall. The reinforcement train allocated to us by the Crown Prince is already waiting. Once the railway is fixed, it wille over immediately." Wang Zhong frowned, "Are they sending us more parade specialists? It wouldn''t be T35s, would it?" Though he said this, in their current situation, even T35s had to be used. After all, the guns on that thing weren''t just for show; they could still be put to use. Pavlov shrugged. Chapter 106: Chapter 25 "Those Who Never Abandoned Me No matter what bizarre troops the Crown Prince stuffed into another train, they''re still blocked on the train and won''t be able to make it for a while. Wang Zhong received his first wave of reinforcements today from the 23rd Tank Armythe remnants of it, to be precise. The Fast series of light tanks, designated as BT models, are quite the vehicles in games, given their speed. But in reality, they''re just speeding coffins, prable by machine guns with a slightlyrger caliber. That''s why the Soviet Union on Earth practically stopped producing them after the war started. After all, the T34 is also fast, and itsprehensive performance is on apletely different level from the BT series. Witnessing these BT-7s rolling into Rocossov''s defensive group area, Wang Zhong sighed and thought he''d just have to make do. After all, these things still had 45mm guns and machine guns; there was no problem ughtering infantry, and with their maneuverability, they could nk and deal with Mark III and IV tanks quite effectively. The leading BT-7, tactical number 2301, had an antenna on the back of its turret, clearly themand vehicle of a toon orpany. A lieutenant colonel popped out of the hatch and saluted Wang Zhong on top of the turret: "Comrade Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, I salute you." Wang Zhong took a nce at his name from the bird''s-eye view and responded, "Salutes to you too, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Fyodorovich. The report said you had twenty BT-7s, why do I only see ten?" "That''s because five of them were immobilized due tock of maintenance and parts, and another five were destroyed by the enemy Air Force. The enemy Air Force is equipped with 13mm machine guns; just a bit thinner than our Anti-tank Rifles, when they shoot from above, these paper-thin toys just copse." The lieutenant colonel shook his head, "My battalion is down to these few tanks, General sir. Let us make some contributions, even if it''s just being stationary gun emcements. Piled up with sandbags in front of our turrets, we can still exchange fire with the Prussians." Wang Zhong shook his head and waved the lieutenant colonel over. Mikhail climbed down from the tank with a puzzled look but still agilely came over to Wang Zhong and saluted again. Wang Zhong ced his hand on Mikhail''s shoulder, "The situation is as follows: we have a fully-strength enemy Armored Division in front of us, one of all seventeen of the enemy''s Armored Divisions, and we suspect that part of an enemy mechanized infantry division is also moving up." "We''ve just lost the screening forces to the southeast, and the enemy will attack us from both the southeast and southwest. Our troops can''t hold such arge area. Understand so far?" Mikhail nodded, "Understood, so we need to reinforce..." "Don''t speak yet, listen to me. The unit currently responsible for the defense to the southeast is the 5th Bishensk Regiment; they are down to three hundred men, and they''ve lost almost all their technical equipment, even short on machine guns." "The anti-tank guns on their positions are actually made of wood, got it?" "Understood, so we should..." "We don''t have anti-tank guns, so we can''t exchange fire in the open field. We need to let the enemy in, cut off their infantry, then use Molotov cocktails to destroy their tanks and armored vehicles." "And I need you to stand by in the eastern part of the city. When the enemy enters the urban area, use your speed to encircle them. Your 45mm guns can prate the enemy''s nks and rears!" Mikhail frowned, "There''s a fatal issue with your n; none of us are from Loktov. Although the city isn''trge, having us, a bunch of neers, navigate the streets for a nking attack is asking for a lot, isn''t it?" Wang Zhong replied, "The local Guardian Army will provide you with directions and scout the enemy positions for you." Mikhail''s frown deepened, "The Guardian Army are just militia, aren''t they?" "Yes, many of whom were conscripted in the past few days." "This..." Wang Zhong interjected, "Don''t worry, I''ll personallymand a tank. Even if the rest of you fail toplete the mission of encirclement, I''ll aplish it. Yourmand tank looks good; now, it''s mine." Mikhail was perplexed, "Huh? Ah?" Wang Zhong turned to the soldiers waiting nearby, "Erase this tank''s tactical number and paint my tactical number, 422." Wang Zhong had hesitated between spraying the number 422 or 67 but eventually decided that the honor of number 67 should always belong to that brave tank crew. He should carry on the glorious number 422, leading it through the entire battle, with the spirits of those sacrificial Tank Operators. At this point, Mikhail asked, "But...unlike the T28, the BT-7 doesn''t have a separate Tank Commander, I''m bothmander and Gunner in the tank. Have you had... Gunner training?" Wang Zhong paused, his impressions of tanks were all based on games, where a single yer could do everything; so he never considered that the BT-7cked a separatemander. At that moment, two soldiers climbed onto the tank with buckets, wiped the original tactical number 2301 from the paint, and then hand-painted the new tactical number, 422. Mikhail didn''t stop the two, but instead, he watched Wang Zhong intently, "General?" Wang Zhong said, "I can stand behind the turret and be the Anti-aircraft Gunner." In this timeline, the BT-7 had an Anti-aircraft gun. Mikhail seemed unable to believe his ears, "You said what?" "I''ll be the Anti-aircraft Gunner on the back of the turret," Wang Zhong stated firmly. Faced with overwhelming enemy numbers, it was essential to fully leverage the advantage brought by Wang Zhong''s "cheat" to achieve victory at a minimal cost. His leadership in the battle for Peniye Vige had already proven how effective Wang Zhong''s personalmand of a tank could be. The original Gunner of tank number 2301 stuck his head out, "What does this mean? Why change the tactical number? Mikhail, what''s going on?" Chapter 107: Chapter 25 "Those Who Never Abandoned Me" _2 Mikhail fell silent for a few seconds, then said, "YouDwe will be directlymanded by the general!" The loader retorted with confusion, "Then who''s job is the general taking over? Will the general operate the tank gun?" Wang Zhong, "No, I will stand behind your turret." Loader, "That''s too dangerous!" "No," Mikhail said, "It might indeed be so for other tanks, but for the BT7, perhaps standing behind the turret is safer than being inside, after all, there''s an extrayer of armor for protection." What he meant was that he considered the entire vehicle as a shield. Two and a half hourster, east of Lokotov City, Rocossov''s tankpany''s hiding ce. Wang Zhong emerged from the cer and leaned on the window to look outside. Loader Ivanov also climbed out of the cer, standing behind Wang Zhong, and said, "The artillery preparation is over, there''s no more sound of gunfire." "Hm." Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, "Board the tanks! Prepare forbat!" The enemy stopped their attack so long before the artillery preparation and then took so much time to prepare, they must have alreadypleted their attack formation. Wang Zhong pushed the door open and immediately saw the old soldier Rezenov, wearing an old Guardian Army uniform. He was themander of the Fifth Provisional Guardian Corps. The old man had a grey beard, and his uniform was a pre-civil war model, except for the cor patch, which was reced with the emblem of the Secr faction. Behind him stood a young man carrying a gigantic g. "Your Excellency the General!" Rezenov began, "We''re ready! We selected the cleverestds as your guides, they''re like weasels, always running around the streets, checking out which family''s daughter is pretty! They know this area very well!" Wang Zhong thought to himself, isn''t that just a street ruffian? Rezenov, "And I''ve assigned Kozlov to the lieutenant colonel to be his guide. He is strong and sturdy. Even if the tank is destroyed, he can pull the lieutenant colonel out and carry him to the medical station! Besides, look at this g. It''s the best one we could find, sure to greatly boost morale!" Wang Zhong, "No, the lieutenant colonel doesn''t need a guide; he will bemanded by me personally, assign Kozlov to someone else." "Why?" Rezenov looked puzzled. Wang Zhong pointed to his head, "I''ve already familiarized myself with the nearby streets; that''s a basic quality of amander." Rezenov, "But standing behind the tank turret is very dangerous! You don''t have to personally..." Wang Zhong, "I have already decided." Rezenovughed heartily, "Really! You are a reliable general indeed! Just like that General on the White Horse in the newspapers!" Wang Zhong felt awkward, he hadn''t expected someone still didn''t know he was that General on the White Horse. However, he did not reveal this, as it seemed a bit like boasting about his own achievements, and besides, now was not the time for that. He said to the old man, "Please instruct everyone to inform the nearest of our tanks about the enemy tanks'' positions, letting the tanks deal with tanks. "Even if you must engage enemy tanks at close range, eliminate the apanying infantry first!" Rezenov, "Don''t worry!" Wang Zhong nodded and climbed onto the freshly painted tank with new tactical number 422. Mikhail also climbed into the turret, then took out the headphones and microphone and handed them to Wang Zhong, "Your Excellency the General, you takemand!" As Wang Zhong took the headphones and microphone, he asked, "And you?" "I have a spare." Although this new vehicle had radio, the radio level of the Ante Empire was terrible, and it wasn''t clear whether it was due to the tank''s generator being inadequate, as the electricity mainly went to the turret motors. Once the radio was connected, only static filled the headphones, as if someone was frying sand right beside Wang Zhong''s ears. But for the sake ofmand andmunication, it had to be endured. Wang Zhong picked up the microphone, "This is themand tank, to the second toon leader, can you hear me?" "Hearing you loud and clear, General, please continue." In reality, Wang Zhong was just checking if he could get the perspective of the second toon leader, and the answer was he could. The moment the second toon leader''smand tank, number 2306, responded, it "lit up" in the overview. But the areas around other tanks without radios remained dark, even though they were now under Wang Zhong''s "directmand," they didn''t provide him with visual awareness. Could it be because they couldn''t hear Wang Zhong''s shouts inside the tanks? After all, even the BT7 was very noisy when movingDAnte Empire tanks were notoriously poor at ergonomics,bined with rough production techniques, which made them very noisy. It wasn''t feasible tomand tanks by shouting, so that''s why there was no visual awareness from other tanks? Wang Zhong was pondering over this when a Guardian Army soldier shouted down from the rooftop of a nearby house, "The enemy is attacking!" So Wang Zhong decisively called for Vasily, "Vasily! Can you hear me speak?" He waited a few seconds, then Vasily''s voice came through the static in the radio, "I can hear you, General! Are you sure you want tomunicate openly?" "Yes, in an emergency, it''s unavoidable to use openmunication." Wang Zhong thought to himself that what''s important isn''t the contents of themunication, but to light up the visual awareness. After connecting to the Plosen Walkie-Talkie that Vasily was monitoring, the 31st Guards Battalion''s field of vision lit up. Along with it, the field of vision of the artillery mirror, which Dimitri was responsible for, was also obtained. Subsequently, Wang Zhong saw that on an arc line from the southwest to southeast of Lokotov, the enemy had deployed at least 80 tanks and armored vehicles. That was still only the first wave; behind them, a second wave consisted of about a hundred more tanks and half-track vehicles. Wang Zhong was shocked; he knew the enemy had vast numbers, but he hadn''t expected them to be so vast. Chapter 108: Chapter 25 "Those Who Never Abandoned Me" _3 And the main force of the enemy''s assault came from the southeast, with a total of 20 Panzer IVs with short barrels and 6 Panzer IIIs, as well as a slew of half-track vehicles. Was he expected to rely on 10 BT-7s to eliminate so many enemies? Even 10 T-34s would have to tread lightly! Only 10 KVs could take on so many enemies. No, he couldn''t be intimidated by the number of enemies; they weren''t familiar with the terrain, and once they entered the streets for close-quarters battle, wasn''t it just more opportunity forbat achievements, no matter how many they were? At that moment, a messenger from the 5th Byshenk Regiment appeared on horseback in front of Wang Zhong''s No. 422 vehicle and shouted loudly, "Our regiment is ready to let the enemy into the city to fight as per yourmand!" Wang Zhong replied, "Very good, tell your regimentalmander that my personallymanded armored forces will encircle the enemy and strike them a heavy blow!" The messenger saluted, turned his horse around, and galloped away. At that moment, Mikhail''s voice came through from inside the line: "General, we''re entering the ambush position!" "All right, roll out." As the words died away, the engine of the new No. 422 vehicle roared to life, apanied by the sound of the gearbox gears meshing. The tank shuddered slightly and started moving. Wang Zhong grabbed the anti-aircraft machine gun to steady himself, spreading his legs to stand behind the turret. Behind the turrets of the other tanks stood a machine gunner, all of whom were local guides responsible for giving directions to the tanks. Once the enemies attacking from the southeast entered the city, Wang Zhong would lead these tanks to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy and then quickly maneuver away from cover around their nks. After watching the tank column move out, Rezenov eximed, "What an incredible general! Just like Bagration leading the Imperial Guard in a charge himself!" He turned his head and shouted to the Guardian Army soldiers, "The general is at the front! We cannot be afraid to die!" The Guardian Army soldiers shouted in unison, "We are not afraid to die!" Rezenovmanded, "All Guardian Army, Temporary 5th Regiment, forward march!" The soldiers, who were civilians just a few days ago, marched without the precision of real soldiers, but the forest of bays they formed was still not to be underestimated! Just then, Wang Zhong lost sight of the 31st Regiment, and he quickly called out again, "Vasily?" "General, if you''re not giving orders, why do you keepmunicating with me? I have to listen in on the Prosen people''s chatter too!" Vasily''sint came through the static noise into Wang Zhong''s ears. For a moment, Wang Zhong thought about ordering the machine gun to be moved left five centimeters. Five centimeters wouldn''t affect the construction of the firing position, but it was still an order, which would make his insistence on maintaining radiomunication seem less strange. But in the end, he resisted the urge. Yegorov had done well, and he and the veterans of the 31st Regiment had umted a vast amount of experience in the fierce battles of Peniye, so Wang Zhong could rest easy. In fact, Wang Zhong didn''t have the confidence that he would have done any better than Yegorov and his men. At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly noticed Grigori driving a jeep, not far from the side of his tank. So he switched perspectives and called out, "Grigori! What are you doing here? Get back to the 31st Regiment! The troops need an experienced sergeant major like you! I''m in the tank, I don''t need a bodyguard at this time!" Grigori looked like he had something to say but finally saluted and drove the jeep away. After seeing Grigori off, Wang Zhong was about to continue observing the battlefield when Mikhail, who had been demoted from battalionmander to gunner, asked, "Your Excellency, did you reallymand a tank that destroyed 100 enemy tanks in the battle of Upper Peniye?" Wang Zhong answered, "No, that was an exaggeration by the newspapers." The driver muttered, "I knew those newspaper guys were all talk and no truth!" The loader asked, "So how many was it, exactly?" "Eight tanks. Before our T-28 was destroyed, we managed to knock out a total of eight enemy tanks." This number impressed everyone else. Mikhail said, "That''s quite impressive too! Especially considering it was a T-28! We all know that tank was quite terrible! It was the marshals and the Emperor who liked those big, mighty-looking, multi-turreted tanks that just turned out to be for show!" Wang Zhong nodded, "I know." He was well aware that it was pure fluke that they managed to take out four Panzer IVs right away with the crummy T-28; the "cheat" had yed its role. Later, when they faced the enemy head-on and the "cheat" got weakened, they immediately found themselves in a disadvantage. Whoever came up with that kind of thing and then sent it to the battlefield should have been shot. Finally, No. 422 arrived at the prearranged ambush position. This was a row of buildings destroyed by enemy artillery fire; the remaining broken walls provided excellent cover, allowing the tanks to hide inside and strike at the enemy. Once the enemy entered the city and kept moving along Suvorov Street, they woulde within the firing arc of the hidden BT-7s. Even the now-outdated 45mm cannon could open the enemy tanks like cans, one after another! Wang Zhong, standing behind the tank turret, felt a bit hotno wonder, as the tank''s cooling system was right under his feet. Just then, he heard the sound of the B4 firing. Mikhail was surprised, "There''s heavy artillery too? We heard there was none on your side!" Wang Zhong replied, "A gift from the Crown Prince." "What the hell?" Mikhail looked at Wang Zhong with incredulity. Unfortunately, it wasn''t a good time to boast, and all Wang Zhong could say was, "I''ll introduce you after the war is over, focus for now." Having said that, Wang Zhong switched his view to an overhead perspective, but now he could directlymand too few troops, and the battle was too dark; only his own and another toonmand tank (equipped with a radio) had illuminated fields of vision. Chapter 109: Chapter 25 "Those Who Never Abandoned Me" _4 So Wang Zhong couldn''t see the effects of the B4 heavy artillery clearly. The next moment, he saw the enemy tanks begin to bombard strategic high points within the city, sttering debris all over as they hit water towers, bell towers, and the like. Wang Zhong broke out in a cold sweat, relieved that the enemy had not fired at the water tower before reaching Peniye. Otherwise, he would have already been dead. He wasn''t worried about Dmitry, though, because the observation window at the forwardmand post wasn''t in the highest location but had traded the range of view for better concealment. With the enemy firing like that at high points, they certainly couldn''t hit the forwardmand post or Dmitry. Wang Zhong took a deep breath and patiently waited for the enemy to enter the ambush zone. At that moment, a shrill howl came from the sky, and without looking up, he knew the Stukas wereing. The smoke columns from the half-ton bombs looked to the naked eye like clusters of corals suddenly sprouting from the ground. Wang Zhong reassured his crew, "Stay calm, don''t worry!" Mikhailughed, "We''ve heard this sound so much our ears are numb. Do you know how many tanks from our entire 23rd Army have been knocked out by this thing?" Wang Zhong, "How many?" "At least two hundred, and we lost a lot of GAZ trucks. Our army had more GAZ trucks, but now we can barely move. Because we are nominally mechanized troops, we don''t have mules or horses, nor even any alternative to them." Mikhail shook his head repeatedly, "We didn''t find any problems during training. We performed as directed during exercises, so we couldn''t identify any issues. But when the war started, the problems became apparent, and by then, people were already dead." After Mikhail finished speaking, the driver chimed in, "The higher-ups are too rigid. They read some military theory books from the United Kingdom and Prosen and started issuing orders based on assumptions! Look at our country''s roads, during the mud season every car has to stop. Without mules or horses, it''s impossible!" Wang Zhong''s expression was stern, thinking to himself that shortsighted meat-eaters cannot n for the future. Just then, the enemy''s vanguard came into view. Wang Zhong immediately alerted, "The enemy ising! Prepare for battle!" To the south of the ruins, soldiers from the 5th Beshensk Regiment had already opened fire, and their machine guns crackled like firecrackers in a row. The enemy advancing through the ambush zone seemed still unaware of the danger, moving in a loose marching formation, with the tanks closely spaced. Wang Zhong switched to an overhead view and waited until the whole enemy wave had entered the ambush area before shouting, "Fire!" Mikhail fired immediately, and the armor-piercing shell hit the side of the Panzer IV at the end of the enemy column directly. The tank immediately lost power and stopped on the road. Wang Zhong personally manned the anti-aircraft machine gun, strafing the enemy infantry lines while ordering, "Load the high-explosive shells! All enemy tanks are down!" In the entire ambush zone, there were two rows of eight Panzer IVs, and Wang Zhong''s side with ten BT7 tanks firing in volleys had actually taken out all the Panzers. But the others did not have Wang Zhong''s perspective; they could not highlight targets, so they could not determine whether the stopped tanks had been taken out or whether their crews were just stunned. On the battlefield, it was quitemon for tanks that had stopped to suddenly start moving againthe men inside might have just been dazed and would resume operation once they regained consciousness. So the armies on both sides of the Eastern Front, Sude and the United Kingdom, had the habit of firing a second time at wreckage. But Wang Zhong did not have this trouble; he immediately ordered the switch to high-explosive shells to maximize casualties among the enemy infantry. However, the enemy reacted swiftly too; the infantry had identified the direction of the iing fire and found good cover, and they had even deployed smoke bombs! Smoke bombs again! Wang Zhong, "Reverse quickly, leave the cover! We''ll circle around and take out more enemies!" The 5th Beshensk Regiment hadn''t received any reinforcements, and no matter how brave and skilled they were, they were no match for so many enemies. What was more fatal was that this regiment had virtually no anti-tank means; they had to eliminate the enemy''s armored vehicles quickly! It wasn''t until the BT7s really started to race that Wang Zhong realized the driver had held back on the way to the position. When this thing really picked up speed, the tracks were almost off the ground! Wang Zhong could only cling to the anti-aircraft machine gun for dear life; the moment he rxed his grip, he would be thrown out. Vehicle 422 reached the enemy''s nk at an astonishing speed. Wang Zhong, "Stop! First round high explosive, second round armor-piercing!" "High explosive, ready!" the loader shouted. After all, the 45mm gun was rtively light, so loading was quite fast. Before Wang Zhong could designate a target, Mikhail fired, hitting a half-track that was following the tanks. The tanks realized the problem behind them and began to rotate their turrets. Just then, the loader shouted, "Armor-piercing, ready!" Without waiting for Wang Zhong''s target designation, Mikhail fired a shot that hit the Panzer IV that was turning its turret. While operating the anti-aircraft machine gun to strafe enemies on the streets, Wang Zhong urged, "Get moving quickly! Don''t stop, stopping makes it easier for the enemy to get a bead on us!" Then vehicle 422 was off running wildly again. Before reaching the next intersection, Wang Zhong had already directed the tank turret in the right direction and loaded a high-explosive shell. The enemy''s half-track turned into a rising fireball, and Wang Zhong also hit a methrower on the roadside with the anti-aircraft machine gun, causing the high-pressure gas to knock the methrower to the ground. Wang Zhong had thought this would trigger a massive explosion, but the enemy''spressed gas cylinder turned out to be filled with high-pressure nitrogen, which astonishingly didn''t explode! Wang Zhong couldn''t worry about that; the enemy had already reacted, starting to turn their guns. A tank might not be afraid of the enemy''s squad machine guns, but Wang Zhong, standing behind the turret, was. Chapter 110: Chapter 25 "Those Who Never Abandoned Me" _5 ``` "Move it, move it! Never stop moving!" As Tank 422 sped along, Mikhail couldn''t suppress hisughter: "Hahaha! I''ve been looking forward to something like this! So many days pent-up, witnessing so much carnage! Finally, we can properly clean up these invaders!" Mikhailughed heartily, and the loader and driver were infected by his mirth, joining in with boisterousughter. At this moment, not only the enemy, but also arge number of locals and Ante Army soldiers were paying attention to this BT-7 unit that was full speed blitzing the enemy through the city. Those people who out of fear had not chosen to join the fight to protect their homnd watched from within their homes now ruins or soon-to-be ruins as the armored force freely galloped past. A spection slowly emerged in everyone''s minds: maybejust maybe the enemy isn''t so formidable? And this spection turned into a conviction among the Guardian Army soldiers. Rezenov, waving his outdated rifle, yelled, "Follow the general''s pace! The enemy is nothing to fear! While their heads are spinning, charge!" The Guardian Army soldiers shouted "hurrah" as they struggled to keep up with the racing BT series tanks. Wang Zhong no longer knew how long the battle had been raging; he only knew he had just loaded the anti-air machine gun for the third time with Mikhail''s help. The loader''s voice came through the headphones: "We''re out of shells!" At that moment, Tank 422 had just maneuvered to the side of a Mark III tank, Wang Zhong, following procedure, reported the position of the Mark III tank, then Mikhail, across an entire street, hit it with the first shot, and a long me burst from the top of the Mark III. A literal "three yards of me." As quick as lightning, Wang Zhong suddenly spotted a Prosen sergeant with a looted PTRD-41 Anti-tank Rifle under the wall to the left of the cross street. Their eyes met briefly, and the sergeant threw his rifle to the ground, prone as if flying, and took aim at Wang Zhong! Wang Zhong immediately swung the anti-air machine gun to turn this man into a sieve, but the moment he pulled the trigger, the gun jammed! It must have been because he rushed when reloading the magazine, and the belt hadn''t been fed properly! Wang Zhong had no idea how to fix the machine gun and could only yell, "Turret, turn left fifteen degrees! Against the wall, anti-tank rifle!" The BT-7 didn''t have an electrician, so the hull wasn''t fitted with a bow machine gunbecause the driver didn''t have time to operate it, now all hope rested on the coaxial machine gun in the turret! As the turret rotated, the enemy fired! From Wang Zhong''s perspective, through the open turret hatch, he saw Mikhail''s body twitch and then slump to one side. The front of the BT-7''s turret had actually been prated by the anti-tank rifle! But now, at less than fifty meters away from the anti-tank rifle, being prated was normal, given the thin Armor andrge profile of the fast series tanks. Wang Zhong yelled "Reverse!" while drawing his pistol to shoot at the enemy, but hepletely missed as he had never received even a day''s training with a pistol. In a sh, the loader, taking over as gunner, pressed the fire button. The coaxial machine gun immediately turned the enemy holding the anti-tank rifle into a sieve. Decisively, Wang Zhong removed his headphones and microphone, opened the loader''s hatch, and climbed inwith his knowledge, he might not make a good gunner, but he could still load shells! This way, the crew still had fighting capability! As he crawled into the tank, the loader, still firing, ensured no one could take over the anti-tank rifle. The loader (now the gunner) kept shouting as he fired, "Reverse quickly, let''s leave this godforsaken ce!" The driver didn''t move for some reason. At that moment, the coaxial machine gun ran out of ammo. Anxiously changing the magazine, the loader suddenly realized that almost all of the magazines on the floor were empty. Yes, over 2000 rounds of coaxial machine gun ammunition had already been expended! Instantly, Wang Zhong heard a "thud," and looking up, he saw the loader, now in the gunner''s position, leaning back against Mikhail, who was lifeless. There was a small hole in the forward Armor, with light shining through it. Wang Zhong: "Driver! Move it!" But no one responded to him. In a rush, Wang Zhong tried to pull the driver''s shoulder, only then realizing the driver was dead too. That''s when he noticed there was a hole in the driver''s viewing portthe enemy''s first shot wasn''t at the turret but had hit the driver''s viewing port, prating the cover te and killing the driver, then ricocheting to hit Mikhail. Wang Zhong suddenly realized he would be killed if he stayed in the tank any longer. Just as he was about to crawl out the entrance he hade in through, a burst from a submachine gun forced him back inside. There were still enemy soldiers outside shouting something. Wang Zhong didn''t understand, but felt it had something to do with him. Maybe the enemy wants to capture me alive! Wang Zhong fumbled to reload the magazine of his now-cocked pistol. Just then, a Prosen soldier appeared at the hatch, and upon seeing Wang Zhong, started shouting gibberish. Wang Zhong fired three shots. At this range, even an inexperienced rookie could ensure a decent hit rate. The enemy disappeared, blood sttered across Wang Zhong''s face. A strong smell of blood assaulted his nostrils. Wang Zhong thought he had to run fast. He remembered seeing in many movies that there was an escape hatch at the bottom of tanks, for tank crews to flee in such situations. He immediately crawled to the bottom of the tank. There, spent casings littered the tank floor, blood pooled on the metal into smallkes, constantly dripping from the corpses above. ``` Chapter 111: Chapter 25 "Those Who Never Abandoned Me" _6 Wang Zhong didn''t have to exert much effort to find the bottom hatchit was unclear whether the BT series always had this hatch, or if it was specially provided for this particr universe. To crawl through the hatch, he repeatedly bumped his head, resulting in many lumps forming on his scalp. Indeed, it was a Russian make; even in a stationary state, its ergonomics were poor enough to cause head bumps. Wang Zhong opened the hatch, poked his upper body out, made direct contact with the ground, then crawled on his hands and knees, striving to drag the rest of his body out Just at that moment, there was the sound of a heavy object being thrown into the tank. The next instant, a grenade exploded inside the tank, and the st blew out of the bottom hatch. Wang Zhong looked around and saw several pairs of Prosen-standard military boots. He hurriedly checked his pistol, then switched to a bird''s-eye view, trying to see if there was any possibility of escape. Then he despairingly realized that at least a toon of Prussians was gathering around him. All was lost. Just moments ago, he had been ughtering the enemy, and now, suddenly, the situation had taken a dire turn. Was this the battlefield? Wang Zhong didn''t want to surrender or give up; he was trying his hardest to find a way to break the deadlockbut all he found was despair. Just then, the Guardian Army, who had been struggling to keep up with Tank 422, finally reached a position where they could see it. Across an entire street, everyone could clearly see Tank 422, with its tactical number, paralyzed on the roadside, covered with Prosen soldiers. The crowd was stunned, unable to ept that Tank 422, which had been ughtering the enemy like a war god, could be undone just like that. It was at this moment that Rezenov said, "The general has been martyred! At the very least we can retrieve his body and prevent it from being desecrated by the enemy!" He raised his antique rifle with a bay affixed, shouting, "Ura!" The others started to scream as well. Maybe it was the general''s death that enraged them. Maybe it was the fury of losing the general that drove them, but they started to scream nevertheless. Kozlov, holding high the Saint Andrew cross g with the Double-headed Eagle, charged at the front of the column. An enemy sergeant kneeled and shot at Kozlov, the bullet hitting the strong man''s neck, and a great deal of blood sprayed from the artery, staining the g. Kozlov fell forward and knelt, but Rezenov caught the g. The old man held the antique rifle in one hand and hoisted the g with tremendous strength in the other. Enemy bullets pierced the old man''s chest, but he did not stop running, charging forward several more steps before he finally fell to the ground. Strange hands took the g from the fallen elder. More and more people rushed out from the streets and alleys, carrying various makeshift weapons, and charged at the enemy on the street. Stools, umbres, even door frames! Women from the second and third floors threw down vases and stones, supporting the "offensive" on the road! The once haughty invaders, like boats in a vast sea, were swallowed up in an instant. Wang Zhong watched this scene in shock, so much that he didn''t even notice that at the distant train station, which had been vacant for two days, a train was pulling in! After thest Prosen soldier had his head cracked open with a cksmith''s hammer, Wang Zhong crawled out from beneath the tank. He had only crawled halfway when countless hands reached out to grab him. "The general is still alive!" "The general is still alive!" People pulled him out from under the tank and then helped him to his feet in a flurry of activity! Wang Zhong looked at the excited crowd, his mouth agape. "Those people who never abandoned me, with overwhelming force, they defeated the heavily armed enemy and pulled me from the abyss of despair." The immense shock left Wang Zhong unable to think about things like "what happened to the enemy" or "whether the offensive had ended." He just watched the ordinary people before him demonstrate their surging, powerful force, feeling the strength of it. It was then that he saw a g. He faintly remembered that it was the g Rezenov had brought. Now, the g was stained with much fresh blood, looking dirty and torn. But in Wang Zhong''s eyes, the g exuded aforting aura. He remembered the song: On the g of the Republic, is the brilliance of my blood-stained glory So, Wang Zhong took the g. In his heart, he had already decided, this g would apany him until the day the invaders werepletely crushed. The setting sun was like blood, the red g like a painting. At that moment, he heard the roar of an engineing from the direction of the station. Chapter 112: Chapter 26 Parade Tank Everyone tensed up at the sound of the engine. But someone immediately shouted, "It''s our tank!" Only then did Wang Zhong remember that he had seen a train enter the station just now; ording to what Pavlov had said before, this should be the supply train arranged by the Crown Prince, which also included some items he managed to secure. Wang Zhong had only heard of what the Crown Prince was like, but he was quite certain that as Minister of Logistics, the Crown Prince was quitepetent. He just didn''t know if the source of the strong engine noise at this moment was the T35, that imposing beast. If that was all they could use, then so be it. Embracing this thought, Wang Zhong looked towards the direction of the train station, only to see the "dream vehicle" he had mentioned countless times appear at the end of the street. The tanks he hadmanded in this world were the T28 with its thin armor and generous firepower, with only the cannon being quite decent. The KV1 had reliable armor and cannon but was astonishingly slow and prone to breakdowns. The BT7 was fast and reliable, the cannon passable, but its armor was hardly adequate for serious use. Was there a tank that was fast, reliable, durable, had a fierce cannon, and decent protection? Yes, the infamous T34 tank. Inheriting the high speed of the BT series, the powerful firepower of the 76mm tank gun, and the effective defense provided by the 30-ton weight ss and sloped armor, it was the tank with the best overall performance on the Eastern Front at the start of the war! The T34 tankthe one Wang Zhong had been longing for! However, after the recent fierce battle, Wang Zhong''s passion for this type of tank was not as high as before. Because he remembered one thing: the T34, with its design philosophy inherited from the BT series, required themander to also act as the gunner. The Soviet designers initially didn''t see the need for a "do-nothing"mander. The ace of the Sturmtiger, Otto Carius, keptining in his memoirs about the reluctance of Soviet tankmanders to stick their heads out for reconnaissance, leading to the T34''s poor situational awareness on the battlefield. It wasmon for an entire toon to be wiped out by a single Tiger before even locating it. However, the reluctance of Sovietmanders to stick their heads out in the early days wasn''t out of cowardice but because once they did, there was no one left to fire the cannon; they would have to stay inside the tank and use the gunner''s sight for observation. In contrast, the M4 Sherman tanks provided to the Soviets under the Lend-Lease Act had a five-man crew with a dedicatedmander, which is why the M4s participating in the same battle suffered far fewer losses than the T34s. The Soviets themselves had also noticed these problems, having used M4s and seen what German tanks looked like and how they operated in battle. But since the T34''s design was what it was and couldn''t be significantly modified, they could only keep their heads down and continue producing tanks withoutmanders to first stabilize the frontline. It wasn''t until 1943, when the significantly redesigned T34-85 was developed, that the designers finally added themander back and admitted that designing themander to double as the gunner was a foolish idea. By then, however, the Soviets had already paid a heavy price for this foolish design. Wang Zhong was actually aware of this before, but his knowledge came from books, without hands-on experience, so he had overlooked it. Today''s experience in the BT7 brought all this back to him at once. What was more fatal was that the design requiring themander to also be the gunner directly prevented Wang Zhong from replicating his achievements at Peniyeafter all, he had never received training as a gunner, and even with a top-down viewing angle to gauge the enemy''s distance, he didn''t know how to adjust the gunsight. However, the T34 that appeared in Wang Zhong''s field of vision looked a bit strange. This T34 had a big head, looking more like theter T34-85, but its main gun was rtively short and thick, not nearly as sleek and beautiful as the 85mm gun equipped on the T34-85. The gun looked exactly like the 76mm cannon from the KV1. The oddly shaped tank drove straight towards Wang Zhong, and that''s when he noticed that the man standing on the rear engine deck of the tank was Sergeant Major Grigori. Under the guidance of the Sergeant Major, the tank stopped directly in front of Wang Zhong. Grigori hopped off the tank and saluted Wang Zhong, "General, I have brought reinforcements!" Wang Zhong nodded, "You''ve done well!" Meanwhile, the tankmander also jumped down, a Warrant Officer. After saluting Wang Zhong, the Warrant Officer said loudly, "Alexander Yefimovich sends his regards, General!" Wang Zhong briefly returned the salute and then asked, "Are you themander of this vehicle?" "Yes, General!" Wang Zhong: "How many crew members does your vehicle have?" "Four, a driver, a machinist, a loader, and myself!" Wang Zhong harbored a glimmer of hope, given that the T34 looked a bit off, but it turned out to be a four-man crew; he would have to rece the machinist if he wanted to join in. After all, while the machinist''s title suggested work on the vehicle''s machinery, his main job was actually to man the hull machine gun; it wouldn''t be wrong to call him a machine gunner. Alexander frowned slightly, "Why do you seem a bit disappointed?" Wang Zhong: "It''s nothing. How many T34s do you have in total?" At this time, Wang Zhong''s thought was that since he couldn''t personallymand a tank to dominate the battlefield alone, he should find a way to make full use of this kind of technical equipment that could steamroll over the enemy in terms of tactics. Alexander: "We have 25, but this one is different from the other tanks." "Oh?" Wang Zhong was intrigued, "How is it different exactly?" "As you can see, this is a noble''s parade tank, designed for the yboysoh no, wrong, for the pirs of the Ante Empire to experience driving tanks." Wang Zhong was stunned: "What?" Alexander spread his hands: "To get new tank designs approved, we have to build these parade tanks. The bigwigs ride in them, like them, and the approval process speeds up." Wang Zhong was shocked: "Is it that corrupt?" Alexander: "I didn''t say that! You did! Don''t worry, I will never rat you out to the Tribunal if they ask!" Wang Zhong: "So, this parade tank, does it differ from ordinary tanks in any other way?" "Ah, there are plenty of differences, like it has a speed limiter added so it won''t go too fast and won''t jolt around too much..." "Remove it," Wang Zhong stated decisively. "Now, immediately remove it." Just kidding, how could he snag the best sniping spots and take on the role of old sixth if he couldn''t speed? Alexander: "It''s simple to remove, as it''s just a modification in the gearbox to restrict the gears. Beliyakov, the general wants you to remove the speed limiter! Hurry!" Then a tall, lean sergeant crawled out of the iconic driver''s observation port of the T34, circled around the turret, and began to fetch the toolbox strapped to the back of the turret. Wang Zhong: "Anything else different?" "Anything else? As you''ve seen, our tank turrets are quite big, that''s because there''s an additional seat installed for the lords to enjoy life, with an excellent view, letting the lords enjoy the sensation of the wind through their hair." ...Ah, I see! It took quite an effort for Wang Zhong to contain his ecstasy. Initially, he thought he could onlymand heavy tanks withmanders like the KV in the future, but he didn''t expect that in this timeline there would be something like a noble''s parade tank! Alexander continued: "Also, next to the lord''s seat, there''s a small box containing champagne." Wang Zhong, still in the midst of his glee, was taken aback: "Champagne?" "Yes, champagne. Do you want to swap it for vodka?" Wang Zhong shook his head: "No, no, no." He suddenly thought of the embarrassment of facing the enemy with just a pistol today and said: "Can it be converted into a personal belongings box? I want to put some life gadgets, like grenades or submachine guns." "Possible, all possible," Alexander assured him, patting his chest. "As long as you don''t want to dismantle the parade seating, everything else can be modified. However, if you want to use the parade seat, we need to clear the clutter piled on it first." Good lord, these guys had been using the extra turret space as a storage for clutter! Alexander cautiously asked: "You want to use this parade seat, correct?" "Correct," Wang Zhong nodded. Alexander: "You will personally lead us in the charge into battle, right?" "Right. How did you know?" Alexander nced back at the driver who was dismantling the gearbox, then replied: "The Crown Prince said you might want to do this, so he especially had use drive this parade tank." Wang Zhong: "Only had youe drive it? You weren''t originally driving this one?" "No, we are instructors from the Armored Troops teaching squad, hand-picked by the Crown Prince, said to provide his good brother with the best personnel." Alexander shrugged. "Of course, it might also be because the original crew responsible for this tank were drunkards without proper form, as they were all connected individuals; they just needed to maintain a neat military appearance when the lords came for inspections." After hearing all this, Wang Zhong seriously asked one question: "The Crown Prince Are they male or female?" Alexander was taken aback: "Male, why do you ask?" Actually, the Antenguage clearly distinguishes between male and female. Not to mention names, many names themselves change form based on gender. The term Crown Prince itself could not possibly be feminine, although the Ante Empire had a history of very powerful empresses, and the capital is still named after such an empress. Yet, so far, the Crown Prince had behaved too much like a good wife and wise mother. Wang Zhong, steeped in the culture of the second dimension for many years, always had the feeling that a good brother was about to tear off the chest wrap and reveal a feminine side. Wang Zhong waved his hand, deciding to deal with this matterter. After all, he was bound to meet the Crown Prince someday, and he could simply confirm it then. Wang Zhong: "How long will it take to remove the speed limiter? The enemy is attacking now, and we need to strike immediately." "Very quickly," Alexander answered. Wang Zhong nodded: "Okay, then give this tank a new tactical number. Paint it 422, and hang this g on themunication antenna." He disyed the blood-stained red g as he spoke. Chapter 113: Chapter 27 Oh, the Grasslands! The tank crew was busily disassembling the limiters and brushing on tactical numbers, while Wang Zhong said to Alexandria, "Call all the toonmanders of the tank battalion over." Aside from this parade tank, there were a total of 24 T-34s; that made six toons, which even in the severely understrength Ante Army could not be considered a tank battalion, even though it was indeed a battalion-level organization. Soon, all the officers of the battalion gathered by Tank 422, which was being repainted. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, the battalion''s originalmander, Colonel Kopov, saluted and said, "I must remind Your Excellency the General, aside from these few who were specially transferred from the armor training unit, the rest of us are only proficient in washing vehicles." Wang Zhong frowned, wondering if he had heard wrong, "Washing vehicles?" "Perhaps they are also good at painting vehicles. Look at our tanks, all beautifully decorated for parades, the road wheels even have white rims," the colonel added. It was only then that Wang Zhong looked down at the road wheels, which indeed had those circr white rims; they would look impressive in a parade formation. But on the battlefield, this would only make the blood of the enemies stter more noticeably, though, hmm, it seemed not entirely useless after all. Wang Zhong: "Indeed, the rims are painted well. They will leave more noticeable blood marks when running over enemy corpses, and that can shock our enemies." "Are you serious?" Colonel Kopov asked, furrowing his brows. "I''m serious. The current situation is..." The colonel interrupted Wang Zhong again: "General! We can''t possibly hit the enemy because most of us haven''t adjusted the gun sights or used the elevation drum since leaving school. "We aren''t even sure we can aim urately because these tanks have not had their sights maintained since being issued to us." Wang Zhong: "What about the main gun?" "That has been maintained, because sometimes we need to demonstrate live-firing to His Majesty, so it can be fired." "How could you demonstrate live-firing without adjusting the sights?" Wang Zhong was even more puzzled. Colonel Kopov looked at the sky: "That''s because, during demonstrations, we use nk shells, and the impact effect ispletely dependent on pre-set explosives." Wang Zhong thought damn, you''re cheating the emperor, and there''s no crime of deceiving the sovereign in the Ante Empire? At this point, Warrant Officer Alexandria interjected, "As long as we advance to within 300 meters, even an unadjusted gun sight can hit the target without adjusting the micrometer drum; you just need to match the crosshair and shoot, even a monkey could do it." Wang Zhong: "That will do." As he spoke, he picked up a stick and began drawing on the ground while exining: "The current situation is this: the enemy''s first echelon has already entered the city and is fighting fiercely with our forces. So far, the enemy''s second echelon is still on the open field, showing no intention of joining in." "I guess the enemymander has judged that there is no need tomit the second echelon yet." "We will leave the city from the southeast road and then swing to the nk of the enemy''s formation on the in." As he exined, Wang Zhong looked up at the g that had been attached to themunications antenna: "Recognize this g and move with us. Remember, as soon as you see the tank in front of you turn right, immediately turn right and face the enemy head-on. "Can you execute that maneuver?" Wang Zhong was actually worried they would mess up during the formation change, leading to disarray. History was full of examples where inexperienced soldiers got decimated during formation changes. Colonel Kopov spoke up: "If you''re talking about formation changes, we''re quite proficient at that. Our unit is specialized for parades. We could even perform a change to a V-formation for the enemy." "Ah, that won''t be necessary," hastily waved off Wang Zhong, "A simple line formation will suffice. After the change of formation, we will stop every fifty meters to conduct one or two volleys of fire, taking aim at enemies close to you. Don''t be afraid, our frontal armor has a significant advantage over the enemy! Our firepower will ensure the destruction of the enemy." Indeed, the T-34 had an overwhelming advantage over Prosen''s tanks of that time. While not as absolute as the KV, it was still quite difficult for the 50 mm gun on a Panzer III to prate the front of a T-34. Especially since the Panzer III mounted an early version of the gun, not theter "extremely long-barreled" 50 mm, which inter video games even got the nickname "jellybeanuncher," indicating its armor-piercing shells were as ineffective as jellybeans, only good for leaving paint marks on the enemy. Wang Zhong continued, "Once the enemy realizes they can''t effectively threaten our front, their fighting spirit will surely lead them to try to close in and strike at our side armor. "They will engage us in a close fight, seeking to win with experience and superior tactics and technique. "At such times, remember this: the enemy''s Panzer IVs weigh only 18 tons, the Panzer IIIs even less at 15 tons, whereas we are at 32 tons. A collision would surely result in greater losses for the enemy!" Having finished, Wang Zhong looked at the toon leaders: "Any questions?" All six shook their heads. Their faces were ashen. At this point, Wang Zhong recalled the gunner Alexandria''sment on their recements for those original crew members: "Drunkards barely keeping their shape every day." Clearly, today''s bunch hadn''t had a drink, hence the nervousness. If Wang Zhong had seasoned tank operators, he would have swapped them out. Unfortunately, he did not. So he gestured: "Then return to your units, make sure every tankmander knows the n! We move out in ten minutes! Dismissed!" The toon leaders turned and anxiously hurried back to their units. Alexandria: "I wouldn''t rmend taking these people to fight in the open." "Trust me," said Wang Zhong, "Urbanbat is moreplex, this bunch would be killed by the experienced Prosen infantry with grenades, Molotov cocktails, or even bays climbing onto the tanks and stabbing them through the hatches." Chapter 114: Chapter 27 The Grasslands, oh the Grasslands!_2 Alexandria''s expression was serious, "Are Pnosen people so determined inbat? Why do the capital newspapers all say that Prussians only rely on equipment and actually have poorbat will?" Grigori, who had always been silent, suddenly said, "Because the journalists who write these have never crossed bays with Prussians on the battlefield. But we have, and we know their mettle." Alexandria: "I see." At that moment, the driver Beliyakov said, "All set, Warrant Officer, Your Excellency General." Alexandria: "Would you like to inspect it?" Wang Zhong nodded and walked towards the "Parade Tank." The tank''s paint job was entirely that of a parade, with white rings on the road wheels, making it look imposing and striking, but its concealment in the open field was nearly zero. The tactical number on the side of the turret had been changed to 422, with a white horse pattern added behind thest 2. Wang Zhong: "The white horse is?" "You''re known as the White Horse General, an enemy title, so I drew one," Beliyakov said, shrugging his hands. Wang Zhong nodded, then took onest look at the thickened antenna where a g had been dyed red over half of its surface. The obvious bullet holes and traces of gunsmoke scorching on the g emitted a unique aesthetic of the battlefield. Wang Zhong admired his new ride, and while the T3485''srge head paired with the short 76 tank gun seemed strange to him, this didn''t prevent him from liking this new mount. In his eyes, it was his Gundam, his real Getter Robo, his Iron Sheriff. Suddenly, Wang Zhong remembered old man Rezenov who had introduced him to this g and hurriedly asked the surrounding Guardian Army, "Where is old Mister Rezenov?" "Sacrificed." The Guardian Army replied, "He called us to recover your remains. That g likely still carries his blood." Wang Zhong fell silent, then after a few seconds, he clenched his teeth and said, "I won''t let him regret leading the charge, not at all." At this point, this life was no longer just my own. Wang Zhong had never understood Wang Changling''s frontier fortress poem so profoundlyalthough he was now on foreignnd in an alternate spacetime. Battle-scarred amor coated in dust, unwavering till the fortress fell! Wang Zhong took a robust step to climb the tank and said to Grigori, "No need to guard me anymore, go help the Priest organize the Guardian Army! Regroup at the brigade headquarters after the battle!" Grigori saluted and turned to leave. Wang Zhong stood atop the tank and shouted to the people who had not yet dispersed,"Folks! Women and children, head to the train station immediately! There''s a train that just arrived, and they will transport you to the rear for retreat! "Women who don''t wish to retreat can join the Labor Camp and help with repairs, but children must go!" "Men follow the Priests, and veterans withbat experience, please step forward to be squad leaders! Today, we''ll fight the enemy to the bitter end!" "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" the deafening cheers echoed in response to Wang Zhong. Then he climbed into the tank, urging Alexandria, "Quick! To battle positions!" Alexandria climbed the tank and squeezed through the cabin door on Wang Zhong''s right into the turret. The loader and driver were also in position. As the driver slipped into the cabin, Wang Zhong saw him with a hammer and asked puzzled, "What are you doing with a hammer?" "For turning. You can''t move the lever on the left without a hammer. Many of this batch of T34s have this problem," the driver answered. Seems like I have read about this in many memoirs! While making this mental note, Wang Zhong put on his headphones and adjusted his throat microphone, "Can you hear me?" The other four people on the tank replied in unison, "Heard you!" "Move out!" With a crisp "bang," the tank engine roared to life, slowly elerating. Not just for turning, even shifting gears needed a hammer! The tank gradually picked up speed, people hastily made way, and the road was quickly cleared. Then Wang Zhong said with a taunt he had taken from "The Wandering Earth 2," "Beliyakov, are you pedaling a bicycle? So slow!" The next moment, the engine roared, and the tank, like an enraged beast, lunged forward with a fierce push that nearly threw Wang Zhong out of the turret. The 32-ton behemoth hurtled down the street, the wind it raised blew off a girl''s kerchief on the roadside. Everyone was cheering, "Charge, General!" "Defeat them!" Wang Zhong stood upon the "Parade Tank," just as Alexandria Yefimovich had described, he could fully feel the sensation of the wind blowing through his hair. In moments like this, one''s spirits can''t help but lift. The static noise in his headphones seemed to transform into the ssic "Oh Fields, My Fields." Another 24 T34s closely followed behind tank number 422. The racing tank division''s rising dust seemed like a cavalry charge. But without the sound of hooves, only the rumble of tracks crushing helmets. The squadron charged out of Loktov, maneuvering towards the nks of the enemy''s second echelon. Major General Randolph spotted therge clouds of dust rising from the city: "What''s that? Are the Ante Peopleunching a cavalry charge?" He adjusted the magnification of his binocrs and peered towards the dust. However, all he saw was a tank flying a red g leading the charge through the dust, with whatever was behind itpletely obscured by the rising dirt. Unlike other Ante tank operators Randolph had seen those past days, the one in the tank with tactical number 422 was not cowering in the turretyes, the Major General, like almost all armored troops, thought the Ante People didn''t pop their heads out because they were cowards. On the tank number 422, the officer poking his head out stood tall and proud, as though he was being reviewed in a parade. Chapter 115: Chapter 27 Oh, the Grasslands!_3 Hmm? Major General Randolph carefully confirmed the tactical number of this tank. 422? And a white horse? Randolph, "It''s the General of the White Horse! He''s riding out in a light tank! Shoot him down quickly!" The major general naturally assumed that this tank was no different from the hundreds of light tanks that had already been destroyed on the offensive route of the 15. "Second echelon, swing the gun barrels around! Destroy the enemy light tanksing out of the city, shoot or capture the General of the White Horse alive!" Wang Zhong, assessing the situation from a bird''s-eye view, judged that the timing was about right. The enemy had also reacted and started to turn. Right now, it was only individual vehicles turning, but it would be troublesome once the enemy adjusted their entire formation. After all, he had only 24 T34s, and their level of training was so low. Wang Zhong issued themand, "Turn right 90 degrees!" duang! The sound of the hammer striking the control lever was indeed very crisp. The tank made a direct right turn with a drift. Then there was another duang, and the turning stopped. The vehicles following number 422 immediately turned as well. Colonel Kobbov had not boasted in vain; this group of parade professionals was adept at changing formations, instantly transforming the column emerging from the city into a line. Wang Zhong, "Advance 30 meters, let each vehicle get rid of the dust cloud." The dust cloud raised during the charge would interfere with shooting; moving forward would shake it off. Thirty meters passed in the blink of an eye, and Beliyakov hit the brakes before Wang Zhong even gave the order. Taking advantage of the gun barrel''s sway, Wang Zhong shouted, "Turret left 5 degrees, target number 112! It has an antenna, it''s amand tank!" Aiming was almost immediatelypleted, and the shockwave from the firing of the 76 mm gun blew away all the surrounding gauze curtains. The shell hit the front of the tank that had just finished turning. Tank number three didn''t catch fire nor explode, but the tankmander mbered out of the turret and, like a flying arrow, leaped beside the tank to take cover in the green grass. Of course, Wang Zhong, observing from above, could see everything very clearly; this shot had gone straight through the viewing window, wiping out everyone inside the tank except themander. After number 422 fired, the other vehicles also started firing with a rattle. Wang Zhong watched the artillery shells bounce across the grassy field as if what was being shot wasn''t a modern cannon from the 20th century but those muzzle-loading artillery pieces from the era of line infantry. However, two shots still hit their mark. The enemy tanks'' formation was poor, blocking each other''s field of fire, with only the tanks on the northernmost edge of the formation having a clear line of sight. They opened fire. Almost all of the armor-piercing shells were aimed at Wang Zhong! In the blink of an eye, three pits appeared on the mantlet of tank number 422. An armor-piercing shell struck the front of the hull and was deflected high into the sky. More armor-piercing shellsnded around, kicking up dust and sand all over Wang Zhong''s face. Man, lucky it''s a T34, or I''d be done for. Wang Zhong, "Anybody hurt?" "No!" the four men responded in unison. "Armor-piercing shells, good!" Without waiting for Wang Zhong''s order, the second shot was fired, and themand tank''s sister vehicle exploded, its turret blown into the air. The other tanks also opened fire, and the second volley was much more urate, clearly, these parade specialists weren''t so foolish as to not correct their aim. Four more of the enemy tanks caught fire. The enemy started to move, making major adjustments to their formation, seemingly intending to overwhelm these mere 25 "light tanks" with their numbers. Wang Zhong, "Move out, don''t let the enemyplete their formation adjustment. Charge to within 300 meters to ensure we have better uracy! Armor is our advantage!" Apanied by a duang, tank number 422 once again raced forward. Dmitri shouted excitedly, "Look! Our tank troops haveunched an attack!" By then, the defense line had already retreated to the forwardmand post, and Yegorov was personallymanding a machine gun, firing furiously into the outside. Upon hearing Dmitry''s cry, Yegorov picked up the binocrs he hadn''t touched for an hour and looked into the distance. "It''s the general! I knew it was the general just by seeing that 422, and there''s even a white horse painted on it!" Yegorov eximed with excitement, "Charge! Those tanks are our T34s, the newest model! Let these guys taste our power!" Major General Randolph was shocked to see those "light tanks." These things seemed impervious to gunfire, and the main weapon of the Prussian Empire''s No. 3 tanks, specifically used for tank-to-tankbat, only managed to scrape off paint when fired upon them! At that moment, the intelligence staff officer had finished flipping through the enemy armored vehicle identification manual issued by the High Command, and loudly reported: "It''s the enemy''stest type of T34 tanks!" Major General Randolph: "Don''t just name the type! How do we deal with them?" "The manual says the weak points are the enginepartment at the rear and above the side road wheels." "Quick, notify the troops!" However, by this time, the radio was already full of various shouts from themanders of the second echelon. "Can''t prate at all!" "It''s ramming toward me!" "Try the high-explosive shells! Try the high-explosive shells!" "Ahhh!" In such a situation, although themunications staff officer was shouting at the top of his lungs, no one heard what he was saying. Tank 422 was the first to rush past the enemy tank formation, and Wang Zhong was certain that Alexandria had hit two more enemy tanks while on the move. From an overhead view, he saw the other tanks were still in the melee with the enemy. The enemy was in disarray, some hysterical, while those ustomed to parades, upon realizing the enemy couldn''t prate their armor, had gained a tremendous psychological advantage and were fighting even better! On the field, at least 20 enemy tanks were burning, and about 30 more had stopped, motionless, and had lost their highlights from Wang Zhong''s perspective. At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly noticed that just to the front-left of him, there were several armored vehicles stopped, with one having particrly many antennas. On closer examination, beside the armored vehicle with many antennas was a man dressed in a particrly stylish uniform, that red badgelooked like a general. A bold idea emerged in Wang Zhong''s mind: It was just under two kilometers away, the perfect moment for a decapitation strike! Wang Zhong: "Turn left 45 degrees!" duang! The tank turned around. Alexandria, looking through the gun sight, saw the target: "This looks like the enemy''smand vehicle!" "Exactly! Go for it! Capture the g!" Randolph put down his binocrs and stepped back. The adjutant was quick to react: "The enemy is charging us! Guard tanks!" The Prosen Armored Division''s headquarters was also equipped with four tanks (a toon) as a guard, in addition to a guard battalion. The guard tanks immediately moved forward, lining up in a row one hundred meters in front of themand vehicle. The first volley fired! The only hit was an armor-piercing shell that sparked a chain of sparks on the enemy''s armor. The enemy suddenly stopped, clearly trying to exploit the Prosen reload interval. A shell was fired, and the toon leader''s tank of the guard tank toon was hit, with the tank operators scrambling out of the tank, all the while shouting, "Sanitater! (Medic)" The guard tank toon''s second volley managed to make the target, who was sticking his head out, duck down. The enemy''s retaliatory strike set the number two tank of the toon aze. The enemy seemed intent on picking off the guard tank toon from left to right! The remaining two tanks sped off, one to the left and one to the right, trying to nk the enemy. However, as the third shell came in, the tank veering to the right immediately stopped, ck smoke belching from its engine. Thest tank stopped its nking, charged toward the enemy, and then took an armor-piercing shell head-on. "Got him! Load high-explosive!" Wang Zhong shouted, "Target, the enemy general! Fire!" Chapter 116: Chapter 28: Slaying Generals and Seizing the Flag (Alliance Hierarch Added) The moment the 76mm gun fired, the enemy''s guard infantry threw out smoke bombs. Of course, the smoke couldn''t stop the shells that had already been fired. From a bird''s-eye view, Wang Zhong could clearly see that this shell had almostnded at the general''s feet. However, the general''s adjutant happened to throw the general to the ground just in time. It could only be said that the flight speed of the high-explosive shell was somewhat slow, and Tank 422''s position was indeed a bit far from the target. The adjutant died instantly, but the general he had thrown to the ground was still left with a breath of life! Wang Zhong: "Second shot!" Alexandria: "The smoke is obscuring our vision!" Wang Zhong: "Fire at the original position!" At that moment, an enemy half-track vehicle sped forward, attempting to use its body to shield the general, while the machine gun on the half-track began to fire wildly at Tank 422 from such a distance. Wang Zhong quickly ducked behind the turret hatchthe kind of hatch designed to double as cover for a nobleman''s lookout. Wang Zhong could see through the observation window specifically left on the hatch. The field of view was very small, but that didn''t hinder Wang Zhong as he had an "advantage"; as long as he could observe, no matter how thin the slit was, he always had a fan-shaped field of view from a top-down perspective. The enemy was indeed well-trained, firing from a moving armored vehicle at this distance with decent uracy as bullets clinked and nged against the hatch cover. The electrician was also returning fire with the directional machine gun, both sides streaking each other with tracer bullets. The loader shouted: "Good!" Alexandria fired the gun! The shell went just past the half-track vehicle that was obstructing the view andnded in almost the same spot! The enemy tried to move the general, but they were a little slow, and the general''s leg had been wounded. With this shellnding, several staff officers who were trying to carry the general were instantly thrown to the ground, while the general stood there, raised his head to the sky, and then slowly knelt down. His posture reminded Wang Zhong of an iconic scene from the Soviet version of "War and Peace." His fall, however, was quite full of Romantic ir! Wang Zhong: "Got him!" It was only after saying this that he realized he shouldn''t have been able to see, since the smoke had already obscured the view. It seemed as though this sentence might have exposed something. But then Wang Zhong thought, a T34 gunner''s vision was truly terrible, so Alexandria probably assumed Wang Zhong could see. The driver had better visibility, but the driver''s position was so low that it likely wouldn''t detect anything amiss. So, emboldened, Wang Zhong said, "The enemy general is down, let''s get out of here!" After all, there was an enemy battalion here, and the bolder Prosen soldiers were already charging the tank on motorcycles. As good as the T34 was, it dreaded infantrying within 5 meters. In this era, the Prussians probably didn''t have weapons like Panzerfausts or maic anti-tank mines, but a grenade tossed on the engine''s radiator would be trouble enough for a tank, possibly even damaging the engine. Wang Zhong heard the sound of ''Duang'', as the tank started up again and then turned. So, he quickly ducked back into the turret. The hatch cover could only protect the front. It was like those very exposing evening gowns, decently covered in the front but with the backpletely bare. If Wang Zhong didn''t duck back into the turret, his back would be riddled with holes, and he wouldn''t be a White Horse General but a Dead Horse General instead. Once the hatch cover was on, the interior of the turret darkenedpletely. Alexandria looked back and said, "You shoulde in wearing a hat!" Before Wang Zhong could respond, the tank lurched, and his head mmed right into the locking catch of the turret hatch. He had already suffered several bumps when climbing out of the BT7 earlier that day, and now he''d added another bump on a bump. "It''s in your storage locker!" Alexandria pointed to the side of the viewing tform. Wang Zhong took out a tank cap and put it on, only to knock it solidly against the catch again, causing a piercing pain. "Damn it, what good is this cap!" Alexandria: "It''s like this even when you wear it; imagine what it would be like if you didn''t." That makes sense! Though tormented by terrible ergonomics, Wang Zhong still pressed his eyes against the viewing window. Only after experiencing it firsthand did Wang Zhong realize how poor the visibility was inside a T34, and this was a viewing vehicle specially modified for the nobility with something akin to amander''s observation tower, a "special supply vehicle" in this world. Those T34s without this configuration were practically blind. Then Wang Zhong discovered that this poor visibility even affected his "external aid." His aid could usually illuminate the surroundings in a circle, even seeing ten meters behind his head. Once inside the tank, he only had the fan-shaped view in front. The fan-shaped view was better than being blind, and it was Wang Zhong''s own field of vision, capable of highlighting enemy units within range. Anything like a "Ground Voldemort", lying in the grass, could be illuminated. "Tank 422 calling all toons!" Since there really were no enemies around, Wang Zhong began to y with the radio, "Report your number if you haven''t been destroyed!" The moment the toon leaders responded, Wang Zhong would temporarily gain their field of view. This way, he could check the armored brawl happening behind him. Then Wang Zhong realized how bad the visibility was in these toon leaders'' vehicles! They could basically only see directly in front of the tank! No wonder many memoirs about the Sturmtiger mentioned how blind the T34 was. Indeed, it was blind. Wang Zhong could only rely on his own field of view. Just then, he saw a number 233 three-numbered tank breaking away from the battlefield, maneuvering to the side. The boldmander of tank 233 poked his head out, seemingly certain he wouldn''te under attack from the T34s. Suddenly, tank 233 came to an abrupt halt and fired a shot between the turret and the body of a T34, jamming its turret. Then something shocking happened! The crew of the T34 abandoned the tank! Wang Defa? The Prosen Tanks ughtered the crew with their coaxial machine guns but then stopped immediately. Could it be that they didn''t want to reveal their positions with the tracer bullets? Captain Ante cursed at the gunner, "Don''t fire! Even if the enemy is stupid, they can determine our position by the tracer bullets! Those Ante tanks are blind; we can still win!" Gunner: "We can''t prate their armor!" "Then jam their turrets, break their tracks! In Carolingian, when we faced the B1 tanks, that''s what we did! Just paralyze them, and the infantry can take care of them!" Captain Ante paused then said, "Moreover, these Ante tank operators have no experience, they abandon the tank if the ring is jammed! Probably new recruits experiencing their first battle! We can win!" Wang Zhong: "Halt! Turret left 15 degrees! Do you see that number 233 tank?" Alexandria: "Seen, Armor-Piercing Shell! Quick!" Loader: "Armor-Piercing Shell, ready!" Because Wang Zhong had also ducked inside, he clearly saw the loader insert the Armor-Piercing Shell into the breech, followed by the automatic closing of the breech. Alexandria mmed down on the pedal. Inside the turret, you couldn''t see the sh or thick smoke when firing, just the barrel sliding backward, ejecting a smoking shell casing. The shell casing fell directly onto the floor, and nobody bothered with it. Wang Zhong suddenly remembered that he needed to confirm the results, not watch them operate the cannon. After changing his perspective, Wang Zhong saw the tank operator from number 233 climbing out of the tank. Wang Zhong: "Fire! Machine gun, fire! st them! Load a High-Explosive Shell! This one is probably their veteran crew; kill them all!" Tank 422''s anti-aircraft machine gun and coaxial machine gun fired together. Unfortunately, neither the gunner Alexandria nor the machinist could see the enemy tank operators on the ground; the machine gun attack was ineffective. Loader: "High-Explosive Shell, ready!" Alexandria immediately fired, and the High-Explosive Shell exploded beside the abandoned tank 233, immediately killing one tank operator and injuring another, but the enemymander remained unharmed! Wang Zhong: "Reload!" Back in the old days on a military website, it wasmon to see episodes admiring the enemy''s tactical sophistication and treating them with courtesy, but now Wang Zhong had no interest in such courtesy. Thinking about how these elite enemies could go back, heal, and return to cause significant casualties to friendly forces, he wished he could kill them all. The second High-Explosive Shell went over, and finally, only one machinist from that crew remained. Wang Zhong pondered that firing another grenade for just this machinist was not appropriate, as the marginal effect was too low. He then issued a newmand: "Advance and regroup with our other tanks." Just then, Wang Zhong observed the enemy beginning to retreat from the city, so he decisively changed the order: "Turn left thirty degrees; take the small mound on the left!" Themand was immediately executed. Upon reaching the mound, Wang Zhong opened the hatch, peered back to ensure that no more machine gun bullets wereing from behind, then looked out. "Turret left 5 degrees, do you see that retreating four-numbered tank? Distance 750 meters! Armor-Piercing Shell!" No sooner had he finished instructing than the cannon fired, hitting the four-numbered tank''s engine urately, setting it ame. "Don''t let the machine gun idle either; establish suppressive fire!" While tank 422 poured out its firepower, other T34s noticed 422, each turning towards it. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, good grief, a loss of 8 tanks! The enemy couldn''t even prate the T34s, how could there be a loss of 8 tanks? He nced at the chaotic battlefield and noticed all the abandoned T34s were neither exploded nor on fire. More careful observation revealed that either their tracks were broken, turrets jammed, or tracks and guide wheels were damaged after colliding with enemy tanks. Wang Zhong couldn''t understand why the T34s with only jammed rings were abandoned. They could clearly drive back to the city and have the mechanics repair them! It seemed that after the battle was over, a debrief was necessary, and those who abandoned their tanks needed to be sternly reprimanded. While Wang Zhong thought this, neatly lined T34s unleashed their firepower, ughtering the enemy retreating from the city. The enemy''s offensive was thus dissolved. Wang Zhong even took the life of the enemy''s general! He estimated the Prussians wouldn''t be able to organize an attack for the rest of the day. Touching his chin, he considered that as nightfall approached, he should organize his troops to leave the city, tow back the abandoned T34s, repair them, and continue using them. After all, these were precious weapons hard won. Chapter 117: Chapter 29: Pyrrhic Victory Every rose has its thorn. On the side heading to the 15th Armored Division, the losses were not just that of Major General Lundorf, as several senior staff were killed trying to rescue the general. If not for the division chief of staff wisely choosing to leave in the opposite direction, the situation could have been much worse. As the sound of the enemy tanks'' engines faded away, the chief of staff climbed to his feet and yelled, "General! General!" The few surviving staff members got up and checked the general''s breathing and pulse, then shook their heads at the chief of staff. The chief of staff clicked his tongue, looking in the direction of Loktov, his viewpletely obscured by the recently deployed smoke bombs by the guards; he couldn''t see the city or the fighting on the open ground between headquarters and the city. Of course, now the chief of staff just needed to walk a few dozen meters more to step outside of the smokescreen to see the battlefield normally. However, the impression left by the sudden attack of that T-34 tank was so profound that even though his reason told him the enemy had left, he still didn''t want to leave the protection of the smokescreen. "Is that the White Horse General...?" muttered the chief of staff, but he immediately realized he was now the actingmander of the troops and shouldn''t disy an attitude that inted the enemy''s prestige. So he cleared his throat and put on a stern expression that he hadn''t used since he first donned the staff insignia, "Immediately begin reorganizing the troops; the attacking units must have dispersed. Send out messengers to regroup them. "Withdraw all forces to Karlinovka and establish anti-tank gun positions. Also, have the artillery withdraw to prevent a surprise enemy night raid." The mobility of those T-34 tanks was so strong that the chief of staff resolutely didn''t dare to have the division''s artillery spend the night in unprotected areas. After passing down themands, the chief of staff asked, "Where is the 513th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion now? We need their 88mm guns right now!" The surviving map staff immediately reported, "ording to the map updated at noon today, Battalion 513 has already crossed the area around Bogdanovka and is marching at full speed." Chief of staff: "Have them hurry up! They must get here by tomorrow!" When Tank 422 rolled into Loktov, the streets were already crowded with people. Before the tank even entered the city, shouts of "They''reing! They''reing!" rose, followed by a deafening chorus of "Ura!" The crowd was jubnt, as if the entire war had been won. Wang Zhong yelled from atop the tank, "Don''t gather around! What if the enemy shells us? They''ve got 150mm howitzers! Don''t cluster together! Disperse! Go home!" He was unaware that his blitz had terrified the enemy''s artillery units, sending them packing. It took five shouts before the crowd reluctantly dispersed. Then a lieutenant in dusty military garb appeared, following the tank. "Stop." Wang Zhong patted the turret''s steel te, then heard the sound of a hammer tapping the control sticka noise he was almost ustomed to, barely noticing unless he paid attention. Leaning down from the turret, Wang Zhong looked at the lieutenant, "Are you from the Fifth Belyansky Regiment?" "Yes, General." "Where''s your regimentmander?" "He fell. I am the regimentmander now. Give your orders, General." The joy of victory momentarily faded. Wang Zhong bit his lip, "I see. What''s your name?" "Pavel Alekseyevich, General." Wang Zhong: "How many of you are left?" "Eighty-one fit for duty, everyone else, even if alive, has been taken to the hospital by the stretcher-bearers." Wang Zhong: "You''ve all worked hard. I will have the Guardian Army take over your sector. Head to the train station and prepare to board the next train for retreat." The lieutenant was stunned, "You don''t need us anymore? We can still fight." Wang Zhong found himself at a loss for words; he meant to have them retreat to resupply and rest, but Pavel made it sound as though he had abandoned them. Wang Zhong: "That''s not it. I just..." Lieutenant: "We can defend the station. We still have two machine guns and have captured a lot of equipment. Our technical supplies have never been as abundant as they are now! We can still fight, General!" Wang Zhong was silent for a few seconds before replying, "I want you to reorganize into apany, take the smoke bombs we captured from the enemyyou have smoke bombs, right?" "Yes, plenty." "Good, take the smoke bombs, find a ce to eat well, drink well, rest for three hours, and after dark, I want you to move out of the city to cover the tank repair crews." "No problem." Actually, this mission should be rtively safe; the enemy was likely still in disarray and wouldn''t be able to mount any operations tonight. Wang Zhong simply didn''t want these soldiers to feel abandoned. The enemy had been driven back, but there was still much to be done tonight. Wang Zhong spoke to the driver, "Drive back to the brigade headquarters, uh, do you know where it is?" "I don''t know." Beliyakov answered bluntly, "Did wee to find you, or was it the sergeant major who led the way?" Wang Zhong: "I''ll show the way. Forward, turn left at the street corner ahead." Wang Zhong entered themand post of the battle groupwhich was actually the brigademand post. Pavlov looked up and said, "Three miles from here and we can hear cheering, General of the White Horse." Wang Zhong: "I need to organize the mechanics from the auto repair shop to go out of the city to repair tanks tonight. There are eight tanks that just broke down and can be fixed." "Alright, there are three hours till nightfall; that should be enough time to get it organized." Pavlov turned his head and said, "Sofya, go to the auto repair shop and get some people. Tell them we need a skilled workers team in three hours." Sofya nodded and then ran towards the gate. As she passed by Wang Zhong, she paused and gave a small smile. Wang Zhong: ? "War heroes always get the favor of girls; it has always been so," Pavlov said. "Anything else you need me to do?" Wang Zhong: "I need to resupply ammunition and fuel. Also, I need arge number of anti-aircraft camouges and branches to hide my tanks. The enemy will assuredlyunch an air raid tomorrow; Stukas pose a great threat to these tanks." Pavlov: "Lyushenko! Order the Guardian Army to camouge the tanks!" Wang Zhong: "Guardian Army?" "The Church has handed over five battalions of the Guardian Army to us. They are all locals who have been organized; their equipment is poor, but they have enough bullets. They''re just the right bunch for odd jobs. As for the shells, let me confirmare the tank guns the same as our 76 anti-tank guns?" Wang Zhong fell silent, this touched on an area he was not knowledgeable about. He was a military enthusiast, sure, but he wasn''t hardcore enough to be clear about what kind of shells each artillery piece used. Although the bore of the T34''s L11 cannon was indeed 76.2mm, the same as that of the ZIS-3 anti-tank gun, he really had no idea whether the two used the same ammunition. After a few seconds, Pavlov sighed, "It is only in times like this that I remember the rumors about you from before, General." Wang Zhong: "My gunner is an instructor from the Armored Training Corps; he surely knows. I''ll send him to themand post of the quartermaster''s department to get the shells; he won''t make a mistake!" "Indeed, then let him do it." Wang Zhong: "What are the casualties among our troops?" As he asked, he remembered the lieutenant from the Fifth Besshensk Regiment. Pavlov stopped, took off his sses, pulled out a microfiber cloth, and began to wipe them, not answering. Wang Zhong: "Tell me, I''ve prepared myself." "We''re still looking for the wounded, but those alive have been ounted for since you just have to assemble and count them. There are 611 people still alive in the Guard''s 31st Regiment. One third are injured. "I reckon we can still dig out a hundred or so wounded from the dead, but how many can be healed and return to the ranks, that''s hard to say." Wang Zhong pursed his lips: "Were the losses that great?" Pavlov continued, "The good news is, the enemy suffered greater losses. In the past, even when the enemy was attacking, their losses were less than ours, but this time they''ve had a hard time." Wang Zhong nodded: "That might be the only constion." "However, most of their higher casualties were caused by the tank units under your directmand, including the BT-7 and theter T34s. The enemy still won in terms of casualties caused by front-line meat grinder." Wang Zhong: "The enemy is well-trained; I''vee to understand that fully." "Also, there''s more good news. Although Position A was suppressed by enemy artillery fire, miraculously, one 203mm gun remains. We still have five 203s and will be able to deliver a big blow to the enemy tomorrow." Wang Zhong frowned: "Can we call for aerial reconnaissance to locate the enemy artillery positions? It has been seven days since we first saw our air forces; shouldn''t the Air Force have been replenished by now?" Pavlov: "You''re asking a brigade staff officer this question? You should be asking the Front Army staff chief, he has authority over the Air Force. I..." Before he could finish, a Judge entered with a telegram: "New orders from the Front Army headquarters." Wang Zhong was taken aback before realizing that his telegrams were managed by a group of Judges. He reached out his hand: "Give it to me." After taking the telegram, he read aloud, "The 63rd Army Group is expected to arrive at Loktov by tomorrow afternoon. Your unit should make every effort to dy the enemy. Our intelligence indicates that your unit''s front may face an entire enemy Armored Division, along with a portion of an Armored Rifle Division. "We believe the enemy armored group is crossing Bogdanovka, anticipating that your unit will face a fierce armored assault tomorrow." Wang Zhong looked up at Pavlov: "That''s what they (Front Army) say." Pavlov snorted: "Such ''timely'' information. Does the Front Army know that if it weren''t for the Crown Prince''s delivery of the T34s, this ce would have already fallen? I guess they don''t." Wang Zhong: "Then let''s tell them!" He turned to the Judge and said, "Send a reply like this, and take note!" The Judge immediately took out a notebook and pencil, ready to take down the message. Wang Zhong: "My unit suffered heavy losses today. If it weren''t for the newly joined T34 unitand themendable performance of the remnants of the 23rd Tank Army, Loktov would have fallen. My unit urgently needs to resupply ammunition and personnel, especially armored forces and anti-tank weapons. Additionally, we require Air Force support, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky." The Judge wrote frantically, looking up at Wang Zhong only after finishing thest word. Wang Zhong felt as though something was missing. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Read it back to me!" Chapter 118: Chapter 30: Aftermath After the Judge had repeated his report, Wang Zhong nodded with satisfaction and let him go. Pavlov, "Every time the Judgees in, I get a shock. We really need to get a propermunications officer." "I think the Judges are pretty nice," Wang Zhong said with a shrug. "If I were tight with the Crown Prince and he was madly sending over heavy equipment, I''d think they were nice too." Pavlov seemed to awaken a talent for ying the straight man, achieving a level one-tenth that of Yu Dad. No sooner had the words left his mouth than another Judge walked in! Pavlov instinctively raised both hands, "I didn''t say anything!" The Judge cast a sharp nce at him, then turned to Wang Zhong and said, "The Front Army intercepted enemymunications. The enemy''s 15th Armored Division Commander, Lord Rendolf, has died. They''re asking if we know what happened?" Wang Zhong, "I did it. I personally drovemandedTank 422 to within 850 meters of the enemy headquarters and attacked with high-explosive shells and machine guns. The entire tank crew can testify. Just reply that to headquarters." The Judge nodded, turned to leave, then suddenly turned back, snapped to attention, and saluted Wang Zhong, "Salute to you, General!" Wang Zhong nodded his head. The Judge turned and left, Wang Zhong gestured at his retreating figure and said to Pavlov, "See, they''re pretty nice, right?" This time Pavlov couldn''t find a reply and only blinked, forcibly changing the subject, "I''m currently reassembling the units. By tonight we should be able to reorganize. I wouldn''t count on your help, but can you call Bishop Popov back?" "I can," Wang Zhong affirmed. Pavlov continued, "I need you to patrol the positions. We''ve had heavy casualties and need to boost morale. Otherwise,e nightfall, when the soldiers remember the faces of those who''ve left us, organization will copse." Wang Zhong, "I think they''ll be fine. I have confidence in them." While speaking, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered how Peniye had been supported by countless soldiers'' hands when he fell off the tank with a fever, then he thought of just recently, how pair after pair of hands had pulled him out of the depths of despair and helped him stand. How could an army like this, a people like this, possibly be defeated. As if guessing his thoughts, Pavlov said, "It''s your duty, General. It''s even more important thanmanding the battle yourself! After all,manding a battle can be delegated to a capable officer, but this task can only be done by you." Wang Zhong, "You''re right." Pavlov, "Best mount your... uh, Bucephalus, was it?" "Bucephalus, is it okay?" "The stables got hit by enemy artillery, we thought all the horses were done for. But it just came out on its own and was eating grass in the yard. Not a scratch on it. I had the Guardian Army take care of it." Wang Zhong nodded, no longer disturbed the busy chief of staff wrestling with documents, and turned to leave the headquarters. Just as he reached the door, he saw Grigori leading Bucephalus and another chestnut horse towards him. Grigori looked much worse off than in the morninghis clothes were wrinkled and torn in several ces, dirty enough to turn water into ink. But he seemedpletely uninjured, with hardly any blood on him. Wang Zhong, "Where''s your ammo pouch?" "It got shot off in the fight. Don''t worry, I''ve got a new one." Grigori pulled a canvas bag from behind him with about four magazines in it. Wang Zhong also noticed that the Sergeant Major''s submachine gun had been cleaned, shining with oil, clearly, he had maintained his weapon beforeing to meet him. "Did Pavlov order you to bring the horse over?" "No, I thought it''d be more convenient to move around the city on horseback. The city is... full of wreckage and craters left by enemy cannons, not good for driving." Wang Zhong nodded, about to reply, when two BT-7''s thundered into thebat team''s location. The lead BT-7 was the toonmander''s vehicle, with a radio antenna. The toonmander didn''t wait for the tank to stop before he climbed out and approached Wang Zhong in three steps, "General!" Wang Zhong, "Only these two left?" "A few got stuck, enemy grenadeunchers damaged them. We''vee to receivebat assignments, General!" Wang Zhong, "There shouldn''t be fighting tonight. You guys can get some good rest." At that moment, the crew from the BT-7s all climbed out and gathered around Wang Zhong''s T34mand tank, buzzing excitedly as if they were looking at arge animal newly bought to the vige. One of the drivers, while inspecting the tank''s engine, asked Beliyakov, "How thick is this armor?" Beliyakov recited the approximate armor data like it was a menu. "Wow!" "Compared to this, we''re practically running around naked!" "Damn the marshals, why don''t they equip us with this thing! It could save a lot of lives!" Wang Zhong jumped in, "There are eight T34s that were lost due to breakdowns, just outside on the ins. Tonight we n to go out and repair them. Some of the tank crews probably took losses too. Once the crews are consolidated, if there are extra tanks, you guys can take them over." The tank operators were shocked to hear this, "What?" "Really?" Wang Zhong, "Really." At that moment, the toon leader asked, "With such thick armor on the tank, how could we still lose eight of them?" Wang Zhong replied, "The enemy is very experienced. I estimate they''ve learned from fighting the Carolingian heavy tanks. They aim for tracks and turret rings, and since these T34 units are parade professionals, once the turret ring gets stuck, they abandon the tank." Actually, Wang Zhong wasn''t certain where the Prosen people had gotten the experience to deal with "hard" tanks, as he wasn''t even sure if the Carolingians had B1 heavy tanks on this side or not. But, in the history of Earth, the first Armored Division to encounter the T34, the Sturmtiger, did indeed quickly find a method to deal with the T34: hit the tracks and turret rings, then leave the rest to the infantry. Early T34s, blind as they were, would be finished once the infantry got close enough after they lost mobility. As for the KV, even if its tracks were broken, it could still inflict heavy casualties on infantry, fighting until running out of ammo and supplies. The tank operators of the 23rd Armored Division looked at each other, then in unison dered, "We would never do that!" Then the "parade professionals" got offended, "Oh, getting cocky, are we? Let''s see how you do in a T34, then we''llpare!" "Hey, and now we''re boasting! Do you see the tank markings on my vehicle? Those are my victories! I''ve scored this many even driving a BT-7, and it was all achieved today!" Today, Wang Zhong led the remaining men of the 23rd Tank Division to achieve quite impressive results. Wang Zhong coughed to interrupt the arguing tank operators. When all eyes were on him, he said, "Today, you''ve all performed splendidly! The Prosen people have always looked down on our armored forces, but from today onwards, they''ll have to take us seriously! "Tomorrow, we face another tough battle. The enemy''s entire armored cluster has already crossed Bogdanovka, so more and more tanks will appear in front of us. "You don''t have to worry about not getting your share of victories. We''ll be here, making sure the enemy recognizes our strength!" The tank operators wore expressions of determination and, after Wang Zhong finished speaking, they shouted in unison, "Ura!" Vasily prodded the ground with the muzzle of his Tokarev where a Prosen soldiery. This was the enemy he had personally killed when they had retreated. This was the only enemy he could be certain he had killed thus far. The battle had been too fierce before, and Vasily had been too busy firing desperately out the window to notice whether his bullets had hit someone or not. He lifted the enemy''s helmet with his rifle to see a young, lifeless face. Someone yelled from behind, "Don''t move, raise your hands!" Vasily turned around to see it was Filippov. Filippov was also startled, lowering his gun while asking, "Why are you wearing a Prosen''s backpack?" Vasily replied, "This is the radio taken directly by the general from the enemy! Just now, the enemy reached ourmand post, so I had to join in the fight and ended up carrying this thing. "If you had fired, and broken it, the general would have made you carry manure as punishment!" Filippovughed, "Damn, acting like we''ve never carried it before." Leaning against the wall, he slowly sat down and took out a rolled cigarette. "You smoke now?" Vasily asked, teasingly approaching. Filippov replied, "I suddenly found out that not smoking for health reasons doesn''t seem to make much sense. After all, you see, we might die before we even have to worry about health." Vasily nodded and said, "Give me one, too, to try it out." Soon after, the two who had never smoked before both started coughing violently. After stamping out the cigarette butts, the two old friends sat side by side leaning against the wall. "Niki is dead," Filippov said. "And Barfinovich, too." Vasily was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Dmitry is alive and kicking." "Isn''t that a good thing?" "Yes, I had wanted to mention who had died, but since I was always at themand post, Yegorov and the veterans are too crafty to die that easily. I saw him throw back Prosen''s grenades at least three times! Three!" Filippovughed, "That impressive? I only blew up three of the enemy''s tanks together with Niki. It was unrealistically easy; Niki threw Molotov cocktails, and I covered him with a submachine gun I picked up, shooting the Prosen soldiers as they climbed out of the tanks. "Later, Niki was shot while throwing a Molotov cocktail. The bullet hit his arm, the bottle fell, and started burning at his feet. "He was rolling around, begging me: ''Put me out of my misery, please! I''m begging you, Filippov!''" Vasily asked, "Did you grant his wish?" "I didn''t hear him, the enemy wasing up, and I spent two magazines before I drove them back. When I looked again, Niki had already taken his own life." Vasily: "If you didn''t hear him, how do you know what he said?" Filippovughed, "Damn it, Vasily, you truly are a bastard. Damn it." Vasily: "Maybe you''re right. Do you know? I''ve met Niki''s mother, she works at the agricultural station, and she''s a part-time preacher at the local church''s women''s group. When we go to visit himter, you can''t tell this story. "You should say that Niki fought against seven or eight Prosen devils, managed to kill one and then was treacherously ambushed by the enemy." Filippov was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, "You''re right! Niki killed a whole toon of devils with his submachine gun! Then he died heroically while reloading!" "Exactly, just like that! He did good! Just like that!" Vasily repeated emphatically. Chapter 119: Chapter 31: The Dusk Here is Silent (Extra for 1000 Votes) Wang Zhong rode a white horse and hesitated when he reached the road leading to the fertilizer factory. Because in his memory, this was an alleyway that could only fit one car at a time, and if a car and a tricycle headed towards each other, they would get stuck. Now the road was much wider, because the walls on either side had been sted to pieces, and the houses behind the walls were half-copsed, tattered and broken. Wang Zhong looked back at Grigori, who was helping him carry the g, "Is this the ce?" Grigori, "Yes, just go straight ahead." Wang Zhong walked a few steps forward, turned a corner, and saw a burned Prosen Tank, with a member of the Guardian Army collecting the weapons and ammunition of the dead Prosen soldiers beside the tank. Next to the Guardian Army soldier was a mule cart piled high with ammunition and weapons. Amidst a pile of Prosen bolt-action rifles, Wang Zhong spotted a few Tokarev semi-automatic rifles. Bucephalus, as if sensing his intention, walked directly in front of the mule cart, allowing Wang Zhong to pick up one of the rifles. The blood on the rifle''s body had already coagted, and when Wang Zhong opened the chamber, he found it was nearly impossible to use because of the blood; the gun would jam if fired without a thorough cleaning. The bay on the gun was very clean, perhaps its owner hadn''t had the chance to use it before sacrificing his life. At that moment, the Guardian Army soldier collecting the equipment said, "General, the young man who was carrying this rifle has already been taken away, all of our boys have been taken away." Wang Zhong, "Where have they been taken to?" "Over there to the stack area, it was originally meant for stacking fertilizers that were to be shipped out, but now it has be a huge morgue, a huge morgue!" The Guardian Army soldier probably hadn''t received much education and could only repeat the adjective "huge." Wang Zhong ced the rifle on the mule cart and said to Grigori, "Let''s go, take a look." After speaking, he gently kicked Bucephalus''s belly. The horse stepped lightly, as if it did not want to disturb the silence epassing the battlefield. The stack area was not far away, just past the wreckage of seven Prosen Tanks. Though it was called a stack area, it was actually just an open piece ofnd with weeds on itit seemed more urate to call it a meadow, as usual, reflecting the Ante Empire''s carefree nature. Now, the meadow was filled with bodies dressed in khaki military uniforms. Several old women, pushing a cart, were covering the young men with ck cloths. The leader was a nanny, who shook the bell in her hand while humming a requiem. Soldiers from the 31st Guards Regiment gathered beside the stack area, watching the nanny bid farewell to theirrades. Perhaps because of the heat, they took shelter in the shadow of the neighboring chemical factory''s tall building. The light of the setting sun crossed the already dpidated building and fell upon the open stack area, coating everything with ayer of red. The silhouettes of shadows seemed like the border between two worlds, the living gazing upon the dead. Only the requiem echoed in the lonely scene. Wang Zhong closed his eyes, recalling the faces of the young, the enemy hade too quickly, and he had not been able to match all of their faces with names. But that did not prevent him from escorting them on theirst journey. Wang Zhong dismounted, nced at the g Grigori was holding aloft, then took out a notebook and pencil, and walked into the range of the setting sun, into the domain of the dead. He came to the first body at the bottom right corner of the stack, loudly read out the young man''s name, and then wrote it down in the notebook with the pencil. Thus he continued, slowly walking past each person, reading out each name, and recording it in the notebook. The soldiers from 31st Regiment all stood up, silently watching him. Wang Zhong did not know how many names he had read, he only knew that he wore down his pencil several times and had to stop to whittle it with a small knife before continuing. Seeing his actions, the olddy silently asked the aunties to temporarily stop their work on covering with ck cloth, and the chant of the requiem also paused. The voices of the living echoed in this region dominated by death. Wang Zhong suddenly stopped, gazed intently at the body before him, and with a heavy heart, he read out the name, "Aleksei Balfyonovich. May you reunite with the girl in heaven." The olddy made the sign of the cross over her chest and whispered, "Amen." Wang Zhong continued to record names until the shadow of the fertilizer factorypletely engulfed the stacks. He stood on the edge of the shadow and turned back to see the blood-like setting sun. Unbeknownst to when it began, all the surviving soldiers of the 31st Regiment had already gathered at the edge of the stacks, watching Wang Zhong, watching their general. Grigori held the g, standing among them. Wang Zhong walked towards the soldiers. Perhaps because the scene was too solemn, no one used amand to break the silence. Wang Zhong made his way to the people, "I promised to remember the names of all of you. But I haven''t managed to do so yet." The young soldiers watched Wang Zhong with pursed lips. Wang Zhong lifted the notebook in his hand, "This notebook records the names of everyone who sacrificed today. Surely many more will join this notebook in the future. "One day, when I be an Army Group or even a Front Armymander, the number of deaths will be so great that notebooks will hardly suffice to record them. "But I promise, I remember every drop of blood shed for victory. Look at this g!" Wang Zhong gestured to Grigori. The sergeant major stepped forward five paces to a position where everyone could see the g in his hand. Wang Zhong, "This g was brought out by an old soldier named Rezenov. He sacrificed himself to rescue me when I was in trouble. To save me, many, many have sacrificed, their blood sttered on this g. "I hold this g to remember those civilians who sacrificed themselves to save me. "Now, I have decided to use dye, to thoroughly redden this g, and it will represent all the soldiers who sacrificed today. "It will represent every defender of the homnd who has fallen since the war began! "Each one of us, upon seeing the red g, will recall our sacrifices, remember the price we paid for victory! "I think in this great war sweeping everything, in the early chaos, many did not leave their names before they died. "This red g will represent each one of them! We will never forget!" Wang Zhong paused, looking at the faces of those as young as the dead. Someone began to shout loudly, "We remember!" The others joined in, "We remember!" "We remember!" "We remember!" After the shouting in unison ended, Wang Zhong continued, "If one day, I too fall, this g will bear the elegance of my bloodstained wind. Grigori! Go dye the g, turn it to red at its base!" Grigori took off running, leapt onto his horse, and disappeared in a sh. ``` After watching the g disappear, Wang Zhong looked again at the young people, "Vasily! Is Vasily here? Or has he been injured?" Vasily: "Here! I''ve got your precious walkie-talkie, and it''s not broken! Don''t punish me!" Wang Zhong: "I wasn''t going to punish you, or do you actually want to go shovel manure?" "No, I don''t want to at all!" Wang Zhong: "I heard your father is a music professor?" "Yes." Vasily looked somewhat displeased, it seemed he had a deep estrangement with his father. Wang Zhong: "Then sing us something appropriate for this scene!" "This... General, in such a situation?" Wang Zhong: "What''s wrong? Can''t we sing at a time like this?" "But, such a sorrowful scene..." "Yes, such a sorrowful scene. But do the dead wish us to weep and wail? No, they want us to muster courage, to fight the enemy for them as well! They wish for us to give as good as we get, an eye for an eye, blood for blood! "Sing! A song with vigor!" Vasily furrowed his brow: "This..." "Didn''t your father give you a musical education?" Wang Zhong asked with doubt. Filippov yelled from the side: "Report!" Wang Zhong: "Speak!" "He did, General! His music is really good! He can even y the trumpet!" Vasily red fiercely at his so-called friend. Wang Zhong: "So, you''ve had a good musical education and you say there''s no song suitable for this scene?" "At least I''ve never learned one." Wang Zhong thought to himself that it was fortunate he knew such a song, but it was a pity he didn''t know how to adapt the lyrics into Antenguage, afraid that singing it in Chinese would just confuse everyone. But at this moment, he especially wanted to sing it because it was so fitting for the scene. So he hummed a line, only to realize that obviously there was no trantion, it was in Chinese. Although it was very quiet, Vasily heard itperhaps because he had a musician for a father, his ears were sharp. "What''s this song? I''ve never heard it! I can''t understand the lyrics, but it feels like I can grasp the meaning with the melody!" Vasily asked curiously, "What is this, exactly?" Wang Zhong suddenly had an idea. He asked, "Have you studiedposition?" "Uh... I haven''t tried, but my dad has always forced me to learn music theory. I can give it a shot." At this moment, Wang Zhong''s mind became clear: Singing can''t be tranted, but I can recite, and once recited, it''s tranted. Then leave it to Vasily to worry about how to turn it into singable lyrics. So he said, "Then take a look, put this tune to music, write it into a song!" He turned his head to look at the piles of bodies, then began to recite: The rolling smoke sings of heroes Mountains all around listen with sideways ear, with sideways ear The clear sky''s thunder strikes the golden drum The mighty sea raises waves as harmony People''s warriors chase away tigers and leopards Sacrificing life, forgetting death to safeguard peace Why is the battle g beautiful as a painting Heroes'' fresh blood has dyed her red Why is the earth ever in spring Heroes'' lives blossom fresh flowers! Filippov''s mouth formed an O shape: "You''re a poet too?" Vasily took his notebook and wrote down the words, read them silently again, and then critically said: "The rhymes are a bit off, I''ll need to make some adjustments. But it really has a spirit of sadness without sorrow!" Nonsense, this is one of the immortal treasures of another time, my real homnd! Wang Zhong patted Vasily''s shoulder: "I order you to survive, perfect it. Then set it to music." "I''ll try my best." Vasily looked at the lyrics he''d written in his notebook, "These words... ''Heroes'' fresh blood has dyed her red''... Did you think of this line after seeing the g?" Unfortunately, it wasn''t. Wang Zhong was about to reply when the sound of engines came from the sky. He quickly switched to an aerial view, only to discover the enemy''s reconnaissance ne flying high above. This time Wang Zhong was very careful to confirm that this was indeed not a bomber equipped with Fritz X radio-guided bombs. Vasily also looked up at the sky: "Damn the enemy, where on earth is our Air Force?" No sooner had he spoken than something reflected the light of the setting sun in the sky. A pair of Mig-3s appeared in formation! The enemy''s reconnaissance ne immediately ejected interception fire, but the two Mig-3s deftly got to its six o''clock position. After a short burst, the Do 215 reconnaissance ne''s left engine caught fire, and, trailing thick smoke, plunged toward the ground. The Mig-3s followed the enemy ne as if to ensure its destruction, until it crashed. Then the nes turned and roared past above the pile of corpses. Despite just having shot down an enemy from thousands of meters in the air, the burly pilot did not close the ss canopy of the cockpit. Wang Zhong recalled that only Italian pilots liked to fly with the cockpit canopy open, supposedly "to feel the breath of the wind." When the pilot saw clearly what was below, he raised his right hand in salute. Some of the soldiers eximed, "He has six kill stars! He''s an Air Force ace!" "Hurrah!" There were cheers all around! Only Vasily was still looking down at the "poem" Wang Zhong had just "written." ``` Chapter 120: Chapter 32: The Situation on the Night of July 7 (Alliance Hierarch Added) At the same time that Major General Rokossov was mourning the fallen soldiers, twenty-five kilometers east of Bogdanovka, the town of Grezno, the estate of thergestndowner in the town, Boye, had been upied by the Prosen soldiers and converted into the headquarters of the First Armored Cluster. At seven in the evening, General Ewald von Steyr-Mark entered the main building''s hall surrounded by arge group of aides and staff officers. Steyr-Mark looked up at the magnificent chandelier above the hall and said, "This thing will fall and hurt someone when it''s hit by shelling, take it down." The staff at headquarters immediately sprang into action, bringing adder to remove the chandelier. Steyr-Mark''s aide-de-camp made a gesture of invitation, "General, the map room is set up this way." "Let''s have a look at the bedroom where I''ll sleep tonight, since you guys definitely haven''t updated the map information yet," the general waved his hand. The aide-de-camp immediately changed direction, "This way, please, up the stairs." A few minutester, the general entered the bedroom and frowned at the sight of the luxurious velvet bed, "What is this! Heidlin, you should know I don''t like this sort of thing! Throw this out, burn it, bring my field bed here!" The aide-de-camp Heidlin quickly issued instructions to the orderlies, and within minutes the velvet bed had been dismantled and thrown out of the window. General Steyr-Mark''s field bed was set up in the original position. Once all waspleted under his supervision, the general nodded in satisfaction, "Heidlin, as a soldier, you must always remain vignt. Velvet is not suitable for soldiers." At that time, amunications officer appeared with a telegram, "General, an urgent message from the 15th Armored Division." "Read it." The staff officer immediately read, "To Armored Cluster Command, my unit is facing resistance in the attack at Loktov, the enemy has deployed the new model tanks, T-34, mentioned by High Command, posing a significant armor advantage to our forces. "My division now has only 53 operational Panzer IIIs and 4 Panzer IVs. Moreover, because the battlefield is under enemy control, we are unable to retrieve and repair abandoned tanks. "The enemy used their mobility tounch a surprise attack on our headquarters, General Randolf died for his country! 15th Armored Division Headquarters, July 7, 1730 hours." The general turned his head to themunications officer, his brows furrowed. He stepped forward, took the telegram, and read it several times before eximing, "Major General Randolf is dead?" Chief of staff: "He may be the highest-ranking officer we have lost since the beginning of our offensive." "I know," the general put the telegram behind his back and began pacing the room, "New tanks! High Command said there were at most a hundred of these tanks! Did the 15th Division report how many new tanks they encountered?" "No. The report they sent back is the one you''re holding," answered themunications officer. Chief of staff: "I remember yesterdaythat is, on the 6th, the 15th Division reported that after a failed probing attack, they still had 91 operational Panzer IIIs and 27 Panzer IVs. "Such a heavy loss in one go; the enemy must have deployed over 50 of the new tanks." Steyr-Markined as he paced, "The intelligence department of the Southern Army Group told us that Loktov only had two infantry brigades, yet there emerged corps heavy artillery and now organized new tank units. Did these enemies sprout from the ground?" As soon as he finished speaking, anothermunications soldier entered the room with a telegram and handed it to themunications officer, "Just finished decoding." Steyr-Mark went up and snatched the telegram to read for himself, "Telegram from Southern Army Group headquarters: ording to aerial reconnaissance, an infantry army group of the enemy is advancing towards Loktov, expected to arrive tomorrow evening. "The First Armored Cluster should attempt to capture Loktov before the arrival of the army group." After reading, Steyr-Mark handed the telegram to the chief of staff, "An infantry army group, no mention of tanks." Chief of staff: "Perhaps tomorrow we could have the 15th Division try again?" "No, no," General Steyr-Mark waved his hand, "The offensive operations of these past ten days have proven one thing, that is, our armored divisions are assigned too few infantry. If the enemy has heavy artillery and possibly fifty new tanks, then they might have seven to eight infantry battalions. Our armored divisions only have four armored grenadier battalions, one of which is motorized reconnaissance!" After another round of pacing, he stressed once more, "We need to increase the number of armored grenadiers! Ordinary infantry can''t keep up with armored units and always fall out of step during the attack. "The Ante people were in disarray, allowing our armored forces to break through with ease, buttely the Ante have started to put up a stubborn fight! We need infantry to conquer those well-defended towns!" The chief of staff tentatively asked, "So... we''re not attacking anymore?" "We will attack! Once the enemy''s infantry army group arrives, taking Loktov will be even more difficult. Have the 24th Armored Grenadier Division join the attack. Now that Major General Randolf has died a glorified death,mand of the assault will be handed over to Major General Franz of the 24th Armored Grenadier Division." The chief of staff nodded, "Having an infantry officer direct the fight to capture a city is very sensible." Steyr-Mark nodded and then said, "And one more thing! Have the Air Force bomb the enemy''s positions hard! Especially those tanks! Since the enemy''s new tanks are so troublesome, let the Air Force deal with them! "50 tanks are hard to hide!" Having said this, Steyr-Mark waved his hand. As themunications officer who received the orders was about to leave, the general spoke again, "Whomands the enemy forces at Loktov?" "It''s said to be Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov." General Steyr-Mark frowned, "These Ante names are so long. So, who is that?" "The White Horse General," said the chief of staff. Steyr-Mark frowned, "The White Horse General? The young officer trusted by the emperor used to shift me?" The chief of staff: "If I remember the name correctly, it''s him." Steyr-Mark frowned, "Randolf was killed by this man? Communications officer, wire the 15th Armor and inquire about the details of Major General Randolf''s death!" Karlinovka, July 7, 1940 "I saw it with my own eyes!" Old soldier Hans told the others gathered around the fire, "That new tank was painted all white! It charged across the battlefield and destroyed seven of our tanks before reaching headquarters!" "The headquarters'' guard tank toon immediately advanced, and bang, bang, bang, the pure white new tank blew them all up!" "That white figure was like a demon arriving! It was the white demon summoned by the Ante Army!" Someone by the fire immediately objected, "You''re talking nonsense! I clearly heard it was painted red like the Red Baron!" "What are you saying!" Hans was displeased, "They call him the White General! How could it be red? I saw it with my own eyes and it was white!" "Who cares about red or white! What happened after it charged up close?" someone was only interested in the oue. "What else could happen? With one ''boom'' from the tank''s gun, the major general was dead! And several staff officers too!" While the old soldier was vividly describing the scene, someone beside him shouted, "Hans! Your coffee tastes terrible! What is this stuff?" "Be grateful for what you''ve got!" Hans shouted back without hesitation. At this moment, someone spoke mysteriously, "About this White General, there''s a rumour. It was told to me by a fellow sapper from my hometown! In this vige, the White General nted 20 devious mines, and the sappers only managed to remove four and one exploded." "The remaining fifteen mines have not been found at all!" This statement made everyone around the fire tense up. The person who shared this news seemed pleased, "So be careful, stay away from anything suspicious, or you won''t be keeping your life!" The Prosen soldiers looked at each other in dismay. If the White General could take out 12 tanks and kill General Lendorf all by himself in a single tank, then he surely could have nted 15 mines. There was no logical connection between the two, but the grunts didn''t care about that; they just believed the White General could do it. Everyone secretly swore that when it came time to sleep, they would definitely sleep outside the housethey dared not even consider using a bed. At ten fifty in the evening, Wang Zhong rode his white horse out of the city and found the mechanics fervently trying to save tanks at the repair factory to understand the situation. "Your Excellency General," said the same old worker who was assembling the cannon, "You asked us to repair tanks, but we''re car mechanics, not very familiar with tanks. So we''ve enlisted the help of maintenance workers from the tractor station; at least they can reattach the tracks." Then the old worker introduced a colleague to Wang Zhong, "This is the foreman from the tractor station, let him exin the situation." Wang Zhong nodded, "Please, go ahead." "Your Excellency General! We''ve checked several abandoned tanks, and three of them can move once the tracks are reattached, and the turrets are functional." "Of the remaining five, one has a damaged leading wheel that needs recement parts. The turrets on the other four are jammed by enemy armor-piercing shells." "We n to use pliers to pull out the armor-piercing shells wedged between the turret and the body." "As for the other faults, we aren''t familiar with cannons, so we can''t inspect the condition of the cannons. The machine guns, only a few of us reservists have seen them during mobilization training, we can''t guarantee that they''ll be fixed." Wang Zhong, "How many do you estimate can be rescued?" "If given time, we can fix them all. But will you give us the time?" Wang Zhong, "Time is tonight, I hope to have these tanks back in fighting condition before six or seven o''clock tomorrow morning." "That will be difficult," said the foreman of the tractor station, "We don''t have the specialized repair equipment, nor are we professional logistical mechanics. By the time you''ve set, I think we can only repair five." Wang Zhong was taken aback; it seemed that couldn''t be demanded of them, so he changed the subject, "What about those Prosen tanks?" The foreman shook his head, "Those tanks are vastly different in design from ours, and the width of the tracks is differentwe don''t have the specialized tools to reattach tracks." "Plus, it''s clear they are high-quality manufacturing, very precise. Such finely made things are harder to repair." "However..." Wang Zhong, "However?" "However, we found that some of the enemy''s tanks didn''t really have any problems, just that their crew was severely reduced after being prated, so they were abandoned." "We''ve inspected these tanks, and at least three are still operational, even able to fire shells." Wang Zhong, "Only three, huh..." 5+3, not to mention anything else, it was truly a relief to have restored the fighting capability of 8 tanksregardless of whether they were T34s or not. But these few tanks were far from enough! Who knows how many enemy tanks they will have to face tomorrow! Chapter 121: Chapter 33 Artillery Preparation On the morning of July 8, 914 A.D. ording to the Jules calendar, Wang Zhong woke up amidst the rubble. The "senior officers'' quarters" next door, where he had stayed before, had its roof blown off, but, miraculously, none of the three beds had been crushed. As soon as Wang Zhong opened his eyes and sat up, he saw Yegorov cleaning his gun. "Not polishing shoes today?" he asked, puzzled. Taking his shoe, Yegorov showed a huge gash at the front: "It got sted by a grenade. I only discovered it this morning, so I sent Vasily to get me a new pair," he said. Wang Zhong: "Treating Vasily as your personal orderly?" "What''s wrong with that? Or could it be, the rumors are true?" Wang Zhong: "What rumors?" Yegorov, as if searching for the right adjective, twirled his hand in the air, "A rtionship of a wolf to a sheep!" Wang Zhong thought for a second, then figured Yegorov probably meant to say "an intimacy as of dragons and suns" but misspoke. Wang Zhong: "Not at all! Don''t you know my reputation? I''m the bulldozer of Saint Yekaterinburg, the terminator of nobledies'' chastity!" Yegorov: "But that doesn''t conflict with this! Did I spell it right, though?" Wang Zhong: "No, you didn''t." "I knew it!" Yegorov cursed, "Damn! You guys alwayse up with these words no one uses!" Wang Zhong changed the topic to the empty bed: "Popov didn''te backst night?" "How could he possiblye back? Afterst night''s battle, there must be a mountain of tasks to do. A normal brigade headquarters needs over a hundred staff, odd-job men, and clerks. How many do we have? It wouldn''t be surprising if Pavlov copsed at any moment." Wang Zhong: "Does a brigade headquarters really need that many people?" "That''s not even countingmunications and security. A normal brigade HQ, along with logistics and apanyingborers and such, numbers in the thousands." Wang Zhong: "A brigade? That many people?" "Yep, that number is on the conservative side for logistics. A fully staffed brigade with sufficient supplies normally has a ratio of 2 civilians to 1 soldier, and that can be reduced to 1:1 only if you have enough vehicles." Wang Zhong scratched his head. No wonder they said the victory of the Huaihai Campaign was pushed by single-wheel carts. Having only known it on paper, now Wang Zhong truly understood that modern warfare is a war of logistics. In passing, Wang Zhong also finally figured out why Pavlov was always busy with panda eyes. He hoped Popov would relieve some of his pressure. Wang Zhong wished so. At that moment, Yegorov spoke up: "Heard you wanted theborers to dig tank emcements yesterday?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, a type of tank emcement that I devised myself." Of course, it wasn''t actually his own idea, but rather one taken from the Soviet armored defense manuals of another timeline. Who says giarism is limited to poetry? Wang Zhong picked up a brick, cleared a clean space on the ground, and started to draw a diagram for Yegorov. (Image from the Bilibili UP host Doggie Chocte) As he drew, Wang Zhong exined: "Look, the straight walls on this side are the front, facing the enemy, and the sloped side is the rear. The rear has two steps, allowing tanks to move between them using their own power. "If tanks move to the bottom of the emcement, they will bepletely concealed by the front wall, keeping them hidden from the enemy, who can''t directly attack them. "Backing up onto the ramp will allow the tanks to expose just their turrets to fire. At this time, arge area in front can amodate the muzzle st, making it difficult for the enemy to spot the tank''s position." Yegorov, holding his chin: "Though I''m an infantry officer, I can tell this is cunning! It''s reminiscent of our Civil War trenches, with differing heights on each side, making it difficult for enemies who enter the trench to shoot backwards, while our counter-attacks can easily reim the trenches!" Wang Zhong hesitated: "Uh, I think there still is a difference." "Anyway, it''s all about using the height difference of trench sides to our advantage. So, were these tank emcements dug in the end?" Wang Zhong shook his head: "No, thebor camp said the amount of earthwork required was too much. With their manpower, not even by tomorrow nighttonight, could they finish. So, they had to do some things that would have immediate effects instead. "Like buryingndmines." Yegorov looked up in surprise: "Do we have mines now?" "They were deliveredst night. Also, I have some new ideas for the minefield. See, the enemy would use artillery to st the minefield, setting off all mines, right? "We need to think inversely, so I had the engineers guide theborers to bury the mines five kilometers away from the city, so enemy artillery can''t reach the minefield. "But, we erected signs in Prosen around the city, along with some pickle jar lids. "Inside those lids, we''ve mixed in real mines, and beneath each, we''ve buried homemade booby traps made out of grenades. If the engineers disarming the mines don''t notice the booby traps, then BOOOOM!" Yegorov stared, dumbstruck, "Was that your idea?" No, it was acted out in "Mine Warfare." Back then, war movies always had military advisors withbat experience, so it should be reliable. But Wang Zhong, with shamelessly thick skin, pped his chest, "My idea!" Yegorov raised his thumb, "No wonder you have a good eye for Vasily, that troublemaker. You both likeing up with bad ideas." Wang Zhongughed heartily, maintaining his smile as he stood up and walked over to where the window used to benow there was only a breast-high wall left. Had the vase still not been on the windowsill, one might not have known there was once a window here! Looking out at the fields, Wang Zhong''s smile vanished. It hadn''t been noticeable at night, but now the once green fields had turned iron grey. Just as Dmitry had said, thisnd was almost entirely made of iron now. However, Wang Zhong noticed a tuft of grass growing stubbornly in the morning sun. As Yegorov was cleaning his gun, he asked, "What do you think the enemy will lead with today?" "I think it will be an airstrike," Wang Zhong replied. "They always start with a bombing run, otherwise the Prosen Air Force would have to exin themselves to the Army." "Makes sense." No sooner had he spoken than the telephone rang in the next room. A momentter, Dmitry came in to report, "Brother Peter has heard arge enemy air group approaching." Wang Zhong, "Alright, got it, sound the air raid rm." The air raid rm sounded right after he spoke, clearly Brother Peter had called the air defense troops first. Yegorov, "Didn''t many people see the Air Force shoot down the enemy''s high-altitude reconnaissance ne yesterday?" "I saw it. After they took down the enemy, they even flew over the city to salute the young lives sacrificed," Wang Zhong said. "Although I''m grateful for their efforts to boost morale, I still wish the Air Force could provide a bit more substantial help." The roar of engines came from the horizon, and Wang Zhong symbolicallyy down on the ground. Twenty minutester, the sound of the enemy nes receded, and Wang Zhong got up, patting the dust off his body. At that moment, Vasily rushed into the room, "Commander, I''ve brought the boots over!" Wang Zhong, "Did you encounter any bombing on the way? All good?" "No trouble. A kind olddy pulled me into her cer. Now I smell like pickled cabbage. Can you guys smell it?" Both Wang Zhong and Yegorov shook their heads. Vasily handed the boots to Yegorov and excitedly asked Wang Zhong, "What''s the n for today''s fight?" "The n is simple. Even though we didn''t finish digging aplete tank shelter yesterday, I had thebor camp stack some sandbags for cover, and we put sandbags on the fronts and the turret fronts of the tanks. "We''ll be on the edge of the city, taking cover among the ruins and exchanging fire with the enemy." Wang Zhong nced at Yegorov and continued, "The T34 tank has really poor visibility, I confirmed this myself yesterday. The tankmander also acts as the gunner, and most of the time, he can only focus on the aiming periscope. "So, by positioning the tanks at the edge and staggering them, all facing outward, we can effectively reduce the blind spots in the tanks'' view." Yegorov, "You''re treating the tanks as gun emcements?" "These are the results from yesterday''s battle. Those Guards of Honor, they do fine standing in ce, aiming, and shooting at the enemy, but asking them to charge at the enemy tanks for a close fight is asking too much. "When the enemy infantry gets close enough to threaten the tanks, we''ll reverse out and let the machine guns deployed on the nks of the tank shelters cover for the tanks." Wang Zhong said with conviction, as if he was an experienced tankmanderthough considering the abysmal loss rate of the Ante Empire''s tank troops right now, perhaps Wang Zhong really was the leading tank expert in the Ante Empire. Yegorov nodded, "I can''t manage the tanks, I''m just a simple infantryman. I''ll keep holding our position today. In fact, things are much better than yesterday; at least we have more people." Because of Wang Zhong''s valiant fight yesterday, the church was able to muster a greatly increased Guardian Army, stuffing five Guardian Army battalions into Rocossov''s battle group. However, these men had hardly received anybat training, and all they had were the outdated weapons from the stores. In the words of Paradox Interactive gamers, these were the quintessential "cannon fodder infantry." But having cannon fodder was still better than letting elite troops fight a lonely battle. Yegorov, "And you, General? Going to continue riding your tank?" "Yes, I am the mobile force; I''ll appear where I''m needed." This is the confidence a top-down perspective gives me. Just then, the howl of shells passed overhead. The enemy''s artillery preparation had begun. Everyone in the roomy down together, maintaining the standard artillery evasion posture. As the shells fell, Yegorovughed, "Looks like it''s going to be another busy day today!" Chapter 122: Chapter 34 Pavlovs Flexibility and Adaptability On the morning of July 8th at eight o''clock, Wang Zhongmanded Vehicle 422 to enter the preset positions. The other vehicles were already in the shelters, covered tightly with camouges draped with leaves. The surviving crews of the two BT-7s from yesterday were split up and assigned to two understrength T34 crews. As for the recovered Mark III tank, it was operated by gunners from the 31st Guards Regiment and used as a fixed artillery emcement. Among the military academy students who had joined the 31st Guards, there was a toon of artillery school trainees; these young people had a strong capacity for learning and quickly mastered the manual turret operation of the Mark III. After all, the Mark III had decent armor, which should afford these trainees a higher survival rate than if they were directly manning the 45mm anti-tank guns. On the Eastern Front in World War II, both sides suffered high casualty rates among their anti-tank gun crews. Eventually, Sturmtigers were used as the main anti-tank firepower for infantry divisions to reduce reliance on anti-tank guns. Wang Zhong sat in the turret, pondering aimlessly, "In the future, when I can influence arms production, I must produce something like the Sturmtiger to provide infantry divisions with anti-tank firepower." The Soviet self-propelled guns were indeed used as artillery pieces, with the SU-76 and SU-85 capable of firing directly by lowering their barrels, although they were more often employed for indirect fire. This was reflected in post-war films, where "Tank Destroyers" and howitzer batteries would be ced together, angling their barrels high for indirect fire. Originally, the early models of the Sturmtiger equipped with short-barrel howitzers were designed to fire shells, butter, due to increasing anti-tank pressure, they all switched to long-barrel guns to fight tanks. For a considerable time during World War II, the German forces on the Eastern Front held the advantage in armor engagements, with some units reporting only a loss of 10 tanks after three days ofbat, while iming to have destroyed over 200 Soviet tanks. However, Germany only had so many armored divisions, which meant that the infantry had to grapple with the numerous T34s. And the Sturmtiger greatly reduced the losses of the infantry divisions. This was a good thing to have! I should definitely get some! I need to figure out how to influence the production of equipment, I wonder if the Crown Prince can y a role in this area. As Wang Zhong mused about the future, Vasily''s voice came over the radio: "Hound Fox calling White Horse, Hound Fox calling White Horse!" Hound Fox was the call sign Wang Zhong had designated for the 31st Regiment headquartersthe forwardmandthis morning. Wang Zhong: "This is White Horse, go ahead." "We just intercepted the enemy''smunications. Although we don''t know what units those call signs represent, it''s certain they stepped onndmines and had to stop to clear them." After realizing that their false intelligence had not fooled the Ante Army, the enemy had changed their call signs and code words, but monitoring was still meaningful, like right now. Wang Zhong: "Are you sure they hit mines?" "Positive. The enemy''s front linemand also reported that the attack might be dyed by two to three hours." Wang Zhong pped his thigh: "Good!" Just a few mines had dyed them three hours, without any casualties! Mines really are a great thing! No wonder modern warfare involves both sidesying mines extensively. Wang Zhong could foresee that he''d have to fight many defensive battles in the future, and mines would certainly be a great help in his military career. After Vasily''smunication ended, Wang Zhong had just slightly removed his headset when he heard a new call: "Nun calling White Horse, Nun calling White Horse!" Wang Zhong: "What''s ''Nun''? Who the hell is messing around with the radio?" "I am Sufang! Aren''t I a ''Nun''? I received a hymn from the St. Ye Katerina Fortress choir, ordering us to attack with all our might, seeking to recover all lost territories within one or two weeks." Wang Zhong: "Shut your mouth! That''s innguage, the enemy can hear it too! I''m heading to the division headquarters now! You wait!" After saying that, he pped the top of the tank hard: "To the division headquarters." Beliyakov: "We just arrived at the ambush position?" Wang Zhong: "The enemy won''t arrive for at least another two hours. We go to the division headquarters first to see what kind of frenzy the guys in the rear are in." As soon as Wang Zhong entered themand post, he saw Sufang. The girl couldn''t help butugh at the sight of him: "You''re here!" Wang Zhong: "Next time, don''t talk about hymn content over the radio!" At that moment, Pavlov looked up: "Actually, it''s no big deal. Most of the hymn content isn''t ssified, and anyone with the ability to listen can hear it, so enemy spies definitely know as well." Oh? Is that so? Wang Zhong: "Then does the hymn serve any purpose?" Sufang pouted: "The envoys at Peniye called in Vehicle 67, thanks to me!" The girl''s voice suddenly dropped. "Although we had to sacrifice them there... at least I managed to keep us alive." It seemed that way. Wang Zhong: "Alright, you''re useful after all. So what did the big shots in the capital say?" "They ordered a full assault, to recapture lost territories within two to three weeks," Sufang answered seriously. Wang Zhong gave an honest appraisal, "The Emperor''s head has gone bad?" The blue-hatted courier who had just brought the telegram was shocked and, with a guarded look, searched for the speaker. Upon discovering it was Wang Zhong, he decisively pretended not to hear. A war hero, the Crown Prince''s buddy, the White Horse Generalmenting on the Emperorwhat''s wrong with that? Maybe it''s a family matter. What''s wrong if a bastardins about his dad? What if meddling causes trouble? Acting as if he hadn''t heard anything, the blue-hatted courier approached Wang Zhong, clicked his heels together with a snap and saluted, "Urgent telegram from the Front Army headquarters!" Wang Zhong took the telegram and saw it read "Your unit should initiate an attack as soon as possible" He stopped reading, crumpled the telegram, and threw it into the trash can. The coordination of this body was excellent; he scored a direct hit. The body of this wastrel was well trained; howe it failed on the battlefield? Pavlov hurried over to pick up the telegram. Opening it, he said, "It really is ordering us to attack. Shouldn''t we have reported fewer enemy tanks destroyed yesterday?" Wang Zhong asked, "How many did you report?" "Two hundred," Pavlov said with an innocent expression. "We only overreported by forty-four percent!" "Only?" Wang Zhong frowned in disapproval. What kind of small-time thinking was this? Were they making a "grand base camp war report" here? Then he noticed the problem, "Wait a minute! If the actual number destroyed was just over a hundred, and during the enemy''s attack, there were 80 in the city and 100 outside, and we drove all the enemies away, what about the rest?" "They fled from the north of the city," exined Pavlov. "By the way, they also found out that there were no defenses to the north, so that''s why I had the church send the newly formed Guardian Army there. We also need to be careful about the north side in today''s battle." Wang Zhong sneered and returned to Pavlov''s exaggerated count, "200 tanks! You''ve got some nerve! Even if we destroyed every tank the enemy had in their assault, there''s still a shortfall of 20! Where am I supposed to find those 20 tanks?" "You could say that when you raided the enemy''s Armored Division headquarters, you destroyed twenty tanks," suggested Pavlov. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue. Suddenly, he "oh"-ed in realization, "I understand why they want us to counterattack now. You guys kept addingyers to the story, so the higher-ups think the enemy is worn out, right?" Pavlov, with a dark face: "What do you think turned us into this?" This Pavlov always spoke with multiple meanings! The waiting Judge looked up at the ceiling where spiders were weaving their webs. Wang Zhong said, "Forget it, Judge! There''s been no reply yet, has there?" "No," the Judge answered. "Then don''t respond. Smash the radio and say it was destroyed by artillery fire," Wang Zhong dered with a wave of his hand. "It''s settled then." Pavlov interjected, "Wait a minute!" He told the Judge, "Call the Cryptographer and the Codebook Custodian." The Judge immediately left while Pavlov hunched over the desk and quickly scribbled a note, then tore it off the notepad. The Judge returned with the Cryptographer and Codebook Custodian. Pavlov ordered, "Take this note, go to the hospital, and fill out admission cards for three wounded inpatients. Make sure to leave a record stating you''re from thebat group''smunication team!" The Judge, puzzled, asked, "And then what?" "Stay there until after the battle when we rotate out with the 63rd Army Group. Then im you''ve recovered and leave discharge records." Wang Zhong probed, "Aren''t they going to find out if you ''recover'' within a few hours?" "What''s to fear? Once the battle starts, a massive number of casualties will flood the hospital. With so many records between admission and discharge, no one will notice anything. Even if they do, we can just say we were knocked out by a shell and taken in by the stretcher team." Wang Zhong reassessed Pavlov: "Is this the way a noble officer behaves?" "You are also a noble officer. In the entire Empire, you''re the only noble officer who can''t say that about me. If we really get down to it, I learned from you!" Pavlov retorted, then waved the Judges off, "Go on, hurry up." The Judges left. Wang Zhong asked, "So... do we smash the radio or not?" "No need for that. After the battle, we''ll still need tomunicate with the Front Army. Look, our Cryptographer is injured and in the hospital. It''s only normal we won''t understand the telegrams we receive!" Then, Sufang spoke up, "What about me? Should I respond acknowledging the receipt of psalms?" Wang Zhong suggested, "How about you lie down in the hospital too?" Sufang considered it and nodded solemnly, "I can help at the hospital. It''s perfect since I am also a Monk; I can listen to the soldiers''st prayers." Wang Zhong approved, "Very good." Sufang turned and ran off. Pavlov picked up the torn note, "Wait! The note! Ah, she ran off too quickly." Wang Zhong suddenly felt, "It''s a miracle that the Ante Empire has not yet been defeated." At this moment, Popov, who had been silent up until now, looked up and snorted, "Hmph, the church has been displeased for a long time. During the civil war, we were so focused on purging the Sanctified faction that we ignored the scum among the great nobles who supported the Secr faction." Upon hearing Popov''s words, an idea struck Wang Zhong: "Does this scum include me?" Popov nodded, "It used to include you." "It used to." Chapter 124: Chapter 36: The Generals Ingenious Strategy Demonstrates His Divine Prowess An hour before the Prussian Armyunched their attack. Major General Franz put down his binocrs and praised, "The 513th Regiment deployed very quickly. As long as the enemy is sessfully lured, we are certain to achieve great results." Then he turned to another direction, observing the firing position of the 24th artillery regiment equipped with the PAK38 fifty-millimeter anti-tank guns through his binocrs. After a minute, Major General Franz lowered his binocrs, "Very good, with this we can form a crossfire, and whatever kind of newfangled tanks the enemy has, we''ll destroy them!" As he spoke, he turned around, "All we need to do is fall back and wait for the Ante Army, eager for glory, toe charging over." After taking two steps, Major General Franz stopped,ing up with a new idea. He turned his head and said, "Is themunication vehicle of the 15th Division still around? Evacuate the personnel, and leave themunication vehicle and other vehicles here!" As he said this, he pointed at the 120 high ground beneath his feet. "Make this ce look like amand post!" The Major General''s orders were swiftly executed. The armoredmand vehicles of the original 15th Division headquarters were driven up to the high ground, and all personnel were evacuated, leaving only the vehicles behind. Franz''s adjutant watched this and finally couldn''t help bute over and say, "These are almost all of the radio equipment of the 15th Division''smand post. If they''re destroyed, it will take a while to rece them, and themand andmunication capabilities of the 15th Division will be greatly reduced." Franz replied, "But if we can eliminate the enemy''s war hero, it will be worth it. Think about our offensive operations along the way. Although we encountered some fiercely resisting forces, in most ces, the enemy copsed before us! "The resistance of the enemy has obviously increased now. In the encircled Bogdanovka, there are still troops fighting, and the 6th Army Group has to systematically clear the enemy out of each building! "At times like this, it''s even more important to strike a blow to the enemy''s morale! Whether this Rokossovsky is the White Horse General or the White Eagle General, we must eliminate him!" Major General Franz habitually tapped the palm of his hand with his riding crop. "As long as the armored forcesplete the baiting mission, the enemy, without theirmander, will be disorganized. We''ll then have the opportunity to seize Loktov. By then, with the railways, won''t it be easy to rece some radiomand vehicles?" In actuality, after such a battle, the 15th Division would have to stop and regroup. Franz looked at the acting divisionmander of the 15th Division, revealing a grim smile. Tank number 422 just reached the bunker when the enemy appeared on the horizon. Wang Zhong immediately switched his viewpoint to observe the enemy situation. As he watched, his brows twisted into a knot, "So few apanying infantry?" If it were from a normal person''s viewpoint, it probably wouldn''t be noticeable since, from the front, the infantry were obscured by the tanks. But Wang Zhong''s overview could even highlight the enemies, making everything crystal clear at a nce. So few apanying infantry didn''t seem like they were preparing for urban "meat-grinding"bat; it rather looked like a case of "not having apanying infantry would be too obvious, so just throw in a few for appearance''s sake." Wang Zhong frowned deeply. At that moment, he remembered a tactic from Earth''s military history where Sturmtigers feigned a retreat with their armored forces to lure T34s into pursuit, then ambushed them with t-trajectory fire from eighty-eight millimeter anti-aircraft guns. Could the Prussians also be using this tactic? Regardless, Wang Zhong decided to fire first. Whether or not the enemy was baiting, it was imperative to secure thebat results first. He raised his handthen remembered that no one could see him as the T34 tankmanders were glued to their sights, aiming at targets. He awkwardly lowered his hand and gave the order through his radio: "Fire!" The next moment, all the toon leader tanks with radios opened fire. The other tanks, hearing the sound of gunfire, also followed suit. Half the regiment of T34s fired in unison. The shells crossed a charred in and hit four Panzer IIIs. The enemy fired back, but the T34s were well armored, and now they also had sandbags for cover. The precise shooting by the Prussian crew hit the target about eighty percent of the time, but the shells were all deflected, striking the brick walls behind the tank shelters. The enemy tanks did not falter, remaining in ce and continuing to aim at the T34s in the bunkers. Just then, Vasily''s voice came through the static in Wang Zhong''s headset: "The enemy is shouting to fire another round! Something feels off!" The words had barely ceased when tanks on both sides opened fireobviously, the enemy''s fifty-millimeter guns reloaded a bit faster. Three more Panzer IIIs billowed with thick smoke. Then the enemy started toy down a smokescreen. The infantry, which had been hiding behind the tanks, also threw smoke bombs, cutting off the T34s'' view from inside the shelter. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, and at that moment, he was certain that the enemy was indeed baiting. Within tank number 213, the tankmander yelled, "The enemy is retreating! They''ve released smoke to obstruct our vision!" The loader, Aleksei, stuffed a shell into the breech: "Then what are we waiting for? Charge out and wipe them all out! We can push through directly and destroy the enemy''smand post, then blow up their artillery positions!" "No!" themander shouted loudly, "We can''t move until the toon leader tanks move! The toon leader tanks can hear the General''s orders!" Aleksei pursed his lips, visibly displeased, as if someone had snatched a medal right off his chest. At that time, Wang Zhong pulled out his map, turned to the side, and spread the map on top of the tank turret. Previously, Wang Zhong had personally surveyed the terrain from outside the city up to Karlinovka. Last night, as the Guardian Army and engineers went out toy mines, Wang Zhong had confirmed the terrain once again. Now, he was very familiar with the area outside Lokotov city. While examining the various markings he had personally drawn on the map during reconnaissance, Wang Zhong murmured, "If this is an eighty-eight gun ambush, it should be here!" A good ambush position should meet several conditions: first, it must provide an excellent field of view; second, it should have forests or simr features for cover; third, it should offer a retreat path. Referring to these three conditions, Wang Zhong quickly found several suitable locations on the map. However, considering the direction that the enemy tanks retreated, Wang Zhong ultimately narrowed it down to three positions. Firmly holding the map, he climbed out of the turret, jumped to the ground, and ran into the nearby house, picking up the temporarily installed phone. This house not only had a phone but also an artillery sighting scope. It was originally an artillery observation post, with two artillery cadet officers on duty inside. As soon as the cadets saw Wang Zhong enter, they immediately saluted. "At ease!" said Wang Zhong offhandedly as he picked up the phone. "Connect me to the artillery position!" One gun at Position A had survived previously, so today Wang Zhong simply merged both artillery forces to prepare for abined fire tomorrow, giving the enemy a little shock of heavy artillery. "Artillery position?" Wang Zhong looked down to check the coordinates he had marked on the map and read them out. "Immediatelyunch an attack on the following three coordinates... a salvo at each coordinate." "All three targets?" the artillery asked after receiving the coordinates. "Should we fire at all of them? They''re quite far apart!" No, not far, just enough to form a crossfire, Wang Zhong thought. Wang Zhong raised his voice, "Yes, hit all three targets!" If the heavy artillery could knock out the enemy''s 88mm guns, that would be great; after that, they would only need to worry about the likes of the 50mm caliber PAK38 cannon. If he remembered correctly, the 75mm caliber PAK40 anti-tank guns, capable of effectively suppressing T34s and KV1s, wouldn''t reach the front until November. The artillery on the phone double-checked the firing coordinates and, after confirmation, said, "We''ll fire immediately, General! But... what are we targeting?" Wang Zhong replied, "I surmise that the enemy''s anti-tank gun positions are at these locations. The tanks at the enemy''s front pretended to surrender; I believe this might be a ruse to lure us." The artillery was shocked, "You... you''re ordering us to fire at these ces based on a hunch?" "No, I''ve done reconnaissance personally before; these ces are highly suitable for setting up anti-tank gun positions." If this were the game "Steel Division", Wang Zhong would definitely set up his own anti-tank guns at these three points. Just not sure if the Prussian General on the other side would share the same "heroic insights". Wang Zhong, the military enthusiast, might have some oversights, and the Prussian officer corps is likely more professional. But it''s always worth a try, right? After all, no one knows how many days these big guns will remain intact; maybe by the afternoon, the Prussian Air Force wille and blow them to the sky. In that case, it''s better to take advantage of the time and start the bombardment, damn it! At least it''ll have some momentum even if it misses. Wang Zhongmanded, "Once the parameters are set, open fire!" After hanging up the phone, he ran back to the tank. Gunner Alexandria asked, "Why not pursue directly? The enemy seems to be at the end of their tether." Wang Zhong replied, "This is a trap, they are prepared to ambush us from behind with 88mm anti-aircraft guns." "What?" Wang Zhong continued to exin, "Didn''t you notice that there were very few infantry apanying them just now?" Alexandria shook his head, "No, no, no, we couldn''t see any apanying infantry at all; they might have gone prone as soon as the fighting started." Wang Zhong emphasized again, "There were very few enemy infantry apanying them! I believe this is an enticement. I''ve already called in 203mm artillery fire to hit the potential positions of their anti-tank guns." Alexandria was astonished, "You were so reckless yesterday, why so measured today? Got scared after yesterday''s recklessness?" "I always mix caution with boldness!" Wang Zhong then realized what he had said, Am I Zhang Fei? Just then, gunfire sounded from behind, followed by the whistling of shells passing overhead. Alexandriamented, "They really fired... Isn''t this a waste of 203mm ammo? I heard that there aren''t many 203 rounds left!" Wang Zhong confidently said, "Just wait and see, the enemy will take a good beating!" When General Franz heard the whistling of the shells, his adjutant tackled him to the ground instantly. Franz cursed, "What are you doing? Those shells clearly won''t fall here! You can tell by the whistle!" As soon as he finished speaking, arge shellnded on the position of a 50mm PAK38 anti-tank gun team that had been ambushed, instantly sending both the gun and the gunner sky-high along with the gun position. Franz watched in shock as the dust cloud resembling the explosion of an underwater torpedo rose. He quickly snapped out of his shock, "It''s from a 203! The enemy has observation teams around us!" He made the same judgment as his younger brother! But then the points of impact of the shells clearly deviated from the anti-tank gun positions. This uracyeither the enemy''s observation team is too ipetent, orit''s just a blind shot! Franz''s scalp tingled, "That White Horse General, he has surveyed the terrain and knows where to ce the anti-tank guns!" There was no reason for this Junker noble to conclude that it was the White Horse General''s doing. Franz ordered, "Tell the anti-aircraft battalion to abandon their positions! If it''s a blind shot, they won''t only hit here!" At that moment, the whistling came again. The second wave of shells fell near the hedgerows on the western side of altitude 120. Franz was more certain, "This is also a suitable ce for setting up anti-tank guns! Move out fast! Tell the anti-aircraft troops to retreat quickly! The third wave ising!" Major General Franz shouted frantically, pushing hismunications staff to yell through the field telephone in clearnguage, "513th battalion! The general is ordering you to move out!" The call was effective; the 513th battalion began to pack up theirid-out spades, and though they moved quickly, like the stubbornness characteristic of the Prussians, they couldn''t hurry the process. The sound of the shells tearing through the air approached. The men from the anti-aircraft guns who were packing up scattered and threw themselves to the ground, even those on the trucks scrambled underneath the vehicles. The 203 hit the ground! The first four shells were far off target, but thest one hit the ammunition truck of the 513th anti-aircraft battalion. An orange fireball rose from the ground and then turned into a mushroom cloud. It was just that in this era, no one had seen an actual mushroom cloud from a nuclear st; otherwise, it would have been utterly nerve-wracking. Major General Franz watched the mushroom cloud, furiously muttering that name, "Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, damn you!" Chapter 124: Chapter 36: The Generals Ingenious Strategy Demonstrates His Divine Prowess An hour before the Prussian Armyunched their attack. Major General Franz put down his binocrs and praised, "The 513th Regiment deployed very quickly. As long as the enemy is sessfully lured, we are certain to achieve great results." Then he turned to another direction, observing the firing position of the 24th artillery regiment equipped with the PAK38 fifty-millimeter anti-tank guns through his binocrs. After a minute, Major General Franz lowered his binocrs, "Very good, with this we can form a crossfire, and whatever kind of newfangled tanks the enemy has, we''ll destroy them!" As he spoke, he turned around, "All we need to do is fall back and wait for the Ante Army, eager for glory, toe charging over." After taking two steps, Major General Franz stopped,ing up with a new idea. He turned his head and said, "Is themunication vehicle of the 15th Division still around? Evacuate the personnel, and leave themunication vehicle and other vehicles here!" As he said this, he pointed at the 120 high ground beneath his feet. "Make this ce look like amand post!" The Major General''s orders were swiftly executed. The armoredmand vehicles of the original 15th Division headquarters were driven up to the high ground, and all personnel were evacuated, leaving only the vehicles behind. Franz''s adjutant watched this and finally couldn''t help bute over and say, "These are almost all of the radio equipment of the 15th Division''smand post. If they''re destroyed, it will take a while to rece them, and themand andmunication capabilities of the 15th Division will be greatly reduced." Franz replied, "But if we can eliminate the enemy''s war hero, it will be worth it. Think about our offensive operations along the way. Although we encountered some fiercely resisting forces, in most ces, the enemy copsed before us! "The resistance of the enemy has obviously increased now. In the encircled Bogdanovka, there are still troops fighting, and the 6th Army Group has to systematically clear the enemy out of each building! "At times like this, it''s even more important to strike a blow to the enemy''s morale! Whether this Rokossovsky is the White Horse General or the White Eagle General, we must eliminate him!" Major General Franz habitually tapped the palm of his hand with his riding crop. "As long as the armored forcesplete the baiting mission, the enemy, without theirmander, will be disorganized. We''ll then have the opportunity to seize Loktov. By then, with the railways, won''t it be easy to rece some radiomand vehicles?" In actuality, after such a battle, the 15th Division would have to stop and regroup. Franz looked at the acting divisionmander of the 15th Division, revealing a grim smile. Tank number 422 just reached the bunker when the enemy appeared on the horizon. Wang Zhong immediately switched his viewpoint to observe the enemy situation. As he watched, his brows twisted into a knot, "So few apanying infantry?" If it were from a normal person''s viewpoint, it probably wouldn''t be noticeable since, from the front, the infantry were obscured by the tanks. But Wang Zhong''s overview could even highlight the enemies, making everything crystal clear at a nce. So few apanying infantry didn''t seem like they were preparing for urban "meat-grinding"bat; it rather looked like a case of "not having apanying infantry would be too obvious, so just throw in a few for appearance''s sake." Wang Zhong frowned deeply. At that moment, he remembered a tactic from Earth''s military history where Sturmtigers feigned a retreat with their armored forces to lure T34s into pursuit, then ambushed them with t-trajectory fire from eighty-eight millimeter anti-aircraft guns. Could the Prussians also be using this tactic? Regardless, Wang Zhong decided to fire first. Whether or not the enemy was baiting, it was imperative to secure thebat results first. He raised his handthen remembered that no one could see him as the T34 tankmanders were glued to their sights, aiming at targets. He awkwardly lowered his hand and gave the order through his radio: "Fire!" The next moment, all the toon leader tanks with radios opened fire. The other tanks, hearing the sound of gunfire, also followed suit. Half the regiment of T34s fired in unison. The shells crossed a charred in and hit four Panzer IIIs. The enemy fired back, but the T34s were well armored, and now they also had sandbags for cover. The precise shooting by the Prussian crew hit the target about eighty percent of the time, but the shells were all deflected, striking the brick walls behind the tank shelters. The enemy tanks did not falter, remaining in ce and continuing to aim at the T34s in the bunkers. Just then, Vasily''s voice came through the static in Wang Zhong''s headset: "The enemy is shouting to fire another round! Something feels off!" The words had barely ceased when tanks on both sides opened fireobviously, the enemy''s fifty-millimeter guns reloaded a bit faster. Three more Panzer IIIs billowed with thick smoke. Then the enemy started toy down a smokescreen. The infantry, which had been hiding behind the tanks, also threw smoke bombs, cutting off the T34s'' view from inside the shelter. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, and at that moment, he was certain that the enemy was indeed baiting. Within tank number 213, the tankmander yelled, "The enemy is retreating! They''ve released smoke to obstruct our vision!" The loader, Aleksei, stuffed a shell into the breech: "Then what are we waiting for? Charge out and wipe them all out! We can push through directly and destroy the enemy''smand post, then blow up their artillery positions!" "No!" themander shouted loudly, "We can''t move until the toon leader tanks move! The toon leader tanks can hear the General''s orders!" Aleksei pursed his lips, visibly displeased, as if someone had snatched a medal right off his chest. At that time, Wang Zhong pulled out his map, turned to the side, and spread the map on top of the tank turret. Previously, Wang Zhong had personally surveyed the terrain from outside the city up to Karlinovka. Last night, as the Guardian Army and engineers went out toy mines, Wang Zhong had confirmed the terrain once again. Now, he was very familiar with the area outside Lokotov city. While examining the various markings he had personally drawn on the map during reconnaissance, Wang Zhong murmured, "If this is an eighty-eight gun ambush, it should be here!" A good ambush position should meet several conditions: first, it must provide an excellent field of view; second, it should have forests or simr features for cover; third, it should offer a retreat path. Referring to these three conditions, Wang Zhong quickly found several suitable locations on the map. However, considering the direction that the enemy tanks retreated, Wang Zhong ultimately narrowed it down to three positions. Firmly holding the map, he climbed out of the turret, jumped to the ground, and ran into the nearby house, picking up the temporarily installed phone. This house not only had a phone but also an artillery sighting scope. It was originally an artillery observation post, with two artillery cadet officers on duty inside. As soon as the cadets saw Wang Zhong enter, they immediately saluted. "At ease!" said Wang Zhong offhandedly as he picked up the phone. "Connect me to the artillery position!" One gun at Position A had survived previously, so today Wang Zhong simply merged both artillery forces to prepare for abined fire tomorrow, giving the enemy a little shock of heavy artillery. "Artillery position?" Wang Zhong looked down to check the coordinates he had marked on the map and read them out. "Immediatelyunch an attack on the following three coordinates... a salvo at each coordinate." "All three targets?" the artillery asked after receiving the coordinates. "Should we fire at all of them? They''re quite far apart!" No, not far, just enough to form a crossfire, Wang Zhong thought. Wang Zhong raised his voice, "Yes, hit all three targets!" If the heavy artillery could knock out the enemy''s 88mm guns, that would be great; after that, they would only need to worry about the likes of the 50mm caliber PAK38 cannon. If he remembered correctly, the 75mm caliber PAK40 anti-tank guns, capable of effectively suppressing T34s and KV1s, wouldn''t reach the front until November. The artillery on the phone double-checked the firing coordinates and, after confirmation, said, "We''ll fire immediately, General! But... what are we targeting?" Wang Zhong replied, "I surmise that the enemy''s anti-tank gun positions are at these locations. The tanks at the enemy''s front pretended to surrender; I believe this might be a ruse to lure us." The artillery was shocked, "You... you''re ordering us to fire at these ces based on a hunch?" "No, I''ve done reconnaissance personally before; these ces are highly suitable for setting up anti-tank gun positions." If this were the game "Steel Division", Wang Zhong would definitely set up his own anti-tank guns at these three points. Just not sure if the Prussian General on the other side would share the same "heroic insights". Wang Zhong, the military enthusiast, might have some oversights, and the Prussian officer corps is likely more professional. But it''s always worth a try, right? After all, no one knows how many days these big guns will remain intact; maybe by the afternoon, the Prussian Air Force wille and blow them to the sky. In that case, it''s better to take advantage of the time and start the bombardment, damn it! At least it''ll have some momentum even if it misses. Wang Zhongmanded, "Once the parameters are set, open fire!" After hanging up the phone, he ran back to the tank. Gunner Alexandria asked, "Why not pursue directly? The enemy seems to be at the end of their tether." Wang Zhong replied, "This is a trap, they are prepared to ambush us from behind with 88mm anti-aircraft guns." "What?" Wang Zhong continued to exin, "Didn''t you notice that there were very few infantry apanying them just now?" Alexandria shook his head, "No, no, no, we couldn''t see any apanying infantry at all; they might have gone prone as soon as the fighting started." Wang Zhong emphasized again, "There were very few enemy infantry apanying them! I believe this is an enticement. I''ve already called in 203mm artillery fire to hit the potential positions of their anti-tank guns." Alexandria was astonished, "You were so reckless yesterday, why so measured today? Got scared after yesterday''s recklessness?" "I always mix caution with boldness!" Wang Zhong then realized what he had said, Am I Zhang Fei? Just then, gunfire sounded from behind, followed by the whistling of shells passing overhead. Alexandriamented, "They really fired... Isn''t this a waste of 203mm ammo? I heard that there aren''t many 203 rounds left!" Wang Zhong confidently said, "Just wait and see, the enemy will take a good beating!" When General Franz heard the whistling of the shells, his adjutant tackled him to the ground instantly. Franz cursed, "What are you doing? Those shells clearly won''t fall here! You can tell by the whistle!" As soon as he finished speaking, arge shellnded on the position of a 50mm PAK38 anti-tank gun team that had been ambushed, instantly sending both the gun and the gunner sky-high along with the gun position. Franz watched in shock as the dust cloud resembling the explosion of an underwater torpedo rose. He quickly snapped out of his shock, "It''s from a 203! The enemy has observation teams around us!" He made the same judgment as his younger brother! But then the points of impact of the shells clearly deviated from the anti-tank gun positions. This uracyeither the enemy''s observation team is too ipetent, orit''s just a blind shot! Franz''s scalp tingled, "That White Horse General, he has surveyed the terrain and knows where to ce the anti-tank guns!" There was no reason for this Junker noble to conclude that it was the White Horse General''s doing. Franz ordered, "Tell the anti-aircraft battalion to abandon their positions! If it''s a blind shot, they won''t only hit here!" At that moment, the whistling came again. The second wave of shells fell near the hedgerows on the western side of altitude 120. Franz was more certain, "This is also a suitable ce for setting up anti-tank guns! Move out fast! Tell the anti-aircraft troops to retreat quickly! The third wave ising!" Major General Franz shouted frantically, pushing hismunications staff to yell through the field telephone in clearnguage, "513th battalion! The general is ordering you to move out!" The call was effective; the 513th battalion began to pack up theirid-out spades, and though they moved quickly, like the stubbornness characteristic of the Prussians, they couldn''t hurry the process. The sound of the shells tearing through the air approached. The men from the anti-aircraft guns who were packing up scattered and threw themselves to the ground, even those on the trucks scrambled underneath the vehicles. The 203 hit the ground! The first four shells were far off target, but thest one hit the ammunition truck of the 513th anti-aircraft battalion. An orange fireball rose from the ground and then turned into a mushroom cloud. It was just that in this era, no one had seen an actual mushroom cloud from a nuclear st; otherwise, it would have been utterly nerve-wracking. Major General Franz watched the mushroom cloud, furiously muttering that name, "Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, damn you!" Chapter 125: Chapter 37: A Battlefield Full of Surprises and Delights Wang Zhong looked at the object rising in the distance, frowning deeply, "What did I hit?" It couldn''t be... a nuclear bomb, could it? If the enemy had nuclear bombs, we''d have met the King of Hell already. It could only be an ammunition truck exploding. The rising fireball and mushroom cloud were the first things Wang Zhong had encountered that he couldn''t see from an aerial perspective, but could with the naked eye. It seemed his shelling had hit something, so should he take advantage of the enemy''s anti-tank position being in chaos and make a move to score a little? After some thought, Wang Zhong eventually decided not to take the risk. He had two reasons: First, the heavy artillery had hit something, proving that the enemy really had anti-tank guns in those positions. It was a trap. And his own strength wasn''t overwhelming enough to forcefully break through this trap. Second, the enemy tank operators were too elite. Just yesterday, some had been aiming at the tracks and turret rings. Today, using pre-set protective covers, he finally managed to protect the tracks and turret rings, temporarily solving the T34''s blindness issue. Now, the casualty rate looked goodno, right now, Wang Zhong''s side had no casualties. But the situation would be different without the covers. In the confusion of closebat, the elite Prussian veteran tank operators would definitely have a greater advantage. These two reasons made Wang Zhong give up the idea of taking a gamble. Hey, what''s wrong with acting like a tortoise? What''s wrong with hiding in my shell? Come and bite me if you can! If the enemy brought up the 88 guns, Wang Zhong would call for the 203 to deal with them. An 88 gun, a fixed weapon that needed to be set up, would just be asking to be shelled once it entered the line of sight. Without an 88 gun, my armor has a 40-centimeter-thickyer of sandbagsneither the Panzer III''s 50-millimeter "little water pipe" nor the Panzer IV''s 75-millimeter "short fatty" could scare me! And I still have infantry cover, so I''m not afraid of infantry charging to grind meat. The most important thing was that these more than 20 T34s were a mobile force. Even if the enemy saw a tank line as solid as a rock and wanted to shift the main attack direction, the tanks could quickly provide support, even encircle from the nks. The more Wang Zhong thought, the more he felt he shouldn''t move. He started to think from the enemy''s perspective: How would they knock on this tortoise shell? After much thought, he felt the only option was for the Stuka to drop 500-kilogram or even 1000-kilogram "gas cans." Otherwise, there was no breaking through! Following that line of logic, Wang Zhong naturally considered using smoke bombs to counter the enemy bombingif the target couldn''t be seen, it naturally couldn''t be bombed. Not to mention the Stuka''s dive bombing, even on Earth, the Sturmtiger''s Fritz X radio-controlled bombs feared smoke, as these devices were guided by an operator on the ne relying on sight. Once the target was obscured by smoke, remote-controlled bombs would mostly miss their mark. Then, Wang Zhong thought further, realizing that even if a 500-kilogram bomb didn''t hit the tank directly, being dropped nearby would still be quite troublesome. It might not kill everyone inside the tank, but it could damage the tank. Even if it just blew off the tracks, it would greatly reduce the tank''sbat effectiveness. When a tank could move, it could back away and create distance from the infantry, using firepower to inflict casualties. A stationary tank approached by infantry would turn into an experience farm. Because of this, by the middle andter stages of the war, tank operators all carried submachine guns, so they could climb out and fight if they found infantry getting too close. Wang Zhong understood this, and the enemy Stuka pilots probably did too. Would they dare bomb through the smoke? After much consideration, Wang Zhong decided to be one step ahead of the enemy and ordered the tanks to move to reserve positions. Then, he nned to have the Guardian Army equipped with smoke bombs hide near the empty tank covers, ready to throw smoke bombs. When Brother Peter heard the Stukas approaching, he would use the smoke to cover the empty tank covers. You didn''t expect that, I''m on the second level! The best part was that this was risk-free. The reserve positions had been carefully chosen; they could also block the enemy''s advance, although the field of fire was worse than the first position, and there were no covers to hide the weak spots, which might result in broken tracks and turret rings. Having made up his mind, Wang Zhong waved to the Priest of the Guardian Army standing by his side, "Come over here! I have a task for you!" The Priest ran over, "Yes, General! Speak, please!" From the Priest''s expression, it was clear that the huge fireball and mushroom cloud in the distance had also boosted the morale here. Wang Zhong gave his instructions, then used the radio to call all toonmand vehicles, arranging for the tanks to retreat to the reserve positions. "Call the Air Force!" Major General Franz said resolutely. "It''s impossible to push the eighty-eight millimeter guns forward, as long as the enemy''s 203 hasn''t been countered or destroyed, we can''t possibly bring our slowly deploying anti-aircraft guns to the front line. Although we still have half of our anti-aircraft ammunition, I think that white horse general won''t be fooled." Actually, Major General Franz made a mistake here, he overestimated the white horse general too much, just like the staff officer of the 15th Division yesterday. It wasn''t his fault, really. His carefully designed ambush didn''t catch the enemy, and instead, they retaliated with a blind artillery strike, whichnded precisely on the most favorable position set for an anti-tank gun ambush. What does this indicate? It demonstrates that the enemy has meticulously scouted the entire battlefield and has thought through all possibilities from aparative perspective! This is the quality of a top tactician. The key fact was that the position chosen by the white horse general was identical to the one Major General Franz had selected. Had the chosen positions been even slightly different on either side, the artillery strike would have hit nothing. This realization instantly elevated the enemy to the same level as himself in Major General Franz''s eyes, with a certain newfound respect. Of course, the Major General wouldn''t admit this, for ording to the Imperial Propaganda Minister, Ante is an inferior race, and so the generals of Ante must be inferior as well. The Prussians would prove their racial superiority in the process of conquering Ante, just as they did when they conquered Carolingian. No, he could never admit the enemy was strong; he had to disy contempt for the enemy. Thus, Major General Franz calmed his emotions and made excuses, "Although we can also deal with those tanks in the covers!" The matter of enemy tanks hiding in covers had been reported by the bait troops that had retreated. In the Prussian military textbooks, when setting up armored defenses, they would dig tank covers to protect the tanks'' weak spots. Although this practice had not been used by the Prussian Army so far, the Armored Troops were very familiar with it given their professional level. Franz said, "But! The Air Force can handle it more conveniently, more effectively! We are calling for Air Force support not because we fear the white horse general and his new tanks!" "Then" asked the staff officer of the 15th Armored Division cautiously, "the Air Force probably won''t arrive until two or three in the afternoon, four o''clock is possible. What do we do until then?" Major General Franz said through gritted teeth, "Do you even need to ask? Before the appearance of Armored Troops, we were an army that fought with artillery and infantry, and we''ve won countless victories! We have the finest infantry and artillery in Europa! Use Xu Jin barrage, infantry attack!" When Wang Zhong saw the Xu Jin barrage, just as he was about to order the tank operators to take cover from the artillery, he noticed his subordinates had already sprung into action. In the blink of an eye, the tank operators all dove into the nearby cers to lie low. The Xu Jin barrage passed quickly, and by the time Wang Zhong and his men climbed out from the cers and back onto the tanks, the field outside the city was engulfed in smoke. Thest wave of the enemy''s Xu Jin barrage had been smoke bombs! No, this smoke... Even though Wang Zhong was far away from the smoke, he started coughing and felt a burning pain in his eyes! It was tear gas smoke! Through the smoke, the sound of a whistle could be heard. Wang Zhong had heard this sound in World War I themed movies; it was the whistle used by the Sturmtiger during attacks. The piercing sound of the whistles rose and fell. Then, Prosen infantrymen emerged one by one from the smoke, all wearing gas masks, the reflective surfaces of which looked like the eyes of demons from hell. A Guardian Army machine gun had just fired a burst when the gunner, with tears and snot running down his face, was fatally stabbed by a Prosen soldier who had darted out from an angle. The man fell limply over the machine gun. That Prosen pulled out his bloody bay and tossed a grenade through a nearby window. The explosion shattered the window ss, and the Guardian Army inside screamed in agony. Wang Zhong crawled into the tank, almost instantly realizing that these Guardian Army soldiers were not the elite 31st Guards Regiment; they couldn''t outfight these seasoned Prosen veterans! To make matters worse, his own tanks weren''t suitable for this sort of close-quartersbat! He had been so focused on how to counter the Stuka and hadn''t expected them to resort to such a simple and unadorned tactic! The battlefield truly was full of surprises and "delights"! Chapter 126: Chapter 38 "Who Holds the Colorful Ribbon in the Sky Dance" (3000 votes bonus chapter) Wang Zhong, upon seeing the Prussian Army advance in such a manner, immediately ordered over the radio, "Retreat! All tanks, retreat! Avoid closebat with infantry!" His Tank 422 started moving at once, and, from an overhead perspective, all toonmand vehicles equipped with radios were set into motion, but the rest of the tanks remained stationary, firing away! In the face of the enemy, the tankmanders simply didn''t notice that the toonmand vehicles had started moving! Dammit, this setup where only toonmand vehicles have radios is a huge pitfall! Whoever approved this design should be executed by firing squad five hundred times! But there are always more solutions than difficulties, and Wang Zhong, frantic, managed to think of one. Wang Zhong pressed the microphone against his throat, "toonmand vehicles, use your coaxial machine guns to fire on the other vehicles in your toon, letting them know it''s time to retreat!" Inside Tank 213,bat was raging fiercely. Casings from the hull machine gun and the coaxial machine gun ttered as they fell on the floor of thebat room. Suddenly, themander stopped firing, listening intently, "Is someone shooting at us from behind?" Then he saw tracers flying forward from behind through the gunner''s scope. He immediately turned his head, looked out through the narrow observation slot of the turret, and discovered the toon leader had already fallen back quite a distance! "The toon leader is retreating!" themander shouted. The loader, Aleksei, shoved a shell into the breech: "A high-explosive shell, good! That coward of a toon leader is scared, huh!" "That''s not right! Why would he shoot us with a machine gun then?" themander thought, and then, "No, this is the general''s order, move back quickly!" Seeing Tank 213 begin to retreat, the toonmand vehicle quickly switched its targeting to Tank 214. Themander, having a brainwave, turned the gun barrel and used the coaxial machine gun to fire at Tank 212, which was at the far left of the formation. The electrician continued operating the hull machine gun, sweeping the approaching enemy infantry with fire. Tank 212 quickly realized what was happening and also began to retreat, but it was already toote, Prussian infantry from a blind spot on the side had gotten close, climbing right onto the turret Themander didn''t hesitate to use the coaxial machine gun to mow down all of those Prussians. However, Tank 212 itself blocked most of the field of fire, and Prussians in the blind spot threw a smoking grenade. The grenadended on the engine deck of Tank 212 and immediately exploded, spreading mes over a range of several meters while producing arge amount of white smoke. The white smokepletely obscured the view of Tank 213, and themander could only see the crew of Tank 212, aze, jumping out of their tank, rolling on the ground trying to put out the fire. Another grenade was thrown, passing the burning Tank 212 and exploding on the ground. The tank operator on the ground stopped rolling, letting the mes consume him. Themander fell silent for a second and then yelled, "Retreat! Tank 212 is done for!" He continued to fire into the thick smoke, trying to hold back the approach of the Prussian infantry. Wang Zhong watched the battlefield, his heart wrenching. Havingboriously repaired five T34sst night, their casualties had been reduced to three, yet in these few short minutes, twelve had been lost! Apart from the six toon leader tanks, only Armor toon 1 had been rtively well-preserved, leaving only Tanks 213 and 214! The bastard who had decided to equip only toon leader tanks with radios should be dragged out to the shooting range alongside the idiot who decided to merge the roles of tankmander and gunner into one person! In his profound grief and anger, Wang Zhong didn''t even notice that the Prussians were using incendiary grenadesa weapon they had developed specifically, although Molotov cocktails could have achieved the same effect. Grief aside, he still needed to find a solution. The good news was that six of the remaining tanks had radios and could bemanded. The bad news was the Prussians had spread so much smoke everywhere that it was impossible to fully utilize the tanks'' firepower. The Guardian Army fought valorously, but without gas masks, the tear gas significantly weakened theirbat effectiveness. Prussia''s elite armored grenadiers were clearing each house with practiced efficiency. Although the situation was dire, Wang Zhong did not cease to think. No visibility Suddenly, Wang Zhong remembered World War II on Earth, when the Americans on Guadalcanal Ind grappled with the Japanese in a brutal melee. The Japanese were adept at night fighting, and the Americans, as usual, struggled with it. However, the U.S. troops defending Henderson Field came up with a method to counter Japanese night raids. In essence, it was, "If I can''t see you at night, then I don''t need to see you. Just arrange your firepower properly during the day and sweep indiscriminately at night." Every weapon was set to specific standards and firing zones, and all the American soldiers had to do was mechanically sweep their fire to seal off the entire front. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for the Japanese to run into the bullets. Looking at the southeastern part of the city now entirely engulfed in smoke, Wang Zhong decided it was time to see what this was all about. First, he needed an open space, and this open space had to be directly in the enemy''s inevitable path of advance. With an aerial view, Wang Zhong immediately located the right ce: the square in front of the train station. Incidentally, the Military Transport Command Headquarters was nearby, with another square in front. The two squares together formed an open space about one hundred meters long and wide. The best part was that the hospital, train station, train dispatching yard, and Military Transport Command Headquarters were all on the north side of this square, so securing the square would protect these vital areas. If he set up a fire support area here, he could hold off the enemy even if they used smoke. But tanks alone were not enough. It would be better with some cooperation from elite veterans Wang Zhong suddenly noticed a station with his troops'' mark. The Fifth Byshensky Regiment! He had transferred 81 men from the Fifth Byshensky Regiment to the train station, wishing to preserve the regiment''s core. Chapter 131: Chapter 40 Braised Beef with Potatoes is Really Fragrant Jules Year 914, July 8th, 2315 hours. All 914 members of Rocossov Combat Group were waiting on the tform of Lokhtov Train Station. The Lokotov City Defense Battalion, temporarily attached to Rocossov Combat Group, volunteered to stay behind and continue participating in the defense of the city, so they weren''t included in the count. The Guardian Army, temporarily assigned to thebat group, was not part of the withdrawal either. The Fifth Belyensk Regiment wanted to stay, but Wang Zhong refused them. The 31st Regiment and the Armored Troops willingly obeyed the orders. The 914 people on the tform were the sum total of thebat group''s infantry, artillery, armored troops, and logistics personnel. Wang Zhong, patting his belly stuffed with potatoes and beef stew, looked at the few people remaining and sighed, "This is truly a Pyrrhic victory." Yegorov: "Who is Pyrrhus?" Wang Zhong was taken aback; in a world without Rome, naturally there was no affair concerning Pyrrhus. At that moment, Pavlov came out of the station dispatcher''s office with a stack of documents and walked up to the two men: "I''ve got the transportation n, we''re being sent all the way to Argesukov." Wang Zhong: "That far? I thought they would ce us behind the next line of defense for rest and reorganization, ready to defend again at any time." "There''s no second line of defense," Pavlov said with grave seriousness, "The Front Army has decided to follow His Majesty''s orders andunch an offensive." Wang Zhong: "Have they gone mad?" Because of the loud voice, all the soldiers around looked over. Yegorov patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder: "Keep calm, my Lord Count. The good news is that this time we''ll be far from the front line. Even if the front copses entirely, it''ll take the Prussians several days to reach us." Wang Zhong: "I can''t feel happy at all. So what about our reinforcements?" Pavlov shook his head: "No mention." At this point, Popov came onto the tform from the freight exit of the train station, striding over to join the trio. "The Church hasn''t sent any news either, no idea when God''s Arrow Company will be filled up," the Bishop sighed. "We''re severely short of prayer warriors now, and we don''t have enough recements for the Divine Arrow." Wang Zhong: "What about Brother Peter?" After two days of fighting, Wang Zhong had grown quite fond of this "human ear radar" he had coincidentally acquired, finding it rather useful. "Ah, that, we have plenty of Sound Array Masters, so he was reassigned to us. Here is the personnel transfer document; it''s standard to have a copy on file over there, right?" Popov said as he handed the document to "over there" Pavlov. Pavlov frowned deeply: "The document is here, but where is the man?" As Popov turned to look at the main entrance, just then Brother Peter entered with a furrowed brow. Yegorov called out loudly: "Monk, why the furrowed brow?" Brother Peter looked up: "Because there are too many noise sources like you!" Then he approached Popov and protested directly: "I should stay on the front lines. They need me here!" Popov: "Take it up with the Brigadier General." Brother Peter immediately turned towards Wang Zhong: "I should stay on..." "I heard you," Wang Zhong cut him off, "but I also need you. You will be more effective with me. Think about the past two days, how invaluable you were!" Brother Peter pursed his lips. At that moment, the sound of a train whistle came from afar. The switchman also came out of his cabin and began to operate the rail switching levers. The switchman''s greenntern was very conspicuous in the night. Soon, a trainposed of tcars and boxcars rolled into the station. All the tcars were empty, evidently included in the train to carry Rocossov Combat Group''s heavy cannons and T-34s, while the boxcars were filled with young faces. Before the train had evene to a full stop, the young men inside the boxcars were already loudly asking, "Hey, how did the fight go?" Just as Wang Zhong looked towards the boxcars, Vasily responded: "Superbly. You see those tank wrecks in the city? We''re the ones who knocked them out!" The corpses of Prosen soldiers had been collected and buried by the Labor Camp and the Guardian Army, but the tank wrecks, like the craters in the streets, had yet to be handled forck of personnel. "Ha! That formidable, huh? We won''t be any worse off than you guys!" the confident young men on the train dered. Vasily looked like he was about to retort, but he stopped mid-sentence. After a moment''s hesitation, he said: "I believe in you! Give the Prussians a taste of our strength!" The soldiers of the 31st Guards Regiment, seeing that Vasily wasn''t scolded for speaking casually, joined in the shouting: "Show them what for!" "Let them see who the inferior race really is!" Before the crossover, Wang Zhong was actually not that old, and the original owner of this body was also a young man. With his actual personality, he would normally join in boosting the morale of hisrades. But strangely, now Wang Zhong only wanted to silently wish these youngsters well. Suddenly, one of the young men who had just disembarked from the boxcars shouted: "Hey, look at that tank, tactical number 422! And there''s a white horse emblem on it!" At those words, all the eager new recruits just arrived at the battlefield turned their gazes in one direction. The ceremonial T-34 tank, number 422, was parked under the moonlight, like a massive beast lurking in the shadows. Alexandria and Beliyakov, who had been smoking next to the tank, saw themotion and immediately hid in the tank''s shadow. "Really?" "Could this be General White Horse''s chariot?" "I heard the General''sbat group is right here!" At that moment, Wang Zhong was standing under the protective cover of the tform, where the moonlight failed to reach him. Boosting morale is also amander''s duty. He wanted to step forward, but the instant before moving he remembered the scene from yesterday when numerous Guardian Army soldiers pulled him out from under the tank. Today, he renounced those who had once saved him. In the afternoon, under urgent circumstances, he hesitated for only a second before making his decision, and in the end, they did indeed hold back the enemy''s onught. But now, just as he was about to step forward and inspire the soldiers, that same intense emotion seized him again. My troops and I are about to withdraw, and whatever Loktov turns into, a hellish inferno or not, will no longer concern us. Do I still have the right to inspire the young men before me to step proudly into hell? As Wang Zhong hesitated, he suddenly remembered a poem by a marshal. He was very fond of this poem; it was actually the marshal''s dying verse in a hopeless situation, yet it was filled with a fearless spirit. "I call forth my oldrades to the spring tform, our banners ten thousand strong, to y the king of hell!" That marshal must have also made many decisions that led soldiers to their gant deaths. But he would never hesitate, for he was braver than everyone, and if the time came, he too would march to his death without a second thought. I can be braver than everyone else! No, I must be braver than everyone else, so I can issue the orders for them to die without regret, so I can make the cruel decision to abandon them without guilt, and then righteously dere "The merciful are not fit to lead armies!" With this resolve, Wang Zhong stepped forward into the moonlight. He did not introduce himself, and in the darkness, no one could see his face or insignia clearly. Just standing there, he exuded an air of authority and fearlessness. "Soldiers!" he said. Even though nomand was given, the recruits stood to attention, their heels clicking together. Wang Zhong: "I won''t sugarcoat our situation. Look to my right; this is mybat group. Now, including our logistical personnel, we number only 914! "The Fifth Belsensk Regiment under mymand joined with more than a full regiment''s strength but was reduced to just over 300 men. And now, only 81 men stand here! "Their regimentalmander is now a second lieutenant! "I will tell you clearly, what lies ahead is hell! Staying here means facing hell! Does anyone want to back out?" Wang Zhong scanned the entire tform. Not just the newly arrived soldiers were looking at him, but also the railway workers and train drivers stood at their posts, watching him. No one expressed a desire to quit. Wang Zhong: "Why? Answer me, why do you step into hell?" Suddenly someone shouted, "For the Tsar!" Wang Zhong: "No!" Pavlov was shocked and stared at Wang Zhong with wide eyes. Then someone yelled, "For the Eastern Holy Church!" "Wrong too!" Wang Zhong replied without hesitation. Popov was shocked and stared at Wang Zhong with wide eyes. Wang Zhong scanned everyone again. Vasily suddenly said, "For Ante''s mother!" Wang Zhong pointed at Vasily: "Right! But that''s too abstract!" Wang Zhong paced the tform with hands behind his back: "What is Ante''s mother? Think about it, think of something concrete! "Ante''s mother is the squirrels frolicking in the birch forests, "the fish swimming freely in the Dnieper River, "the wheat waves on the ck earth!" After listing these examples, Wang Zhong felt it was still not quite enough, so he added two more: "The bright songs of maidens, "and the beef stew with potatoes served by grandmothers!" No sooner had he spoken than someone let out a loud burp. Then several people couldn''t help butugh, especially Vasily. Wang Zhong himself also felt awkward, having run out of things to say; moreover, the beef stew with potatoes truly smelled delicious. Delicious! "We march to our deaths to guard all that is beautiful and good!" He thought again, but indeed he had run out of words, so he decided to borrow some. He continued: "If we do not fight, the enemy will kill us with their bays and point to our bones saying, ''Look, here lies a ve!''" Those words, like a bomb, instantly filled every face with anger. Vasily shouted the word that could be used in any moment that required a boost of morale or to express passion: "Hurrah!" Everyone yelled together: "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" The shouts rose wave upon wave. At that moment, the recruits'' battalionmander shouted, "Right turn! Quick march!" The new soldiers marched out of the train station in neat formation. Popov stepped forward next to Wang Zhong: "Next time, could you please not steal my job?" Wang Zhong: "Which son of a bitch told me that boosting morale was themander''s job?" At that moment, the stationmaster came over, "Hurry and load your equipment onto the train. We''re departing now. If we leave before dawn, we can still get out of the enemy nes'' range." Wang Zhong turned back and ordered, "Board the train!" Chapter 132: Chapter 41 Accidents Pavlov handed the watch in his hand to Yegorov, "Board the train in this order, the Labor Camp and railway workers will help us secure the tanks and heavy artillery." After saying that, he turned to Wang Zhong, "Themanding general''s carriage is Carriage Number 1, right next to the anti-aircraft carriage." Wang Zhong, "I didn''t see any passenger carriages though?" Pavlov smiled faintly, "There aren''t any. Your carriage has fewer people, and it also has tables and beds." ... Seems eptable? Actually, Wang Zhong was quite curious to try sleeping on straw; after all, he had no idea what kinds of hardship he would face in the future. It might be good to get used to it in advance. Just then, his hand was suddenly seized by someone. Immediately after, something as bulky as a big cotton-padded coat wrapped around him, and the chilly night wind that had been blowing disappeared, reced by warmth. Wang Zhong was startled and hurriedly turned around to see which demon was gnawing at his hand. It was Ludm, clutching Wang Zhong''s arm like a pillow and craning her neck up. Wang Zhong, "Don''t do this, we''re both in uniform." Ludm, as if she hadn''t heard him, said, "Your essay clearly deserved zero points, yet you can speak so well!" "Miss, you''ve got it all wrong," Wang Zhong thought. That part that ended with beef stewed with potatoes was my actual level; the cool part afterwards was "If We Do Not Go To War," the most famous modern poem by the poet Tianjian... All my awesome speeches were copied, don''t admire me, Miss! As Wang Zhong was feeling guilty for upying someone else''s "achievements," Ludm turned to Pavlov and asked, "Carriage Number 1 has beds, right?" Pavlov nodded seriously, "Yes, but they are more lightweight campaign beds. Do you want me to change them for sturdy wooden beds?" Wang Zhong''s mind went nk for a moment: "What do you mean? Why switch to wooden beds?" Ludm, "No need, lightweight campaign beds are fine." Pavlov, "Alright. The rest of us officers will just squeeze in Carriage Number 2 with the soldiers." ??? Wang Zhong was about to ask what was going on when Ludm dragged him towards the train. At that moment, Wang Zhong finally realized what was about to happen it was just that this development seemed so sci-fi to him,pletely impossible, so he hadn''t been thinking in that direction at all. Wang Zhong, "Ludm! Didn''t we agree to wait until after the war..." "Call me Liu Xia, or Mira is fine too!" the girl interrupted Wang Zhong. Ludm''s nickname was Liu Da, and a more intimate term of endearment was Liu Xia, which usually meant that two people had truly be close. This girl meant business today! "Why so suddenly?" "I don''t know! Just looking at you during your speech, I felt it had to be today!" Wang Zhong, "Ludm! Liu Da! Liu Xia! Theing years of war will be extremely arduous, let..." "I''ve thought it over! It''ll be no problem!" "Oh, you''ve thought it over, then... eh?" Wang Zhong nced at the soldiers who had stopped boarding to watch the show, his face turning red. Why could this girl be so forward in front of so many people? Where was her modesty? Just then, Wang Zhong remembered that Ludm was a "Mao mei," and in the future, she would grow into a Russian woman capable of wrestling bears in the deep forest; being a bit fierce was quite normal, wasn''t it? As he thought this, Wang Zhong was dragged into Carriage Number 1. Upon entering the carriage, Ludm pushed him against the wall of the stuffy tanker with a backhand move, "I know you''re right, I understand. And I agree! But how can you expect me to hold back?" "That brother who''s always causing trouble suddenly turned into... a white horse!" Wang Zhong, "Turned into a white horse?" Bucephalus? Ludm, "It''s just..." She was at a loss for words, paused for a few seconds, and shouted, "Whatever!" Then she swooped in for a kiss. Poor Wang Zhong had never seen such a sci-fi, such a vigorous development. His understanding of how forward a girl could be was merely at the level of "if a girl''s underwear set matches, you might be the one being slept with." He''d never seen such a fierce girl before; it was aplete blind spot for him. Could it be that all the girls from this region were this aggressive? Would he be rolled back and forth by the wheel in the future?Wang Zhong, who was currently being rolled back and forth by explosive reactive armor, thought this. Wang Zhong, "Couldn''t you at least wait until the train starts?" "No one''s going toe in!" Ludm said. Jules 914, July 9th, 0350 hours. The train carrying Wang Zhong and his troops slowly entered Sabachefsky, 110 kilometers from Loktov, to resupply coal as well as water for the boilers and tanks. Wang Zhong stood at the open door of Carriage Number 1, looking out at Sabachefsky in the morning light. Ludm appeared beside him, saying, "Put your uniform on properly! What kind of look is that with your belt unbuckled? Soon a lot of soldiers wille down for fresh air, and if they see you like this, it will affect their morale!" While chiding him, she skillfully helped Wang Zhong dress properly, then stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips, "Good morning." Wang Zhong was still absent-minded, "Morning." Ah, he thought, my fiance is so amazing. A little too amazing, causing my sage time to extend into the next morning. Ludm turned to tidy her silver hair, saying as she did so, "You should find a batman. What kind of general doesn''t have a batman?" "Sure." Wang Zhong replied absently. Ludm went on, "Too bad I''m abat medic; otherwise, I would be your batman myself." Wang Zhong, "Uh? Can a batman be a woman?" Chapter 133: Chapter 41 Accidents_2 "Of course, the Secr faction believes that whatever a man can do, a woman theoretically can too. Didn''t you also want to bring a maid before, but it ended up being your father who forcibly sent an old butler over?" When mentioning "old butler," Ludm''s voice stuttered a bit, then she sighed softly, "If the old man could see your state now, he would certainly be weeping with joy." It seemed that the old butler always had high expectations for Wang Zhong, he spected. At that moment, the trainpleted its entry into the station and came to aplete stop. Pavlov leapt directly out of the second car, stretching his neck to look towards the first car. Wang Zhong raised his hand and waved. Then Pavlov confidently came over, "Is it convenient?" Wang Zhong, "It is, what''s up?" "I was just about to go to the telegraph office at the station to send a telegram. Join me? I''m afraid I''ll fall asleep inside by myself and miss the train." Wang Zhong, "Sure!" He leaped onto the tform with a single jump. Ludm''s voice came from inside the carriage, "Your dress shoes! Really, how long has it been since they were polished! Take them off and I''ll help you shine them!" Saying so, she threw out a pair of cloth shoes. Wang Zhong had no choice but to change shoes. Pavlov, "The battlefield is also a ce where the flower of love blooms brilliantly, isn''t it?" "Humph, you''re quite the romantic, aren''t you?" Wang Zhong teased. The bear-like chief of staff waited for Wang Zhong to change his shoes and led the way to the telegraph office beside the station. At that time, soldiers from other stuffy tank cars also came out for air, and all the young men showed a meaningful smile when they saw Wang Zhong. Vasily blew a whistle directly. Wang Zhong, "Show some respect to your superior, or Popov will punish you with the task of hauling manure!" Popov also got off the train, hearing Wang Zhong''s words, he turned his head and shouted, "Don''t just take a breather, go relieve yourselves if needed! Don''t end up peeing in the tank carster! And if you need to clear out fromst night''s beef stew with potatoes, do it quickly! The train needs to take on coal and water, so we''re stopping for half an hour!" Wang Zhong, "Are we stopping for that long?" "Yes." Pavlov nodded, "I n to use this time to ask the Front Army''s headquarters via telegraph about our arrangements after we get to Argesukov. After all, the orders they gave us yesterday didn''t even specify where we''d be stationed once we arrive." Wang Zhong, "Maybe someone will receive us at the station, like before when we entered Bogdanovka." Pavlov did not answer. There was only an old man on duty at the station telegraph room, and when Wang Zhong and others entered, the old man was leaning back in his chair, mouth agape, sleeping. Hearing the door, the old man suddenly opened his eyes wide, "Oh, it''s two officers! Oh, and a general! How may I be of service?" Wang Zhong pointed at Pavlov, "My chief of staff needs to use the telegraph." "Certainly." The old man put on his sses and turned on the power to the telegraph machine. Pavlov began to dictate the content of the telegram, and the sounds of the telegram being sent started echoing in the telegraph room. Wang Zhong, bored, began to look at the notice board on the wall of the telegraph office, closely examining the notes pinned to the wooden board. "Who took the coffee I left in the telegraph room yesterday?" "Lost and found: A blue pen, please see Peter to im." ... It was all small, trivial matters. Suddenly, Wang Zhong felt that this ce was unrealistically peaceful, as if the war before had been an illusion of his own. Until he saw a note, "Collective memorial service for Car Group 54 to be held tomorrow, please attend punctually." This note was just mixed in among a bunch of trivial ones, not noticeable unless looked at closely. Indeed, no one could stay out of the war. At that moment, Pavlov finished dictating and exhaled in relief, "Now we just wait for a reply from the other side, hopefully, they''re on time. If they really forgot to arrange amodations for us, that would be a headache. I hope the soldiers who have been through fierce battles can at least get a good night''s sleep." Wang Zhong nodded, "Yes, indeed. Certainly can''t get a good rest with only straw on the train." Last night, Wang Zhong had actually slept very soundly, except that his camp bed shook a bit too much. For the next while, both men sat quietly waiting. Pavlov, probably too tired, leaned against the backrest of the bench and fell asleep. Wang Zhong continued to observe everything in the roomit was full of life, not only the bulletin board cluttered with notes but the walls were also stered with briefings and various misceneous items. Twenty minutes passed like this. The bell rang suddenly, and the old telegraph operator hastily reminded, "Gentlemen, there are only ten minutes left before the train departs. Better get back on board quickly, lest you get left behind." Stretching, Pavlov yawned lengthily. Wang Zhong, "Why don''t you go to the first car and sleep on the camp bed?" ``` "No," Pavlov tly refused, "how could I have the nerve to use the bedding you two have used." Wang Zhong: "We could just throw the bedding away, and you can sleep directly on the hard nk." Pavlov thought for a moment: "That makes sense. Let''s do that. Besides, we officers should stick together in carriage one and take turns resting." Wang Zhong: "Then let''s go." The two of them left the telegraph office together and returned to carriage one. Ludm had already put away all the bedding, stacking it in the corner of the carriage. Not only that, but she also used a stove she had found somewhere to boil water and had prepared coffee. Wang Zhong''s leather shoes were neatly ced under the camp bed, shiny and spotless. Ludm''s shoe polishing skills were indeed excellent. Seeing the coffee, Pavlov shook his head: "Coffee no longer has any effect on me now, let me just get a good sleep. I''ll take up the camp bed." With that, hey directly on the nk of the camp bed and, like Nobita Nobi, fell asleep in an instant. Probably because he hadn''t slept for so long, his snoring was very loud, as ifpeting with a steam whistle. At that moment, Yegorov appeared at the entrance of carriage one: "Where''s Pavlov? Did he ask where we''re stationed? Huh? Why is he asleep?" Wang Zhong: "Sent a telegram but got no reply." Just as Yegorov was about to speak, a whistle blew outside. Yegorov hurriedly turned his head and shouted: "Get on the train! There are only five minutes left before departure! Get on the train! Squad leaders, count your men, and if anyone''s missing, send someone to look for them! Quick!" After giving the order, Yegorov looked back at Pavlov: "So we still don''t know where to station in Argesukov?" At that time, Ludm said: "We could stay at Alyosha''s estate." Wang Zhong, astounded: "Whose what now?" "Your estate." Do I even have one of those? Yegorov asked with concern: "Will it berge enough?" Ludm: "It should be, after all, the two main buildings have 210 rooms." How many rooms? Ludm looked puzzled at Wang Zhong, who was gaping: "What are you surprised about?" I''m surprised about what kind of family I have, to possess such extravagant wealth. Wait, am I supposed to be a count? Can a count have an estate with 210 rooms? Yegorov: "Sounds good, we''ll also live in the house of a noble lord for a change, see what it feels like." At this time, the stationmaster came with a loudspeaker: "Officers, please board the train!" Yegorov grabbed the door of the freight car and climbed aboard with one effort: "Since Pavlov is sleeping here, I''ll join him. Carriage two is too crowded, this side is morefortable." Before Wang Zhong could reply, Sufang suddenly appeared, nimbly climbing aboard. "I''ve received a message from the Argesukov Chant Choir," Sufang said, "and I need to report to you!" Just then, the train started moving slowly. "Ah, can''t go back now." Sufang stuck out her tongue. Ludm handed her a cup: "Coffee." "Oh, thank you." Sufang nodded her head, took a big sip, "Delicious, the coffee beans are finely ground." Ludm: "I didn''t grind them, the olddy at the supply warehouse gave them to me when I went to get the stove." Wang Zhong suddenly remembered the note on the bulletin board in the telegraph office: "Who took the coffee I left in the telegraph room yesterday?" Could things be connected like this? Sufang took another sip of the coffee, then apparently scalded, she shrank her neck. Wang Zhong: "What did the Argesukov Chant Choir say?" "Cancel the attack, all units are ordered to steadfastly resist and not retreat," Sufang said. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "The good news is, the higher-ups have finally realized the futility of an attack. The bad news is..." Yegorov: "It''s a good thing we ran fast, or we might have been wiped out in Loktov." Ludm looked in the direction of Loktov: "Those young menst night had to fight to thest." Everyone fell silent. Only Pavlov''s carefree snoring continued unabated. ``` Chapter 130: Chapter 39 "See You Then in Plowsonia Knowing that reinforcements had arrived, Wang Zhong hurriedlymanded the tank to go meet them, but just as they started moving, the tank engine suddenly made a series of sounds as if it had an upset stomach, and then it broke down. The driver, Beliyakov, climbed out of the cabin while muttering, "It finally crapped out, I had a feeling it would crap out." Wang Zhong was speechless, "Does this engine break down often?" Beliyakov replied, "It''s all small issues, can be fixed quickly, sometimes even a kick can do the trick." As he spoke, Beliyakov opened the repair hatch and swung his hammer down on the engine, but this time the "Mao-style Repair" did not work. Beliyakov shook his head, "Looks like it''s really going to take some time now, General. Why don''t you ride a horse over? Shouldn''t you be handing overmand with themanders of the 63rd Army Group?" Wang Zhong, "Where am I going to find a horse right now? It''s not like I can just whistle and have onee to me." As he said this, he blew a whistle. A horse''s whinny came from afar. Wang Zhong was startled and looked around, only to see Bucephalus trotting over happily from a corner. Hey? Could it be that the game mechanic where a horsees running at a whistle is based on reality? Then Wang Zhong realized that Bucephalus didn''t have any saddlery, not even a bridle, and couldn''t be ridden at all. This beast probably came because the stables were bombed by enemy artillery, and it came out unscathed, rushing over to Wang Zhong when it heard the whistle. The white horse stopped in front of the tank, looked at the white horse painted on the tank''s tactical number, neighed, and shook its head while panting heavily, continuously pawing with its front hooves. What, are you jealous of the horse painted here? Wang Zhong pushed himself out of the turret hatch and jumped to the ground, "Then you guys fix the tank, and once it''s done, head back to the brigade''s location and regroup with the other tanks. I''ll meet with themanders of the 63rd Army Group." The gunner, Alexandria, turned to the loader and said, "Follow the General, act as a guard for now." The loader nodded, pulled a submachine gun from inside the tank and slung it over his shoulder. Alexandria then said to Wang Zhong, "General, you should still be careful, there could still be separated Prosen soldiers in the city." Wang Zhong waved his hand and walked towards the train station, with Bucephalus trotting faithfully behind him, constantly trying to nibble his hair. By the time Wang Zhong was nearing the square of the train station, his hands were already filled with eggs and pickles given by the locals. Do Russians really like pickles this much? Entering the square, he saw numerous trucks parked in front of the train station, and stretcher teams were moving the wounded from the trucks into the train station. Wang Zhong, with his keen eyes, spotted the chief of the field hospital, Losonov, and called out loudly, "Doctor, what''s happening here?" The doctor looked up at Wang Zhong and said, "General, the stationmand is arranging for the hospital to retreat, and empty boxcars will being into the station soon." Wang Zhong, "What will happen to the wounded generated inbat after you retreat?" Losonov nced at the sky, "This city is about to be rubble. The hospital is full of patients who were saved using our medical supplies and resources, we cannot let them perish here. Once they recover, they will be the backbone of our fighting force." That was indeed the truth. Losonov continued, "As for the wounded from future battles, the medical posts of the 63rd Army Group will do basic treatment and then wait for train evacuation. There is no better solution under the current circumstances. I personally will stay behind to help the group army''s medical posts with the wounded, this is all I can do." Wang Zhong, "You intend to stay?" "Yes," the chief of the field hospital, Losonov, smiled faintly, "I''ll hold my post." Wang Zhong nodded, unable to find the words to reply. Just then, a young man riding a chestnut horse and wearing the standard cap of a military courier stopped beside Wang Zhong and saluted, "May I ask if this is Brigadier General Rocossov?" "That''s me." "Our armymander is looking for you." "Lead the way!" The courier looked doubtfully at Bucephalus, which had no tack at all, seemingly wondering how one would ride such a horse. Wang Zhong, "I''ll walk there. Is it far?" "No, it''s just next to the stationmand office, ourmander has temporarily taken over the map room." Wang Zhong nodded, then handed the eggs and pickles to the chief, "These are for the wounded. I have to go." After all, one cannot possibly meet themander of the cavalry army, that hade to the rescue, carrying eggs and pickles, right? Seeing this, the courier also dismounted and, leading the horse by the reins, walked ahead to show Wang Zhong the way. Wang Zhongughed, "I''ve been to the stationmand office many times, I can get there on my own, you can go back and report." The courier nodded, mounted the horse, and galloped away. The map room in the stationmand office looked several times more crowded than before. As soon as Wang Zhong entered, everyone turned to look at him. The major general of the 7th Cavalry Army, Kiriyenko, took two steps forward, removed his cavalry gloves, and saluted Wang Zhong, "Brigadier General, your troops fought very well. We have confirmed arge number of enemy corpses and remnants of tank armored vehicles in the city." A major general taking the initiative to salute Wang Zhong, a brigadier general, was a great sign of respect. Wang Zhong returned the salute, "It''s not my credit, it was our soldiers, together with the Guardian Army soldiers, who bought this victory with their lives and blood." "You are very modest," Kiriyenko praised. Wang Zhong thought to himself that he wasn''t being modest; it was the people of this city who truly achieved victorythey had defended themselves. But he didn''t say that out loud. Kiriyenko continued, "The headquarters of Army Group 63 is still on the way; currently, the troops entering the city are under mymand. We are engaging in the handover of the defensive positions, and tonight, the remaining men of your troop will be able to return to their barracks for a good night''s sleep. "I''ve also asked the quartermaster to prepare supplies for you all, so tonight you can have a meal of potatoes stewed with beef." Hearing what was for dinner, Wang Zhong''s interest perked up. Having been in this world for more than ten days, he still couldn''t get used to the local cuisine, and having eaten far too many pickles, he, as a Chinese person, unimaginably looked forward to meals with little anticipation, merely considering eating as a necessary job to sustain life. But he did like potatoes stewed with beef. Generally, with potatoes and beef, the dish couldn''t taste too badat least that''s what Wang Zhong subjectively thought. However, his interest in food onlysted for a few seconds before he asked, "Since you can provide potatoes stewed with beef, does that mean you can also provide us with anti-tank guns?" Major General Kiriyenko and the Quartermaster General (a brigadier general) exchanged nces, then both started tough. Wang Zhong: "What''s so funny?" Kiriyenko: "The Quartermaster General said you are an outstanding officer who only thinks about how to win. I see that now. Those rumors about you, obviously, all were wrong!" No, those rumors were right, it''s just that "I" have changed. Wang Zhong: "That''s not important, I need anti-tank guns..." "Your battle has ended, tonight afterpleting the hospital and transportation, your soldiers can board the trains and retreat." Wang Zhong was taken aback and immediately asked, "What about my equipment? My 203 artillery, and the T34!" Kiriyenko: "Theoretically, we need all the technological weaponry that can help us hold this city, but most of your unit''s technical weapons were specifically assigned to your unit by the Crown Prince. So these technical weapons will retreat with yourbat group. "As for the God''s Arrow Company, we already have a fully equipped Divine Arrow Company; adding one more prayer soldier only slightly increases ourbat strength, so they will also continue to stay within your unit''sposition." Wang Zhong: "Oh, that''s good then..." Suddenly, he hesitated; these technical weapons could undoubtedly greatly improve Army Group 63''s efficiency in defense. Should he really take them with him? I am defending the homnd, not managing my own private army... At that moment, Major General Kiriyenko said, "You truly are a person of integrity. I know what you''re thinking, but I earnestly request you to take these units with you." Wang Zhong: "What do you mean?" Kiriyenko, with a smile, said, "I''m also a military professional, always on the frontline. The fools above have been deceived, but I haven''t. I''m aware that we''re currently in a stage of strategic defense, or even strategic retreat. Precious technical weaponry should be pulled back; what should be left to cover the rear are ''grey beasts'' like us." Wang Zhong started to speak, then stopped. Suddenly he felt that words were too pale to express his thoughts, and actions would better convey his feelings. So he stepped forward, grasped the major general''s shoulder, then embraced him warmly, "It''s a regret,rade." "No need for regrets. I don''t n on dying here; after we''vepleted our defense mission, we''ll break out. See you in Plowsonia!" Plowsonia, the capital of the Prosen Empire. Wang Zhong patted the major general''s shoulder, "See you in Plowsonia!" Having said that he released his hold, stepped back, his heels clicked sharply together, and he saluted the major general, "Farewell!" "Farewell!" Wang Zhong turned around and left without looking back. Watching his departing figure, Kiriyenko suddenly said to the Quartermaster General, "Is that a dandy? The difference from the rumors is too great, he is clearly an exemry soldier!" The Quartermaster General replied, "You don''t know? The soldiers call him ''the Star of Victory.'' It''s said toe from a song he hums, ''The star of victory will shine upon us.''" When Wang Zhong returned to the base leading Bucephalus, he found that Tank 422 had already arrivedclearly, Beliyakov had quickly eliminated any malfunctions. The driver and Gunner were now loading shells into the tank on the side while the electromechanical operator continuously fished out spent shell casings and machine gun bullet casings from the cabin to ce in arge wooden box. Clearly, this tank crew nned to continue the fight. Wang Zhong: "We are retreating." Alexandria: "Ah? But we can still fight." The other tank crews maintaining and resupplying the tanks also stopped and stared straight at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: "There will be plenty of opportunities to hit the Prussians hard in the future, but today we are retreating, and not just us, but also the 203 Heavy Artillery Regiment. We withdraw by night on the evening train." Everyone looked at each other. Just then, songs were heard from outside the base. The relieved Guard 31st Infantry Regiment, marching in orderly rows and singing, entered the base. The young soldiers all looked beaten and weary, but the expressions on their faces were spirited, their marching steps synchronized and forceful, the bays on their rifles swaying, like the wind blowing through a cypress forest. They sang out loud, "Tanya Tanieusha, my Takiyanne, do you still remember that fiery summer? I can''t forget those days, that time spent in passionate love!" That time spent in passionate love! Chapter 131: Chapter 40 Braised Beef with Potatoes is Really Fragrant Jules Year 914, July 8th, 2315 hours. All 914 members of Rocossov Combat Group were waiting on the tform of Lokhtov Train Station. The Lokotov City Defense Battalion, temporarily attached to Rocossov Combat Group, volunteered to stay behind and continue participating in the defense of the city, so they weren''t included in the count. The Guardian Army, temporarily assigned to thebat group, was not part of the withdrawal either. The Fifth Belyensk Regiment wanted to stay, but Wang Zhong refused them. The 31st Regiment and the Armored Troops willingly obeyed the orders. The 914 people on the tform were the sum total of thebat group''s infantry, artillery, armored troops, and logistics personnel. Wang Zhong, patting his belly stuffed with potatoes and beef stew, looked at the few people remaining and sighed, "This is truly a Pyrrhic victory." Yegorov: "Who is Pyrrhus?" Wang Zhong was taken aback; in a world without Rome, naturally there was no affair concerning Pyrrhus. At that moment, Pavlov came out of the station dispatcher''s office with a stack of documents and walked up to the two men: "I''ve got the transportation n, we''re being sent all the way to Argesukov." Wang Zhong: "That far? I thought they would ce us behind the next line of defense for rest and reorganization, ready to defend again at any time." "There''s no second line of defense," Pavlov said with grave seriousness, "The Front Army has decided to follow His Majesty''s orders andunch an offensive." Wang Zhong: "Have they gone mad?" Because of the loud voice, all the soldiers around looked over. Yegorov patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder: "Keep calm, my Lord Count. The good news is that this time we''ll be far from the front line. Even if the front copses entirely, it''ll take the Prussians several days to reach us." Wang Zhong: "I can''t feel happy at all. So what about our reinforcements?" Pavlov shook his head: "No mention." At this point, Popov came onto the tform from the freight exit of the train station, striding over to join the trio. "The Church hasn''t sent any news either, no idea when God''s Arrow Company will be filled up," the Bishop sighed. "We''re severely short of prayer warriors now, and we don''t have enough recements for the Divine Arrow." Wang Zhong: "What about Brother Peter?" After two days of fighting, Wang Zhong had grown quite fond of this "human ear radar" he had coincidentally acquired, finding it rather useful. "Ah, that, we have plenty of Sound Array Masters, so he was reassigned to us. Here is the personnel transfer document; it''s standard to have a copy on file over there, right?" Popov said as he handed the document to "over there" Pavlov. Pavlov frowned deeply: "The document is here, but where is the man?" As Popov turned to look at the main entrance, just then Brother Peter entered with a furrowed brow. Yegorov called out loudly: "Monk, why the furrowed brow?" Brother Peter looked up: "Because there are too many noise sources like you!" Then he approached Popov and protested directly: "I should stay on the front lines. They need me here!" Popov: "Take it up with the Brigadier General." Brother Peter immediately turned towards Wang Zhong: "I should stay on..." "I heard you," Wang Zhong cut him off, "but I also need you. You will be more effective with me. Think about the past two days, how invaluable you were!" Brother Peter pursed his lips. At that moment, the sound of a train whistle came from afar. The switchman also came out of his cabin and began to operate the rail switching levers. The switchman''s greenntern was very conspicuous in the night. Soon, a trainposed of tcars and boxcars rolled into the station. All the tcars were empty, evidently included in the train to carry Rocossov Combat Group''s heavy cannons and T-34s, while the boxcars were filled with young faces. Before the train had evene to a full stop, the young men inside the boxcars were already loudly asking, "Hey, how did the fight go?" Just as Wang Zhong looked towards the boxcars, Vasily responded: "Superbly. You see those tank wrecks in the city? We''re the ones who knocked them out!" The corpses of Prosen soldiers had been collected and buried by the Labor Camp and the Guardian Army, but the tank wrecks, like the craters in the streets, had yet to be handled forck of personnel. "Ha! That formidable, huh? We won''t be any worse off than you guys!" the confident young men on the train dered. Vasily looked like he was about to retort, but he stopped mid-sentence. After a moment''s hesitation, he said: "I believe in you! Give the Prussians a taste of our strength!" The soldiers of the 31st Guards Regiment, seeing that Vasily wasn''t scolded for speaking casually, joined in the shouting: "Show them what for!" "Let them see who the inferior race really is!" Before the crossover, Wang Zhong was actually not that old, and the original owner of this body was also a young man. With his actual personality, he would normally join in boosting the morale of hisrades. But strangely, now Wang Zhong only wanted to silently wish these youngsters well. Suddenly, one of the young men who had just disembarked from the boxcars shouted: "Hey, look at that tank, tactical number 422! And there''s a white horse emblem on it!" At those words, all the eager new recruits just arrived at the battlefield turned their gazes in one direction. The ceremonial T-34 tank, number 422, was parked under the moonlight, like a massive beast lurking in the shadows. Alexandria and Beliyakov, who had been smoking next to the tank, saw themotion and immediately hid in the tank''s shadow. "Really?" "Could this be General White Horse''s chariot?" "I heard the General''sbat group is right here!" At that moment, Wang Zhong was standing under the protective cover of the tform, where the moonlight failed to reach him. Boosting morale is also amander''s duty. He wanted to step forward, but the instant before moving he remembered the scene from yesterday when numerous Guardian Army soldiers pulled him out from under the tank. Today, he renounced those who had once saved him. In the afternoon, under urgent circumstances, he hesitated for only a second before making his decision, and in the end, they did indeed hold back the enemy''s onught. But now, just as he was about to step forward and inspire the soldiers, that same intense emotion seized him again. My troops and I are about to withdraw, and whatever Loktov turns into, a hellish inferno or not, will no longer concern us. Do I still have the right to inspire the young men before me to step proudly into hell? As Wang Zhong hesitated, he suddenly remembered a poem by a marshal. He was very fond of this poem; it was actually the marshal''s dying verse in a hopeless situation, yet it was filled with a fearless spirit. "I call forth my oldrades to the spring tform, our banners ten thousand strong, to y the king of hell!" That marshal must have also made many decisions that led soldiers to their gant deaths. But he would never hesitate, for he was braver than everyone, and if the time came, he too would march to his death without a second thought. I can be braver than everyone else! No, I must be braver than everyone else, so I can issue the orders for them to die without regret, so I can make the cruel decision to abandon them without guilt, and then righteously dere "The merciful are not fit to lead armies!" With this resolve, Wang Zhong stepped forward into the moonlight. He did not introduce himself, and in the darkness, no one could see his face or insignia clearly. Just standing there, he exuded an air of authority and fearlessness. "Soldiers!" he said. Even though nomand was given, the recruits stood to attention, their heels clicking together. Wang Zhong: "I won''t sugarcoat our situation. Look to my right; this is mybat group. Now, including our logistical personnel, we number only 914! "The Fifth Belsensk Regiment under mymand joined with more than a full regiment''s strength but was reduced to just over 300 men. And now, only 81 men stand here! "Their regimentalmander is now a second lieutenant! "I will tell you clearly, what lies ahead is hell! Staying here means facing hell! Does anyone want to back out?" Wang Zhong scanned the entire tform. Not just the newly arrived soldiers were looking at him, but also the railway workers and train drivers stood at their posts, watching him. No one expressed a desire to quit. Wang Zhong: "Why? Answer me, why do you step into hell?" Suddenly someone shouted, "For the Tsar!" Wang Zhong: "No!" Pavlov was shocked and stared at Wang Zhong with wide eyes. Then someone yelled, "For the Eastern Holy Church!" "Wrong too!" Wang Zhong replied without hesitation. Popov was shocked and stared at Wang Zhong with wide eyes. Wang Zhong scanned everyone again. Vasily suddenly said, "For Ante''s mother!" Wang Zhong pointed at Vasily: "Right! But that''s too abstract!" Wang Zhong paced the tform with hands behind his back: "What is Ante''s mother? Think about it, think of something concrete! "Ante''s mother is the squirrels frolicking in the birch forests, "the fish swimming freely in the Dnieper River, "the wheat waves on the ck earth!" After listing these examples, Wang Zhong felt it was still not quite enough, so he added two more: "The bright songs of maidens, "and the beef stew with potatoes served by grandmothers!" No sooner had he spoken than someone let out a loud burp. Then several people couldn''t help butugh, especially Vasily. Wang Zhong himself also felt awkward, having run out of things to say; moreover, the beef stew with potatoes truly smelled delicious. Delicious! "We march to our deaths to guard all that is beautiful and good!" He thought again, but indeed he had run out of words, so he decided to borrow some. He continued: "If we do not fight, the enemy will kill us with their bays and point to our bones saying, ''Look, here lies a ve!''" Those words, like a bomb, instantly filled every face with anger. Vasily shouted the word that could be used in any moment that required a boost of morale or to express passion: "Hurrah!" Everyone yelled together: "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" The shouts rose wave upon wave. At that moment, the recruits'' battalionmander shouted, "Right turn! Quick march!" The new soldiers marched out of the train station in neat formation. Popov stepped forward next to Wang Zhong: "Next time, could you please not steal my job?" Wang Zhong: "Which son of a bitch told me that boosting morale was themander''s job?" At that moment, the stationmaster came over, "Hurry and load your equipment onto the train. We''re departing now. If we leave before dawn, we can still get out of the enemy nes'' range." Wang Zhong turned back and ordered, "Board the train!" Chapter 132: Chapter 41 Accidents Pavlov handed the watch in his hand to Yegorov, "Board the train in this order, the Labor Camp and railway workers will help us secure the tanks and heavy artillery." After saying that, he turned to Wang Zhong, "Themanding general''s carriage is Carriage Number 1, right next to the anti-aircraft carriage." Wang Zhong, "I didn''t see any passenger carriages though?" Pavlov smiled faintly, "There aren''t any. Your carriage has fewer people, and it also has tables and beds." ... Seems eptable? Actually, Wang Zhong was quite curious to try sleeping on straw; after all, he had no idea what kinds of hardship he would face in the future. It might be good to get used to it in advance. Just then, his hand was suddenly seized by someone. Immediately after, something as bulky as a big cotton-padded coat wrapped around him, and the chilly night wind that had been blowing disappeared, reced by warmth. Wang Zhong was startled and hurriedly turned around to see which demon was gnawing at his hand. It was Ludm, clutching Wang Zhong''s arm like a pillow and craning her neck up. Wang Zhong, "Don''t do this, we''re both in uniform." Ludm, as if she hadn''t heard him, said, "Your essay clearly deserved zero points, yet you can speak so well!" "Miss, you''ve got it all wrong," Wang Zhong thought. That part that ended with beef stewed with potatoes was my actual level; the cool part afterwards was "If We Do Not Go To War," the most famous modern poem by the poet Tianjian... All my awesome speeches were copied, don''t admire me, Miss! As Wang Zhong was feeling guilty for upying someone else''s "achievements," Ludm turned to Pavlov and asked, "Carriage Number 1 has beds, right?" Pavlov nodded seriously, "Yes, but they are more lightweight campaign beds. Do you want me to change them for sturdy wooden beds?" Wang Zhong''s mind went nk for a moment: "What do you mean? Why switch to wooden beds?" Ludm, "No need, lightweight campaign beds are fine." Pavlov, "Alright. The rest of us officers will just squeeze in Carriage Number 2 with the soldiers." ??? Wang Zhong was about to ask what was going on when Ludm dragged him towards the train. At that moment, Wang Zhong finally realized what was about to happen it was just that this development seemed so sci-fi to him,pletely impossible, so he hadn''t been thinking in that direction at all. Wang Zhong, "Ludm! Didn''t we agree to wait until after the war..." "Call me Liu Xia, or Mira is fine too!" the girl interrupted Wang Zhong. Ludm''s nickname was Liu Da, and a more intimate term of endearment was Liu Xia, which usually meant that two people had truly be close. This girl meant business today! "Why so suddenly?" "I don''t know! Just looking at you during your speech, I felt it had to be today!" Wang Zhong, "Ludm! Liu Da! Liu Xia! Theing years of war will be extremely arduous, let..." "I''ve thought it over! It''ll be no problem!" "Oh, you''ve thought it over, then... eh?" Wang Zhong nced at the soldiers who had stopped boarding to watch the show, his face turning red. Why could this girl be so forward in front of so many people? Where was her modesty? Just then, Wang Zhong remembered that Ludm was a "Mao mei," and in the future, she would grow into a Russian woman capable of wrestling bears in the deep forest; being a bit fierce was quite normal, wasn''t it? As he thought this, Wang Zhong was dragged into Carriage Number 1. Upon entering the carriage, Ludm pushed him against the wall of the stuffy tanker with a backhand move, "I know you''re right, I understand. And I agree! But how can you expect me to hold back?" "That brother who''s always causing trouble suddenly turned into... a white horse!" Wang Zhong, "Turned into a white horse?" Bucephalus? Ludm, "It''s just..." She was at a loss for words, paused for a few seconds, and shouted, "Whatever!" Then she swooped in for a kiss. Poor Wang Zhong had never seen such a sci-fi, such a vigorous development. His understanding of how forward a girl could be was merely at the level of "if a girl''s underwear set matches, you might be the one being slept with." He''d never seen such a fierce girl before; it was aplete blind spot for him. Could it be that all the girls from this region were this aggressive? Would he be rolled back and forth by the wheel in the future?Wang Zhong, who was currently being rolled back and forth by explosive reactive armor, thought this. Wang Zhong, "Couldn''t you at least wait until the train starts?" "No one''s going toe in!" Ludm said. Jules 914, July 9th, 0350 hours. The train carrying Wang Zhong and his troops slowly entered Sabachefsky, 110 kilometers from Loktov, to resupply coal as well as water for the boilers and tanks. Wang Zhong stood at the open door of Carriage Number 1, looking out at Sabachefsky in the morning light. Ludm appeared beside him, saying, "Put your uniform on properly! What kind of look is that with your belt unbuckled? Soon a lot of soldiers wille down for fresh air, and if they see you like this, it will affect their morale!" While chiding him, she skillfully helped Wang Zhong dress properly, then stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips, "Good morning." Wang Zhong was still absent-minded, "Morning." Ah, he thought, my fiance is so amazing. A little too amazing, causing my sage time to extend into the next morning. Ludm turned to tidy her silver hair, saying as she did so, "You should find a batman. What kind of general doesn''t have a batman?" "Sure." Wang Zhong replied absently. Ludm went on, "Too bad I''m abat medic; otherwise, I would be your batman myself." Wang Zhong, "Uh? Can a batman be a woman?" Chapter 133: Chapter 41 Accidents_2 "Of course, the Secr faction believes that whatever a man can do, a woman theoretically can too. Didn''t you also want to bring a maid before, but it ended up being your father who forcibly sent an old butler over?" When mentioning "old butler," Ludm''s voice stuttered a bit, then she sighed softly, "If the old man could see your state now, he would certainly be weeping with joy." It seemed that the old butler always had high expectations for Wang Zhong, he spected. At that moment, the trainpleted its entry into the station and came to aplete stop. Pavlov leapt directly out of the second car, stretching his neck to look towards the first car. Wang Zhong raised his hand and waved. Then Pavlov confidently came over, "Is it convenient?" Wang Zhong, "It is, what''s up?" "I was just about to go to the telegraph office at the station to send a telegram. Join me? I''m afraid I''ll fall asleep inside by myself and miss the train." Wang Zhong, "Sure!" He leaped onto the tform with a single jump. Ludm''s voice came from inside the carriage, "Your dress shoes! Really, how long has it been since they were polished! Take them off and I''ll help you shine them!" Saying so, she threw out a pair of cloth shoes. Wang Zhong had no choice but to change shoes. Pavlov, "The battlefield is also a ce where the flower of love blooms brilliantly, isn''t it?" "Humph, you''re quite the romantic, aren''t you?" Wang Zhong teased. The bear-like chief of staff waited for Wang Zhong to change his shoes and led the way to the telegraph office beside the station. At that time, soldiers from other stuffy tank cars also came out for air, and all the young men showed a meaningful smile when they saw Wang Zhong. Vasily blew a whistle directly. Wang Zhong, "Show some respect to your superior, or Popov will punish you with the task of hauling manure!" Popov also got off the train, hearing Wang Zhong''s words, he turned his head and shouted, "Don''t just take a breather, go relieve yourselves if needed! Don''t end up peeing in the tank carster! And if you need to clear out fromst night''s beef stew with potatoes, do it quickly! The train needs to take on coal and water, so we''re stopping for half an hour!" Wang Zhong, "Are we stopping for that long?" "Yes." Pavlov nodded, "I n to use this time to ask the Front Army''s headquarters via telegraph about our arrangements after we get to Argesukov. After all, the orders they gave us yesterday didn''t even specify where we''d be stationed once we arrive." Wang Zhong, "Maybe someone will receive us at the station, like before when we entered Bogdanovka." Pavlov did not answer. There was only an old man on duty at the station telegraph room, and when Wang Zhong and others entered, the old man was leaning back in his chair, mouth agape, sleeping. Hearing the door, the old man suddenly opened his eyes wide, "Oh, it''s two officers! Oh, and a general! How may I be of service?" Wang Zhong pointed at Pavlov, "My chief of staff needs to use the telegraph." "Certainly." The old man put on his sses and turned on the power to the telegraph machine. Pavlov began to dictate the content of the telegram, and the sounds of the telegram being sent started echoing in the telegraph room. Wang Zhong, bored, began to look at the notice board on the wall of the telegraph office, closely examining the notes pinned to the wooden board. "Who took the coffee I left in the telegraph room yesterday?" "Lost and found: A blue pen, please see Peter to im." ... It was all small, trivial matters. Suddenly, Wang Zhong felt that this ce was unrealistically peaceful, as if the war before had been an illusion of his own. Until he saw a note, "Collective memorial service for Car Group 54 to be held tomorrow, please attend punctually." This note was just mixed in among a bunch of trivial ones, not noticeable unless looked at closely. Indeed, no one could stay out of the war. At that moment, Pavlov finished dictating and exhaled in relief, "Now we just wait for a reply from the other side, hopefully, they''re on time. If they really forgot to arrange amodations for us, that would be a headache. I hope the soldiers who have been through fierce battles can at least get a good night''s sleep." Wang Zhong nodded, "Yes, indeed. Certainly can''t get a good rest with only straw on the train." Last night, Wang Zhong had actually slept very soundly, except that his camp bed shook a bit too much. For the next while, both men sat quietly waiting. Pavlov, probably too tired, leaned against the backrest of the bench and fell asleep. Wang Zhong continued to observe everything in the roomit was full of life, not only the bulletin board cluttered with notes but the walls were also stered with briefings and various misceneous items. Twenty minutes passed like this. The bell rang suddenly, and the old telegraph operator hastily reminded, "Gentlemen, there are only ten minutes left before the train departs. Better get back on board quickly, lest you get left behind." Stretching, Pavlov yawned lengthily. Wang Zhong, "Why don''t you go to the first car and sleep on the camp bed?" ``` "No," Pavlov tly refused, "how could I have the nerve to use the bedding you two have used." Wang Zhong: "We could just throw the bedding away, and you can sleep directly on the hard nk." Pavlov thought for a moment: "That makes sense. Let''s do that. Besides, we officers should stick together in carriage one and take turns resting." Wang Zhong: "Then let''s go." The two of them left the telegraph office together and returned to carriage one. Ludm had already put away all the bedding, stacking it in the corner of the carriage. Not only that, but she also used a stove she had found somewhere to boil water and had prepared coffee. Wang Zhong''s leather shoes were neatly ced under the camp bed, shiny and spotless. Ludm''s shoe polishing skills were indeed excellent. Seeing the coffee, Pavlov shook his head: "Coffee no longer has any effect on me now, let me just get a good sleep. I''ll take up the camp bed." With that, hey directly on the nk of the camp bed and, like Nobita Nobi, fell asleep in an instant. Probably because he hadn''t slept for so long, his snoring was very loud, as ifpeting with a steam whistle. At that moment, Yegorov appeared at the entrance of carriage one: "Where''s Pavlov? Did he ask where we''re stationed? Huh? Why is he asleep?" Wang Zhong: "Sent a telegram but got no reply." Just as Yegorov was about to speak, a whistle blew outside. Yegorov hurriedly turned his head and shouted: "Get on the train! There are only five minutes left before departure! Get on the train! Squad leaders, count your men, and if anyone''s missing, send someone to look for them! Quick!" After giving the order, Yegorov looked back at Pavlov: "So we still don''t know where to station in Argesukov?" At that time, Ludm said: "We could stay at Alyosha''s estate." Wang Zhong, astounded: "Whose what now?" "Your estate." Do I even have one of those? Yegorov asked with concern: "Will it berge enough?" Ludm: "It should be, after all, the two main buildings have 210 rooms." How many rooms? Ludm looked puzzled at Wang Zhong, who was gaping: "What are you surprised about?" I''m surprised about what kind of family I have, to possess such extravagant wealth. Wait, am I supposed to be a count? Can a count have an estate with 210 rooms? Yegorov: "Sounds good, we''ll also live in the house of a noble lord for a change, see what it feels like." At this time, the stationmaster came with a loudspeaker: "Officers, please board the train!" Yegorov grabbed the door of the freight car and climbed aboard with one effort: "Since Pavlov is sleeping here, I''ll join him. Carriage two is too crowded, this side is morefortable." Before Wang Zhong could reply, Sufang suddenly appeared, nimbly climbing aboard. "I''ve received a message from the Argesukov Chant Choir," Sufang said, "and I need to report to you!" Just then, the train started moving slowly. "Ah, can''t go back now." Sufang stuck out her tongue. Ludm handed her a cup: "Coffee." "Oh, thank you." Sufang nodded her head, took a big sip, "Delicious, the coffee beans are finely ground." Ludm: "I didn''t grind them, the olddy at the supply warehouse gave them to me when I went to get the stove." Wang Zhong suddenly remembered the note on the bulletin board in the telegraph office: "Who took the coffee I left in the telegraph room yesterday?" Could things be connected like this? Sufang took another sip of the coffee, then apparently scalded, she shrank her neck. Wang Zhong: "What did the Argesukov Chant Choir say?" "Cancel the attack, all units are ordered to steadfastly resist and not retreat," Sufang said. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "The good news is, the higher-ups have finally realized the futility of an attack. The bad news is..." Yegorov: "It''s a good thing we ran fast, or we might have been wiped out in Loktov." Ludm looked in the direction of Loktov: "Those young menst night had to fight to thest." Everyone fell silent. Only Pavlov''s carefree snoring continued unabated. ``` Chapter 134: Chapter 42: Arriving at Argesukov ``` July 9th, 1050 hours. By now, the view outside the train carwell, the stuffy boxcar didn''t have windows, and the door hardly showed any trace of the war''s scars anymore. In the glow of the rising sun, the fields of the Kazaria Kingdom werevishly revealing their beauty. Before crossing over, Wang Zhong had seen an anti-American war film by a famous director, and the scene that impressed him the most was when the protagonist, traveling by train to the border, opened the door to glimpse the grandndscapes of his homnd. Although that scene looked somewhat cheap due to budget cuts in favor of high-profile celebrities, the scenery was undeniably picturesque. Now, looking at the grasnds of Kazaria, Wang Zhong was reminded of that moment. As he was reflecting, Yegorov said, "I''m starting to think this grasnd really isn''t suitable for defense. In the future, when our power increases, I wouldn''t be surprised if the battles here turned into tank tug-of-wars, and then, there will be destroyed tanks everywhere." Wang Zhong admitted he was right. Yegorov continued, "General, what rank do you think you''ll be promoted to when you get back? Maybe another two ranks, to major general?" Wang Zhong, currently a brigadier general, also known as a brigade general, would add a star to be a "two-bean" major general,manding a division. Then the next rank up was the three-bean lieutenant general, in charge of an army, or possibly bing a deputy in an army group, or the head of a major military region without activebat, and there was some chance he could be themander of a smaller strategic direction in the Front Army. Wang Zhong wasn''t familiar with the Ante Empire''s promotion system, but he knew very well the Soviet promotion system on the Eastern Front during World War II. There were many instances of officers being promoted to major general on the battlefield, but rising to lieutenant general was much more difficult, usually requiring three years from the start of the war. So he said, "They''ll probably make me a major general and then continue to stuff me with mixed forces." Ludm joined the conversation, "Why do you think so? Maybe they''ll give Alyosha a reorganized division." Wang Zhong: "No, no, I''d rather they didn''t give me a reorganized division. The 31st Guards and... and the Parade Tank Regiment as well as the Parade Artillery Regiment, they''re all seasoned troops, tried and tested. With a new unit, it would take time for them to get used to me." What Wang Zhong meant wasn''t that he would have troublemanding new unit membersmilitary hierarchy is strict, and even new officers will have their orders obeyed, as that is the nature of the military. What Wang Zhong was referring to was his own "cheat code"; if the men didn''t "ept" him and genuinely acknowledge him, he would face limitations in gaining insight on the battlefield. Of course, once the fame of the ''White Horse General'' grew such that any new unit would wholeheartedly ept hismand, things would be different. "No matter what rank you reach, I think you should get an orderly to look after your daily life as soon as possible. I''ve noticed that your clothes are just thrown there as soon as you get them back from theundry squad! You need an orderly to take care of you!" Ludm said. Wang Zhong: "Don''t I have you?" "I can''t stick with you all day!" So it can''t be? Disappointing. "Don''t look so disappointed. I''ll try my best to be with you!" Sofia watched the two of them and said, "If the general bes a major general and divisionmander, then as a Hymn Monk I must always be by the general''s side. How about I take on the role of orderly? I''m quite skilled at household chores!" Wang Zhong: "That could work. But would that be proper? Would Popov have any objections?" Yegorov and Ludm answered in unison, "Definitely." So they definitely would! Then I''ll get one with a big chest, who also wears a maid''s outfit. Ludm: "Don''t even think about bringing a maid into the troops. Even if one came, she would have to wear the orderly''s uniform, not a maid''s outfit." What? That''s a shame! But in reality, Wang Zhong was just entertaining the thought; what truly concerned him was the war situation. Having had his fill of the view outside, Wang Zhong returned to the map. From this map, the state of the entire Kazaria Kingdom was clear. As part of the Ante Empire, a third of it was now upied by the Prosen people. There were reports of telegrams stilling from Bogdanovka, emphasizing that the city was fighting and in need of relief. But every junior officer understood that under such circumstances, relief was virtually impossible, and it was only a matter of time before the Bogdanovka forces were entirely wiped out by the enemy. Based on the position and number of arrows representing the enemy on the map, Wang Zhong judged that Argesukov would be the enemy''s next objective in a pincer attack. The enemy''s second armored group was fighting north of Argesukov, apparently not yet intending to surround and encircle the city. But Wang Zhong, well-versed in history, had a nagging feeling that the armored offensive would soon turn southward and begin to encircle Argesukov. The ''Sturmtiger'' on Earth fought that way, and even though they achieved stunning victories, they dyed the push towards Moscow by a month, dragging it out until the arrival of ''General Mud''. The ''Sturmtiger'' armored troops were mired in mud, barely managing to continue their advance. As soon as General Mud left, General Winter arrived, and in the year of the ''Sturmtiger''s offensive, tanks and nes didn''t have antifreeze lubricantsthey were literally frozen to the ground. At that time, to start a ''Sturmtiger'' tank, one even had to light a fire first to melt the solidified oil in the engine. Of course, in this world the terrain was different, and Prosen Empire was not the ''Sturmtiger''; they might not follow the same course of action. Just then, Ludm said, "There''s Argesukov! Look over there!" Wang Zhong, following her slender index finger, saw a line of smokestacks on the horizon, many churning out thick smoke. Could Argesukov really be an industrial city? Wait, why isn''t such an industrial city close to the frontline being rapidly deconstructed and the factories relocated further back? By doing so, they could prevent the Prosen people from capturing Ante factories and, once relocated, the factories could resume operations and continue supporting the Ante Empire''s resistance. Why aren''t they quickly evacuating the factories? It looks like there''s yet another issue toin about to the Crown Prince. It''s just uncertain how much power the Crown Prince has over the war. After all, the forces the Crown Prince managed to send before were the professional units ustomed to parades, hardly reflecting his influence over the military system. ``` What kind of person is the Crown Prince? Wang Zhong pondered, trying to dig out a sliver of memory about the Crown Prince from his mindsince this body belonged to the original owner, it made sense that some memories would linger, right? Unfortunately, after quite an effort, he still couldn''t recall the slightest bit. So Wang Zhong fabricated a lie, "To tell the truth, I don''t know if it was from being sted by heavy artillery, or if my brain got fried during a fever, but I can''t seem to remember what the Crown Prince looks like." Ludm: "It shows, you were about to ask whether he was a man or a woman." Wang Zhong could certainly detect the mocking tone in Ludm''s words, but still cheekily asked, "So can you help me recall a bit?" Ludm shook her head: "You both entered the Reserve Infantry Officer School in the same year, andter studied together at the Suvorov Military Academy. You two were bottom of the ss, onest and the other second tost." Is the Crown Prince that bad? Now a distinguished general of the Ante Army, Wang Zhong thought somewhat arrogantly, even though his status as a well-known general was due to support from the Crown Prince, who acted as a "transportationmander." At that moment, Wang Zhong noticed more railway tracks appearing alongside the current ones, and soon the train shed past a deserted small station. Yegorov: "We''re reaching Veishorei, it''ll start slowing down soon." Wang Zhong: "You''re quite familiar with the railways near Argesukov!" "Of course. I fought many battles here during the civil war. Back then there weren''t as many railroads converging here, but Veishorei had rail ess at that time." "Forces of the Sanctified faction were holding Veishorei, constantly trying tounch attacks on Argesukov. We were lined up on either side of the railroad, even bringing armored trains for fire support," Yegorov recounted with familiarity. "Back then I was under themand of..." Just then, the train''s whistle blew, signaling its imminent arrival at the station. Pavlov also countered with his sonorous snores. Wang Zhong watched the increasingly numerous houses outside the train window over the fields and suddenly remembered something. He turned around to the table and picked up his portable small bag, from which he retrieved a letter stained red with blood. Argesukov, 43 Krugen Street, Alexeyevna. Wang Zhong hurriedly asked Yegorov, "Since you''ve fought around Argesukov for so long, you must know where Krugen Street is, right?" Yegorov: "Yes, I do. What, are you really nning to deliver the letter yourself? Couldn''t the military postal system handle it?" "No," Wang Zhong dered firmly, "I want to personally deliver it and have a word with this olddy Alexeyevna, to tell her just how brave her son was." Yegorov: "But... he''s already dead..." Wang Zhong stubbornly said, "No! I want to go." In fact, this was not only for the sake of those who had passed away, but also to strengthen Wang Zhong''s own resolve and bravery. So that one day in the future, he could issue themand, "I don''t want casualty numbers, I only want victories," without guilt. Ludm, looking at Wang Zhong''s side profile, suddenlyughed: "Alyosha, I never knew you had such a tender side, just like I never knew you were a speaker!" Sufan: "So you didn''t know either?" Ludm: "Now I do! And I know which way he leans too" Wang Zhong: "Let''s not go into details on that!" But Yegorov curiously asked, "General, which side do you ''lean''? I prefer..." "Let''s not talk about that either," Wang Zhong adopted the bearing of a general, "Let''s talk about the letter!" Yegorov: "43 Krugen Street, eh? I actually do know where it is. Once the troops are settled in, I''ll take you there on your signature white horse." Suddenly, Wang Zhong had an illusion that he heard a horse''s neigh, which should be impossible. Bucephalus was mixed in with pack horses and mules carrying supplies for the troops, staying in carriage number 11; its whinny could not possibly travel against the wind to reach here. The train then began to slow down, and the surrounding countryside scenery swiftly diminished, soon morphing into a cityscape mingled with ck and red. Everywhere one could see garrisoned troops and the assembling Guardian Army. Unless in formation, they all uniformly gazed towards the train. Yegorovmented, "I bet they''re staring at the red g on your tank. After all, the Ante Empire has never seen a red g before." The train continued to decelerate, finally reduced to the pace of a human walking. The lotive''s whistle sounded again. Suddenly, Pavlov eximed loudly, "I can''t take it anymore! Where''s my staff team?" He then sat up and wide-eyed looked around at everyone in carriage number one. Wang Zhong: "Don''t worry! We''ll definitely provide you with a full staff team this time!" Pavlov was clearly still confused, his brain not quite kicking into gear yet. He looked at Wang Zhong, "Really? Then I want a ninth-grade civil servant! At least ninth-grade!" Wang Zhong: "How about a sixth-grade one?" He wasn''t familiar with the civil servant rankings and just counted up one level ording to the sequence of three, six, nine. Finally awake, Pavlov retorted, "Stop joking, General. A sixth-grade civil servant could serve as a school affairsmittee member at a university! They''d have authority over professors!" Really? Right then, the tform outside abruptly came into view. Next, the sound of martial music rose, ying "Farewell of the vic Woman," clearly, a weing ceremony was prepared at the station for Rocossov''sbat group. Chapter 135: Chapter 43 His Royal Highness the Crown Prince The train gradually came to a halt amid the sounds of military music, and just before itpletely stopped, it gave a violent shake. Having already ridden in a stuffy boxcar from Bogdanovka to Loktov, Wang Zhong had once hit his head from such a shake, but now, experienced, he had braced himself against the door in advance. Ironically, his head was now covered in bandageshe''d got those driving a tankso one less bump made no difference. As soon as the train hade to a full stop, Wang Zhong was about to disembark when he suddenly noticed arge group of fellows in shy military uniforms on the tform. They were indeed military uniforms, but the style was clearly different from the simple khaki uniform that Wang Zhong woreit was much more dashing and decorative. But then again, these uniforms all had unmistakably military elements that let anyone know at a nce, "Oh, the person wearing this uniform is an officer of the Ante Army." If pushed for aparison, they resembled the custom uniforms of the Sturmtiger aristocracy on Earth. The aristocratic officers of the Sturmtiger would often have their uniforms tailor-madelike motorcycle leather jackets, typically only issued to Sturmtiger''s motorcycle reconnaissance troops, but many aristocratic officers thought the jackets looked cool, so they would also have one made for themselves. Now the group that appeared on the tform, in all their finery, were likely all aristocratic officers. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, they all became excited, "Oh! Here hees, here hees!" "Alyosha, why does your head look like a Bolo? Were you beaten after being captured by the Prussians?" "Alyosha, why is your uniform so in? Where''s your tailor?" The bunch hectically shouted out. Wang Zhong, feeling under siege, hadn''t even tensed up this much when facing Prosen tanks. Who are all of you? He switched to a bird''s-eye view and then realized that these clowns probably weren''t officers at all; there were no insignias of rank, nor names visible! No wonder their epaulettes bore no proper military ranks, just shy decorations. Damn it, running into a bunch of civilian cronies was unexpected. Just then, Ludm leaned in and whispered in Wang Zhong''s ear, "These were your friends before we went to Yekaterinburg for studies. You can say you don''t recognize them any longer." Wang Zhong looked at Ludm with confusion, unsure why she suddenly came to his aid. Could it be that she actually saw through it? Does that mean her likeness for me has nothing to do with the original owner of this body? At this moment, someone in the group also recognized Ludmand it would be more surprising if they didn''t, considering Ludm''s silver hair and features were memorable to any man. "Liu Da!" someone called out, "Come to the dance tonight, many are waiting to dance with you!" Wang Zhong frowned. These people, the front is in such a state, yet they still dance? Wang Zhong felt a sense of division, with the secr faction of the Eastern Holy Church inspiring the people to bravely resist the invaders, while the aristocracy, representatives of secr power, indulged in peace and luxury. How could you defeat the Prussians with such vermin! Yegorov seemed to be ustomed to the presence of the nobility, and promptly jumped off the train to organize the soldiers to disembark. Wang Zhong noticed that the disembarking soldiers were eyeing the dandies with unmistakable hostility. But the dandies, oblivious to the soldiers'' res, kept jeering at Ludm, "Ever since you went to Yekaterinburg, you''ve be even prettier!" "Has Alyosha not made a move on you yet, or maybe you would prefer..." Just then, as quick as a sh, Bucephalus let out a long whinny and charged from the other end of the tform, frightening the band into abandoning their performance and scattering in all directions. It reached the stunned dandies, spun around with a kick, and sent three men flying. Neighing, Bucephalus spun in ce, trying to kick more dandies into the air. Wang Zhong hurriedly got off the train and grabbed Bucephalus by its side. The horse stopped immediately and began nibbling on his hair. The dandies, scared out of their wits,y on the ground for a while before climbing up: "What''s with this horse!" Wang Zhong: "Um... it''s a wild horse!" Bucephalus stepped on Wang Zhong''s right boot, causing him such pain he almost bent over. Nheless, Bucephalus had indeed pulled its punches, otherwise, with its weight, Wang Zhong''s toes would have been crushed. Wang Zhong decided not to mention the wild horse again and continued, "It''s not ustomed to riding the train and went mad. Sorry about that." By then, most of the dandies had stood up, while the ones kicked away were still lying on the ground moaning, "I''ve broken a bone..." "My back..." One unlucky fellow had a brown stain on his trousers and an unmistakable scent was wafting from there. Vasily stepped off the train, pretending to admire the scenery, "Oh, why is there a familiar smell in the air? Filippov, do you smell it?" Filippov: "Vasily, that''s not very kind, they''re all nobility!" "What? What are you talking about? Don''t you smell something in the air? Where''s iting from?" Vasily stubbornly persisted in feigning ignorance. Indeed, expecting this hothead to revere so-called nobility was unrealistic. He didn''t even respect the White General! Yegorov scolded, "Stop fooling around! Fall in line! Let''s give the citizens of the capital a good impression!" Argesukov is the capital of the Kazarlia Kingdomwhile Bogdanovka was the capital of the Vasztrom Duchy. Those who have yed the "Crusader Kings" series will recognize this setup: counties are topped by duchies, duchies by kingdoms, and amassing three kingdom titles allows one to create an empire title to be the emperor As Wang Zhong''s soldiers were falling in line, the traumatized band regrouped and resumed performing "vonic Women''s Farewell." Some dandies began to order their servants to carry off their fallenpanions to the hospital. The remaining dandies gathered together, keeping their distance from the white horse. One of the dandies asked, "Alyosha, how did you tame this beast?" Upon hearing someone calling him a beast, Bucephalus immediately shook his head and snorted through his nostrils, his front hooves fidgeting non-stop. Wang Zhong knew that this meant he was pleased; he didn''t like being called a wild horse, but enjoyed being considered a beast. Bucephalus had aplicated heart of a young girl. Wang Zhong looked doubtfully at his beloved horse and began to suspect: Could this world hold mystical forces capable of turning ordinary rockets into missiles, enable ordinary people to acquire keen hearing? Could there also be mystical forces that turned horses into heroic spirits? If I really were a chosen one of the Eastern Holy Church, wouldn''t it be normal to ride a horse with divine attributes? As he was thinking this, Bucephalus began to nibble on his hair. I must be overthinking it; it''s just a bit mentally unstable. Wang Zhong pushed his enthusiastic horse away and said to the dandies, "Sorry, my horse has gone mad." A few of the dandies exchanged nces, and the one who just called Bucephalus a beast said, "It''s okay, you used to like feisty ones, both horses and women." Is that my character setting? Another dandy nodded, "Right, you even said that Liu Da was too tame, which is why you didn''t fancy her and left her alone." Huh? Delving deeper seems to lead into aplex NTR cycle? Never mind that, Liu Xia now has feelings for me. Wang Zhong shook off the unnecessary thoughts, determined to politely dismiss the group of dandies. Just then, as the military band transitioned from "vic Women''s Farewell" to "Tsar''s Hymn," Wang Zhong was puzzled. He noticed that all the soldiers were saluting towards the station''s main building. Wang Zhong looked over and then saw a person whose name he could recognize! Ivan Nikyevich Antonov, with the rank of captain, and a subtitle in parentheses: Crown Prince of the Ante Empire. Wang Zhong examined the Crown Prince carefully. Hmm, just an ordinary good-looking Russian guy. The name, patronymic, and surname all followed the male format. When the Crown Prince saw Wang Zhong, he immediately opened his arms to greet him, "Alyosha! My dear friend!" Wang Zhong also approached warmly, "Ivania! My dear friend!" As they hugged, Wang Zhong felt Ivan wasn''t a female. It''s a bit of a pity. No, not at all a pity! I already have a lovely fiance! After embracing Wang Zhong, Ivan turned to Ludm and merely performed a standard gentleman''s greeting. Ludm: "I''m in uniform, so no hand-kissing." It was then that Ivan snapped to attention, saluting Wang Zhong and Ludm! "I salute you, General Sir!" The local dandies, left on the side, looked at each other in confusion. Wang Zhong: "I salute you, Your Highness! Without the technical equipment you provided, we couldn''t have survived!" No sooner had he spoken, Wang Zhong''s troops shouted in unison, "We salute you!" Ivan looked at the troops in surprise, "It''s astonishing; they seem just as loyal to you as your own unit!" Vasily: "Reporting to Your Highness, we are indeed loyal to the General!" Ivan was even more surprised, "Is that so? You... actually managed to earn the respect of the troops?" Wang Zhong: "You didn''t know?" "No, I thought your battle achievements were all boastful, because look, I''ve been listening in on the High Command meetings, and we''ve been winning all the time, haven''t we?" Wang Zhong: "Your Highness, the reports from the Front Armies might lie, but the frontline doesn''t. We have been retreating all along, and even this Argesukov is now in danger." "How could that be!" the Crown Princeughed, "Isn''t this a peaceful ce? Here we''ve gathered 700,000 troops, 700,000 of them!" Upon hearing that number, Wang Zhong''s heart cooled by half. That''s it, the number of troops in the Kiev encirclement matches up. Now all that''s left is for the second tank group to the north to make its turn. But... if things really do develop this way, doesn''t it mean that Yekaterinburg could be saved? No, this isn''t the time to worry about that; I need to get my own troops out of the encirclement first. Wang Zhong grabbed the Crown Prince''s hand, "Ivania, it''s really dangerous now! The Prosen troops love encirclements, and they will" The Crown Prince said with a smile, "Here we have seven hundred thousand troops, as well as the natural defense of the Dnieper River, and Duke Meishikin''s troops in Shepetovka can cover Argesukov too. Rest assured, we will inflict a heavy blow on them here! You should rx and let your troops rest and resupply first." Wang Zhong: "I need to replenish my troops, and also tanks! T34 tanks! And I hope they''re all equipped with radios!" "Rest easy! It will be provided, all of it!" the Crown Prince patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder. Wang Zhong held his forehead. The Crown Prince added, "Oh, by the way, I have a message for you: Your father, Duke Rocossov, is preparing a banquet at the manor to celebrate your victorious return. He''s also arranged quarters for your troops!" Wang Zhong exhaled a sigh of relief, thinking at least there was some good news, and there was no need to worry about quarters for the troops. Chapter 136: Chapter 44 It Turns Out It Wasnt the Crown Princes Merit (Bonus for 5000 Monthly Votes) Wang Zhong was pondering about the future when Ludm tugged at his sleeve. He turned his head to look at the girl, and she pouted in the direction she was looking at. Following her gaze with curiosity, Wang Zhong then saw a short and chubby version of himself. Overall, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky wasn''t bad looking, mainly because he kept his body well-trained. But the man in front of him was actually about the same height; however, due to his significantly expanded tonnage and a serious failure in managing his weight, he had a chubby appearance. Described with high emotional intelligence,"strong and honest." But even with such a big difference in build, Wang Zhong still had the feeling, "My god, he looks so much like me." So, even without looking at the name, Wang Zhong knew this person must be a rtive of his. He nced at the name: Pyotr Konstantinovich Rocossov, Major General, Duke Rocossov. Based on the patronymic Konstantinovich, Wang Zhong deduced that this man shared the same father with him. It''s a tradition among the Ante Empire nobility that the first in line of session, even without actually inheriting anynd, would still be granted an honorary title. Meaning, this could be his brother, the first in line to inherit, so he is also called the Dukethough without actual inheritance. Pyotr looked at Wang Zhong, quickened his steps, and came over with open arms, "My dear brother! Alyosha!" Wang Zhong was hugged tightly and nearly had his chest crushed. Are you trying to murder your brother, fatty! After releasing Wang Zhong, Pyotr was still very excited, his mouth trembling as he spokenot that Wang Zhong was paying close attention, it''s just that being fat, any slight tremor was magnified through theyers of fat, immediately obvious. Pyotr, "When the choir received the dangerous news about you being in Peniye, I rushed to use all possible means to suggest to the subordinates to send you reinforcements. I didn''t know what they''d sent until I received the news that you had arrived at Bogdanovka, then my heart was finally at ease..." ...Hm? Tank number 67 KV1 was what you sent? But why does it seem from Pyotr''s statements that he doesn''t have the authority to give direct orders to the troops below? And as a major general in Argesukov, how could he issue orders to the troops in Bogdanovka? He shouldn''t have jurisdiction there, right? Just as Wang Zhong''s suspicion arose, it was immediately resolved: Because Pyotr was too fat earlier, Wang Zhong could only notice his front and overlooked the staff officer insignia on his shoulder. This guy, though wearing the rank of major general, is probably a senior staff officer in the Front Army staff. With some maneuvering within themand office, it is indeed possible to give some hints to have the troops dispatched. No wonder only one KV1 came to the support; turns out the defenders of Bogdanovka had only casually sent some reinforcements to satisfy the superiors. Everything started making sense. Pyotr took Wang Zhong''s hand, "It''s good you''re back! Father and I just want you to be safe, you really don''t need to boast so much!" ...Hm? Pyotr, "I''ve already managed to make arrangements with the personnel department, and they will soon transfer you to the logistics department!" Wang Zhong frowned, looking incredulously at the chubby man in front of him who resembled him, "What happened to the Western nobility protecting their people? You relocate your own kin to the rear during a national crisis, and you nonchntly announce it in public?" What would the sons of themoners who gantly died for their country think? The feeling of alienation he just experienced came flooding back. Wang Zhong remembered the valiant members of the Guardian Army who died in the defense of Loktov, along with the active men, women, and children. Had the call to action that motivated everyone back then nothing to do with the nobility but was down to a belief in national survival? Wang Zhong''s fondness for the citizens of Ante increased by 1,000 points. He shook off Pyotr''s hand, "I won''t leave my troops. I will fight until Prosen ispletely defeated, turning Ploseni into ruins, washing my tracks with the blood of the then Emperor, and then eating pickles on his dining table." The dandies around obviously misunderstood Wang Zhong''s words, taking him for the typical braggart and whistled in response. But Pyotr looked at Wang Zhong with incredulity, staring intensely, "You... what''s happened to you? No, no, for the sake of the front-line troops, you should go to the logistics department, and to manage something inconsequential, like storerooms for pickles... Oh, is that where you want to go? That can be arranged!" Wang Zhong, "No, I will say it again, I will not leave the front line, I will not forsake the soldiers who have fought and bled with me! I will fight with them until the end when Prosen is finally defeated!" Pyotrughed, "Don''t be like that, look at your soldiers, they must be sick of you! Uh..." Pyotr''s gaze swept over the soldiers of the Rocossovbat group standing in formation on the tform, his expression as if he''d seen a ghost. At that moment, Ludm said, "Pyotr Konstantinovich, he is no longer who he was yesterday." Pyotr took another look at his brother, seemingly finally sensing a vastly different aura about his kin, until he saw Bucephalus nibbling at Wang Zhong''s hair. Bucephalus, "Neigh~~~" Wang Zhong silently pushed the horse''s head away. Pyotr:... Then Pyotr decided to ignore the overly abrupt scene. He cleared his throat, "So... you''re not going to tell me that you actuallymanded the troops in battle and gained their approval, are you?" Wang Zhong, "What do you think? My dear brother!" Chapter 144: Chapter 48: Tit for Tat (Additional Chapter for 7000 Monthly Votes)_2 After all, before he had travelled through time, his experience with religious figures was virtually non-existent. The most he had ever interacted with religious figures was when his father had dragged him to a temple to pray to the god of literature before college entrance exams. While Wang Zhong felt awkward, the Grand Patriarch spoke, "You fought beautifully in Loktov, a true and unequivocal victory! Congrattions to you, Aleksei Konstantinovich." The venue fell silent. After a brief silence, General Skorobo, themander of the Argesukov Front Army, spoke up, "Your Holiness, the Grand Patriarch, the rumor of the major general being killed is merely heresy spread by the pagans. In fact, ording to intelligence gathered by the Front Army, the 15th enemy Armored Division did not cease its operations afterward." The Grand Patriarch Belinsky said, "If the death of a divisionmander could paralyze an entire force, then the Prussians wouldn''t have us in such a difficult position." The word "difficult" immediately caused an uproar. "To say we are in a diffcult position!" "Isn''t the front line at a great advantage?" "But many noble families are already in mourning" "But look, Aleksei has returned! If he could escape, then the enemy must not be all that formidable!" Wang Zhong frowned. At this point, General Skorobo stepped forward and said loudly, "Gentlemen! The front line has indeed suffered a minor setback; we''ve lost the Grand Duchy of Vostrom and two hundred thousand troops. But our great mother Ante still has such vastnds and so many troops avable!" "Now in Argesukov, we have assembled 69 Infantry Divisions, 11 Cavalry Divisions, 21 Armored Divisions!" "Such is thergest force in Ante''s history! Moreover, there are the forces gathered by Duke Meishikin in Shepetovka. Our two heavy armiesplement each other, able to both attack and defend!" "If the enemy strikes at any one of our forces, the other will deliver a strong and powerful nking maneuver to the enemy''s nks!" "Our current situation can be said to have improved from our initial passivity! We can consider defeating the enemy now!" Suddenly, Wang Zhong had a premonition. At a time like this, surely this general didn''t believe "Advantage lies with us"? No way, right? Look at the enemy''s technological weaponry, their training level, then look at yourself, with nothing but moralewrong, in such a state, how many troops really maintain their morale? At this time, General Skorobo directly stood on a chair and shouted, "We also have sturdy defensive fortifications! We have the advantage of fighting from the inside lines! Your Holiness, spreading news that is detrimental to morale at a time like this Isn''t that unwise?" The Patriarch replied, "Is that so? Then let us hear what the recently victorious hero, Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, has to say." He turned towards Wang Zhong, "Come, share your thoughts, Brigadier." Wang Zhong heard undisguisedughter among the nobles. Someone was murmuring, "Using the opinion of a brigadier to oppose a general." "I heard that Duke Rocossov''s second son scored zero on his graduation exams!" Damn it, thought Wang Zhong, how can someone graduate with zero points? I might have been thest in ss, but at least I passed the threshold for graduation! But right now, Wang Zhong indeed felt as good as zero points, being just a modern person who had only yed war games. He stepped forward, cleared his throat, "The Prussian Army is an elite, modernized force..." General Skorobo interrupted, "We are modernized too! Didn''t you just go on a killing spree thanks to the superiority of our armored forces? We have four regiments of T34 tanks; they''ll give the Prussians a tough time!" Wang Zhong replied, "The T34 is indeed an excellent tank, but its poor design has introduced huge ws. Its tankmander and gunner are the same person, which means duringbat themander has to keep his eyes on the gun sights all the time, with no spare moments to observe the surroundings. "In contrast, all Prussian tanks have a dedicatedmander and are generally equipped with amander''s cup. In tank engagements, they are more likely to spot T34s and take the initiative. "Furthermore, the enemy''s tanks all have radios, their battalion headquarters can issuemands directly to each tank. Duringbat, through radiomunication, each tank can cover each other''s observation blind spots, providing mutual support!" General Skorobo sneered, "Even so, as long as the enemy can''t break through our armor, we are still the ones who will win!" "The strength of tanks is rtive, Your Excellency General!" Wang Zhong stepped forward, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and threw it directly into the bonfire propping up a y pot. The next moment, the bottle shattered, and the alcohol turned into a ze. Several maids hurriedly pushed over a water cart and began to put out the fireit seemed that in order to prevent a fire, the water cart had been prepared in advance. The firefighting water sprayed inrge quantities onto the stewing y pot, seeping into the interior through the pot''s vents. The Grand Patriarch showed an expression of intense pain and frustration. Wang Zhong pointed at the mes that were still stubbornly burning: "Just like this Molotov cocktail, thrown onto the engine cover, could put a tank out of action! Just a single Molotov cocktail!" "Moreover, the enemy will hit our tanks at their weak spots! They will use shells to jam the turret, they will break the tracks!" "Our blind tanks, once their tracks are broken, are utterly unable to respond to approaching infantry! They will be butchered by the enemy like slicing sausage!" General Skorobo retorted sarcastically, "Then we can do the same to the enemy." "What if the enemy doesn''t engage you in a straightforward battle? What if the central Army Group from the north heads south? They could encircle us and cut off the supply from the rear. "Your million-strong army is a voracious monster of resources! When that timees, you''ll surrender without a fight!" General Skorobo: "We would never do that!" Wang Zhong wanted to say more, but General Skorobo added, "If the enemy''s central Army Group heads south, that would be perfect. We''ll just carry out internal maneuver warfare on the vast ins near Argesukov, eliminating the enemy''s central and southern Army Groups on the field, then counterattack and reim our homnd!" The nobles present started pping furiously, with cheers that seemed to discourage Wang Zhong from continuing. Wang Zhong still wanted to argue his case, but the Grand Patriarch put his hand on his shoulder: "Let it be, do what we can and leave the rest to fate. Besides, what he says does sound reasonable." "Theoretical reasoning, it''s all armchair strategy! It will lead to failure, Your Eminence, the troops here will be almost entirely lost, the people here..." "Calm down, we''re already arranging to evacuate the factories, starting with the heavy industry. Once that''s mostly done, we''ll also relocate the food processing and simr civilian factories to the rear," the Grand Patriarch said, patting Wang Zhong''s shoulder, "Right now you just need to rest up and wait for the troops to be replenished." Wang Zhong looked at the Grand Patriarch, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Can my God''s Arrow Company be fully replenished?" "They will arrive tomorrow," the Patriarch answered. Wang Zhong: "Can my Choir be fully replenished?" "They will arrive tomorrow." "Can I be given more of the following wind ears?" "They will arrive tomorrow," the Grand Patriarch said, giving Wang Zhong''s shoulder a firm pat. They will arrive tomorrow? Wang Zhong looked towards the officers who were toasting and ttering each other, and met the gaze of the host of the manor, his own father, the retired General Duke Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, who gave him an encouraging smile as if to say "You''ve done well." Wang Zhong felt a bit of relief. It was truly exhausting. At that moment, General Skorobo proposed, "I think, let''s toast to the uing victory!" The attendees all raised their sses. Wang Zhong didn''t want to raise his, but seeing that Duke Rokossovsky had also raised his, he could only join the toast. After everyone drank up, General Skorobo said, "Oh, yes, there''s another piece of good news. We will soon receive support from four more Army Groups! With this, in facing the enemy before us, we will have a numerical... advantage!" Wang Zhong thought to himself how that could be, it must be that the Front Army had over-optimistically estimated the damage caused to the Prussians, or they had too little intelligence on the enemy. At that time, General Skorobo proudly announced, "The advantage is ours!" Wang Zhong raised his ss and said with "sincerity", "Chairman''s brilliant foresight!" Chapter 138: Chapter 45 Alyosha, Despised by People and Dogs (Added update for 6000 monthly votes) Wang Zhong''s troops were currently advancing towards the Rokossovsky family''s manor ording to the route provided by Ludm. Wang Zhong had intended to ride in Tank 422, but Bucephalus pulled at his hair so fiercely that he had no choice but to saddle up Bucephalus and ride the horse, with the tank following behind. The Crown Prince was also mounted on a robust sorrel horse, proudly trotting beside Wang Zhong. Curiously, passersby on the road didn''t even bother to tip their hats to the Crown Prince, as if he wasn''t the Tsar''s foremost heir. The streets of Argesukov were much more peaceful and serene than Wang Zhong had expected. Previously, when Wang Zhong and his troops entered a city, there was a deste feeling, with little sense of the residents'' livelihood, but Argesukov was bustling with life, with numerous pedestrians in everyday attire on the streets. Wang Zhong was surprised; the performance of the dandies at the train station already hinted at the decay typical of a dynasty''s end, but where was the expected atmosphere of "streets littered with frozen bones"? Before setting out, Wang Zhong had thought he would see streets full of beggars, destitute people selling off their children, and bread in the bakeries costing 500,000 rubles each. Yet, these clean and tidy streets, with rosy-cheeked, well-dressed civilians, seemed off, didn''t they? Riding his horse, Wang Zhong pondered and then saw a long queue forming in the distance. As the troops moved towards the origin of the queue, Wang Zhong craned his neck, wondering what was at the end of the queue. Soon, he saw itor rather, the starting point of the queuea shop adorned with the emblem of the Eastern Holy Church. Civilians carryingrge and small packages kepting out of the shop. Wang Zhong scrutinized the items in the hands of a jubnt elderlydy: smoked sausages as thick as a grown man''s thigh and forty centimeters long, four cans of fish, and canned oats, sour cream, mushrooms, mayonnaise, and the indispensable pickled cucumbers. Although all were canned goods and processed sausages, with no fresh produce in sight, the variety still seemed quite rich! Just then, a person dressed as a priest brought out a notice board and put it at the shop entrance, immediately drawingments from the queued crowd. The notice read: "Fish will only be supplied on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now on; we hope for your understanding." Someone in the queue shouted, "Why only supply fish?" The Priest replied, "Many farms and meat factories have been upied, and supplies have sharply declined. Be content; at least there''s fish from Riga and the North Sea!" Immediately, the Priest''s words were met with dissent, "I was at a tavern yesterday and heard on the radio that we are about to defeat Prosen!" Priest, "Yes, indeed, so it''s only temporary. Think of it as eating more fish! By the way, we have enough caviar in stock here; you can buy some more to enjoy!" "I''m sick of caviar, and I really don''t understand why those noble lords like it so much!" Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the Church''s shop had helped to ease the tension between sses. Thinking it over, the Church had demonstrated strong mobilization power in Loktov. Could it be because the Church assured bountiful delicacies for themon people? Wang Zhong scratched his head, feeling there was much he still didn''t understand, and that he needed to observe more closely. Anyhow, the Church''s mobilization power was a good thing. Considering the decadence of those nobles, relying on them to defeat Prosen seemed unlikely. Passing by the Church store, Wang Zhong saw another shop on the street selling fried pattiesnot meat patties, but fish patties. An olderdy purchasing goodsined, "Howe there has been no meat for two days?" "Fish tastes quite good too," smiled the girl frying patties. "We''ll have meat patties tomorrow!" "Alright then, I''ll take some fish patties today. What kind of fish is it?" "Cod from the North Sea!" Wang Zhong walked past the fish patty shop. He continued onwards, and there were several more shops like this one. Wang Zhong fell deep into thought. At that moment, the march of the troops suddenly halted. Feeling puzzled, Wang Zhong spurred Bucephalus forward, overtaking the stopped infantry to reach the very front. He saw that the road hade to an end, a metal gate imposingly bisecting the asphalt road. Emzoned on the gate were the family crest and Ante''s slogan, "Private Property, No Trespassing." Yegorov at the forefront of the troops said, "ording to Miss Mailehovna''s directions, this is your manor, but... are we expected to climb over and open the gate ourselves?" Wang Zhong had no idea what was happeningthe gate didn''t even seem to have an inte. How were they supposed to get it open? Just then, on the other side of the gate, a formation of maids paraded in double files along the road towards them. Seeing the procession of maids, the face of Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovskythe iron-d warrior and god of war adorned with the Peniye, Loktov''s Guardian, bearer of the Red Banner, and rememberer of soldiers'' namesunexpectedly revealed a smile of happiness, softened by the wreckages of war. However, he quickly suppressed this inappropriate expression, and no one seemed to notice. The maids arrived at the gate, then separated on either side of the road. The leading maid unlocked and opened the gate, pulled it aside with difficulty, then took her position at the head of the row of maids and bowed deeply. Wang Zhong thought to himself, is it my imagination, or do these maids seem to have a bad attitude towards me? Of course, with the Crown Prince present, the maids were undoubtedly polite, but it just felt as if the maids disliked him. Chapter 146: Chapter 1: Reinforcements (The Beginning of a New Volume) After finishing his meal in the dining hall, Wang Zhong had just stepped out when he faced Popov. Popov, "Did you also receive the order?" As he spoke, he noticed Vasilying out with Wang Zhong''s military uniform and new epaulettes and snorted disdainfully, "It seems you did. Then, as my duty as the Military Bishop of the 151st Division, I suggest we assemble every morning before breakfast and tidy up after meals." Vasily frowned, "Do we have to polish our boots again?" Popov, "Not just polish boots. I went to the dormitory today, and some people don''t even fold their nkets! It''s understandable during wartime, and I can toleratex military discipline, but since we''ve entered a rest and replenishment phase, all this needs to be taken care of. It can reduce casualties in the next battle." "Shiny boots can reduce casualties?" Vasily sarcastically challenged. Wang Zhong, "You''re making even me think you''re a pain." "Sorry, General." After silencing Vasily, Wang Zhong said to Popov, "Set it up however you''re nning to do it. The Grand Patriarch told me yesterday that our reinforcements would arrive today. You should get enough Priests to manage them finally." "Today? Are you sure? I haven''t been notified," said Popov, looking skeptical. Wang Zhong, "Just wait and see. I''m going to find Pavlov. Do you know where he might be?" Popov turned and pointed at the small, two-story building situated opposite the concave arrangement of dormitory buildings, "He seems to have set up the headquarters there. I''m not too sure myself; I stayed in the local church dormitoryst night." Wang Zhong, "You didn''t tempt any capable Monks back with you?" "Monks are needed everywhere nowadays. Even ones like Brother Peter are in high demand as air defense watchers," said Popov, looking helpless. "Don''t worry, the Grand Patriarch has explicitly promised me that they will replenish our God''s Arrow Company to its full strength." Wang Zhong was about to speak when he saw a row of trucks waving church gs driving onto the parade ground. So he pointed to the trucks and asked, "Could those be them?" Popov turned around, "Uh... I don''t know, let''s go find out." At that moment, the first truck stopped, and a bunch of civilians jumped down. Wang Zhong, "Bishop, can you exin why a truck with church gs is unloading a bunch of civilians?" Popov gaped like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth vainly without producing a good exnation. By then, the "veteran" soldiers who had finished their meals had also noticed these people, curiously stopping to watch them. Priest-like individuals began to organize them, trying to get the civilians to form ranks simr to a military array. Wang Zhong had a bad feeling, "This couldn''t be the Guardian Army meant for our reinforcement, could it?" Popov clicked his tongue, "With one lowest-ranked Priest per toon, it''s definitely the Guardian Army. They didn''t even get issued equipment?" Wang Zhong, "Never mind the equipment, they don''t even have uniforms. Is the Grand Patriarch ying me?" "You''d best not say that in front of the Judge," Popov cautioned. The trucks, lined up in a row, dropped off their human cargo and drove away. Soon the parade ground was crowded with a dense mass of people, barely able to stand in loose formations by squad, despite the Priests'' efforts to maintain order. Many were still chatting away. Wang Zhong stood at the dining hall door watching this scene, feeling as if he were back in college, on the reviewing stand during the final parade of military training, watching the assembly of freshmen. Is my next task really to lead this group to a brutal battlefield? Vasily, "Even though I''m just a Warrant Officer who hasn''t finished officer training, I can tell that these people need at least six months of training to be reliable soldiers." As soon as the words left his mouth, Yegorov popped out of nowhere, adding, "These recruits can only fire the first shot, then forget they must pull the trigger fully to fire. They''ll just keep re-cocking and ejecting unfired rounds from the chamber." "I''ve had my fill of such new recruits. Why do they send us troops like this?" Wang Zhong turned to Yegorov, "Did you get a promotion?" Yegorov, "No. The bigwigs probably think a civilian like me has to advance to military academy for further promotion. Even though currently the most outstandingmander in the army graduatedst from the military academy." "Uh," Wang Zhong was somewhat embarrassed, "I''m just the most outstandingmander of the Front Army." Yegorov, "It''s all the same. I think you should go find Pavlov first, get these people equipped. Then we can immediately start teaching them how to shoot, so at least in battle, they can shoot into the sky to boost morale." Wang Zhong, "I was nning to see Pavlov. You can take care of these new recruits." Wang Zhong found Pavlov in themand headquarters'' empty map room, directing the two trainees assigned to him to update the maps. "Did you see the... reinforcements outside?" Pavlov nced out the window, "I see them now." He seemed a bit in denial. Wang Zhong, "These people need guns, ammunition, and uniforms." Pavlov, "It is said that outside Argesukov lives a Witch who can grant any wish for a part of one''s body. I suggest you give it a try." Wang Zhong, thinking that if God-guided missiles existed then such a Witch might not be too strange, responded, "Fine, where can I find her?" Pavlov rolled his eyes in exasperation, "I was being sarcastic! Do you understand sarcasm? There is no such Witch, and I''m not a sorcerer!" He took off his round sses with shaky hands and mmed his pencil down on the map, "This is exasperating! Where are my staff officers? My clerks? My ountants? Do you have any idea how many people at least are needed in a division''s headquarters to keep the whole division operating? "No, you don''t! All you do is drive your little tank and beat up the Prussians on the battlefield!" ``` "I came to Argesukov hoping that with so many clerical staff, I could finally have a normally operating division headquarters! But now, I still have to personally direct the map updates!" Ante''s overallnguage style tends to be quite soft, but because of Pavlov''s tone, Wang Zhong always felt as if he was listening to Prussiananguage with many explosive sounds, so normal speech sounds like quarreling. Wang Zhong felt overwhelmed and subconsciously said, "Uh, sorry, please calm down..." Just as he spoke, there was the sound of brakes from outside, indicating a car had stopped at the division headquarters'' entrance. However, from where he stood, he couldn''t see the car. Pavlov nced outside and asked with suspicion, "What''s this now? Why are there so many girls?" "Girls?" Wang Zhong''s interest piqued, and he walked to the window to look out. Indeed, many girls were getting down from the truck, curiously looking around the division headquarters. They saw the red g hanging at the division headquartersyes, the one that Wang Zhong had previously hung on the aerial of tank 422. "Is this the ce?" "Yes, the red g." Wang Zhong and the Chief of Staff exchanged looks, both very puzzled. Wang Zhong: "Well, let''s go out and ask." Saying this, he was the first to head outside, with Pavlov immediately following. Once outside, Wang Zhong called out directly, "Ladies, what are you here for?" The girls, who were originally curiously looking around, all turned their attention to Wang Zhong. One of the more daring ones asked, "Are you Major General Rocossov?" Wang Zhong: "Though I haven''t had time to switch to the rank of major general, yes, that is me. And you are?" "We are typists and clerks, sent here by the church''s recruitment office, they said you needed us here." Wang Zhong immediately turned to Pavlov: "Your clerks have arrived!" The Chief of Staff frowned: "Why are they all women?" The same woman who had spoken before replied, "Because all the men have taken up arms." That made perfect sense! Pavlov scratched his head: "Alright, which of you has experience as a warehouse inventory clerk? Come stand over here, those who have studied ounting, stand over there..." "I''m a student at Argesukov University," a girl raised her hand, "and so are several of us. Although we don''t have the experience, we can learn. We''re quite good at that." Pavlov nodded: "Good, that''s the best news I''ve heard this morning." Wang Zhong felt that this man seemed to have aged backwards in an instant, and the anxiety that was hanging around him also seemed to lighten. Pavlov: "I''ll assign you work..." At that moment, two more GAZ trucks arrived and stopped at the entrance of the division headquarters. This time, the ones getting off were elderly men. A man with arge beard was the first to step up to the entrance, giving Wang Zhong a rather sloppy military salute: "Good day, General sir. May I ask if this is the division headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, it is. And you are?" "Ah, I am a member of the academicmittee of Argesukov University. The university has been relocated, and only the professors and current students will go to the rear. We are staying to serve our country." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: "You... Are you a Level 6 Clerk?" "To be precise, an Imperial Level 6 Civil Officer. Yes, I am indeed of this grade. Why do you ask?" Wang Zhong turned excitedly to Pavlov and pointed at the old man: "Your Level 6 Clerk has arrived!" Pavlov, with a frown, sized up the old man: "Sir, we are a field unit." "Is that so? But if these youngdies can work in a field unit, I think I can too," said the old academicmittee member. Wang Zhong: "Enough Pavlov, my Chief of Staff, you have your people now, hurry up and get the new recruits'' equipment and uniforms! We can hand out equipment this morning and teach them how to shoot by the afternoon. We''re short on time!" Pavlov: "Even if we have people, it''s not possible to produce equipment that quickly. "You''re pestering me here. It would be better to plunder from the local supply depotrequest a bit. If you''re the one requesting, remember to get us some GAZ trucks as well. If no trucks, mules and horse-drawn carts will do. "Also, we need civilianborers, two for everybatant, understand?" Wang Zhong nodded: "Right! Huh? I''m the superior officer here! Why are you giving me orders?" "I''m just making suggestions, it''s the duty of the Chief of Staff to make suggestions. Whether or not to ept them is the decision of themanding officer. But I also have to tell you the consequences of not epting..." Another truck stopped in front of the division headquarters, and a group of officers bearing staff badges got off. "The red g," Wang Zhong heard someone say, "this must be the ce." Wang Zhong to Pavlov: "Now you have your people, no more taking it out on me! I''m off to the supply depot to raidapply for supplies!" ``` Chapter 147: Chapter 2: The Cannon and the Seal Wang Zhong was just about to leave the headquarters when he saw from a distance that the 31st Guards Regiment and the Fifth Byeshensk Regiment were assembling, while the armored troops gathered nearby to watch the excitement. So, Wang Zhong decided to go over and see what was happening too. There was no helping it; he had nevermanded so many troops before, and now he felt a bit like he was ying a simtion management game, strolling around his territory with satisfaction after working hard for so longthis was probably the feeling. By the time he reached the edge of the parade ground, the remaining infantry of the Rocossov Combat Group had already assembled and were standing opposite the newly arrived Guardian Army. Pavlov stood between the two groups with a megaphone and shouted, "These are the remaining infantry of the Rocossov Combat Group; they will be your instructors. You will train with your current organization for now! "After all, the division headquarters doesn''t have the time topile new rosters right now, and we don''t know whichpanies you will be assigned to, so it''s simpler to train this way. "Right now, if you go to the front lines, you''ll quickly turn into fertilizer! You wouldn''t be of any use at all! The instructors will teach you basic tactical movements, basic skills!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that being an instructor was a good thing, and after giving it some thought, it was actually quite beneficial. First of all, dispersing troops to act as instructors meant there was no need for new rostersPavlov''s division was currently busy absorbing new members, and it might take a few days before they could get down to that task. Secondly, instructors only needed one gun to demonstrate all operations, and with five guns, they could let the recruits practice in turns, so the demands on supplies were rtively low. One had to say, Pavlov had experience. Pavlov began to allocate instructors to each member of the Guardian Army with a roster in hand. At this time, the armored troops who were spectating nearby spotted Wang Zhong and hastily straightened their uniforms and lined up. Wang Zhong waved his hand, "Alright, there''s no need to line up every time you see me." Everyone rxed, and then Gunner Alexander Yefimovich from Vehicle 422 asked, "We heard that you''ve been promoted to Major General, so why are you still wearing the insignia of a Brigadier General?" Wang Zhong replied, "I haven''t had the chance to change it; you all know I don''t have any orderlies right now, so I''ll have to go back to the barracks and change it myselfter." Alexander then asked, "We heard that the new troops you''remanding is an Infantry Division, so what about us? You''re not going to hand us over to another general, are you? Just to make it clear, the Crown Prince requested that we always follow you, and even if you transfer the troops, you shouldn''t transfer us. "I heard that the Prosen troops have a tank toon in their division headquarters; I think we can learn from the enemy''s advanced experiences." The other crew members became anxious: "How is one toon enough!" "Absolutely, an armoredpany is needed to ensure security when facing the enemy!" "Don''t abandon us, General!" Wang Zhong reassured them, "You don''t have to worry, no one is going to snatch my troops from me! Not a soul! I, Aleksei, always take in but never let go! Not only are you not going anywhere, I need to bring over a whole Armored Battalion." An Infantry Division with an Armored Battalion was quite normal, wasn''t it? If this were a game, mixing an Armored Battalion into an Infantry Division would bring a heap of bonuses! The armored soldiers seemed much more at ease. "That''s good then, other generals would just send us to our deaths." "Yeah, the generals above us know nothing but to order us to unch an attack''. I feel like they have no clue about how to use armored troops." "Exactly! Our original 23rd Tank Army is gone, without any significant military achievements. General, with just one ambush, you achieved more than our entire army." Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, "Really? Did the 23rd Army really have no achievements?" Several armored soldiers who had transferred from the 23rd Army''s BT tanks shook their heads together, "Most were eliminated by the Prosen Air Force; on the rare asion we encountered the enemy''s armored forces, they were destroyed from distances over 1000 meters, without ever getting close to the enemy." Wang Zhong sighed; even though the BT series tanks were technically behind the enemy''s Mark III and IV, the news of an entire tank army being wiped out still pained him. Give memand, and I could achieve some sessthis was his thought. At that moment, the Tank Operators from the former 23rd Army suggested, "Ask for more tank troops, General; at least they can be more effective under yourmand! They won''t die in vain!" The other Tank Operators nodded in agreement, "Right, General!" Wang Zhong, overwhelmed by the ttery, waved his hand and made his escape. He was aware of his own capabilities and perhaps one day, in the future, he might unhesitatingly ept such praise. But the current Wang Zhong couldn''t presume to do so, feeling it was undeserved. When Wang Zhong returned to the suite in the eastern wing of the manor, Ludm had already ironed the new general''s uniform and even sprinkledvender essence on it. Wang Zhong frowned slightly, "I''m a general; isn''t the scent ofvender a bit odd?" Ludm retorted, "You don''t understand, once you smoke, the smell of the smoke and this essence will mix and it will be great. It''s a clever trick taught to me by my father himself." Wang Zhong asked, "When did he teach you that?" "Before I went to Saint Ekaterina Fortress, he thought I would definitely meet a man there, so I needed to know these things. Too bad I never had the chance to use it." Wang Zhong uttered an "Oh." "Come here!" Ludmmanded with an irrefutable tone as she picked up the coat. Wang Zhong had no choice but to approach and let his fiance fuss over him. About fifteen minutester, he stood in front of the mirror in his spotless new military uniform. Ludmmented, "Fewer decorations. Look at the other generals; they at least have a sash, and you are all modesty!" She gestured across Wang Zhong''s chest. Wang Zhong shrugged, "I''m not fighting for medals." "I know," Ludm said softly as she kissed Wang Zhong''s cheek, "Okay! Now you can go and be busy with your things!" Wang Zhong: "Grigori!" His guard immediately came in through the door, still carrying that captured Prosen submachine gunhe really seemed to like that weapon. Wang Zhong: "Prepare the jeep, we''re going to the logisticsmand." Grigori brought his heels together as a substitute for a salute, closed the door, and left. Ludm: "Didn''t your father say he would help you allocate troops?" Wang Zhong: "You''re calling him ''Dad'' already? Isn''t that a bit hasty?" Ludm: "Okay, didn''t Uncle Konstantin say he would help you allocate troops?" Wang Zhong: "The old man is retired; what he allocates might not be practical." At this moment, the voice of the Crown Prince came from outside: "Alyosha, my friend!" Wang Zhong turned and went out to the corridor where he met the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, good morning, how did you sleepst night?" The Crown Prince gave a thumbs up: "It''s a pity you didn''te, there was someck of variety!" So, I was responsible for providing variety in Crown Prince''s team? The Crown Prince: "Let''s go to the salon today. I know that Lady Ekaterina is holding a salon this afternoon, and all the youngdies in town will be there!" Wang Zhong: "No, I am a divisionmander; I''m going to secure supplies and equipment for my troops." "Ahahaha!"ughed the Crown Prince loudly, "You are a divisionmander! Huh? You''ve be a divisionmander? Shouldn''t you be taking care of storage? Yesterday you were quite confrontational with General Skorobo." Wang Zhong: "Take a look at my epaulets, there are two beans now." The Crown Prince blinked: "Is that true? Holy moly, those really are pentagon stars. From a distance, I thought it was just a star-shaped pattern; that''s how they make the fake ranks. Then you definitely should go to Lady Ekaterina''s salon, war hero! The youngdies will fall for you!" Actually, Wang Zhong was quite curious to see this ''falling for him'' in practice, but getting equipment was the priority. Wang Zhong: "So, I''m sorry Your Highness, but I have to get to work." The Crown Prince stepped back, looking Wang Zhong up and down: "What''s happened to you? You''re not like yourself!" Wang Zhong: "I was hit by a 381mm shell from the enemy''s battleship. Over a hundred people in the church, only Sergey and I survived. So, my head''s a bit messed up." The Crown Prince shook his head: "I went to see Sergey, and he seems fine! He also said that you peed your pants in battle and insisted on exchanging trousers with him!" Damn it, can I just go and shoot this Sergey! Ludm turned to the side. Wang Zhong: "Which hospital is Sergey in?" The Crown Prince: "He''s staying at the Duke dimir''s house." Wang Zhong remembered, Sergei Nikyevich Romanov was the Duchess''s man-toy, now that the Duchess was a widow, it made sense to take him back home. The Crown Prince: "Want to go see him? The Duchess also quite wants to see you, who survived that disaster, and she''s nning a dance tonight..." Wang Zhong: "No, I don''t have time. Apart from equipment, I have other ces to go, I''m very busy today." His other task today was to be a postman. Argesukov, 43 Krugen Street, Alexeyevna, the letter had to be delivered to thisdyprobably ady. The Crown Prince shook his head: "You''ve changed, you''re not Alyosha, who are you?" Ludm stepped forward: "Who else could he be? He''s Alyosha!" The Crown Prince suddenly became a bit hysterical: "That''s impossible! Alyosha and I are the same, we''re both prodigals! We should be living the high life together! I can''t ept this outstanding soldier you''ve be! I cannot ept it!" Seeing the Crown Prince on the verge of breakdown, Wang Zhong quickly soothed him: "Your Highness, look, when you graduated from the military academy, your scores were higher than mine. What I can do, you can also do; there''s no need to look down on yourself!" The Crown Prince didn''t reply but after a few seconds of silence, he turned and left: "I will tell Lady Ekaterina that the war hero is too busy and doesn''t want to grace her with his presence. You go be busy with your things." Wang Zhong: "Your Highness, could you lend me your seal or something?" The Crown Prince stopped, turned, and looked at Wang Zhong: "What?" Wang Zhong: "The seal! Look, Her Royal Highness used your seal to send me tanks and heavy artillery, right? So... I can also use the seal, can''t I?" Ludm frantically tugged at the hem of Wang Zhong''s clothes. The Crown Princeughed: "I see, you and she are in cahoots! How did I not see thising! Fine, I''ll give it to you!" Saying so, the Crown Prince took off the ring, which doubled as a personal seal, and threw it to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong caught the ring and saluted the Crown Prince as if he were an officer: "I salute you, Your Highness!" "Save it!" said the Crown Prince, waving his hand before turning to leave. Chapter 141: Chapter 46 Take Supply as You Please Wang Zhong finished speaking, and Ludm hesitated to continue. Duke Loktov noticed this and said, "Liu Da, just speak your mind." Ludm nodded, "Alright. He was hit by the main gun of an enemy battleship, directly hit, so he lost some memory. His personality has also changed." Wang Zhong couldn''t tell for a moment whether Ludm was covering for him or really thought that. Duke Loktov frowned, "A concussion, perhaps? It''s possible. I''ve already seen my fair share of personality changes due to shelling in the civil war, but all those changes were for the worse." But the old man immediately shook his head, "But such things are unpredictable, although I still doubt whether a concussion can turn an uneducated troublemaker into a shrewd and capable general. Yet the fact is right in front of us." "Compared to him being possessed by St. Andrew, a concussion seems more reasonable." Wang Zhong pursed his lips, unable to exin the matter; he thought it might deepen the suspicion to lie about it, so he chose to stay silent. Duke Loktov sat down behind his desk, picked up a letter, "This is a letter to the Front Army headquarters. It says that my son is uneducated and may lead to the unnecessary sacrifice of many soldiers, causing the empire to lose arge amount of technical equipment, requesting that he be sent to an insignificent ce to guard pickles." Having said that, the duke took out a match, struck it, and lit the letter, throwing it into the ashtray on his desk, watching it burn slowly to ash. The old man unbuttoned his military tunic''s disciplinary buttons, opened the cor wider, and looking at Wang Zhong, asked, "How many men are left in your unit?" "914, including logistics, artillery, armored troops, and the nonbatant staff of the headquarters." "Only that many," Loktov mused. "I''ve been retired for a long time and am not too familiar with thetest military equipment or this blitzkrieg thing. I have no immediate ns to return to the army and cause trouble for everyone. However, as a retired general, I can still offer some help within my capability, go ahead." Wang Zhong, "Please tell the Front Army headquarters that Argesukov is at risk of being encircled. The enemy''s Second Tank Group is to the north; if theyplete the encirclement, it''s over." Duke Loktov shook his head, "The decision to hold Argesukov is His Majesty the Tsar''s. The Grand Patriarch has evene here personally to boost morale. Even if the enemy is indeed likely to encircle from the north, the Front Army headquarters will surely say that we should fight the enemy here. "It''s the only way not to provide others with an excuse and to make His Majesty the Tsar happy. Do you understand? Unless someone can persuade the Tsar, or someone can make the Grand Patriarch decide to give up Argesukov, the army won''t retreat from here. "Besides, in my personal experience, it''s difficult for the enemy toplete such an encirclement. Do you know howrge an arc that is?" Loktov indicated on the map. Wang Zhong, "It might have been impossible before, but technology has improved. Didn''t you see the actions of the Prussian Army in Carolus?" Duke Loktov frowned, "I''ve seen it, but all the generals believe that result was due to theck of will to resist from the Carolus Army. "All the generals. "You better not worry about this; you can''t influence it, and neither can I." The old man said with a sigh and a touch of helplessness in his smile. Wang Zhong, understanding, changed his request, "My unit needs replenishing, including experienced veterans, technical weaponry, everything... Ick it all." Duke Loktov shook his head, "Even if there are veterans recovering from hospitals now, the number is certainly not enough to replenish your forces on arge scale. Reservists have mainly been mobilized ording to the organization during the winter training each year; they are already formed into units, so temporary reinforcements of reservists are not possible for you. "As for military school students, when things got hectic, all the students were mobilized. Now the top believes that we''re about to counterattack, so they won''t mobilize students. "If you want to replenish your troops, you can only select those with shooting experience from the inexperienced Guardian Army" Wang Zhong interrupted the duke, "These Guardian Army troops haven''t received training in grenade throwing; throwing grenades might even blow themselves up." Loktov, "Right, you could promote all your veteran soldiers to squad leaders, one leading 7 to 8 recruits. This might help them survive a little longer. "Of course, you could also choose not to engage in brutal meat grinder battles. From my experience, in trench warfare on the ins, as long as the enemy doesn''t breach the trenches, the survival rate of new recruits is quite high. "Most importantly, if you want to maintain the integrity of your troops while replenishing with new soldiers, this is the only way right now. "By around January next year, the new recruits currently being conscripted will havepleted their training, and the veterans will have recovered from the hospitals too. At that time, it will be possible to replenish you with arge number of high-quality new soldiers." Wang Zhong said solemnly, "Next January... Alright, fill up with new recruits for me, and I''ll have the veterans train them as best they can. Although I don''t know how long it will be before we are back on the battlefield. "My regr soldiers are warrant officers who haven''t yet graduated; they should be able to teach them some life-saving skills. "And technical weaponry! I need technical weaponry! I need T34 tanks, anti-tank guns, La-3 or MiG-3, and Il-2!" Wang Zhong''s strategy was to ask for the moon, after all, as Lu Xun once said, to open a window you must propose to take off the roof. Duke Loktovughed heartily, "Look at you! The way you talk! Only at the Front Army level can youmand Air Force troops; you''ll have to be promoted to general first. "However, we can try with tanks and cannons. You''vemanded several types of tanks on the frontline - which type do you hope to replenish with?" Wang Zhong, "T34, but the parade-type T34, without a separate tankmander and radio. Without those, an excellent tank''sbat effectiveness drops by at least fifty percent!" Old Rokossov shook his head: "I can get you tanks that have already been produced, but I have no way to make the factory produce other tanks. T34s, you say? I''ll see if I can manage to get you two battalions; more than that is probably not possible." Wang Zhong: "I hope to getpanymand vehicles equipped with radios." "That''s not possible," Old Rokossov tly shook his head, "But you can do this: focus on using thepanymand vehicles, all fitted with the best tank operators, to form a special tankpany. For the rest, if you think theirbat effectiveness is inadequate, have them carry out lower-intensity missions." Wang Zhong thought it over and it made sense. In fact, in Loktov, half of the remaining tanks in his unit were radio-equipped due to being pressed by the battle conditions; it was basically a forced "poprization" of radios. It would be better to concentrate their use from the beginning. Old Rokossov: "Anti-tank guns... hmm? Petrov, if you''re tired, sit down." Petrov, who had been standing sweating to the side, sighed with relief and plopped down onto the sofa. The sofa protested loudly. "You need to lose weight," Old Rokossov said and then turned to Wang Zhong, "What kind of anti-tank gun do you want?" "ZIS-3! The 45mm anti-tank guns cannot effectively prate the front armor of enemy tanks; they must shoot from the side, which severely limits the choice of anti-tank positions." The old Duke nodded: "Heavy artillery, then? Is the 203 too slow to load?" Loading a B4 heavy gun required a small crane, and even the Russian Giants known for their brute strength were unable to load it by hand. Wang Zhong: "It is indeed slow, and the uracy isn''t that great either." He remembered all too well the feeling of having to "y the lottery" the first time he had to use it. "Then let''s replenish your 152 heavy artillery insteadbetter precision, faster shooting speed, and the range isn''t too bad. The mobility is faster too. With B4, if there''s no railway nearby, it could only crawl." "All right, I''ll think of a way to get you a regiment of 152 artillery." At this time, Petrov, who had finally recovered, said: "Father, what''s most important is to promote Alyosha, give him a division''s establishment, and then resupplying him will be much easier." "You think I don''t want to?" Old Rokossov cursed, "Those pig-headed fools are still using a court struggle mindset to think about issues. I believe in Alyosha, but they don''t! They''ll oppose promoting the ''foolish son of the Rokossovsky family'' to the rank of Major General!" Saying this, the old man began to bang on the table, almost to the point of tearing off his shoe to smash it. After knocking, he sighed: "Forget it, such things can''t be rushed. I have to write to some old friends. It should be settled in three to five days. I''ll first bring your brigade up to strength. Infantry, T34s, heavy artillery, anti-tank guns, get them all. I''ll handle this matter, and you two brothers can catch up." Wang Zhong looked at the chubby Petrov, who seemed quite content; he got almost everything he had wanted except for the nes. Staying here wouldn''t bring him any more goods. The matters such as modifying the BT tank chassis to upgrade the SU76 self-propelled gun, the Old Duke already said he couldn''t do it. That would have to wait until he met someone who could. With that, Wang Zhong turned around and walked happily towards Ludm, who was waiting by the door. However, Ludm reminded him with her lip movements: "Pavlov!" Wang Zhong pped his thigh: "Oh right, I also need staff officers! And clerks, ountants! Try to get me a sixth-grade civil servant!" Old Rokossov was shocked: "What do you need a sixth-grade civil servant for? That''s the level of a Vice Chancellor of a university! Well... fine, I''ll see what I can do. Hurry up and go!" The old man waved his hand. Wang Zhong turned and left. Petrov, with some effort, stood up and followed his brother''s steps. After the younger generation had left, the Duke Old Rokossov pressed the button on the desk. Ten secondster, the side door opened, and the butler who had just weed Alyosha at the door came in: "My lord." Old Rokossovughed: "Mikhail, my old buddy, can you believe it? Alyosha has be an excellent soldier." "Really?" The old butler looked surprised, "How is that possible! Although indeed this time he came back, he didn''t p the maids'' bottoms or grope around." Old Rokossov clicked his tongue: "I don''t know what changed him, maybe he was really concussed by the heavy artillery. Mikhail, bring out the liquor!" "The doctor said you can''t drink any more." "To hell with the doctor! Ante people should die drinking at the table, to hell with the doctor! Bring the vodka! And open a can of fish for me!" Using fish as a drink snack, that''s an Ante tradition. Chapter 142: Chapter 47: Delicacies and the General Emerging from the duke''s study, Wang Zhong took a deep breath. The issue of troop reinforcements was solvedpartially, at least. What remained a concern was the encirclement. If he couldn''t influence the decisions, at the very least he needed to take more troops with him. As Wang Zhong pondered this, Ludm came up to him, took him by the arm, and led him to the terrace next to the duke''s study, "You know, with your brows constantly furrowed in worry. Since these are issues that can''t be solved right now, why don''t you just do what you can handle first?" "Mhm." Wang Zhong replied absently, gazing out at the scenery from the terrace. At that moment, Petrov said, "Then I won''t disturb you two any longer. I still have work at the headquarters." "Goodbye." Ludm waved and then poked Wang Zhong in the waist. "Goodbye." Wang Zhong said. After Petrov had left, Ludm asked seriously, "Is it really that dangerous? The Crown Prince said we have seven hundred thousand men. Even if they were seven hundred thousand pigs, the Prussians couldn''t capture them that quickly, right?" Hearing this, Wang Zhong''s heart sank to the bottom because in his memory, thest force that was referred to as "XX pigs that couldn''t be caught in XX days" had already been annihted. Seeing Wang Zhong''s expression, Ludm suddenly suggested, "Let''s go horse riding! You haven''t galloped around the estate in a long time, have you?" Wang Zhong: "Horse riding?" "Yes, your second favorite activity." ...He felt like there was no need to ask what his most favorite activity was. Wang Zhong: "Alright, I do need to check the terrain around here and find suitable locations for anti-tank gun positions." Ludm blinked but still smiled, "Sure! Then I will help you strategize where to ce the Divine Arrow Company!" Wang Zhong turned to look at the girl, sensing all the beauty she embodied. Wait, how did the duke address her just now? Wang Zhong: "Oh, Liu Da, my dear Liu Da, my sunshine and spring flower!" Ludmughed happily. Just like everyone else, Vasily cleaned up his dormitory and then went to the dining hall, where meals had already started. As he entered the door, Vasily smelled a strong aroma, "Oh, it seems to be cabbage soup! Great, finally something other than pickles." Filippov: "And meat that isn''t spam!" Vasily: "How could that be possible? You think the duke would really use real beef for the soup? It''s definitely sausage! At most sausage from his own factory!" Dmitri turned to ask, "Do you hate sausage or something?" "Ah? Of course, I don''t hate ittwenty-five percent beef, seventy percent pork, plus five kilograms of eggs and milk! I love sausage so much that I can recite its recipe!" Vasily shook his head, "But it gets tiresome if you eat it all the time!" At that moment, the people in front of the line had reached the soup pot, and the maid scooped arge heap of beef that had been cooked until tender into a bowl. The soldier who got the bowl eximed, "Wow, it''s really made with beef! And they didn''t skimp on the onions and carrots either! The soup is so rich it''s almost no longer watery!" The maid then asked with a look of "what is this country bumpkin surprised at," "Do you want sour cream?" "We can add sour cream? Go ahead, put a lot on!" So another maid spooned a thick dollop of sour cream into the soldier''s bowl. The young man walked away delighted, not even bothering to take bread or oatmeal porridge. Vasily and the others watched theirrade walk by, their eyes fixed on the soup that looked incredibly delicious. Vasily: "By golly, they really did ughter a cow." Filippov: "And there''s sour cream, too!" Just then, three maids, working together, pushed a cart in. On the cart was another huge soup pot. In the soup pot was a thick, red stew. Filippov nudged Vasily, "You''re the professor''s son; what kind of soup is that? It smells quite good." Vasily said uncertainly, "It looks like it might be kharcho chicken stew." Filippov: "Oh, although the beef is tempting, I''ve had cabbage soup countless times since I was born. I want to try that chicken!" So, Filippov eagerly followed the serving cart, and once in ce, he was the first to get served, "Fill it up for me! And I want sour cream, too!" The maid: "Um, that''s not usually how it''s eaten. But alright, Katya! This soldier wants sour cream!" While she spoke, the serving maid had alreadydled a big spoonful of the stew into Filippov''s bowl and then specially fished out arge piece of chicken, cing it in the soup. Filippov inhaled deeply and immediately showed an expression of ecstasy, "It smells amazing, my mouth is watering!" Vasily looked at his friend with a frown, "Really disgraceful, is it just chicken, onion, and tomato soup? They even added vinegar, it''s already a sour soup, and then you add sour cream, sour enough to kill you!" As he was freely expressing his disdain, Dmitry suddenly grabbed him, "Look over there!" Vasily turned his head, following Dmitry''s pointing finger, and saw an ice cream machine. "Wow!" he scampered over, "Can you eat this for free?" Maid: "Of course, this is all provided by the Duke to treat you brave fighters." Vasily decisively said, "Give me ten!" The maid immediately began to operate, and soon the first ice cream was in Vasily''s hand. He licked the ice cream contentedly, like a happy child. At this time, the maid making ice cream said, "You all must have gone through a lot, with so few of you left, the count must have really screwed you over, huh?" Vasily stopped licking his ice cream. In fact, the entire dining hall suddenly quieted downmany didn''t know what had happened, but they were held back by therades who did. The ice cream maid asked in confusion, "Uh? What''s wrong?" "I won''t allow you to insult the General!" Vasily said with thunderous emphasis. At that moment, a priest came over, "Vasily! Come on! She just doesn''t know what we''ve been through. Can''t you just exin nicely? We are the Imperial Guard, look at your cloak, even if you''re angry, you must speak kindly to themon folk!" Vasily put down the half-licked ice cream, "Then, let me tell you all about it! It all started when the General had us set up a fake minefield!" Someone couldn''t resist making a snidement, "Shouldn''t it start with you picking up manure?" Then seven or eight hands pressed down on the shoulders of the one who''d made the interruption. "Alright, alright! My bad, I shouldn''t interrupt at this time!" He backed down immediately. "Those Prosen devils," Vasily began, "are extremely rigid! The General had already crossed swords with them at Peniye and destroyed 40 tanks! So, he knew they were all inflexible idiots! Hence, the General ordered me to write on 40 wooden signs, ''Minefield, beware!''" It must be said that Vasily, as the son of a music professor, did have some talent. As he spoke with great animation and spittle flying, the story of General Rokossovsky''s battle against the 15th Armored Demon Division came vividly to life. However, when he got to the part about his trick mines sting the enemy meters into the air, someone couldn''t sit still anymore. "You''re just blowing your own trumpet! I know for a fact that you were stuck guarding the General''s captured enemy radio for two days!" Vasily: "I was guarding the radio, that''s why I was closest to the General, and knew every decision!" "Nonsense! Our tank troops were the closest to the General! Alexander Yefimovich,e and tell us about the General leading you to charge the formation and kill the enemy''s major general!" Alexander quickly wiped all the soup out of his bowl with the bread in his hand, stuffed it into his mouth, and started to chew as he stood up, "This incident, we have to start with our tank! Our tank was originally meant for young masters on spring outings to enjoy the scenery, specially equipped with a spot for them to view the countryside. "Guess what, the General thought this was great, the position was perfect for surveying the battlefield! So, during the battle, the General was sticking his head out the whole time, bullets from the enemy whizzing by sounding ''ng, ng'' on the tank armor, and the General was not scared at all! "We charged through the enemy''s armored forces like that, and suddenly the General shouted, ''Turn left, full speed ahead!'' "I was targeting those Prosen devils'' tanks through my gun sight, and then with the tank''s turn, everything in the sight went topsy-turvy! And just like that, the enemy''s divisionmander was right there in the crosshairs! "With the General''s shout of ''fire,'' I fired, and a High-Explosive Shellnded right at the enemy major general''s feet! ''Boom,'' he was blown to bits!" Others let out sounds of admiration as if they were hearing such an exciting story for the first time. At that moment, someone picked up a champagne bottle from the table, "A toast to the General!" "To the General!" "We don''t recognize anyone but him!" As the men became passionately roused, the maids looked at each other, unable to believe that the once-detested and disdained Aleksei had be themander they all worshipped. At this time, Vasily said, "The General can even write poetry!" Then, the usually arms-folded head maid couldn''t contain herself and yelled, "On that point, we girls are well aware; every maid with a bit of looks here has received a ''so'' from the young master!" A maid couldn''t help but snort withughter, it seemed that the ''so'' was so poorlyposed that everyone couldn''t help butugh when they thought about it. Vasily pulled out a notebook, "Hmph, I''ll read it to you all! Although this poem has many grammatical mistakes, the content is beyond reproach! After my modifications and edits, it''s like this: ''The hero''s song rolls with the smoke, surrounded by green hills, listen closely... (Here, Vasily read a version rhymed in the Antenguage)''" The maids of the Rokossovsky family were notpletely illiterate; at the very least, they had attended Sunday school, and the younger ones had even studied up to 10th grade at themon schools established by the church. They could tell the level of the poetry. The maids looked at each other. Was this still the same Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky they knew? Chapter 143: Chapter 48: Tit for Tat (Additional Chapter for 7000 Monthly Votes) Wang Zhong and Ludm spent a joyful pic afternoon on their own estate. When they returned in front of the stables, Wang Zhong astutely noticed the maids'' attitudes toward him seemed to have changed. When they had first entered the estate, all the maids had been guarded and hostile, but now the older maids looked at Wang Zhong with some confusion, while the younger ones did not hide their curiosity. What''s going on? The maids were busy setting up the venue for tonight''s ball in the garden, so there were maids everywhere. Wherever Wang Zhong went, he felt people talking about him behind his back. Turning around, he saw the maids arranging the venue in an orderly manner, not even speaking. It felt like a ssic "mermaid" moment. Wang Zhong was curious, so he turned his head and asked Ludm, "What''s going on?" Ludm shrugged, "Maybe something happened while you were napping on myp at noon?" Wang Zhong replied, "What''s the difference between that and not saying anything? Obviously, something happened, right?" He was about to stop a maid to ask for rification when the Crown Prince appeared, "Why did you leave me aftering out from the duke''s ce?" Wang Zhong eximed, "Ah, that''s because you fell asleep on the sofa after drinking, and you were sleeping so soundly that I didn''t..." "That''s because you were in there for two hours! You got scolded badly this time, didn''t you?" "Uh..." Wang Zhong was somewhat embarrassed. How was he going to tell the Crown Prince that his cker brother had suddenly be a top student? The Crown Prince yawned and turned to look at the venue, "Such a small dance floor can only amodate one band. It seems like another meet-and-greet for the bigwigs. And here we have a much bigger maze!" Wang Zhong turned his gaze towards the maze in the garden. He vaguely remembered that in Western aristocratic balls, this kind of maze game essentially provided opportunities for mischief: girls would enter the maze first, followed by boys who would find them, ying out a "you chase me, I chase you, catch me and you can hehehe" scenario. By the time they emerged from the maze, everyone''s attire would be disheveled. The Crown Prince continued, "It''s a pity that you, Alyosha, are usually so good at this, always able to find the prettiest ones among them!" Wang Zhong suddenly remarked, "Nonsense, I''ve never found Liu Xia." Ludm said, "I''ve never participated, how could you possibly find me? Not only that, but every time you bring a tuft of a girl''s hair to me, it''s almost annoying me to death." Wang Zhong was shocked. What kind of high-level y was this? "Do you keep those tufts of hair?" he asked. "Of course not!" Ludm raised her voice a bit. The Crown Prince added, "It''s a shame, otherwise you would receive several tufts of hair again today." Wang Zhong replied, "Not anymore." Ludm said, "He won''t." The Crown Prince looked at Wang Zhong suspiciously, "Alyosha, what''s wrong with you? Ever since you came back, nothing seems right." Wang Zhong confidently said, "It''s your illusion!" Just then, he saw several strong men cing a y pot on a lit bonfire in the distance. Driven by curiosity, he approached and asked, "What''s inside this y pot?" Actually, Wang Zhong could smell the aroma of spices; it must be some dish, but the decorations on the y pot were so curious they piqued his interest. The worker carrying the pot said, "It''s a braised dish that needs to stew for hours, and it also has to cool naturally. It''s the most troublesome dish for tonight''s dinner." Wang Zhong reached out to open the pot and saw that it was brimming with vegetables, including eggnts, potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and more. The aroma of spices became even more intense once the lid was opened, making Wang Zhong wonder if the chef had thrown in a handful of "mas." Seeing this dish, the Crown Prince eximed, "This... is Grand Patriarch Belinskying tonight?" The worker respectfully bowed, "You''re right, the Grand Patriarch ising." At that moment, a blue-capped Judge appeared. He quickly stepped between Wang Zhong, the others, and the y pot, "During the stewing process, it cannot be opened; after it''s removed from the fire, the chef has to taste it first!" Wang Zhong said, "Alright, I was just curious, not deliberate." The Crown Prince also said, "I can vouch for him, it wasn''t deliberate." The Judge nced at Wang Zhong, nodded, and after covering the pot again, he stood guard over it without moving an inch. After walking away from the y pot, the Crown Prince muttered, "What does the Patriarch want with you? Did youmit some sins that need confessing, or did you hype up your battle achievements so much that you incurred divine punishment?" To this day, the Crown Prince still thought Wang Zhong was a "packaged" war hero. Wang Zhong was toozy to get more entangled with his mischievous friends. After all, the gear was a gift from the second princess, and from now on, it was more important to curry favor with her! At 2030 on July 9th, nearly all the nobility of Argesukov had gathered at the banquet hosted by Duke Rocossov. Just as the Crown Prince had predicted, it was a "simple meal" aimed at chatting about the situation; the nobles with high military ranks were all discussing affairs, and the progeny brought along to get familiar with social asions were bored to tears and started chatting idly. Now that''s the situation. The dandies gathered around Wang Zhong, same as always. Wang Zhong was tired of dealing with the low-brow jokes of the dandies, when suddenly someone struck the ground with a heavy object and shouted, "His Holiness the Grand Patriarch has arrived!" The nobles who were idling away immediately looked up and then respectfully watched the Grand Patriarch arrive at his ce But the Grand Patriarch bypassed his designated spot,ing over to where Wang Zhong stood: "Aleksei Konstantinovich! I''ve heard much about you!" Wang Zhong shook the hand extended by the Grand Patriarch but did not know what to say. Chapter 144: Chapter 48: Tit for Tat (Additional Chapter for 7000 Monthly Votes)_2 After all, before he had travelled through time, his experience with religious figures was virtually non-existent. The most he had ever interacted with religious figures was when his father had dragged him to a temple to pray to the god of literature before college entrance exams. While Wang Zhong felt awkward, the Grand Patriarch spoke, "You fought beautifully in Loktov, a true and unequivocal victory! Congrattions to you, Aleksei Konstantinovich." The venue fell silent. After a brief silence, General Skorobo, themander of the Argesukov Front Army, spoke up, "Your Holiness, the Grand Patriarch, the rumor of the major general being killed is merely heresy spread by the pagans. In fact, ording to intelligence gathered by the Front Army, the 15th enemy Armored Division did not cease its operations afterward." The Grand Patriarch Belinsky said, "If the death of a divisionmander could paralyze an entire force, then the Prussians wouldn''t have us in such a difficult position." The word "difficult" immediately caused an uproar. "To say we are in a diffcult position!" "Isn''t the front line at a great advantage?" "But many noble families are already in mourning" "But look, Aleksei has returned! If he could escape, then the enemy must not be all that formidable!" Wang Zhong frowned. At this point, General Skorobo stepped forward and said loudly, "Gentlemen! The front line has indeed suffered a minor setback; we''ve lost the Grand Duchy of Vostrom and two hundred thousand troops. But our great mother Ante still has such vastnds and so many troops avable!" "Now in Argesukov, we have assembled 69 Infantry Divisions, 11 Cavalry Divisions, 21 Armored Divisions!" "Such is thergest force in Ante''s history! Moreover, there are the forces gathered by Duke Meishikin in Shepetovka. Our two heavy armiesplement each other, able to both attack and defend!" "If the enemy strikes at any one of our forces, the other will deliver a strong and powerful nking maneuver to the enemy''s nks!" "Our current situation can be said to have improved from our initial passivity! We can consider defeating the enemy now!" Suddenly, Wang Zhong had a premonition. At a time like this, surely this general didn''t believe "Advantage lies with us"? No way, right? Look at the enemy''s technological weaponry, their training level, then look at yourself, with nothing but moralewrong, in such a state, how many troops really maintain their morale? At this time, General Skorobo directly stood on a chair and shouted, "We also have sturdy defensive fortifications! We have the advantage of fighting from the inside lines! Your Holiness, spreading news that is detrimental to morale at a time like this Isn''t that unwise?" The Patriarch replied, "Is that so? Then let us hear what the recently victorious hero, Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, has to say." He turned towards Wang Zhong, "Come, share your thoughts, Brigadier." Wang Zhong heard undisguisedughter among the nobles. Someone was murmuring, "Using the opinion of a brigadier to oppose a general." "I heard that Duke Rocossov''s second son scored zero on his graduation exams!" Damn it, thought Wang Zhong, how can someone graduate with zero points? I might have been thest in ss, but at least I passed the threshold for graduation! But right now, Wang Zhong indeed felt as good as zero points, being just a modern person who had only yed war games. He stepped forward, cleared his throat, "The Prussian Army is an elite, modernized force..." General Skorobo interrupted, "We are modernized too! Didn''t you just go on a killing spree thanks to the superiority of our armored forces? We have four regiments of T34 tanks; they''ll give the Prussians a tough time!" Wang Zhong replied, "The T34 is indeed an excellent tank, but its poor design has introduced huge ws. Its tankmander and gunner are the same person, which means duringbat themander has to keep his eyes on the gun sights all the time, with no spare moments to observe the surroundings. "In contrast, all Prussian tanks have a dedicatedmander and are generally equipped with amander''s cup. In tank engagements, they are more likely to spot T34s and take the initiative. "Furthermore, the enemy''s tanks all have radios, their battalion headquarters can issuemands directly to each tank. Duringbat, through radiomunication, each tank can cover each other''s observation blind spots, providing mutual support!" General Skorobo sneered, "Even so, as long as the enemy can''t break through our armor, we are still the ones who will win!" "The strength of tanks is rtive, Your Excellency General!" Wang Zhong stepped forward, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and threw it directly into the bonfire propping up a y pot. The next moment, the bottle shattered, and the alcohol turned into a ze. Several maids hurriedly pushed over a water cart and began to put out the fireit seemed that in order to prevent a fire, the water cart had been prepared in advance. The firefighting water sprayed inrge quantities onto the stewing y pot, seeping into the interior through the pot''s vents. The Grand Patriarch showed an expression of intense pain and frustration. Wang Zhong pointed at the mes that were still stubbornly burning: "Just like this Molotov cocktail, thrown onto the engine cover, could put a tank out of action! Just a single Molotov cocktail!" "Moreover, the enemy will hit our tanks at their weak spots! They will use shells to jam the turret, they will break the tracks!" "Our blind tanks, once their tracks are broken, are utterly unable to respond to approaching infantry! They will be butchered by the enemy like slicing sausage!" General Skorobo retorted sarcastically, "Then we can do the same to the enemy." "What if the enemy doesn''t engage you in a straightforward battle? What if the central Army Group from the north heads south? They could encircle us and cut off the supply from the rear. "Your million-strong army is a voracious monster of resources! When that timees, you''ll surrender without a fight!" General Skorobo: "We would never do that!" Wang Zhong wanted to say more, but General Skorobo added, "If the enemy''s central Army Group heads south, that would be perfect. We''ll just carry out internal maneuver warfare on the vast ins near Argesukov, eliminating the enemy''s central and southern Army Groups on the field, then counterattack and reim our homnd!" The nobles present started pping furiously, with cheers that seemed to discourage Wang Zhong from continuing. Wang Zhong still wanted to argue his case, but the Grand Patriarch put his hand on his shoulder: "Let it be, do what we can and leave the rest to fate. Besides, what he says does sound reasonable." "Theoretical reasoning, it''s all armchair strategy! It will lead to failure, Your Eminence, the troops here will be almost entirely lost, the people here..." "Calm down, we''re already arranging to evacuate the factories, starting with the heavy industry. Once that''s mostly done, we''ll also relocate the food processing and simr civilian factories to the rear," the Grand Patriarch said, patting Wang Zhong''s shoulder, "Right now you just need to rest up and wait for the troops to be replenished." Wang Zhong looked at the Grand Patriarch, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Can my God''s Arrow Company be fully replenished?" "They will arrive tomorrow," the Patriarch answered. Wang Zhong: "Can my Choir be fully replenished?" "They will arrive tomorrow." "Can I be given more of the following wind ears?" "They will arrive tomorrow," the Grand Patriarch said, giving Wang Zhong''s shoulder a firm pat. They will arrive tomorrow? Wang Zhong looked towards the officers who were toasting and ttering each other, and met the gaze of the host of the manor, his own father, the retired General Duke Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, who gave him an encouraging smile as if to say "You''ve done well." Wang Zhong felt a bit of relief. It was truly exhausting. At that moment, General Skorobo proposed, "I think, let''s toast to the uing victory!" The attendees all raised their sses. Wang Zhong didn''t want to raise his, but seeing that Duke Rokossovsky had also raised his, he could only join the toast. After everyone drank up, General Skorobo said, "Oh, yes, there''s another piece of good news. We will soon receive support from four more Army Groups! With this, in facing the enemy before us, we will have a numerical... advantage!" Wang Zhong thought to himself how that could be, it must be that the Front Army had over-optimistically estimated the damage caused to the Prussians, or they had too little intelligence on the enemy. At that time, General Skorobo proudly announced, "The advantage is ours!" Wang Zhong raised his ss and said with "sincerity", "Chairman''s brilliant foresight!" Chapter 145: Chapter 49: Promotion (Extra for Alliance Hierarch) Just as everyone wasvishing praise on General Skorobo, Grand Patriarch Belinsky made a "follow me" gesture to Wang Zhong and walked toward a corner of the garden. Wang Zhong followed without hesitation, while Ludm nced at the two men and chose to stay put. The Patriarch''s guards spread out and formed a security perimeter, and the nobles attending the banquet asionally nced over but quickly averted their eyes. The Crown Prince also asionally looked toward his close friend, his face shing with confusion, probably because he couldn''t understand why the Grand Patriarch would have anything to discuss with his friend, who had never been known for piety. No sooner had Wang Zhong reached behind the Grand Patriarch than he heard him say, "Do you really have to ruin my stew?" "Well, that was the only ce with an open me." The Patriarch shook his head and changed the subject, "You''ve fought well these past few days. Any particr moments stand out to you?" Wang Zhong was puzzled. What did he mean? He wasn''t asking about the insights or lessons from the battle, but rather if there was any memorable moment? What if the most memorable moment for me was seeing my fiance bathed in moonlight? How should I deal with that? Of course, that was just his private grumbling. No matter how beautiful a moonlit fiance was, it couldn''tpare to the experiences and insights gained while walking the line between life and death. Without hesitation, Wang Zhong recounted the despair he felt hiding under the BT7, watching the boots of the Prussian Army all around him. And the shock when he waster rescued by the sweeping charge of the Guardian Army. Of course, there was also the heart-wrenching decision to sacrifice them for the sake of victory. The Grand Patriarch, with a stern face, listened to Wang Zhong''s story, then finally spoke, "I''ve heard many confessions and prayers. If there''s even a trace of falsehood or pretense, I can recognize it instantly. "So I know that everything you saides from the heart, that it''s your true feeling. But I would also like to know, how did youe to terms with it? Or does it mean you''ll never..." Wang Zhong, "As long as I am braver than everyone else, when the timees for me to sacrifice myself for victory, I''ll do so without hesitation. As long as I can do that, I can sacrifice others for victory without any burden." The Grand Patriarch nodded, "Hmm, that''s one way to solve the problem, not a bad approach. I''ll keep an eye on you and hope you don''t betray your beliefs. Well, my leisure time is almost up, go on and enjoy the banquet. Don''t be too tense, indulging in good food and the warmth of ady tonight won''t make the future any worse." Having said that, the Grand Patriarch walked toward the garden''s main gate. The guards immediately closed ranks and followed behind him. Although the Grand Patriarch was initially heading toward the garden''s main gate, after a few steps he saw a maid from the Rokossovsky family about to take away the stew''s y pot and turned to go over. He didn''t mind the heat of the pot, opened the lid immediately, and inhaled the aroma of the stew. The guards came forward to stop him, "Your Highness! This hasn''t been tested for poison!" The Patriarch was conflicted for a while but eventually put the lid back on and stood up straight. Noticing Wang Zhong''s gaze, he exined, "This is a dish full of sunshine and vigor, a true delicacy. But s, my knights won''t allow me to eat it!" He spread his hands and walked away, shaking his head. Curiosity piqued, Wang Zhong was about to go over and take a look at the stew, but the maid quickly threw the stew and the y pot together into a food waste cart. Wang Zhong: .... Ludm came over and took Wang Zhong''s arm, "Come on, the Grand Patriarch already said that enjoying ourselves tonight won''t affect the overall situation. I think you should rx too. Look at your forehead, you''ve got wrinkles." Wang Zhong thought that wrinkles were better than going bald, anyway. But the Grand Patriarch was rightit was better to take the opportunity to rx. Of course, he couldn''t just rx by himself, so Wang Zhong called out to a maid standing nearby, "Hey, you,e here!" The maid jumped, then came over hesitantly, looking scared. Wang Zhong, "Send all of today''s delicacies and drinks to my troops, make sure it''s enough!" Maid, "It''s already been sent, the same as here, and there''s a lot more. The lord personally made sure of it." "The lord took care of it?" Wang Zhong pointedly refused to say "dad," since he had his own father back on Earth. The maid, not noticing the oddity in Wang Zhong''s statement, nodded, "Yes, he personally made sure." Wang Zhong was reassured by this, but then he thought of something new and said, "And send a band over there too!" "A band?" The maid was shocked, as it seemed the lord hadn''t thought to send a band. Wang Zhong nodded, "Yes, a band. ''Wars maye and go, but musicsts forever!''" Maid, "Uh... I''ll go find the steward." Wang Zhong nodded, and the maid quickly turned and ran away as if escaping. Ludm, "You didn''t even touch her this entire time." Wang Zhong, "Should I have?" "No, you shouldn''t, but you used to always touch them, their butts and breasts." Wang Zhong looked down at his own hands, no wonder he would be so proficient! The next day, Wang Zhong came to the troops'' cafeteria early in the morning. He mainly wanted to see how the troops were fed, to ensure it wasn''t an endless supply of pickles. Providing a rich diet for troops can greatly improve morale, which is why every participating Earth nation sought ways to diversify their food. As soon as he entered the dining hall, Wang Zhong spotted Vasily and the others gathered together, sipping oatmeal porridge and munching on sausages, while Dmitry held a sandwich loaded with fried eggs and ham in his hands. Ante''s sandwich wasn''t made with two slices of bread but rather a whole loaf with a hollow carved out to stuff the fillings in, which seemed to be made with quite a hearty amount of ingredients. In front of Filippovy an opened can of fish, which seemed to swell up after fermentationit reminded Wang Zhong of cans of surstr?mming from Earth, though this can didn''t have that impressively pungent odor. It seems pretty decent... While Wang Zhong was observing the soldiers'' dining habits, he noticed that all of his soldiers had risen to their feet: "General!" Wang Zhong waved his hand and made his way to the self-service food counter. Then he saw piles of caviar cans stacked up at the pick-up point. Turning his head, Wang Zhong asked Vasily and the rest, "Why aren''t you guys eating caviar?" Before his transference, when Wang Zhong used to attend buffets that cost over a hundred per person, caviar was always distributed in limited amounts at set times, and each person could only take one te, which merely contained a small precious portion. Vasily frowned, "Tired of it! A few years ago, when caviar first became unlimited in supply, we ate it every day at homespreading caviar on bread, on sausages, mixing it into vegetable sds, it was always about caviar." The other few nodded in agreement. Well, can there be such a thing as too much caviar? Vasily continued, "And champagneI remember champagne used to be so precious when I was a kid, my dad, a professor, would only have a ss after concerts. And then suddenly, champagne became worthless, on the same level as beer." Filippov agreed, "Yes, yes, it happened all of a sudden. I heard that the Tribunal set up a special champagne factory that mass-produces champagne. The wineries posted articles in the newspapers saying the factory-produced stuff was just horse piss, and then they got shut down by the Tribunal." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?" Although the soldiers were tired of it, Wang Zhong had never seen enough caviar to get fed up with it, so he decided to strike while the iron was hot. He opened the first can of caviar. Previously, his impression of caviar was of a slim container that, once opened, revealed just ayer of roegenerally, a can would only contain 10 grams. But this can was something else; upon opening it, he found a heap of roe that looked to be almost 250 grams. Seeing so much caviar, Wang Zhong''s mouth was nearly watering. He wasn''t particrly fond of caviar, but the incessant hype had turned matsutake mushrooms and caviar into symbols of gourmet delicacies, so the sight of a super-sized matsutake or a heap of richly hued caviar would make him drool. The group seated together all noticed Wang Zhong''s expression, and Vasily, representing them, asked, "General, do you have a particr fondness for caviar?" Wang Zhong, "Ah, caviar, and matsutake mushrooms tooI''m quite partial to them." Having said that, he carried his caviar, bread, oatmeal porridge, and Susie''s thick soup over to Vasily''s table, picking up a knife, ready to spread the caviar on his bread Just at that moment, several unfamiliar staff officers walked into the dining hall. From a distance, they spotted Wang Zhong''s brigadier general badges and briskly made their way toward him. The leading colonel saluted and said, "Sorry to interrupt your meal, sir!" Wang Zhong nced at the colonel''s briefcase, then at the uniform being held by the man behind him, and roughly guessed what was happening. To be honest, it was a bit fast. Did the Grand Patriarch do somethingst night? It seems my answer made him really happy? Wang Zhong put down his knife and wiped his hands, "No problem. Official businesses first. What''s the matter?" The colonel took out a document from the briefcase and read, "By order, in consideration of Brigadier General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky''s outstanding performance during the military operations in Loktov from July 6th to July 9th, it is decreed to promote him to the rank of major general." Wang Zhong was an old hand at this and asked after nodding, "And the other order? Surely I''m not expected to manage a pickle warehouse as a major general, am I?" Vasily said, "Maybe they''re putting you in charge of a uniform factory; arge uniform factory really is a division-level unit." Wang Zhong red at Vasily. Vasily, "Shoveling manure, got it." Wang Zhong, "Don''t talk about that while eating!" Colonel, "May I read the order now?" Wang Zhong made a weing gesture. Colonel, "Headquarters ns to form the 151st Temporary Infantry Division..." "Why infantry again!" Wang Zhongined. The colonel nced at him and continued reading the order, "The formation of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division is underway, to bemanded by Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky." After speaking, the colonel stacked the two orders together and handed them to Wang Zhong. Once Wang Zhong had taken them, an ensign carrying a uniform stepped forward and presented Wang Zhong with his major general uniform and rank insignia. Wang Zhong, "Wait a minute, where are the organization chart for my troops and things like the garrison location?" Colonel, "These are currently being confirmed by Division Chief of Staff Pavlov." Ah, I see. Wang Zhong asked further, "Have my staff officers and clerks arrived yet?" "What staff officers?" the colonel looked puzzled, "I''m just the messenger. You''ll need to discuss this with the Division Chief of Staff." Chapter 146: Chapter 1: Reinforcements (The Beginning of a New Volume) After finishing his meal in the dining hall, Wang Zhong had just stepped out when he faced Popov. Popov, "Did you also receive the order?" As he spoke, he noticed Vasilying out with Wang Zhong''s military uniform and new epaulettes and snorted disdainfully, "It seems you did. Then, as my duty as the Military Bishop of the 151st Division, I suggest we assemble every morning before breakfast and tidy up after meals." Vasily frowned, "Do we have to polish our boots again?" Popov, "Not just polish boots. I went to the dormitory today, and some people don''t even fold their nkets! It''s understandable during wartime, and I can toleratex military discipline, but since we''ve entered a rest and replenishment phase, all this needs to be taken care of. It can reduce casualties in the next battle." "Shiny boots can reduce casualties?" Vasily sarcastically challenged. Wang Zhong, "You''re making even me think you''re a pain." "Sorry, General." After silencing Vasily, Wang Zhong said to Popov, "Set it up however you''re nning to do it. The Grand Patriarch told me yesterday that our reinforcements would arrive today. You should get enough Priests to manage them finally." "Today? Are you sure? I haven''t been notified," said Popov, looking skeptical. Wang Zhong, "Just wait and see. I''m going to find Pavlov. Do you know where he might be?" Popov turned and pointed at the small, two-story building situated opposite the concave arrangement of dormitory buildings, "He seems to have set up the headquarters there. I''m not too sure myself; I stayed in the local church dormitoryst night." Wang Zhong, "You didn''t tempt any capable Monks back with you?" "Monks are needed everywhere nowadays. Even ones like Brother Peter are in high demand as air defense watchers," said Popov, looking helpless. "Don''t worry, the Grand Patriarch has explicitly promised me that they will replenish our God''s Arrow Company to its full strength." Wang Zhong was about to speak when he saw a row of trucks waving church gs driving onto the parade ground. So he pointed to the trucks and asked, "Could those be them?" Popov turned around, "Uh... I don''t know, let''s go find out." At that moment, the first truck stopped, and a bunch of civilians jumped down. Wang Zhong, "Bishop, can you exin why a truck with church gs is unloading a bunch of civilians?" Popov gaped like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth vainly without producing a good exnation. By then, the "veteran" soldiers who had finished their meals had also noticed these people, curiously stopping to watch them. Priest-like individuals began to organize them, trying to get the civilians to form ranks simr to a military array. Wang Zhong had a bad feeling, "This couldn''t be the Guardian Army meant for our reinforcement, could it?" Popov clicked his tongue, "With one lowest-ranked Priest per toon, it''s definitely the Guardian Army. They didn''t even get issued equipment?" Wang Zhong, "Never mind the equipment, they don''t even have uniforms. Is the Grand Patriarch ying me?" "You''d best not say that in front of the Judge," Popov cautioned. The trucks, lined up in a row, dropped off their human cargo and drove away. Soon the parade ground was crowded with a dense mass of people, barely able to stand in loose formations by squad, despite the Priests'' efforts to maintain order. Many were still chatting away. Wang Zhong stood at the dining hall door watching this scene, feeling as if he were back in college, on the reviewing stand during the final parade of military training, watching the assembly of freshmen. Is my next task really to lead this group to a brutal battlefield? Vasily, "Even though I''m just a Warrant Officer who hasn''t finished officer training, I can tell that these people need at least six months of training to be reliable soldiers." As soon as the words left his mouth, Yegorov popped out of nowhere, adding, "These recruits can only fire the first shot, then forget they must pull the trigger fully to fire. They''ll just keep re-cocking and ejecting unfired rounds from the chamber." "I''ve had my fill of such new recruits. Why do they send us troops like this?" Wang Zhong turned to Yegorov, "Did you get a promotion?" Yegorov, "No. The bigwigs probably think a civilian like me has to advance to military academy for further promotion. Even though currently the most outstandingmander in the army graduatedst from the military academy." "Uh," Wang Zhong was somewhat embarrassed, "I''m just the most outstandingmander of the Front Army." Yegorov, "It''s all the same. I think you should go find Pavlov first, get these people equipped. Then we can immediately start teaching them how to shoot, so at least in battle, they can shoot into the sky to boost morale." Wang Zhong, "I was nning to see Pavlov. You can take care of these new recruits." Wang Zhong found Pavlov in themand headquarters'' empty map room, directing the two trainees assigned to him to update the maps. "Did you see the... reinforcements outside?" Pavlov nced out the window, "I see them now." He seemed a bit in denial. Wang Zhong, "These people need guns, ammunition, and uniforms." Pavlov, "It is said that outside Argesukov lives a Witch who can grant any wish for a part of one''s body. I suggest you give it a try." Wang Zhong, thinking that if God-guided missiles existed then such a Witch might not be too strange, responded, "Fine, where can I find her?" Pavlov rolled his eyes in exasperation, "I was being sarcastic! Do you understand sarcasm? There is no such Witch, and I''m not a sorcerer!" He took off his round sses with shaky hands and mmed his pencil down on the map, "This is exasperating! Where are my staff officers? My clerks? My ountants? Do you have any idea how many people at least are needed in a division''s headquarters to keep the whole division operating? "No, you don''t! All you do is drive your little tank and beat up the Prussians on the battlefield!" ``` "I came to Argesukov hoping that with so many clerical staff, I could finally have a normally operating division headquarters! But now, I still have to personally direct the map updates!" Ante''s overallnguage style tends to be quite soft, but because of Pavlov''s tone, Wang Zhong always felt as if he was listening to Prussiananguage with many explosive sounds, so normal speech sounds like quarreling. Wang Zhong felt overwhelmed and subconsciously said, "Uh, sorry, please calm down..." Just as he spoke, there was the sound of brakes from outside, indicating a car had stopped at the division headquarters'' entrance. However, from where he stood, he couldn''t see the car. Pavlov nced outside and asked with suspicion, "What''s this now? Why are there so many girls?" "Girls?" Wang Zhong''s interest piqued, and he walked to the window to look out. Indeed, many girls were getting down from the truck, curiously looking around the division headquarters. They saw the red g hanging at the division headquartersyes, the one that Wang Zhong had previously hung on the aerial of tank 422. "Is this the ce?" "Yes, the red g." Wang Zhong and the Chief of Staff exchanged looks, both very puzzled. Wang Zhong: "Well, let''s go out and ask." Saying this, he was the first to head outside, with Pavlov immediately following. Once outside, Wang Zhong called out directly, "Ladies, what are you here for?" The girls, who were originally curiously looking around, all turned their attention to Wang Zhong. One of the more daring ones asked, "Are you Major General Rocossov?" Wang Zhong: "Though I haven''t had time to switch to the rank of major general, yes, that is me. And you are?" "We are typists and clerks, sent here by the church''s recruitment office, they said you needed us here." Wang Zhong immediately turned to Pavlov: "Your clerks have arrived!" The Chief of Staff frowned: "Why are they all women?" The same woman who had spoken before replied, "Because all the men have taken up arms." That made perfect sense! Pavlov scratched his head: "Alright, which of you has experience as a warehouse inventory clerk? Come stand over here, those who have studied ounting, stand over there..." "I''m a student at Argesukov University," a girl raised her hand, "and so are several of us. Although we don''t have the experience, we can learn. We''re quite good at that." Pavlov nodded: "Good, that''s the best news I''ve heard this morning." Wang Zhong felt that this man seemed to have aged backwards in an instant, and the anxiety that was hanging around him also seemed to lighten. Pavlov: "I''ll assign you work..." At that moment, two more GAZ trucks arrived and stopped at the entrance of the division headquarters. This time, the ones getting off were elderly men. A man with arge beard was the first to step up to the entrance, giving Wang Zhong a rather sloppy military salute: "Good day, General sir. May I ask if this is the division headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, it is. And you are?" "Ah, I am a member of the academicmittee of Argesukov University. The university has been relocated, and only the professors and current students will go to the rear. We are staying to serve our country." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: "You... Are you a Level 6 Clerk?" "To be precise, an Imperial Level 6 Civil Officer. Yes, I am indeed of this grade. Why do you ask?" Wang Zhong turned excitedly to Pavlov and pointed at the old man: "Your Level 6 Clerk has arrived!" Pavlov, with a frown, sized up the old man: "Sir, we are a field unit." "Is that so? But if these youngdies can work in a field unit, I think I can too," said the old academicmittee member. Wang Zhong: "Enough Pavlov, my Chief of Staff, you have your people now, hurry up and get the new recruits'' equipment and uniforms! We can hand out equipment this morning and teach them how to shoot by the afternoon. We''re short on time!" Pavlov: "Even if we have people, it''s not possible to produce equipment that quickly. "You''re pestering me here. It would be better to plunder from the local supply depotrequest a bit. If you''re the one requesting, remember to get us some GAZ trucks as well. If no trucks, mules and horse-drawn carts will do. "Also, we need civilianborers, two for everybatant, understand?" Wang Zhong nodded: "Right! Huh? I''m the superior officer here! Why are you giving me orders?" "I''m just making suggestions, it''s the duty of the Chief of Staff to make suggestions. Whether or not to ept them is the decision of themanding officer. But I also have to tell you the consequences of not epting..." Another truck stopped in front of the division headquarters, and a group of officers bearing staff badges got off. "The red g," Wang Zhong heard someone say, "this must be the ce." Wang Zhong to Pavlov: "Now you have your people, no more taking it out on me! I''m off to the supply depot to raidapply for supplies!" ``` Chapter 147: Chapter 2: The Cannon and the Seal Wang Zhong was just about to leave the headquarters when he saw from a distance that the 31st Guards Regiment and the Fifth Byeshensk Regiment were assembling, while the armored troops gathered nearby to watch the excitement. So, Wang Zhong decided to go over and see what was happening too. There was no helping it; he had nevermanded so many troops before, and now he felt a bit like he was ying a simtion management game, strolling around his territory with satisfaction after working hard for so longthis was probably the feeling. By the time he reached the edge of the parade ground, the remaining infantry of the Rocossov Combat Group had already assembled and were standing opposite the newly arrived Guardian Army. Pavlov stood between the two groups with a megaphone and shouted, "These are the remaining infantry of the Rocossov Combat Group; they will be your instructors. You will train with your current organization for now! "After all, the division headquarters doesn''t have the time topile new rosters right now, and we don''t know whichpanies you will be assigned to, so it''s simpler to train this way. "Right now, if you go to the front lines, you''ll quickly turn into fertilizer! You wouldn''t be of any use at all! The instructors will teach you basic tactical movements, basic skills!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that being an instructor was a good thing, and after giving it some thought, it was actually quite beneficial. First of all, dispersing troops to act as instructors meant there was no need for new rostersPavlov''s division was currently busy absorbing new members, and it might take a few days before they could get down to that task. Secondly, instructors only needed one gun to demonstrate all operations, and with five guns, they could let the recruits practice in turns, so the demands on supplies were rtively low. One had to say, Pavlov had experience. Pavlov began to allocate instructors to each member of the Guardian Army with a roster in hand. At this time, the armored troops who were spectating nearby spotted Wang Zhong and hastily straightened their uniforms and lined up. Wang Zhong waved his hand, "Alright, there''s no need to line up every time you see me." Everyone rxed, and then Gunner Alexander Yefimovich from Vehicle 422 asked, "We heard that you''ve been promoted to Major General, so why are you still wearing the insignia of a Brigadier General?" Wang Zhong replied, "I haven''t had the chance to change it; you all know I don''t have any orderlies right now, so I''ll have to go back to the barracks and change it myselfter." Alexander then asked, "We heard that the new troops you''remanding is an Infantry Division, so what about us? You''re not going to hand us over to another general, are you? Just to make it clear, the Crown Prince requested that we always follow you, and even if you transfer the troops, you shouldn''t transfer us. "I heard that the Prosen troops have a tank toon in their division headquarters; I think we can learn from the enemy''s advanced experiences." The other crew members became anxious: "How is one toon enough!" "Absolutely, an armoredpany is needed to ensure security when facing the enemy!" "Don''t abandon us, General!" Wang Zhong reassured them, "You don''t have to worry, no one is going to snatch my troops from me! Not a soul! I, Aleksei, always take in but never let go! Not only are you not going anywhere, I need to bring over a whole Armored Battalion." An Infantry Division with an Armored Battalion was quite normal, wasn''t it? If this were a game, mixing an Armored Battalion into an Infantry Division would bring a heap of bonuses! The armored soldiers seemed much more at ease. "That''s good then, other generals would just send us to our deaths." "Yeah, the generals above us know nothing but to order us to unch an attack''. I feel like they have no clue about how to use armored troops." "Exactly! Our original 23rd Tank Army is gone, without any significant military achievements. General, with just one ambush, you achieved more than our entire army." Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, "Really? Did the 23rd Army really have no achievements?" Several armored soldiers who had transferred from the 23rd Army''s BT tanks shook their heads together, "Most were eliminated by the Prosen Air Force; on the rare asion we encountered the enemy''s armored forces, they were destroyed from distances over 1000 meters, without ever getting close to the enemy." Wang Zhong sighed; even though the BT series tanks were technically behind the enemy''s Mark III and IV, the news of an entire tank army being wiped out still pained him. Give memand, and I could achieve some sessthis was his thought. At that moment, the Tank Operators from the former 23rd Army suggested, "Ask for more tank troops, General; at least they can be more effective under yourmand! They won''t die in vain!" The other Tank Operators nodded in agreement, "Right, General!" Wang Zhong, overwhelmed by the ttery, waved his hand and made his escape. He was aware of his own capabilities and perhaps one day, in the future, he might unhesitatingly ept such praise. But the current Wang Zhong couldn''t presume to do so, feeling it was undeserved. When Wang Zhong returned to the suite in the eastern wing of the manor, Ludm had already ironed the new general''s uniform and even sprinkledvender essence on it. Wang Zhong frowned slightly, "I''m a general; isn''t the scent ofvender a bit odd?" Ludm retorted, "You don''t understand, once you smoke, the smell of the smoke and this essence will mix and it will be great. It''s a clever trick taught to me by my father himself." Wang Zhong asked, "When did he teach you that?" "Before I went to Saint Ekaterina Fortress, he thought I would definitely meet a man there, so I needed to know these things. Too bad I never had the chance to use it." Wang Zhong uttered an "Oh." "Come here!" Ludmmanded with an irrefutable tone as she picked up the coat. Wang Zhong had no choice but to approach and let his fiance fuss over him. About fifteen minutester, he stood in front of the mirror in his spotless new military uniform. Ludmmented, "Fewer decorations. Look at the other generals; they at least have a sash, and you are all modesty!" She gestured across Wang Zhong''s chest. Wang Zhong shrugged, "I''m not fighting for medals." "I know," Ludm said softly as she kissed Wang Zhong''s cheek, "Okay! Now you can go and be busy with your things!" Wang Zhong: "Grigori!" His guard immediately came in through the door, still carrying that captured Prosen submachine gunhe really seemed to like that weapon. Wang Zhong: "Prepare the jeep, we''re going to the logisticsmand." Grigori brought his heels together as a substitute for a salute, closed the door, and left. Ludm: "Didn''t your father say he would help you allocate troops?" Wang Zhong: "You''re calling him ''Dad'' already? Isn''t that a bit hasty?" Ludm: "Okay, didn''t Uncle Konstantin say he would help you allocate troops?" Wang Zhong: "The old man is retired; what he allocates might not be practical." At this moment, the voice of the Crown Prince came from outside: "Alyosha, my friend!" Wang Zhong turned and went out to the corridor where he met the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, good morning, how did you sleepst night?" The Crown Prince gave a thumbs up: "It''s a pity you didn''te, there was someck of variety!" So, I was responsible for providing variety in Crown Prince''s team? The Crown Prince: "Let''s go to the salon today. I know that Lady Ekaterina is holding a salon this afternoon, and all the youngdies in town will be there!" Wang Zhong: "No, I am a divisionmander; I''m going to secure supplies and equipment for my troops." "Ahahaha!"ughed the Crown Prince loudly, "You are a divisionmander! Huh? You''ve be a divisionmander? Shouldn''t you be taking care of storage? Yesterday you were quite confrontational with General Skorobo." Wang Zhong: "Take a look at my epaulets, there are two beans now." The Crown Prince blinked: "Is that true? Holy moly, those really are pentagon stars. From a distance, I thought it was just a star-shaped pattern; that''s how they make the fake ranks. Then you definitely should go to Lady Ekaterina''s salon, war hero! The youngdies will fall for you!" Actually, Wang Zhong was quite curious to see this ''falling for him'' in practice, but getting equipment was the priority. Wang Zhong: "So, I''m sorry Your Highness, but I have to get to work." The Crown Prince stepped back, looking Wang Zhong up and down: "What''s happened to you? You''re not like yourself!" Wang Zhong: "I was hit by a 381mm shell from the enemy''s battleship. Over a hundred people in the church, only Sergey and I survived. So, my head''s a bit messed up." The Crown Prince shook his head: "I went to see Sergey, and he seems fine! He also said that you peed your pants in battle and insisted on exchanging trousers with him!" Damn it, can I just go and shoot this Sergey! Ludm turned to the side. Wang Zhong: "Which hospital is Sergey in?" The Crown Prince: "He''s staying at the Duke dimir''s house." Wang Zhong remembered, Sergei Nikyevich Romanov was the Duchess''s man-toy, now that the Duchess was a widow, it made sense to take him back home. The Crown Prince: "Want to go see him? The Duchess also quite wants to see you, who survived that disaster, and she''s nning a dance tonight..." Wang Zhong: "No, I don''t have time. Apart from equipment, I have other ces to go, I''m very busy today." His other task today was to be a postman. Argesukov, 43 Krugen Street, Alexeyevna, the letter had to be delivered to thisdyprobably ady. The Crown Prince shook his head: "You''ve changed, you''re not Alyosha, who are you?" Ludm stepped forward: "Who else could he be? He''s Alyosha!" The Crown Prince suddenly became a bit hysterical: "That''s impossible! Alyosha and I are the same, we''re both prodigals! We should be living the high life together! I can''t ept this outstanding soldier you''ve be! I cannot ept it!" Seeing the Crown Prince on the verge of breakdown, Wang Zhong quickly soothed him: "Your Highness, look, when you graduated from the military academy, your scores were higher than mine. What I can do, you can also do; there''s no need to look down on yourself!" The Crown Prince didn''t reply but after a few seconds of silence, he turned and left: "I will tell Lady Ekaterina that the war hero is too busy and doesn''t want to grace her with his presence. You go be busy with your things." Wang Zhong: "Your Highness, could you lend me your seal or something?" The Crown Prince stopped, turned, and looked at Wang Zhong: "What?" Wang Zhong: "The seal! Look, Her Royal Highness used your seal to send me tanks and heavy artillery, right? So... I can also use the seal, can''t I?" Ludm frantically tugged at the hem of Wang Zhong''s clothes. The Crown Princeughed: "I see, you and she are in cahoots! How did I not see thising! Fine, I''ll give it to you!" Saying so, the Crown Prince took off the ring, which doubled as a personal seal, and threw it to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong caught the ring and saluted the Crown Prince as if he were an officer: "I salute you, Your Highness!" "Save it!" said the Crown Prince, waving his hand before turning to leave. Chapter 148: Chapter 3: Suggestions from the Logistics Commander (Alliance Hierarch Added Bonus) Although the Crown Prince turned to leave, Wang Zhong and Ludm still followed him to the front door of the main building''s east wing. On the one hand, it was basic etiquette to see royalty out. On the other hand, Wang Zhong had to leave as well, and there was no second exit in the east wingjumping out a window was out of the question. At the door, the Crown Prince turned around and looked at Wang Zhong, "I have a question. After this war ends, can we drink as freely as before?" Wang Zhong, "Of course, after we win this war, we''ll drink day and night." The Crown Prince nodded, and at that moment, the jeep that came to pick him up had arrived. So he walked down the steps and got into the vehicle, then turned back to smile at Wang Zhong. The car started up and slowly drove away. Then Grigori drove up in a jeep, stopping in front of the door. Wang Zhong bid farewell to Ludm, opened the door, and got into the vehicle. Ludm hesitated for a moment before she said, "Deputy Knight Yeca Neiko said I could have a day off today, may I join?" Wang Zhong thought it over, it didn''t seem to be a big problem, and he was going to see the families of deceased soldierster, so having a girl by his side would helpfort the female family members. So he nodded, and Ludm immediately beamed with joy, hurrying over to get into the car. Wang Zhong cautioned, "Don''t cling to my armter, I''m in uniform! I need to maintain the dignity of a general!" Ludm saluted, "Yes, General!" Only then did Wang Zhong nod and said to Grigori, "Let''s go, to the Argesukov logisticsmand building first." ---- The logisticsmand building was actuallyrger than the fertilizer nt building they used as a frontlinemand center in Loktov, looking like it could hold out for a long time. In the courtyard of the building, there were anti-aircraft gun positions, but Wang Zhong highly doubted the significance of setting up anti-aircraft guns here. If enemy nes were to bomb the logistics headquarters, they would have dropped bombs already, and these guns wouldn''t be effective at all. Grigori bypassed the anti-aircraft gun positions and stopped in front of themand building. The guard immediately stepped forward and saluted Wang Zhong, "Please show your identification!" Wang Zhong replied while taking out his identification, "It was checked when I entered, why is it being checked again here?" The guard responded emotionlessly, "It''s the request of Major General Chekhov, the stationmander." Wang Zhong didn''t say much; in times like these with mixed crowds, one couldn''t be sure if there were saboteurs or spies, it was no big mistake to be cautious. After showing his identification, Wang Zhong got out of the car and walked towards the headquarters, finding a huge ckboard in the lobby of the first floor with the main functions of each floor listed. Wang Zhong looked but didn''t find Major General Chekhov''s office, so he asked the guard who had checked the ID, "Where is Major General Chekhov?" "The Major General is usually in the allocation department. His office and the ounting staff are located together." Wang Zhong looked at the ckboard for the allocation department''s location, and strode towards the staircase. The allocation department was reached quickly. Wang Zhong knocked on the door and soon a man with sses and a clerical shoulder strap opened it, "General, whom are you looking for?" Wang Zhong, "I am looking for Major General Chekhov. The guard told me his office was together with the allocation department." Before the clerk could answer, a shout came from inside the room, "Send him down to the first floor to get a form! After it''s filled out and stamped, submit it at the application desk on the first floor. Really, each of them keeps running to my office, I''ve moved out of it and yet they keeping!" Wang Zhong, "Will there be a problem if I use the personal seal of the Crown Prince for the application form and stamp?" The voice inside came to an abrupt halt. Five secondster, a tall man with a stern face pushed aside the clerk, opened the door wide, "The banquet supplies are not applied for here, go to the granary!" Looking at the ranks, this was Major General Chekhov. Wang Zhong, "I need weapons and ammunition, and uniforms. I just received a few thousand new soldiers today, all without weapons or military clothes! Do you want the new recruits to fight in their own clothes?" Major General Chekhov looked incredulous, "The Crown Prince is going to fight personally? What unit are you? Royal Guards? I haven''t heard of you taking any losses?" Wang Zhong, "I am Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky,mander of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division. My Guards 31st Regiment and the Fifth Byeshensky Regiment have suffered heavy losses, and we''ve just received several thousand reinforcements. Do I make myself clear?" Major General Chekhov frowned, reassessing Wang Zhong, "You''re that reformed Rokossovsky? Hmm, you do look battle-worn, not a fake. But you still need to fill out the application form, how else would we know what you need? Ivan! Bring the application forms! Form number 34!" Wang Zhong, "Can''t we make an exception for special circumstances? I do have the stamp of the Crown Prince." Chekhov, "This is already an exception. Once you''ve filled out the form, the allocation staff here will check where the supplies are and then issue release and transport orders. Normally, you should get your supplies the day after tomorrow. "That is, if we have them here." Wang Zhong, "Not until the day after tomorrow?" "What, are you heading out to face the enemy tomorrow?" Major General Chekhov retorted. Wang Zhong, "Ah no, I was justmenting the slow process. Is there no clerk avable to help me write this out?" "Look around, see any clerks free?" Wang Zhong looked into the room and saw the entire space filled with a pre-update night of a mobile gamepany''s buzz of activity. Ludm said, "Let me write, you can just dictate." At this moment, the clerk who had opened the door came over with a stack of application forms. Chekhov cursed, "And the inventory ledger! Do you expect the major general to pull a list out of thin air?" Two minutester, a thick stack of forms was in Ludm''s hands, and Wang Zhong was given an inventory summary as thick as an encyclopedia. Luckily, there were a bunch of tags next to the inventory, allowing them to quickly flip to the corresponding pages ording to the initials of the needed materials. Chekhov pointed to the desk next to his own, "That desk is for ''special handling tasks''; you fill it out!" Good lord, it seems there are no small number of people handling special tasks every day! Ludm immediately pulled out the chair in front of the desk, tested the pen on a notepad beside her, and then looked toward Wang Zhong with a look that indicated she was ready. Wang Zhong, on the other hand, flipped to the anti-tank gun page and read, "ZIS-3 anti-tank gun..." Chekhov, "Hold on, does your division have an anti-tank battalion?" Wang Zhong, "No, but this is not..." "Then you should go to the Front Army headquarters and request a battalion. It''s much simpler than requesting guns from me to form a battalion. Do you know how many tanks, ammunition carriers, and mules and horses a 2000-person battalion requires? If you apply for everything from me, you''ll probably fill up half of that stack of forms you''re holding." Wang Zhong thought about it, and it seemed to make sense. Major General Chekhov, "My suggestion is that you first apply for weapons, machine guns, mortars, military clothing, military boots, and other misceneous items to arm the two infantry regiments. "Then go to themand to request guns, anti-tank artillery battalions or regiments, and howitzer regiments. If you get those, they''lle fully equipped and manned." Wang Zhong with his chin propped up, "So we shouldn''t just grab the equipment, but also snatch the troops. Is that what you mean?" Major General Chekhov, "Pretty much. Actually, that''s the optimal solution. You already have the Crown Prince''s seal. As long as you don''t snatch troops under another division''smand and keep an eye on those unaffiliated units, you should be fine! "A lot of these unaffiliated technical weapon units under Argesukov''smand are waiting to be incorporated into some newly formed division." Wang Zhong, "You mean, I''vee to the wrong ce?" "We still need uniforms and rifles." Ludm interjected, "Okay, I have filled out the rifle form. Do I just give it to the clerk over there?" The clerk, "Fill out another form for ammunition. Rifles alone won''t cut it. Additionally, I suggest filling out a form for gun cleaning kits as well." Wang Zhong, "Right, fill out the form for the trucks too..." Major General Chekhov, "You should go to themand and request an unassigned motor battalion. A battalion''s worth of trucks could supply a division. I mean, if they''re running non-stop!" Ludm, "I''ve filled out the bullets, is this number enough?" Major General Chekhov nced at it and said, "Double it, trust me, double it and you''ll have the bare minimum." Ludm quickly corrected it, handed it to the clerk, and started filling in the uniform details. At this point, the clerk brought the first form back to Wang Zhong, "We''ve stamped it on our part, it needs the Crown Prince''s seal; the ink is right here." Wang Zhong took out the ring, pressed the face of the ring into the ink, even shuffled it back and forth, and then pressed it firmly onto the form. Major General Chekhov looked at the military clothing form Ludm was filling out and said, "Later, fill out a form for cloth bags as well. The soldiers need cloth bags for their personal belongings, which they can ce at their rest area before advancing to the front line." Wang Zhong, "You... you''re quite experienced." Major General Chekhov, "I''ve been in charge of logistics since the civil war; I''m clear on all this. I''m not one of those generals who just boast without being responsible for specific military affairs." Wang Zhong nodded and handed over the thick inventory ledger directly to Major General Chekhov, "Then please, an experienced major general, tell us what we need to im." The major general looked at Wang Zhong with a "does your old man at home know how shameless you are?" expression, but still took the ledger and began going through the materials based on his experience. Wang Zhong stood there holding the Crown Prince''s ring, waiting to stamp the seal. When the clock on the wall struck 12 noon, Chekhov closed the ledger, "That should be it. We''ll arrange transportation to your station after all these items are out of storage. They should arrive in the next day or two." Wang Zhong, "Alright, we''re off to the Front Army headquarters to request troops!" Major General Chekhov hesitated for a moment and said, "Did you talk back to Major General Skorobost night?" Wang Zhong, "Yes... but, it was the Grand Patriarch who asked me to exin the situation and give my opinion." "Then it''s best if you avoid Major General Skorobo at the Front Army headquarters and go directly to the Front Army Chief of Staff. He''s more approachable, and if he really has the troops you need, he''ll give them to you." Wang Zhong, "Understood, thank you." With that, Wang Zhong saluted Chekhov. Chekhov returned the salute, "Just one more thing, don''t reveal at the Front Army headquarters that I did this special favor for you! Major General Skorobo is rather petty." Wang Zhong, "Aren''t you afraid of him finding out by saying that about him? There are so many people here." Major General Chekhovughed, "I''ve never gotten along with him. We enlisted the same year, and now I''m just a logisticsmander while he''s a Front Army major general. I heard that before the war His Majesty the Tsar had considered promoting him to Marshal." Wang Zhong thought there might not be a chance for that now. Since the minor conflict down south, the entire southwestern Front Army had relied on hope. Major General Chekhov escorted Wang Zhong and Ludm to the door, repeating his advice, "Go find the Chief of Staff, don''t let Major General Skorobo see you!" "Thank you, we will." Wang Zhong waved his hand. Chapter 149: Chapter 4: 43 Kruger Street When Wang Zhong arrived at the headquarters, he reminded himself to avoid General Skorobo, so before entering the map room, he made sure to take care of the guards and peeked through the slightly ajar door. Then he saw the Front Army Chief of Staff, the Front Army Bishop, and General Skorobo together. At the door, he could hear them discussing the situation. General Skorobo: "The idiot son of the Rokossovsky family really has no military sense! If the enemy''s heavy forces to our north were to head south, wouldn''t our forces in front of them attack? It''spletely unreasonable!" Damn, they''re still discussing my statement from yesterday, thought Wang Zhong, better not go in and further provoke General Skorobo. Just as he was about to leave, someone from inside opened the door that was slightly ajar, and the staff officer shouted, "Who''s eavesdropping?" Great, even this little crack in the door didn''t escape notice. Upon seeing it was Wang Zhong, the staff officer was stunned for a moment, then said to the guard by the door, "Why didn''t you let the Major Generale in?" Guard: "Reporting, the Major General told me not to make a fuss!" Wang Zhong felt extremely awkward: "Um, I didn''t want to disturb the normal operations of the headquarters." At this point, General Skorobo called out, "Isn''t this our military genius, Major General Rokossov? What ''Takami'' insight brings you here?" Wang Zhong: "I don''t have any ''Takami'' insight, I am here to..." He looked at the Chief of Staff C ording to Major General Chekhov''s words, the Chief of Staff was a good man, not like General Skorobo. But wouldn''t it be too obvious to directly say he was looking for the Chief of Staff? Wang Zhong was hesitating when the Chief of Staff spoke, "Are you here to request troops?" "Uh, yes!" Since the man had addressed it directly, Wang Zhong shamelessly admitted it. Chief of Staff: "We do have some scattered forces newly transferred from the rear that haven''t been assigned to reinforce any division yet. It would be reasonable to assign these forces to your newly-formed temporary 151st Division." "Unreasonable!" General Skorobo interrupted the Chief of Staff, "Those precious forces should be given to real soldiers! I''ve heard, Rokossov, that you wet yourself on the battlefield!" Fucking hell, how does everyone know? Sergey, I''m going to kill you! General Skorobo continued to mock, "Do you believe someone who wet himself on the battlefield could achieve those battle results? No, I simply don''t believe it!" Chief of Staff: "But the Prussians also have a high regard for Rokossov..." "The Prussians have high regard for the White Horse General! This guy just happened to have a white horse, and he took the credit for the achievements! The real White Horse General must have died long ago!" Chief of Staff: "Enemy 15th Tank Division''smander Lundorf died at Loktov, and at that time, it was Brigadier General Rokossov who was conducting the defense there. The previous situation at Peniye also matches up." General Skorobo pursed his lips, and his sanitary beard really looked like "that someone" on Earth when he did so. After pondering for a few seconds, the general answered, "Even if it''s true, that would only prove he''s an excellent tactician! Strategic matters, being more theoretical, wouldn''t be understood by someone who rankedst in a military academy!" Wang Zhong: "Since you''ve acknowledged me as a tactician, shouldn''t you fill up my division with troops? Wouldn''t a tactician be just right tomand a division?" Chief of Staff: "What forces do you need?" Before General Skorobo could speak, Wang Zhong raised his voice, "I want a motor transport battalion, amunicationspany, an anti-tank gun battalion, andborers!" "As forborers," the Front Army Bishop spoke up, "you should go to the church. The church is organizing Labor Camps, as well asundry and cooking squads; all personnel rted to logistics can be requested from the church, as the Secr faction has a closer connection to the people and stronger mobilization capabilities." So that''s how it is,borers and logistics can be requested from the church C back at Loktov, Pavlov had taken care of logistics, and Wang Zhong was not aware of this. Wang Zhong: "Then, what about the anti-tank guns..." "No way!" General Skorobo bellowed, "Even if it''s a 45 mm anti-tank gun, don''t even think about getting one!" Chief of Staff: "We''re about to counterattack soon anyway, what harm will it do to give him a battalion of such defensive weapons?" General Skorobo looked at the Chief of Staff, "Are you siding with him? Do you really believe those exaggerated achievements he boasts of? If he had destroyed six hundred tanks, the enemy confronting us would be too blunted to use by now!" Wang Zhong felt wronged in his heart, I truly never imed to have destroyed six hundred enemy tanks. General Skorobo turned to Wang Zhong, "In any case, if you wantborers or whatever, go to the church! For a motor transport battalion, too, go to the church! I won''t give you a single soldier or piece of technical weaponry! These precious weapons mustn''t fall into the hands of someone who''s just toying around!" Great, now I''m just toying around. At that moment, Wang Zhong was very angry and wanted to hit General Skorobo in the face with a punch. In the past, he might have done just that. But now, he couldn''t do something that could cause him to lose hismand. The high ranks of the Ante Army were like this, full of vermin, and losingmand would be like pushing his troops into the fire. Wang Zhong, holding back his anger, saluted General Skorobo, "Thank you for your assessment, then I shall take my leave." As he turned around, he heard Skorobo shout, "Guard! Remember, Major General Rokossov is not to be let in without an appointment!" The Front Army Chief of Staff reminded, "Our staff department also has his brother, Brigadier General Rokossov, it would be inappropriate not to let him in as well, right?" General Skorobo cursed something, inaudible to Wang Zhong. Once outside and on the jeep, Ludm asked, "What do we do now?" Wang Zhong: "First, let''s go to the church for the Labor Camp,undry and cooking squads, and also for the army tailors and cksmiths." If the troops had arge number of mules and horses, then it would be necessary to have cksmiths to maintain the horseshoes, and if a horseshoe were lost, the cksmith would need to forge a new one. From the driver''s seat, Grigori turned back to confirm, "To the local church?" Wang Zhong nodded. Ludm smiled, "This afternoon we just might end up touring all the departments under Argesukov''s jurisdiction." At the church, things went incredibly smoothly, perhaps due to prior arrangements by the Grand Patriarch C suddenly arge group of several thousand logistics personnel were marching majestically towards the Rokossovsky Estate. However, the motorized unit still hadn''te out, only arge group of drivers volunteering for military service had arrived. Contentedly leaving the church, Wang Zhong asked Grigori, "Do you know the way to 43 Krugen Street?" "I asked around beforehand," Grigori replied, "though I''ve never actually been there. Maybe when we get there, we can ask someone for directions." Wang Zhong said, "Then let''s go." 43 Krugen Street was a multi-story apartment building, constructed of brick and stone, and looked to have quite a few years on it. The iron sign above the apartment entrance was embossed with "Marazov Apartment," although the Marazov name had been smeared over with paint. Wang Zhong personally pushed open the door to the apartment and saw a room to the left of the corridor, resembling a concierge''s office, where an olddy was sitting inside knitting a sweater. Just as he was about to speak, Ludm stepped forward and gently tapped the bell on the windowsill. Apanied by a crisp sound, the olddy lifted her head, her gaze lingering on the stars on Wang Zhong''s uniform for a few seconds, "Hello, General, whose child has died this time?" Wang Zhong was silenced by this remark. It seemed that casualty notifications were often delivered to the apartmenttely. Seeing Wang Zhong not speak, the olddy added, "Having a General deliver the notice means the deceased must have been a hero, right?" Wang Zhong suddenly realized and nodded, "Yes, a very brave hero." "That''s good, every death should prompt those who live on to lead better lives!" Wang Zhong always felt the olddy had something about her, able to talk philosophically off the cuff. He decided to get straight to the point and took out the blood-stained letter that had been in his pocket, reading the address on it, "Argesukov, Krugen Street, Alexeyevna. Do you know a woman by this name?" "I''m sorry, deathes too suddenly, I wasn''t able to ask about the identity of this Alexeyevna or how old she might be." The concierge room olddy sighed, put down her needlework, found her reading sses and put them on before answering, "She''s 73 this year, her three sons, one big, one middle, one small, all went off to war. So which one is it that has died?" Wang Zhong reported the gunner''s name. The olddy said, "So it''s the youngest that has died, give me the letter." Wang Zhong asked, "You are Alexeyevna, aren''t you?" "Who else could I be?" the olddy''s voice held no grief; she just calmly took the bloodied letter. Unable to help herself, Ludm asked, "You...are not sad?" The olddy replied, "I''m used to it by now. During the civil war, my husband, my brothers, they all died in battle. I''m quite adept at receiving casualty notifications. Yesterday, Sarapova from apartment 306 was crying so hard. All I wanted to tell her was that with war, the sooner you get used to such things, the better." While speaking, the olddy had already opened the letter, briefly scanning it before saying, "He still got the tense wrong, hopeless as ever." After keeping the letter, she looked up at Wang Zhong, "My youngest son is so poor at expressing himself, this entire letter doesn''t convey as much as the bloodstains on it. "Kind General, do you know how he died?" Wang Zhong''s mind immediately went to the moment the gunner died. "It seems you know," said the olddy, "What a surprise. Tell me, kind General!" Wang Zhong couldn''t refuse the olddy''s request and started to recount the day''s battle, remembering the moment when an armor-piercing shell hit them, the gunner was still shouting, "The loader has sacrificed himself, hurry and get someone to load!" Finally, he told her how he had urged for the firing to start quickly, only to look down and realize, except for Su Fang who had just joined as a loader, everyone else inside the turret was dead. Ludm''s face was filled with sorrow, "So that''s how it was. It''s the first time I''ve heard you talk aboutbat on the front lines." The olddy looked at Wang Zhong with a gentle face, suddenly stood up and poured a cup of tea for Wang Zhong, "General, you need this more than I do. Drink it, this is red date tea I made myself, it can soothe sorrow." With both hands, Wang Zhong cradled the teacup and took a sip. "Anyway, your son died very bravely, he did it for... for protecting the mothend, for protecting..." The olddy softly recited: "All life in this world must eventually face death. "Given this, to protect the ashes of our ancestors and the temples of the gods; "To die fighting against a powerful enemy holds the utmost value. "For the mothers who once doted on us, "For the wives who now nurture our children, "For the pure maidens who kindle the eternal me. "To shield everyone from the debauchery of the vile viin Sextus, "How glorious is such a death?" Wang Zhong happened to know this "Heracles at the Bridge," and joined in reciting, "Mighty Consul, please take down the bridge quickly. "Let''s hold back the thousand enemies upying the bridge with just three men! "Come on, which two brave souls will stand by me to guard the bridge?" The olddy said, "Yes, my son was as brave as the ancient heroes; knowing this is enough." The olddy gazed at Wang Zhong and topped up the hot tea in his cup. Wang Zhong took a sip, finding the tea bitter with a hint of sweetness. The olddy said, "You have many more matters to attend to, right? After all, the invaders are still rampant on ournds. Go now, General. I am just an olddy who can knit sweaters in an apartment, other than sending off my children to the battlefield, there''s not much left I can do for Ante''s mothers. But you still can!" Wang Zhong took another sip of tea, set the cup down, and turned to leave. He did not look back. Chapter 150: Chapter 5 "Thanks to Old Rocossov for the Rocket Boost On the way back to the garrison, Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, contemting where to acquire anti-tank artillery. The infantry divisioncked anti-tank artillery, and close-quartersbat was a meat grinder, yet the Prussian infantry were no slouches either. Previously in Loktov, Wang Zhong had been pushed to the brink by the enemy infantry''s assault. Now, considering the quality of his troops, he dared not engage the Prussians in close-quartersbat anymore. Unbeknownst to Wang Zhong, this was actually a form of experience umtion. Though he was an outsider to the military, through so many battles he had graduallye to understand the enemy and form "muscle memory." Wang Zhong continued his calctions with a frown: To defeat the enemy in the open fields, aside from relying on tank cover and the apanying tank ambush tactics, the most important thing was the anti-tank artillery. This is a cycle of mutual restraint. Machine-gun fire points can suppress infantry in the open fields, direct tank fire can take out fire points, and hidden anti-tank artillery and tanks can destroy enemy tanks. Thest is artillery, which can dominate everything on the ground, unless the fortifications are constructed like the tunnels at Shangganling, otherwise enemy artillery barrages will surely cause casualties. He also had to think of ways to counter the enemy''s heavy artillery. Perhaps balloons could be used? Could observation balloons still be found nowadays? If they didn''t observe and fired blindly, it wasn''t certain where the enemy''s artillery would be ced, as howitzers didn''t have as strict requirements for position as direct-fire cannons. How could he ascertain the location of the enemy artillery positions? Rely on infiltration squads? But the enemy was the Prussian Army, not India; their positions wouldn''t be so easily pinpointed. And the enemy was incredibly brutal, so disguised reconnaissance was definitely out of the question; getting close to the artillery positions, the enemy would surely open fire directly. What should he do? Ludm had been watching Wang Zhong all this time, looking very worried but not daring to interrupt his thoughts. Finally, they reached the gates of the manor, and the guards at the door immediately opened the iron gate upon seeing Wang Zhong''s carthey had been assigned to guard the entrance since yesterday. After driving into the manor, Grigori looked back and took the initiative to head toward the barracks in the corner of the estate. No sooner had they driven a short distance when Ludm broke the silence, poking Wang Zhong vigorously in the shoulder, "Alyosha! Look over there!" Wang Zhong was forcibly pulled from his thoughts, looking a bit bewildered as he mechanically followed the direction of Ludm''s pointing finger. He saw a row of brand-new T34 tanks parked on thewn. These definitely weren''t Wang Zhong''s original tanks because no matter how much they were repainted, they couldn''t hide the mottle left by the battlefieldthe scratches caused by armor-piercing shells were very noticeable. Not only was the paint on these T34s new, but their surfaces were also quite smooth, and there were no traces of iplete dieselbustion around the exhaust. New T34s! Wang Zhong broadened his view and noticed that these T34s were arranged in three rows of eight each, totaling 24 tanks! All the tank guns were adjusted to the same angle, like heads raised high during a parade review. "Where did these tankse from?" Wang Zhong asked, puzzled. Ludm: "Did you forget that yesterday Dad... Uncle Konstantin said he would give some to your troops?" Wang Zhong: "He said he was going to write some letters, that it would take three to five days to get results, right?" "Maybe the process went especially smoothly?" Wang Zhong thought for a moment, then patted Grigori on the shoulder, "To the main building! I need to see the old man!" He couldn''t bring himself to call him Dad, but old man was fine! Grigori executed a fishtail turn and sped toward the main building with a stomp on the elerator. When Wang Zhong burst into the study, retired General Rocossov was on the phone, making a "shush" gesture with his hand. Rocossov (General): "Thank you, old pal! Excellent, excellent! They''re all top-notch tanks! Ahahaha, he just has good luck! What skills does he have, finishingst in his ss! He even wet his pants on the battlefield!" Though the words st in his ss" and "wet his pants" were the same, why did it feelpletely different when the old man said them? It sounded more like Versailles whitewashing. No sooner had Wang Zhong thought this than the old man burst outughing again, "It''s true, he did wet himself, Liu Da admitted it!" Wang Zhong turned his head to look at his fiance. Liu Xia stuck out her tongue, whispering, "He asked while I was preparing breakfast; I couldn''t just lie, could I?" Damn it, he should have executed Sergey in the church ruins and then pulled down his pants. That way, no one would have brought this up, and Ludm certainly wouldn''t have mentioned it of her own ord. The old manughed heartily again before finally hanging up the phone. Then, he erased his smile and looked towards Wang Zhong, "See what''s on thewn? It''s a pity that T34s are now in short supply, exactly because of your achievements, everyone knows they are useful. "Moreover, they seem to believe that your achievements are all due to the T34, not because you''re capable. I feel that my promise to arrange for two battalions for you is probably not going to happen now; you''ll have to make do with these sixpanies." Just as Wang Zhong was about to respond, the old man continued, "Also, you mentioned that the observation model is more useful. I reported this to my old buddy, but he mocked me mercilessly, iming that as an infantry general, I don''t understand tanks. He also said that you, also an infantry general, don''t understand tanks either. "The other Armored Troops who have used them all praise them!" Wang Zhong''s brows furrowed deeply. Actually, the main advantage of the T34 was back in ''41, ''42, until the Sturmtiger started to be fitted with the long-barreled 50mm gun from the model three onwards and the T34''s blindness became an amplified weakness. Apany charging at a Sturmtiger often gotpletely annihted without even locating the enemy. Forget it, I wasn''t counting on getting the factories to change their designs right now. Wang Zhong, "What about adding radios?" The old man shook his head, "Our radio production is too low, and it must be prioritized for the Air Force''s fighters, a lesson from the Castilian Civil War. Without radios tomunicate with each other, we would be at a disadvantage in airbat." Wang Zhong, "Fighters need radios tomunicate, don''t tanks need them too? Tanks operating onplex battlefields need radios even more!" Duke Rocossov only looked at Wang Zhong with calm and kind eyes, "Alright now, let''s each do our part well. Your Infantry Division already has far more armored power than the average division. Are you aware that some people want to take that armored power away from you? After all, yours is an Infantry Division." Wang Zhong nodded; receiving 24 additional T34s was indeed good news. He couldn''t be too greedy. "Then give me a regiment''s worth of anti-tank guns! Ideally, all of them would be 76mm ZIS-3 anti-tank guns." Duke Rocossov frowned, "Don''t you have armored power for the anti-tank role? And that''s the T34!" Wang Zhong, "It''s not the same. Anti-tank guns can be camouged and hidden,unching surprise attacks on the enemy. Plus, if machine guns force the enemy''s tankmanders to retract into their turrets, the high concealment of anti-tank guns will stand out, potentially making them more effective inbat than tanks." In fact, the old German Armored Troops always considered Soviet anti-tank guns to be a bigger threat than tanksmainly because the tanks were too blind. And the anti-tank guns with observers were not blind, difficult to detect, and even the Germans, with their heavy armor, were wary of the thing. Duke Rocossov nodded, "Is thising from realbat experience? It should be taken seriously. However, the 76 guns are also in high demand. I''ll try to get you some 45mm guns first. After all, the ammunition carriages and pack horses can use 76mm shells too, and the gunners only need a bit of training to adapt to the new artillery. "That way, in the future, you can try to apply for separate 76mm gun reinforcements and gradually switch the artillery to primarily 76mm." Wang Zhong had a feeling that the old man had probably not been above using shrewd tactics to enhance his own strength. At that moment, an idea suddenly struck Wang Zhong: Why not ask the old man about the very issue that had been troubling him? So, he asked, "In your experience, how do you deal with the enemy''s heavy artillery?" Duke Rocossov raised his eyebrows, "Heavy artillery? It depends on the situation. If both sides have formed solid front lines and trenches are everywhere, then let the nes carry out reconnaissance of the enemy''s artillery positions, and then bomb them with artillery. "At that time, the area with the densest anti-aircraft firepower is the artillery positions of both sides, and they would risk disrupting the trajectories of their shells by surrounding their artillery positions with barrage balloons to interfere with enemy reconnaissance nes. "Sometimes, when enemy nes are spotted, they would release smoke and do it at several different locations to confuse the enemy." Wang Zhong, "Using nes for reconnaissance..." If I had nes under mymand, I could use the radio on the ne to establish contact, then I could root out the enemy''s artillery positions! Indeed, this would be a method. Unfortunately, in order tomand the Air Force, I''d have to be a general inmand of a Front Army. Wang Zhong, "Other than nes, is there anything else?" Duke Rocossov, "When no solid trenches have been formed, you could use Cavalry Troops." "Cavalry?" "Yes, cavalry are quite excellent. Saddles can carry extra rations and ammunition, allowing the cavalry to operate without resupply for seven days. As for the horses, although the feed for warhorses is very preciouscarrots and whatnotthey naturally eat grass! "While the people sleep and rest, the horse will graze on its own. Although a warhorse generally loses a lot of weight after a week ofbat, this only slightly affects its endurance and top speed, not so much its trotting pace on average. "Look, Cavalry Troops can roam enemy territory for a week without resupply. They also have the mobility, which makes them the most suitable for surprise raids on enemy artillery positions, doesn''t it?" It indeed seemed to be the case! Wang Zhong thoughtfully propped his chin with his hand. Duke Rocossov said, "Come on now, everything will straighten out in the end. Don''t look so worried. Go meet your new Armored Troops, boost their morale, and introduce them to some realbat experience. Organize a sharing session or something. "The troops I transferred to you are entirely new, with no experience. Before the enemy attacks, you have to train them well! "Understand? More sweat in training, less blood in battle!" Wang Zhong nodded, "Understood!" "Is that how you respond to a superior?" the old man snapped. Wang Zhong snapped to attention and saluted, "Yes, Your Excellency the General!" "That''s more like it. Now off you go!" The old man waved his hand as if shooing a fly. Chapter 151: Chapter 6 New Changes in the Division (8000 monthly ticket extra) Wang Zhong left the manor''s main building and headed straight for the new tank that had just been assigned to him. By the time he arrived, the new tank operators and the veterans from Loktov were already mingling and chatting. As soon as Wang Zhong appeared, Alexander shouted, "The general is here!" Alexander Yefimovich was originally an instructor in the training team, and although he was now Wang Zhong''s gunner, his rank hadn''t been reduced, so he naturally assumed the role ofmander. Wang Zhong saluted the crowd with a raised hand and then instructed Alexander, "Organize an experience-sharing meeting as soon as possible, and talk about the methods the enemy might use to deal with us in battle, like targeting the tracks or jamming the turret ring." At this, one of the new tank operators asked in surprise, "Can the enemy really take on our new tanks? I heard these tanks are invincible and can ughter the enemy at will. There''s even a rich brat, who as soon as he..."> Wang Zhong thought: Pissing himself, is that it? Is the pissing pants meme making aeback? "Aleksei!" Themander of the armored battalion that had arrived spoke up, "Shut your mouth! Who allowed you to gossip in the ranks? Is there no discipline anymore?" The one called Aleksei closed his mouth. Wang Zhong then turned to the battalionmander, feeling that thismander had the makings of a divisionmander of an armored division! But there were more pressing matters, Wang Zhong turned to Alexander and said, "In any case, pass on all the experience to these greenhorns, and especially tell them about the most fatal weakness of the T34, poor situational awareness! Tell them about the negative effects caused by the damned two-man turret design!" Alexander assured him, "Don''t worry, General, I''ll make sure they all understand." He looked towards the tank operators, "After all, some of you were my students back when you were in the armored training team." The eyes of each tank toon leader wandered, as if recalling their training days in the armored training camp. Wang Zhong announced, "Also, for today''s exchange meeting, there might not be time for much else, so I''ll prepare some good food to treat everyone tonight, eat well, drink well, and enjoy yourselves. "Remember to schedule everyone to inspect their tanks tomorrow, and I''ll also try to get a group of master workers from the tractor factory." The Soviet army on Earth did not ce much importance on tank maintenance, which is why, due to the reliability of the T34, the Soviet army was able to ensure adequatebat readiness. The Sturmtiger, on the other hand, followed a different path, their armored battlefield maintenance was first-rate like the American army''s, but their equipment was very delicate; at the Battle of Kursk, the Germans had more than 160 new Panthers join the fight, and yet, more than 110 broke down on the way, and thus couldn''t y a significant role. Or in other words, the German support capabilities were forced out by their delicate equipment. Wang Zhong, in the Ante Empire, was determined to change this, after all, his hard-won T34s could not be allowed to miss battles due to poor support! With the help of the church, Wang Zhong was nning to get a thousand experienced workers from the local tractor factory, so wherever the tanks fought, they could be repaired on the spot. They could even repair enemy tanks; down the line, if they encountered Tigers or Panthers, they could mend them and use themif not for their own use, then repairing them for donation to museums was also good, they could even be used for filming the movie "Liberation." Just as Wang Zhong was about to leave, Alexander stopped him, "You are the most experienced tankmander among us, why don''t you start off? If you don''t share your experience, none of us will feel confident to speak. Like me, I''m basically just your gunner, knowing only how much to rotate the turret and what targets to hit." Wang Zhong thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Fine! I''ll tell you about it! Get everyone to gather around, and gather close." Alexander called out, "Everyone assemble, form a square!" ... Thirty minutester. Wang Zhong concluded, "That''s the summary of my experiences from the battles in Peniye and the various tank engagements in Loktov. In short, the enemy is elite and cunning, and we must not underestimate them just because our tanks temporarily have an advantage in armor-piercing capabilities, or we will suffer greatly!" Alexander shouted, "Apuse!" As his words fell, the sound of pping thundered. Wang Zhong made a "quiet" gesture and said, "The hour iste, don''t waste time, other tank operators still have experiences to share. "For example, the gunners can mention the weak points on enemy tanks. "Drivers can also share how to knock on the engine and gearbox from certain angles to fix problems as quickly as possible." Thest sentence from Wang Zhong inducedughter among the crowd, showing everyone was aware of their vehicles'' quirks and knew of the "Ant Maintenance Method." Wang Zhong waved his hand and turned to leave. Just then, he saw a new truck driving across thewn by the road, heading toward the division headquarters. Curious to see what was happening, Wang Zhong got into a jeep and told Grigori, "Let''s go to the division headquarters!" Wang Zhong''s jeep arrived at the division headquarters right behind the truck. Just as the jeep came to a stop, a girl in a Guardian Army uniform jumped down from the truck. The Guardian Army, a girl? Wang Zhong was stunned. Then more girls jumped off the truck. With a puzzled face, Wang Zhong instinctively nced at Ludm but found that she was looking back at him; they exchanged a nce. At that moment, several girls dressed in the Monk''s military uniform jumped down from the truck, and thest one to get off was Sufang. Wang Zhong called out loudly, "Sufang, what are all these girls here for?" Seeing Wang Zhong, Sufang immediately smiled, her smile turning more subdued upon noticing Ludm, "General, this is the choir! Now we can perform hymn ceremonies continuously and maintain contact with the higher-up choirs! No longer do we have to worry about missing out on hymns!" Chapter 152: Chapter 6 New Changes in the Division (8000 monthly ticket extra)_2 Wang Zhong scanned again the ones who came down from the vehicle, "Howe there are only four Hymn Monks? What are the Guardian Army doing?" Sufang replied, "They are in charge of misceneous tasks in the ritual, as well as protecting it. Of course, they also take care of us after we have exhausted our strength from chanting." "Why are they all women!" Wang Zhong naturally asked, since he had already inquired of Brother Peter and Yeca Neiko, both of whom had said the Monks were half male and half female. Sufang replied, "It just so happened that only female Monks were avable, so they were assigned to us. As for the Guardian Army, since we are all women, it is more convenient to have all female Guardians. In short, it''s just a coincidence!" "Ah, I see, I thought you were sent by the Grand Patriarch to test me!" Wang Zhong sighed with relief. At that moment, Ludm asked, "You will be staying with the headquarters from now on, right?" "Of course, we are a crucial means ofmunication with higher-ups in an emergency!" Then a staff officer came out from the headquarters, "Sufang Batu Wendusu, the Chief Hymn Monk!" "Here I am! Here I am!" Sufang raised her right hand, "I''m here!" The staff officer said, "I will take you and thedies of the Guardian Army to the temporary sanctuary, and from now on, I will be responsible for helping you build sanctuaries." Wang Zhong asked, "Sanctuary?" Although it seemed very ignorant to ask, he still did. The staff officer immediately exined, "It''s a temporary chapel, not only for the choristers to conduct mass, but also to wee the prayers of those with shell shock or other battlefield symptoms, to heal them with holy hymns. "Normally, this would be the responsibility of the Priests, but there are always experienced Priests who can''t handle certain cases." Wang Zhong nodded and gestured with a "let''s go" to the staff officer, who immediately turned around and said to Sufang and the others, "This way, please." As the group walked away, Ludmughed, "Now Pavlov, the Chief of Staff, has people to order around too!" Wang Zhongughed, "Yeah, he''s finally a real ''Chief'' of Staff!" Upon entering the map room, Wang Zhong saw Chief Pavlov humming a tune while marking the map. This morning, when Wang Zhong had been busy running around, there had been only a small map on the desk in the map room. Now the entire north wall was covered with six luxurious maps joined together, iparable to the small map from the morning. The entire map was filled with military symbols, almost reflecting the situation on the entire southern front. Letting the key map aside, Pavlov had added curtains to the map, giving Wang Zhong the impression that his modest headquarters had suddenly transformed from a mud house on XX slope into themand headquarters of the anti-bandit suppression in Xuzhou. Watching Pavlov stand in front of the map wall, Wang Zhong almost heard imaginary tactics, something about "pig tactics," "snakes of Mount Chang," "vibrant life in full bloom," and so on. Thinking it over, the Ante nobles did like to put on such disys, and since Pavlov was a noble, he naturally conformed to the custom. Wang Zhong decided to discipline him a few words, "You''ve got people now, huh! Making such a big show of things, how much manpower is that wasting!" Pavlov turned around, "Don''t get me wrong, the military markings on the map are the work of the staff officers; the room decoration was done by your housemaids." Wang Zhong asked, "How could you let housemaids into the map room, what if military secrets were leaked?" Pavlov admitted, "Uh... my mistake." Vasily looked up, "The Chief of Staff is on night soil duty tonight!" Wang Zhong frowned, "How did you end up among the staff officers?" "I wanted to go back to being an infantry instructor," Vasily said innocently, "but they wouldn''t let me. They said since I spent most of thebat in the forwardmand, I was ''talent for headquarters'' and sent me back. So, you see, I continue to monitor the field telephone you captured. But now we''re too far from the front line to hear anything on it." ``` Wang Zhong was about toment on Vasily when he suddenly thought of something and asked, "Why has the entire southern front been updated today? How long would it take to copy the maps from headquarters?" Pavlov took three quick steps and came to the side door, gently pushing it open. Then a dense beeping sound drifted out of the room. Pavlov said, "We finally have our ownmunications battalion! This is the telegraphpany, with a total of six telegraph machines, ready to receive and trante telegrams from all over at any time, and to update the maps ording to the telegrams. Now our maps are as current as those at Front Army headquarters." As he was speaking, a cryptographer handed a telegram to a staff officer, who immediately went to the map to update the position and status of the 29th Army Group. In fact, Wang Zhong had never known that the division headquarters operated in this manner; subconsciously, he thought of the distribution of enemy and friendly status on the maps as if they sprouted on their own, just like in a gamealthough he was aware that certainly wasn''t the case. Looking at the six high-powered radios and listening to the beeping sound, Wang Zhong thought that his headquarters finally resembled a real headquarters. At that moment, Ludm asked, "What happened to the Judge who was in charge of the radios before?" Pavlov replied, "A division would normally be equipped with a certain number of Judges responsible for apprehending spies, dissenters, and for shooting us if we were to n treason. They''ve gone back to their original duties." When Pavlov mentioned "treason" and "shooting," the young staff officers working alongside him flinched, pausing in their writing to look over. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue in surprise: "I don''t know whether to be happy or to fall silent. Hey, where''s your level six clerk? I haven''t seen him around!" Pavlov made a "please" gesture, leading Wang Zhong and Ludm to the other side of the map room, where he opened the door with a snap. As soon as the door to the telegraph room was opened, there was a continuous beeping sound; as soon as this door opened, there was a "thud-thud" sound as if a hammer was hitting wood. Wang Zhong looked closely and realized they were stamping seals. It was just like when Harry Potter entered Gringotts for the first time, a bunch of goblins were there stamping seals; the room had a simr atmosphere. The level six clerk was shouting, "What have you done! Whenpiling the roster, you must make two types of directories! What is this you''ve made? Print it again!" After scolding a clerk, the former educationalmittee member looked towards Wang Zhong: "General, your arrival is timely! I have something to discuss with you! Look, this is the roster of the Fifth Bishenks Regiment; the officers were almost wiped out, and many units as well. In reality, the remaining 81 people are mostly from the third battalion. "Normally, such a regimental system would have been disbanded, and the people would have been integrated into other units. If you want to maintain the structure of the Fifth Bishenks Regiment, you need to replenish officers, clerksyes, the regiment''s clerks! "This is very troublesome!" Wang Zhong: "Can''t we promote the surviving 81 directly from the ranks? Privates to sergeants, second lieutenants to colonel regimentalmanders..." "It''s not possible! I''ve checked the regtions; you can''t be promoted directly like that. Based on my experience in dealing with bureaucratic institutions, it definitely won''t be approved. Do you really want a unit led by a second lieutenant as the regimentalmander?" Wang Zhong: "Is it not possible? Before, the Third Rear Amur Group was also reconstituted after on-site promotions." The level six clerk said, "That''s because the Third Rear Amur Group had a better preservation of senior officers! NCOs can be promoted by promoting experienced veterans. But with the Fifth Bishenks Regiment, it''s impossible to restore the system. "My suggestion is to change the number of the 105th Infantry Regiment of the Guardian Army that was supplemented to the Fifth Bishenks Regiment, and conversely insert the 81 surviving Bishenks soldiers as mid- to lower-level officers into the original 105th Infantry." Wang Zhong: "Are you suggesting that we make some adjustments in the clerical work? Deceive the higher-ups?" The old clerk said, "Right! It would be much simpler to handle this way, and you wouldn''t need to submit a bunch of rush promotion applications to the Front Army all at once." Wang Zhong nodded: "Alright, let''s do it this way! But... is the rank of themander of the 105th Guardian Army sufficient?" The old clerk replied, "Enough, he''s an officer transferred from the civil service ording to conversion rules,ckingbat experience but with no issues regarding documentation and procedures." So the Ante Empire still had a system to convert clerks to military positions ording to rank. Without a level six clerk, one would never know this! Wang Zhong patted Pavlov on the shoulder: "See the talent I found for you! Don''t talk about not being able to conjure supplies and troops anymore!" ``` Chapter 162: Chapter 14 In the Forests of Orachi (Addition for 10,000 monthly tickets) ``` On July 30th, at 1130 hours, in the northern shrubbery of Orachi. Tactical number 427 T34 was slowly reversing from the lowestyer of the tank shelter to the middle tform, so the turret emerged above the ground. "Good!" the toon leader of the tank waved the g in his hand, "Stop, don''t reverse anymore!" The gunner andmander of Tank 427 poked his head out of the open hatch and looked around: "Not bad, apart from the grass in front obstructing the view, this shelter is nearly perfect!" Wang Zhong put down his binocrs, nced at themander, and said, "Cut the chatter, hit the target!" He stood next to the shelter of Tank 427, having just been observing an officer from the Anti-tank Artillery Battalion set up the targets through his binocrs. These specially set up targets were used by the anti-tank guns to quickly determine the distance to their targets, usually disguised as various conventional objects so they would know approximately the distance once an enemy tank passed nearby. Wang Zhong made a gesture to the staff officer beside him, who then raised his hand and fired a re. The people setting up targets in the distance immediately left the target area and mounted their horses to pull away. Wang Zhong said to the crew of Tank 427, "Set the range to 700, aim at the ground, use armor-piercing shells, quick." Themander of 427 immediately returned to the tank, while the gun''s elevation mechanism began to adjust, and the tank gun slowly lowered. The next moment, the tank fired. The st from the muzzle made the camouge covering the tank shelter ripple like waves on water, and the grass that originally blocked the front of the shelter was instantly knocked down. Indeed, the smoke from firing was much less than it would have been on open ground due to this post-war designed tank shelter. It was indeed advanced. Wang Zhong paid attention to the firing and only turned his focus to the armor-piercing shell when it hit the ground and bounced like a ping-pong ball, flying farther away. The point of impact seemed quite far from the target. Wang Zhong: "Tank 427, your sights are seriously misaligned; adjust them at once! Fire again in twenty minutes." The T34 tanks assigned to the temporary 151st Infantry Division had many inuracies with their gun sights. Previously at Argesukov, there hadn''t been such arge area to conduct live firing, so this issue hadn''t been uncovered until now with each test fire. Wang Zhong: "Next, Tank 428!" "Right!" themander of Tank 428 raised his right hand, "I''ve already made adjustments, it should hit close to the range mark!" "Then fire." A minuteter, the armor-piercing shell hit the target and shattered it. Wang Zhong: "Who the hell told you to shatter the target! The artillerymen have to set up a new one now!" "I swear I didn''t aim for the target!" Tank 428''smander poked his head out, "The shell drifted over there! The error margin of this gun is definitely greater than what the factory manual states!" Wang Zhong frowned, unsure if it was because Ante''s craftsmanship was poor in this timeline, or whether Earth''s T34s were also this roughly made. Through the detailed testing over these days, Wang Zhong realized that when he led the parade troops out to the armored confrontation with the Prosen people at Loktov, the first round of shots hit only a few times, which might not be the tank drivers'' fault. Perhaps the vehicle that Wang Zhong rode in was a spoiled observation vehicle, therefore it was finely crafted and strictly quality controlled, which allowed it to hit wherever it was aimed. Wang Zhong continued to supervise the tank troop''s main gun and sight testing, when Yegorov came over. "It doesn''t seem to be looking good," he said from a distance. Wang Zhong: "Luckily we tested early. After these adjustments, it should be a lot more urate. How are things on your side?" "The trenches have been mostly dug. I''ve reassigned some of theds to help the Labor Camp with road construction." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong turned to look at the road being busilyid behind the positions, where arge number of civilians were shouting chants, pulling stone rollers taken off millstones, andpacting the road surface. This road was built for the anti-tank guns; with mules pulling the guns and ammunition carts, they could move faster on the road, enabling quick evacuation from positions. Of course, tanks could use this road too. Although the T34 tank had good off-road capability, constantly driving through wild terrain was likely to cause breakdowns. Yegorov: "We''ve been here a week, building so many fortifications and still going. The troops are getting tired." Wang Zhong: "Hmm... I also feel that we have enough fortifications. Let''s leave the rest to the Labor Camp. They don''t have to go to the front lines and can work until the enemy attacks." Yegorov: "My suggestion is not just to give time off but also to organize some activities, like throwing a dance party with the nurses from the division''s medical unit, something like that." Wang Zhong: "A dance party?" "Not the sort of noble-style dance party you''re thinking of. Ourmoner''s dance party only needs a campfire, a Bayan, a blaika, and then we can enjoy the music." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows: "The dance you''re talking about isn''t a waltz, but the Cossack War Dance, right?" "Right!" Yegorov immediately squatted down and began doing the famous "Cossack squat dance," also known as the "knee destroyer dance." The soldiers around, who had nothing else to do, had their attention all drawn over, and some began cheering. After about thirty seconds of dancing, Yegorov stood up, struck a pose, and said, "That''s the dance, understand?" Before Wang Zhong could reply, someone in the ranks shouted, "Come on, regimentmander, your turn!" "Yeah, yeah, the general''s turn!" Wang Zhong, who actually didn''t have much of a dignified airnor could he really afford toare now well-acquainted by the soldiers, so jokes were thrown directly at him. Of course, Vasily, the "shit-stirring king," yed a part in this, preferring talking trash even while hauling manure, and so incidentally, Vasily had helped demolish Wang Zhong''s authority. Pavlov had serious objections to this, repeatedly telling Wang Zhong, "As amander, you need to maintain authority so the soldiers will follow you into the charge." However, Wang Zhong himself didn''t mind. At this moment, faced with the soldiers'' egging on, Wang Zhongughed and said, "Do you want to see me paralyze myself from the waist down? Everyone has things they''re not good at, and dancing is something I''m not good at." Actually, the original owner of the body might have been quite good at it, judging by his love for partying, but Wang Zhong was genuinely not capable. If forced to "do a number," he could only show the soldiers a bit of the "Call of the Times" dance. ``` The soldiers mored for quite a while, watching Wang Zhongpletely unmoved, then suddenly someone said, "Why not have the General give us a motivational speech! People from the 31st Regiment all say the General is powerful, they were moved to tears listening to him, and we haven''t heard it since we joined!" This suggestion immediately received everyone''s endorsement, even the staff officers following Wang Zhong looked up with interested expressions. Wang Zhong, "Speeches are for boosting morale, and I see your spirits are already high. When we engage the Prosen forces and suffer heavy casualties, even if you don''t want to listen, I''ll give a speech then, but for now, let''s not." The atmosphere that had just heated up suddenly quieted down. Wang Zhong looked at everyone andughed, "Don''t worry, look at these defense works we''ve made, I have confidence that we''ll inflict heavy casualties on the enemy here!" "But you can''t guarantee we''ll all survive, can you?" someone asked. "Yes, this is war. Even the ''Magician of the Battlefield'' can''t guarantee there won''t be casualties," Wang Zhong answered. Originally, he thought the soldiers would be silent after hearing this response, but someone carelessly said, "Then we''ll just be the colors on the banner!" The othersughed as well. Another said, "Hey, let''s not scare ourselves. Maybe it won''t even be our turn to take action. There are three armored divisions to the north. I heard one division is all T34s, which is six or seven times our equipment number! Maybe if that divisionunches an attack, it will directly crush the enemy''s armored cluster!" Wang Zhong, "If that''s the case, it would be the best." That was his genuine thought, if it could be that way, then the war would end soon, and there would be no need for so many sacrifices. But... Wang Zhong knew, it wouldn''t be so. That night, Wang Zhong returned to the division headquarters from the front line and immediately checked the updated situation map at 1830 hours, then pointed at the two newly appeared armored units and asked, "What units are these?" Pavlov, "The new units discovered by aerial reconnaissance and cavalry scouts, the unit identification marks on the armored vehicles are different from all the ones from the Second Armored Group. Wang Zhong, "How are they different?" "The marks of other armored units are more casual, some are simple symbols, others are animals, and there''s a variety of deformed letters. But these two divisions both adopted shield crests." Wang Zhong immediately felt that the situation was not good, "Shield crests?" "Yes." Wang Zhong, "Is there a notch in the upper right corner of the shield?" "Right, how did you know?" "A guess. What''s on the shields of these two divisions?" "One has a key, and the other seems to be some kind of ancient Scandinavian rune." Wang Zhong tutted, "This is not going to be easy..." "Additionally," Pavlov paused, "The Tribunal discovered that the enemy''s call signs have included a unit called the ''Asgard Knights.'' Asgard is the mythical realm in the creation myth that the Prosen Empire is endeavoring to propagate..." Wang Zhong, "The Asgard Knights, huh? I have a feeling these units are going to be tough to deal with." "We still don''t know if these call signs are associated with the two new divisions," Pavlov said. At that moment, Nelly came in, pushing a cart loaded with food, "I''ve made skewered meat and walnut jam pies in the kitchen, you can take and eat them while you work." The staff officers immediately eximed in admiration, "Amazing." "Nelly, you really are an angel!" Nelly parked the cart next to the map table and left it there, turning around to stare at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong blinked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Nothing, just curious. I didn''t believe what Miss Liu Da told me, about how Alyosha is now an outstanding soldier and stuff. I didn''t buy it." Wang Zhong, "Do you believe it now?" Nelly shook her head, "Still no. I think you might not be that bastard anymore." "Then who am I?" Wang Zhong countered. Nelly, "Who knows? Maybe Saint Andrew descended using that bastard''s body, I don''t know. Liu Da certainly likes you though." Wang Zhong, "And you?" "I need to observe a little longer," Nelly answered. Wang Zhong shrugged, stood up, squeezed through the staff officers, took a te, and helped himself to a big serving of walnut jam, wiping it up with the pies. "Oh," he eximed, "Delicious! Sweet but not greasy, fantastic job Nelly!" Nelly was just about to reply when suddenly, music was heard from outside. Pavlov immediately started cursing, "What''s going on? At such a critical time for war preparations!" Wang Zhong, "The soldiers'' work is almost done; I approved Yegorov to hold a dance event to boost morale, and I even approved leave for tomorrow." Pavlov, "Such matters don''t just require your approval; the bishop''s consent is needed too. Popov is going to be furious!" Just as he was speaking, Popov came in, "Me? No, I think the troops are too tense and should rx a bit. Holding the dance is a good idea. It''s just a shame we have so few female soldiers." Wang Zhong, "We can let the girls from the fieldundry and cooking teams join in." Popov, "That still won''t be enough. We might as well get all the local girls to join in too, for a good rxation before the battle starts." Wang Zhong gave a thumbs up. Just then, Nelly suddenly asked, "Are you going to dance too?" "Ah? Me? No, no, I''d rather not. I prefer watching others have fun over dancing." "Eh~" Nelly drew out the sound but didn''t say much more. Chapter 163: Chapter 15 Start On August 2, 914 Jules, at 0430 hours, the headquarters of the Second Armored Division of the Prussian Army. General Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch nced at his pocket watch and nodded at a staff member who was on the phone. The staff member immediately gave the order, "Begin artillery preparation!" As the staff member hung up the phone, the distant rumble of thunder could be faintly heardthe sound of the artillery from the Armored Cluster Command opening fire. General von Mauch stood in front of the map, fixated on St. Ye Katerina Fortress on the map. After a long silence, he said, "In truth, continuing our push to the east does pose a risk. Our supply line will be stretched to six hundred kilometers, and the infantry troops of the Central Army Group will be spread thin along the lengthy supply line, certainly leaving us vulnerable everywhere. "If the enemy''s heavy troops advance north, they could potentially find themselves in a perilous situation." The chief of staff said, "The Southern Army Group is advancing too slowly. Even though it''s all open ins, and they have naval support, their progress is embarrassingly slow. "To make excuses, they''ve evene up with a ''White Horse General'', iming he''s some kind of defensive genius, repeatedly holding back the charge of the Armored Cluster." General von Mauch frowned, "A defensive genius? Why haven''t I heard of him?" The chief of staff said, "The information was suppressed by the higher-ups, and the Southern Army Group was reprimanded. The Imperial Propaganda Minister was furious and directly called to question the Southern Army Group, asking if they intended to undermine the propaganda that Ante is an inferior race." General von Mauch, already notable for his furrowed brow, now had wrinkles so deep as though they could hide a flea: "Get me thebat records rted to this White Horse General, preferably the unembellished original versions." The chief of staff said, "Well... after all, this enemy isn''t someone our Army Group has encountered, and the rted information was suppressed by the Empire, so we don''t know the details." General von Mauch cursed, "What''s going on? Don''t they know? Sharing information on an enemy''s outstandingmander''s style ofmand can effectively reduce our casualties." No one in the room answered. After a struggle, the chief of staff said, "Perhaps we will encounter him, and you can personally test his mettle." General von Mauch snorted, "Good, this war has almost turned into another armed parade like the one with the Carolingians. If this continues, even if we encircle a million Ante Army at Argesukov, others will say we merely defeated a horde of primitives!" ------------- On the southern front, the headquarters of the First Armored Division of the Prussian Army, at 0430 hours. "Fire," said General Ewald von Steyr-Mark,mander of the First Armored Division. The staff member picked up the telephone immediately. Momentster, distant thunders rolled. Steyr-Mark asked, "Has the intelligence department still not found General Rokossovsky''s deployment location?" "We''ve just received a telegram,mander. The Imperial Intelligence Agency''s Rabowell branch reports that Major General Pyotr Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is now serving as the senior operations staff officer at the Southwestern Front Army Headquarters." General von Steyr-Mark frowned, "What? Why would they ce such a war general on the staff? Is this transfer even proper?" The others in themand center exchanged nces. The chief of staff suggested, "Could it be a namesake? Maybe a brother or something?" "Hmm... Never mind!" General von Steyr-Mark shook his head, "If such a troublesome fellow has indeed been tucked away in the staff room, then our victory is nearly certain. Thergest encirclement and annihtion battle in human history, this fight will no matter what be remembered in military history!" ------------- Ante Army, Argesukov, the Southwestern Front Army Headquarters, 0510 hours, August 2, 914 Jules. All the telephones were ringing. Every phone, as soon as the receiver was put back, would immediately start ringing again. And those receivers that were picked up, without exception, had a staff officer shouting into them: "Hello? Louder! You need to be louder!" Amidst the constant calls for "louder," General Skorobo frowned, looking at the deployment map of the Southwestern Front Army. On this map, there were already six symbols indicating "suspected enemy intentions to attack." It was foreseeable that there would be even more. The chief of staff of the Front Army came over: "As of now, we''ve confirmed that at least ten divisions are subjected to the enemy''s artillery preparation, and there are definitely more taking fire. I think the enemy has indeedunched arge-scale pincer offensive." The chief of staff suddenly stopped, as if deliberately caught on the rest of his thought. General Skorobo said, "You want to say that the ignorant Rokossovsky got it right? Fine, I admit, he did predict the enemy''s moves a bit earlier than us, but his pessimistic ideas are utterly uneptable! "The enemy attack is an opportunity! Just during today''s daytime, if our three tank armiesunch an attack, the situation will be reversed! We will drive the enemy back to their starting positions, and even reim the territories upied by them! "Rokossovsky, with his patchwork of a temporary force set up in the defensive fortifications at Orachi, will be of no use!" Having said that, General Skorobo punched the table, indenting the wood. Due to the excessive force, the surface of his fist cracked open, and blood spread across the table, even dripping down the edge. The chief of staff, looking at General Skorobo''s hand, said, "The enemy''s air superiority might affect our armored counterattack..." ?&ߧ+?-?+- "We have thetest reinforcements in ce, a squadron of destroyers! Let them cover our boys! The enemy will definitely turn to ashes before the steel tide!" Chief of Staff, "Yes." Front Army Bishop, "There is another option, to retreat the tank army to Orachi. From the information I have gathered, Major General Rokossovsky has built a great number of fortifications there." General Skorobo, "Don''t you know the oue of the Carolingian battle? Fortifications are useless! Now that the Air Force''s bombs can destroy bunkers and heavy artillery can tten minefields! The era of relying on fortifications is over, it is now the age of armored corps shing head-on!" "Who uses tank troops for defense!" Front Army Bishop, "Major General Rokossovsky fights very well; the Church considers him an expert in using armored forces for defensivebat." "He has victories only because our tanks have an armor advantage, not because he is thatpetent! After today, no one will take his achievements seriously anymore, because with our advanced tanks, such victories are like picking things out of a bag!" General Skorobo stopped, took out a handkerchief, and wrapped his bleeding hand, "Put the northern three tank armies onbat readiness! Be ready to depart for a counterassault at any moment!" Shepetovka, August 2nd, 914, at 1030 hours. Major General Chesnokov,mander of the 6th Tank Army, personally climbed onto a tank and said to the tankmander, "You, get out! Let this old Tank Operator drive this tank!" The tankmander immediately got out. Having once served as the head of the Armor Corps Academy, many of these men were his students and would execute his orders without hesitation. Chesnokov stood on the tank, turned back to the entire Tank Army, and announced loudly, "Men! The time hase to make our mark! Numerous front-line examples show that the enemy cannot cope with our T34 tanks! They can only rely on the Air Force! But today" While he was speaking, a V formation of La-3 fighters swept across the sky, a full 15 nes! Chesnokov saluted the nes and waited for them to passpletely before continuing, "This is just a part of the Air Force''s 5th Aviation Army that supports our operation; more fighters will join in. Today marks one of the rare asions in this war when our army does not need to worry about the enemy Air Force! "With less Air Force support, our tracks will crush the enemy''s skulls! Today is the moment to counterattack! Move out!" After speaking, Chesnokov jumped into the tank, put on his tank helmet and headset, and ordered, "Driver, advance!" With a duang sound, Chesnokov''s tank took to the road, roaring as it headed north. They would soon be facing the Armor Division that had newly arrived at the battlefield. Asgard Knights'' Armor Division "Anp," Division Headquarters, at 0830 hours. Division Commander William Dietrich said to the Vanguard Commander, Major Mueller, "ording to current intelligence, we have at least one enemy tank army in front of us, and they are equipped with the T34 tanks that everyone finds very troublesome. "So our n is very simple. After breaking through the enemy''s first line of defense, we will immediately set up the 88mm anti-aircraft guns. The anti-aircraft gun positions will be deployed here." William Dietrich pped a little hill on the map with his riding crop. "This spot has a good field of fire, but the bad news is, there are not many obstacles to hide our heavy anti-tank guns. So when you lure the enemy Armor Troops in front of the 88mm gun position, don''t just stop and watch the show. You have to outnk the enemy from both sides. "You are responsible for attracting the enemy''s attention, allowing the 88mm guns to take out arge number of the enemy. "Generally, before encountering us, the enemy tank troops have already been bombed to disarray by the Air Force. But better safe than sorry. "Do not underestimate this tactic; we used a simr method to deal with the charging B1 heavy tanks at Carolingian. "It''s a simple yet very effective tactic!" William Dietrich stopped, looked at Major Mueller, "Do you understand? If so, repeat it back to me!" Major Mueller nodded, "Upon encountering an enemy armor counterattack, find a way to lure them in front of the ambushing 88mm guns. While the 88mm guns are taking enemies out, we will outnk from both wings, drawing attention for the 88mm guns!" William Dietrich nodded and continued with simple motiviation, "You are all handpicked elites. Look at the Zeus holding a lightning bolt on your emblems! You are the Guardians of the Asgard Kingdom! You should fight to thest man, thest round! "Of course, this offensive probably won''t require us to fight to thest man, thest round. Alright, move out!" Major Mueller saluted, turned, and walked toward themand room door. William Dietrich followed, continuing to remind him, "The weaknesses of the enemy''s two new types of tanks are marked in the booklet. It''s okay to cripple them and then leave them to the infantry." The two walked out of the headquarters into the courtyard outside, just in time to hear the soldiers of the Division Headquarters'' Guard Armor toon preparing their tanks for departure, singing, If Lady Fortune abandons us once more, If we can no longer return to our homnd, If bullets are fired at us, To put an end to fate, To cease life, At the very least, our loyal tanks, Will give us a steel grave. Chapter 155: Chapter 8 Father and Son Raise Their Glasses Wang Zhong finished speaking, stood up, and called for a guard: "Grigori!" Rectly, some saboteurs had attacked sior military officers in the city, so ev in his own manor, Wang Zhong now required the apanimt of guards. Fully armed, Grigori pushed the door op and saluted Wang Zhong: "Geral." As Wang Zhong was about to leave, Pavlov said, "Since we''ve confirmed the defse position is at Orachi, I''ll start drawing up the marching n." "So soon? What if we''re not allowed to go to Orachi? Wouldn''t it be better to wait for the orders?" Wang Zhong asked. Pavlov sighed, "At times like this, I feel you truly deserve to be at the bottom of your ss, constantly hopping betwe gius and idiot." Wang Zhong thought to himself that Pavlov was overestimating him; he had never systematically studied military theory, only dabbling in bits and pieces here and there. Without the cheat, he would have be finished long ago. As Wang Zhong was thinking this, Pavlov dutifully exined, "Before, we could move out whever we wanted to because our troopposition was simple, mostly infantry, with very few apanyingborers. "But now, with so many people, just organizing the nonbat personnel who apany the army will consume a lot of effort. We need to devise a detailed marching n. "Otherwise, you can expect half of these people to get lost on the way. Ev with a detailed n, we''ll still have considerable casualties route, and we''ll need to reorganize the troops once we reach our destination." After Pavlov finished, Popov added, "Only the strongest of troops can be immediately thrown into battle after a long march." I do indeed know of such a strong force, but unfortunately, it''s not from this world. Wang Zhong: "Th we''ll rely on you, especially since you have a level-six bureaucrat. I''m sure you can handle it!" As he said this, a staff officer happed to be passing by from the administration side, and just as the door oped, a series of very loud sneezes sounded out, three in a row. Pavlov: "See, you''re praising someone to their doom, causing a 65-year-old school director to sneeze." Wang Zhong shrugged his shoulders and slipped out of the map room. In the square in front of the division headquarters, arge group of new recruits from the Fifth Belssk Regimt were training which was actually the former Guardian Army''s 5th Infantry Regimt. The subject of training was the disassembly and maintance of firearms the veterans insisted this was most crucial because if the new soldiers couldn''t ev clear a jam on the battlefield, they would be sitting ducks. Wang Zhong walked along the edge of the square toward the parking lot while watching the new recruits struggle with their Mosin-Nagants. At that momt, a frail-looking Colonel approached Wang Zhong with a rather unstandard salute. Wang Zhong returned the gesture and asked, "Are you Colonel Euge of the Fifth Belssk Regimt?" "Yes, that''s me." The Colonel sighed, "Looking at me, don''t you understand? I''m not a military man; I''m just a factory director. Wh I agreed to a rank transfer, I never thought I would be a Colonel!" Wang Zhong: "How many people did you manage before on the local level?" "Over a thousand, I guess. I was the mining chief of East Kazarlia, running a mine that consisttly employed over a thousand miners." Wang Zhong: "Th that''s just right; the Fifth Belssk Regimt has roughly the strgth of one regimt now, about ,500 people, about the same as the mine you used to manage, right?" "This is differt!" Colonel Euge began to list the downsides earnestly. Wang Zhong''s attitude was one of not listing, turning a deaf ear as if listing to nonssical prattle. But he couldn''t say that outright. He patted Colonel Euge on the shoulder, "Everyone has a first time, me included! Just take the first step, and you''ll be fine!" Having said that, Wang Zhong admired his own ability to spout such high-sounding nonsse. "But..." Wang Zhong put on a stern face, "Don''t say anymore! This is the military. If you drop the ball, I''ll have you shot! So just do the best you can!" Euge looked like he had more to say but finally sighed, "I was just hoping to get better treatmt for my family in anticipation of a pottial rationing system being implemted!" Wang Zhong suddly felt a bit of pity for Colonel Euge, but the good news was that the Ante Empire''s food production was very sufficit. Ev losing Kazarlia, itsrgest grain-producing region, the Empire could still obtain ough meat and grain from the fertile pastures of the eastern border areas. At least, themon people of the Ante Empire did not need to worry too much about hunger. After parting with the Colonel, Wang Zhong took two steps at a time to reach the jeep, got in without waiting for Grigori to help op the door. Grigori started the jeep and drove along the manor''s tree-lined path towards the main building. Just setting off, Wang Zhong saw on the roadsidewn, the gunner Alexander from tank 4 sharing his experice with a new tank crew: "Because we don''t have a tankmander, once we hit the battlefield, our field of view is basically fixed to the front. Therefore, whether it''s charging in formation or defding and shooting from a position, the squad leaders must sure their tanks cover differt directions topsate for each other''s blind spots in their field of view." Wang Zhong frowned slightly. Alexander was indeed correct, but he had overlooked a crucial point: ordinary T34s didn''t have radios. Without them, ev if their field of view could ovep, the ordinary T34s couldn''t receive warnings from allies what were they supposed to do, "y music" by machine-gunning fridly tanks? After passing the armored battalion, there was the artillery training g where the 55th Heavy Howitzer Battalion was simting rapid loading for their guns with practice s. A bit further on was the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. As Wang Zhong''smand had previouslycked this type of unit, there was no one to share their expertise with them, so the anti-aircraft gunners had to rely on training manuals for their pre-battle drills. Nearing the main building, Wang Zhong saw his assigned Anti-tank Artillery Battalion. Dimitri, along with a group who had actual experice with anti-tank guns, was exining the Pros Tank''s weak spots to the gunners using a detailed diagram. Wang Zhong watched with satisfaction as everyone was busy with their duties. Just th, the jeep came to a stop. Grigori: "We''ve arrived, Geral." "I know, this is my home!" Wang Zhong said. Old Rocossov''s study, Jules 94 July , 0 hours. After listing to Wang Zhong''s analysis, Old Rocossov nodded, "Your reasoning is sound, I''ll try to get you a redeploymt order so you can move to the Orachi region for garrison duty. "However, are you really that certain that Major Geral Skorobo''s counterattack will bepletely ineffective?" Wang Zhong th repeated his theory that the emy would use tanks to lure the attacking forces into an ambushid by 88mm guns. Old Rocossov: "This 88mm anti-aircraft gun, is it the one you reported being destroyed by explosives during an attack on a pottial anti-tank position with the B4 as stated in your report?" "Yes. At this stage, it is the nemesis of all our tanks, it can ev petrate the KV series from a great distance." What Wang Zhong didn''t say was that the gun was not just petrating but also had first-rate destructive effects; basically, a single hit meant a sure kill, could survive. Old Rocossov: "Have you reported this to the Front Army headquarters?" "I have." Wang Zhong was not going to hide the lessons learned for his own befitthese were things that could save lives; to keep the experice to himself was irresponsible to the tire army. Old Rocossov: "Indeed, Skorobo is a very stubborn man. I hope that after he loses those three tank armies, he wille to his sses and issue the order to retreat in time." Wang Zhong: "Whether hees to his sses in time or not, we will hold at Olga for at least four days, giving the troops four more days to break out of the circlemt." Old Rocossov sighed, "I always feel it''s unlikely he wille to his sses in time. I know him too well." Wang Zhong scratched his head, not ke on discussing the infuriating Geral of the Front Army, and changed the subject, "Wh are you nning to evacuate, Your Excellcy the Geral?" "I don''t n to evacuate," said Old Rocossov. "You have your old unit, and I have mine. I''ll stay and lead them to break out wh the momt is critical. You can understand that, right?" Wang Zhong nodded. He could understand, but he still had mixed feelings. He was supposed to have little emotional attachmt to his "family" in this worldthat''s how it should be. But wh he thought about the old man possibly dying in the uing siege, it made him quite troubled. Thus, Wang Zhong decided to try persuading a few more times, but the old man countered with a question, "Put yourself in my shoes, facing a hopeless situation, th receiving an order from above telling you to abandon your unit and flee alone, would you do it?" Wang Zhong: "Of course not. I would fight with my unit until the veryst momt. But..." Old man: "You''ve epted it rationally but not emotionally, hav''t you?" Wang Zhong hesitated a momt before nodding. The old manughed heartily and pressed an electric bell on the desk. T secondster the old butler appeared: "Master!" "Bring the wine! My ingrate of a son will be worried for me! Hurry, bring the wine!" The butler: "The doctor said... I''m going to get the wine." Having said that, he bowed to Old Rocossov, th to Wang Zhong, before leaving. The old man th stood up, took out several wafers from a tin can on the coffee table, and threw one to Wang Zhong: "Here, these are my attempt at making them, trying to recreate the taste of the ones your nanny used to bake that you liked so much as a child, see if they taste right!" Wang Zhong took a bite, his brow instantly furrowing: "This is terrifyingly sweet!" "Oh? Is it?" The old man tasted one for himself, his brow also creasing, "Oh, how can it be so sweet? It tasted normal wh I had it?" Wang Zhong: "How would I know?" The old man thought for a momt and pped his thigh: "I''ve got it, I added sugar and th honey, and I only tasted it after the sugar! I forgot honey is sweet! What a waste." He tossed the wafers back into the tin. At that momt the butler brought the wine and sses. Old Rocossov: "Come, let''s drink, father and son! To your triumphant advance!" Wang Zhong: "And to your sessful breakout." "Ha-ha, if you hold firm, I will definitely break out. You should worry less about your old dad, look after yourself!" With that, Old Rocossov stuffed a ss into Wang Zhong''s hand, snatched the bottle from the butler, filled it up for him, and th did the same for himself. "To the mother of Ante," he said, raising his ss. Wang Zhong: "To the mother of Ante." Chapter 156: Chapter 9 Departure In Jules 94, on the morning of July 3rd. The sior officers of the 5st Temporary Infantry Division gathered at the headquarters'' trance, watching the first vanguard depart. The primary mission of this unit was to requisition houses in Olga, prepare amodations for the troops arrivingter, andmunicate with local churches and municipal authorities. Wang Zhong instructed Popov, who was leading the team, "Make sure to get along with the church! We have just over t thousand nonbatant personnel, which definitely isn''t ough. My defse n needs a lot ofbor, so get the church to organize ough workers!" Wang Zhong had already understood that mobilizing the lower sses in the Ante Empire relied on the church, which had petrated every corner of the empire through low-priced food stores, various service societies, and more. Inparison, the empire''s nobility was guinelycking. Popov said, "You n to implemt those tank shelters of yours? That really does require a lot ofbor." After all, the tank shelters Wang Zhong wanted to dig wererge ough to amodate an tire tank, which meant a significantlyrge amount of earthmoving work. Wang Zhong said, "I''m counting on you. With so few tanks to hold off an emy armor cluster, there''s no other choice." Popov gave a thumbs up: "Done, leave it to me." After saying that, he gestured to the driver: "Let''s go!" Thus, the vanguard squad set off, consisting of five jeeps and trucks. Thest truck carried arge stack of wood signs, which were to be used for directions on the road. As Wang Zhong watched them disappear into the distance, he turned to see the troops making preparations to depart. Moving the main force was not like the small vanguard that could set out with just five vehicles. The main force had to decide on a marching order, distribute marching maps, arrange for personnel to direct traffic at crossroads and other ces where it was easy to take the wrong path, form small teams to assist stragglers, and so on. Moreover, this time the armored units had to travel on tracks, and there might be breakdowns along the way, necessitating the mobile repair teams traveling by truck. In short, suring the movemt of the 5st Divisionan hanced division by the standards of the Ante Armyover a hundred kilometers to an unfamiliar city was a technical task. This job was a true test of the capabilities of Chief of Staff Pavlov and his division headquarters staff. Wang Zhong, the divisionmander, could afford to be hands-off; once the troops set out, his task was to ride Bucephalus among the columns to boost morale. Thinking of Bucephalus, Wang Zhong decided to visit his beloved horse in the stables. The 5st Temporary Infantry Division did not have the term "mechanized" in its definition, so its logistics were rather free, having both trucks and mules. However, if it were to be a mechanized infantry division, under the rigid doctrines of the Ante Empire, the tire division''s supply would have to be by truck aloneafter all, it''s a mechanized unit! For the Ante Empire, which was still rather weak industrially, this would be a disaster: there simply wouldn''t be ough trucks. Currtly, the 5st Division had about 4,000 mules and almost the same number of horse-drawn carriages. There were also three thousand coachm, in addition to several hundred logistics personnel responsible for the care of the horses, such as veterinarians, cksmiths for shoeing horses, and so on. The stables were bustling with horses, luckily spacious ough due to the duke''s own equine interests; otherwise, the horses would have had to sleep under the op sky at night. Seeing Wang Zhong ter, Bucephalus became excited. It probably ssed the impding departure and kept shuffling its hooves, forcefully hitting the horse stall. While patting the horse''s neck, Wang Zhong whispered softly, "Take it easy, you''ll get to run your fill today, we have a hundred kilometers to cover! Two days!" Another problem with the march was setting up camp in the middle, aplicated affair. Thinking of this, Wang Zhong felt a bit of sympathy for Pavlov, wondering if the staff and clerks added to his team were sufficit. In any case, Wang Zhong was resolved to take a hands-off approachoh no, rather, "leave professional matters to the professionals." At that momt, Bucephalus calmed down under Wang Zhong''s touch and th grabbed Wang Zhong''s cap with his teeth and tossed it aside before starting to chew on Wang Zhong''s hair. Damn it, what''s with this horse? Because I hadn''t washed my hair for a long time due to battle, it might have had a sct that horses like. But now my hair was washed by Ludm, scted only with perfume! After washing, Ludm ev helped me with hair wax! Would a horse like perfume and hair wax? No sooner had Wang Zhong thought this than Bucephalus shook his head, spit on the g twice, and th distanced himself from Wang Zhong''s hair. Haha, got a taste of the perfume and hair wax, huh? Serves you right! Wang Zhong bt down to pick up his cap, brushed the dust off it, and put it back on. Just th, the air raid rm sounded. "So they''ve finallye to air raid Argesukov" Wang Zhong muttered, taking three steps out of the stable, and looked up at the sky. Switching to a bird''s-eye view, one could clearly see a formation of about thirty bombers and almost the same number of escort fighters. Considering the direction of the flying squadrons, Wang Zhong surmised that the bombers'' target was again the train stations, lotive repair yards, and lotive marshaling yards. They were clearly hoping to weak the Ante Army''s resistance by striking at its logistical transport. Unfortunately, on the vast territory of Ante, it''s almost impossible for the Air Force topletely cut off the rail transportation. In such a vast space, it was not easy for Pros''s attack nes to locate a train, and by the time they finished the attack and recorded their achievemt, a look at the fuel gauge: uh-oh! As Wang Zhong gazed at the sky in deep thought, a messger riding a horse galloped over and shouted from a distance, "Geral Rokossovsky, the Chief of Staff st me to inform you that you can depart immediately." At that time, the sound of emy aircraft bombs hitting the g could be heard in the distance. Wang Zhong: "We''re departing now? Isn''t there some kind of oath-taking rally or something?" The messger looked bewildered: "What oath-taking rally?" Right, they don''t have that tradition here. He had thought that since this ce had the real "Divine Power," before setting off to fight the infidels, there would be a spldidly dressed Archbishop conducting a mass or something, right? Th a nun would recite the Emperor''s quotations while purifying all heretics with mes. Wang Zhong gathered his thoughts and said to the messger, "I''ll be right there." The messger saluted and turned his horse a to leave due to the particr nature of their profession, messgers could ignore some of the military''s cumbersome formalities, like dismounting before saluting a superior officer who was not on horseback. After watching the messger leave, Wang Zhong turned back to his old partner and had a sudd idea: "How about I fit you with a saddle this time?" Bucephalus immediately shook its head, clearly and decisively expressing its refusal, obviously knowing that Wang Zhong didn''t have a clue about how to fit a saddle on a horse, and that forcing it could d in disaster. Wang Zhong: "Alright, alright, Grigori! You put the saddle on it!" Hearing the name Grigori, Bucephalus calmed down. Grigori approached, "Geral, saddling a horse is actually quite easy, I can teach you." Wang Zhong: "Good, good, teach me quickly." On July 3rd, 94 Jules, at hours, Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus and left with his troops from the temporary location of the 5st Division. Old Rokossov stood at the gate of the manor with a few maids to see them off most of the maids had be evacuated. The Duke of Rokossov had estates east of Mount Raoul, where the maids were st to gage in agriculturalbor. As Wang Zhong passed by the old duke, he saluted him. The old man happily returned the salute, th also made a "V for Victory" gesture, a masterpiece of the war minister of the United Kingdom in this world. Wang Zhong also smiled and made a "V for Victory" gesture. Latter, after he had traveled a long distance and looked back, he could still see the old duke standing at the gate, gazing in his direction. Finally, Wang Zhong turned a corner on Bucephalus, and neither the iron gates of the manor nor the old father at the trance could be se anymore. But someone ahead was calling him, "Alyosha!" Wang Zhong turned and saw the Crown Prince standing on top of an extravagantly luxurious imported sports car, cupping his hands before his mouth like a megaphone and shouting, "Alyosha! Have a good journey!" To be honest, although the Crown Prince was a bit of a yboy, he was really not bad wh it came to brotherhood. So Wang Zhong also shouted, "Take care! Your Highness!" He thought about it and felt it wasn''t clear ough, so he inly said, "Hurry back to Yekaterinburg!" Crown Prince: "Why should I return to Yekaterinburg while you are fighting? No, I am here under the Emperor''s orders to supervise the troops!" Wang Zhong: "Your Highness!" This ce would soon be circled he couldn''t say something that could so easily shake the morale of the troops, at least not in public. As he hesitated, the Crown Prince shouted, "This is for you!" No sooner had the words fall than the Crown Prince threw something at Wang Zhong, which reflected the gold sunlight as it spun through the air. Wang Zhong barely caught the item and realized it was the seal ring he had used once before, with red residue of the seal wax still lingering in the crevices on its face. Wang Zhong: "I can''t keep this!" "Take good care of Olga!" the Crown Prince responded with an incongruous statemt. Wang Zhong pondered the meaning of those words but th noticed that the Crown Prince had stopped waving. He stood on the back seat of the luxury car, looking forlorn yet resolute. The summer sun poured down from above his head. Chapter 157: Chapter 10: Camping Interlude (Extra for 9000 monthly votes) Previously, wh Wang Zhong led his troops from Bogdanovka to Loktov, they took a direct train and, since the unit was small, they arrived without any hitches. Therefore, he had no actual understanding of the various difficulties countered during a march that Pavlov had spok of; his knowledge was purely theoretical. But two hours after departing from Argesukov, he gained a clear understanding of the "troubles on the road." The idts that urred wh the troops passed through the urban area of Argesukov alone amounted to two, consuming at least five clerks from the headquarters staff to deal with the aftermath, and probably cost the division some Rubles inpsation. After leaving the city, there were bunches of soldiers who fainted from heatstroke or fell behind due tock of stamina; the medics and the horse-drawn ambnce carts were never idle. During a rest after walking for three hours, a soldier wt to defecate and stepped into a hole dug by a field mouse, breaking his foot. What stretched Wang Zhong''s patice to the limit was the idtal discharge of a rifle that urred in the afternoon. During a march, it''s customary to keep the ammunition separate from the firearms to prevt idtal discharge if the safety mechanism fails due to jostling. However, one recruit yed with his gun and loaded a cartridge while resting, ev chambering a , and forgot to remove it wh they assembled. Wh the gun fired, the veterans reacted swiftly and immediately hit the g, while the recruits looked a bewildered and at a loss. Wang Zhong, not far from the discharge, distinctly heard the scream of the person hit by the bulletthis turned out to be the division''s first firearm injury case since its establishmt. That was just an idt within Wang Zhong''s line of sight; within a marching column of twty thousand m, the number of such incidts was beyond imagination. Fortunately, Pavlov was very professional and had organized a small team of staff officers, clerks, and doctors to ride along the column and deal with emergcies. The long march reminded Wang Zhong of something he read before his time travel, a critique of the "grand battle": if Baldy''s troops could really march like in the movies, he wouldn''t have be defeated so miserably. Damn, he had thought thatmt was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it turned out to be true! That''s how they continued until 4 p.m., wh the troop countered a horse-drawn cart driv by a local farmer. The driver was an old man who, upon seeing the advancing troops, immediately steered his cart into the roadside bushes to let them pass. As Wang Zhong passed by the old man, he made a point to nod and thank him: "Thank you, grandpa." "Look at this, what a polite geral! Geral, where are you headed? There ar''t any Prussians over there, are there?" In the ordinary viger''s mind, there indeed were no Prussians in the direction his troops were headedthe Army Group was still hundreds of kilometers away from Argesukov, and ordinary people werepletely unaware of this. Wang Zhong: "We''re off to garrison. Do you know Orachi?" "Yes, I know! There''s a big market there twice a month. You can buy horses, iron pots, and ev young cows there!" That was the first time he''d heard of it. Wang Zhong couldn''t resist asking further: "Can''t you get these things anywhere else?" "Of course, you can! You can buy anything in Argesukov. See, I am going to my daughter''s ce in the city to work and need to bring some things back home." Wang Zhong: "Has the war not affected your life?" "Of course, it has! All the young m in the vige have rushed off to Argesukov, and few have returned; th, the girls wt too. Old Ivan at the pub has a radio, and it says we''ll defeat the Prussians in a few months! "Just think about it, with so many good kids gone, surely we will defeat the emy soon!" Not having the heart to burst his bubble, Wang Zhong agreed: "Yes, grandpa, that''s right. By the way, do you have any distant rtives? Ones who live far away, preferably to the east of Mount Raoul." The old manughed: "Who has rtives that far away? Nobody in our vige does! What''s going on, Geral? Could it be... that things are actually very bad?" Yes. But Wang Zhong said, "We will be victorious, grandpa. It''ll just take a little longer than expected." Grandpa: "No worries, it''s all right if it ds before the spring plowing next year. This year, the wheat harvest is already troublesome ough!" Wang Zhong siltly bid farewell to the old man and rode off on Bucephalus in a cloud of dust. That eving, the camp was set up in a vige called Relyinsky, much smaller than Bilokotov butrger than Karlinovka, which Wang Zhong had visited before. In fact, Pavlov had selected four such viges along the route for billeting, with the tire division''s units camping in order ording to their position in the column. The vige where Wang Zhong stayed was at the very front of the marching column, sharing the space with the Fifth Bieshsk Regimt. The reason for cing the Fifth Bieshsk Regimt at the forefront was because it had the most new recruits and the fewest expericed nonmissioned officers, which could lead to many falling behind during the march. This way, the nearby Guards 3st Regimt could pick up those who straggled. The technical servicem, dispersed amongst the infantry units, meant that if anything happed, there were plty of hands avable to push carts and cannons. Ludm and the Divine Arrow Company were in the middle of the column, so Wang Zhong should be spding the night alone with just his guards forpanyfor the first time in a while. That''s what he thought, but wh his staff officer led him to where he was staying that eving, he saw a maid. Wang Zhong immediately asked the guide: "Why is there a maid?" Staff Officer: "Isn''t she your orderly?" Wang Zhong: "I don''t have an orderly, do I?" Chapter 158: Chapter 10: Camping Interlude (Extra for 9000 monthly votes)_2 While living at the Rokossovsky estate, Wang Zhong had always stayed with his fiance Ludm, who ostsibly looked after their daily needs. Because Wang Zhong hadn''t told Ludm that he was leaving on the 3rd, he hadn''t had time to find an orderly. It should be this way. The maid looked at Wang Zhong, "I am Miss Ludm Vasilyevna''s ymate and her personal maid at home. As soon as Miss wt to Argesukov, she st a telegram home, and I came over. "You didn''t know?" Wang Zhong, "Ah...so it was actually you who was taking care of my daily life?" "No, Miss did a lot too, her ability to take care of herself has improved since joining the army." The maid showed a relieved expression but it disappeared quickly, "But your ability to take care of yourself hasn''t improved at allwell, maybe a little, at least you can dress yourself now." Was the old me really that useless? Feeling embarrassed, Wang Zhong turned to the staff officer, "Um, it''s not really appropriate to bring a female orderly, is it?" The staff officer said, "There is no rule against bringing a female orderly." The maid sighed, "I usually won''t sleep in the same room as you. If you have something going on with thendy, I can keep watch for you. I used to sleep in the servant''s room next to your master bedroom at the estate; it''s no differt now." Wang Zhong, "You actually slept in the servant''s room next door? Are you an assassin?" Wang Zhong intded to say "ninja," but such an Eastern elemt probably wouldn''t be understood by the people of the Ante Empire at this time. But it''s doubtful the Ante People would have heard of something like the assassins from the Middle East, either. Just as Wang Zhong thought this, the maid disyed her intact t fingers, "I hav''t sawed off any fingers to fit a sleeve sword." Wow, you know about that! Facing Wang Zhong''s shocked expression, the maid said, "My mother was reading the storybook about the old man in the mountains and his heroes to you and Miss; I was beside them, but listing through the door." So, it was like that! Scratching his head, Wang Zhong asked, "How should I address you?" "You can call me Nelly. So, may Ie in?" "Ah, yes." Grigori, "I''ll stay in the gatehouse. I''m going to look after the horses now. If you need me, go to the stables." Wang Zhong nodded, "Okay, got it." As Bucephalus was led away by Grigori, he kept looking at Nelly, snorting from his nostrils. Wang Zhong, "Nelly, how did you get here?" "I came with the advance team. After they arrived here, they arranged tonight''s amodation. I inquired about where your house was and came over to clean." "Oh," Wang Zhong asked another question, "You just mtioned thendy, is she pretty?" I''m not interested in thendy, just curious! Nelly looked at Wang Zhong with raised eyebrows, "She''s nowhere near as good as Liu Da." Wang Zhong, "Of course, no one canpare to Liu Da!" As they were speaking, they tered the house, and thendy came up all at once, "Geral sir!" It seemed she was ready to take Wang Zhong''s Imperial Guard cloak. But Nelly was quicker, taking it and hanging it on a nearby coat hook. Landy, "Err...ah, give me the hat..." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong quickly removed his military cap, but before he could reach out, Nelly snatched it away and hung it on the coat hook. ...Did you just vehemtly im that if there was anything developing betwe me and thendy, you would stand guard to prevt interruptions? But, never mind, thendy can''tpare to Ludm, nor ev to Nelly. Deciding to ignore thendy''s attempt to get close, Wang Zhong said to Nelly, "Prepare dinner for me, no pickles." Nelly, "Any other requests?" "...No, just no pickles." It''s not that pickles are bad, just tired of them. Thendy smiled, "I will make a Susie thick soup for the geral sir" Nelly: "The geral usually only eats the meals I prepare to prevt poisoning. If you''re going to cook for the geral, please go out, turn right, and walk to the d where there is a temporary courtroom for the Judge, and let them examine your qualifications." Wang Zhong was shocked, wh had he ever had such security measures. And... I''ve never eat the dishes you made, Nelly! But Nelly spoke as if it were some established fact. Wh thendy heard the word ''Judge,'' her whole person visibly wilted. "Th forget it," she said, "My father was with the Sanctified faction during the civil war, so..." At this momt, someone knocked on the door. Thendy shuddered with fright. Without thinking much, Wang Zhong turned to op the door. Nelly originally wanted to rush ahead, but Wang Zhong was quiterge and blocked the passage; she would need some skill to squeeze by. Outside the door stood the local parish Priest and a civil official from the vige, who both paused at the sight of Wang Zhong''s "two beans." Wang Zhong: "What is it?" "Uh, we''re looking for thedy of this house, she..." Wang Zhong directly took the velope from the civil official''s hand, looked at the postmark and the sding unit: indeed, it was a death notification. "I''ll take care of it." Wang Zhong turned a, and before he could speak, thendy leaned against the wall, slowly slid down to the floor, and burst into tears: "Is it my husband?" Wang Zhong nodded, "If there''s only one from your family who joined the army, th it should be." "Op it for me... I''m not sure I can see the words clearly now." Wang Zhong siltly oped the velope, pulled out the notification, and read, "Dear Tamara Lukyanova Tolup, we regret to inform you that your husband Stepan Aleksandro Tolup has rectly be confirmed killed at Ronied..." Wang Zhong couldn''t help frowning; he too had escaped from Ronied, and to think that was just a month ago. The fact that the death notification had already reached the family indicated that at least the army''s administrative office had recovered from the initial chaos quite a bit. Tamara Lukyanova began to cry. Nelly, who had just be at loggerheads with her, squatted down, put her arm a her shoulders, which only made her cry louder. Wang Zhong was at a loss for words. He again thought of Aunt Alexeyevna, thendy, and the old woman could be considered opposites. The only simrity was the sorrow. The next day, as Wang Zhong was getting dressed and starting to shave, Nelly came in and said, "I can''t find thendy anywhere!" Wang Zhong: "What, after being full of hostility yesterday, are you worried about her now?" "I''m worried she might despair and do something foolish." Wang Zhong: "We''re about to leave; you''re supposed to go with the cart, right?" "But..." Wang Zhong: "It''s alright, she is an Ante woman, after all. One day, she''ll be able to go into the mountains and wrestle bears. She''s not so easily defeated." Nelly frowned, "Why do you talk as if you''ve slept with her?" "No, not slept!" Wang Zhong quickly emphasized, which was the truth, "I just believe in our country''s girls." Nelly frowned, looking worried. But she didn''t have to worry for long because wh the troops were departing, both Wang Zhong and Nelly saw that Tamara Lukyanova Tolup had shaved off her hair and was standing in line with the wom registering for the army. The recruiting lieutant shouted, "You must understand! From now on, you will spd a year learning how to conceal yourselves on the battlefield, how to snipe the emy precisely and efficitly! You will be silt assassins on the battlefield! You will strike terror into the hearts of the Prussians!" "You are wom, and you may be at a disadvantage in hand-to-handbat with the emy! But look, this Mosin-Nagant 89/30 model sniper rifle will allow you at a distance of 300 meters to effortlessly kill the strong and fierce Pros soldiers!" "You are as lethal as any male soldier!" Wang Zhong rode on Bucephalus, and Nelly sat in the cart meant for support staff, both watching Tamara Lukyanova, seemingly able to see through her icy gaze the pitiable deaths of her emies. And such deaths, Wang Zhong would soon witness. Pltiful, an dless stream of them. Chapter 159: Chapter 11 On the 153 Heights Jules, July 24, 914, 18:45. Wang Zhong looked through his binocrs and saw the town of Orachi. The area around Orachi was mountainous, and although not very high, they were indeed mountains, marked as 153 hignd on the military map. Without having taken any formal military theory sses, Wang Zhong stood on the knoll and decided that this was where he should construct the final defensive position. If nothing could stop the enemy from approaching Orachi, they would have to make theirst stand sniperbat at this hignd. This mountain had an elevation of 153 meters, which couldn''t exactly be called low. It was just barely enough to build fortifications on the reverse slope to withstand artillery fire. Wang Zhong turned his head to look directly east of the hignd. Apart from the road they had used to get there, there was a vast in to the east, which could allow troops to pass through. But if the hignd were upied, the enemy''s artillery observers would turn the entire eastern region into a zone covered by enemy fire. By then, even if one could get out, it would mean losing ayer of skin. The 153 hignd absolutely could not be lost. Just as Wang Zhong thought this, Popov arrived at the foot of the hignds with Colonel Eugene and the engineer lieutenant from the Fifth Bieshensk Regiment, getting out of their vehicles and walking up. Wang Zhong blurted out, "What about theborers?" Don''t worry, as soon as we got here yesterday, we had the local church requisitionborers. Five thousandborers, including women, are already assembled," Popov said. Wang Zhong frowned. "Is that all?" The engineer from the Fifth Bieshensk Regiment then said, "We didn''t count the olddies and the elderly, otherwise there could have been more. These 5000 include women and children not of conscription age." Wang Zhong thought for a moment and said, "Count the elderly as well. The enemy is strong, and we need a lot of fortifications. The elderly can take on lighter work, such asying camouges." The engineer nodded his head. Popov asked, "Are you nning to set up defensive positions here?" No, this is thest defense line. Here, I need to build an artillery observation post, stretch telephone lines to my forwardmand post, and construct shelters that can amodate two tank toons. Finally, I need to dig simple artillery shelters on the reverse slope," Wang Zhong replied. Wang Zhong had already overseen the construction of two tank shelters on the Rokossovsky Estate by the engineer troops of his division, and they werepletely familiar with his "design" philosophy. Now, he just needed the engineer troops to direct theborers to build the shelters. The engineer asked, "What about the trenches?" Wang Zhong replied, "First,plete the tank shelters. Trenches can be dug by theds of the 31st Guard Regiment themselves." The 31st Guard Regiment, after all, still had several hundred former cadets who were warrant officers, and it was no problem for them to dig simplebat trenches with engineer shovels. At this point, Colonel Eugene asked, "So we are to hold our ground here to the death?" "No," Wang Zhong immediately replied, "This is thest position. If things go well, we won''t need to use the fortifications here, just the artillery observation post." The view from this hilltop was excellent. With the artillery observation post set here, the artillery could effectively control most of the in in front. Popov asked, "What are your ns?" Wang Zhong replied, "I n to advance the defense line and ambush the enemy. If the records on the military map are correct, there should be quite a few suitable ces for ambushing around here. It''s toote today to conduct a reconnaissance. "Tomorrow I''ll carefully survey the terrain surrounding us and find enough ambush positions. Before that, let''s arm the hignd first without wastingbor." After speaking, Wang Zhong picked up the binocrs again. From this overlooking perspective, there was actually an inconvenience; he couldn''t determine the specific field of view at each point. If this were a game like "Wargame: Red Dragon," "Steel Division," or "warno," you could simply press a hotkey to show the field of view for the point where the mouse cursor is located, making it quite convenient to choose positions for anti-tank gun emcements and tank defensive positions, and so on. But Wang Zhong''s cheats had no such function. He had to survey the terrain by himselflike a realmander would. Wang Zhong had read many memoirs of old WWII veterans, and many of these old hands preferred to conduct their own reconnaissance. The famous "Tiger King," Carius, liked to ride motorcycles at high speeds on the front lines, even approaching very close to the Russian positions. His injuryter on also urred while riding a motorcycle for reconnaissance when he rushed into a vige upied by Russians, caught by surprise. Now, Wang Zhong was prepared to do the same, to carefully survey the battlefield, to get a clear understanding of the range of fire for each position, and then personally choose ambush positions and dig shelters to give the enemy a nasty surprise. Unfortunately, there were just two hours left until darkness; surveying in the dark could lead to issues due to theck of light. It would have to wait until tomorrow morning to begin. But the fortifications could be started overnight. At that moment, Wang Zhong heard a chorus of singing behind him. Turning around, he saw the 31st Guard Regimenting along the road, singing as they marched. The regimental g, personally selected by Wang Zhong and borne by Zakayev, fluttered in the wind at the very front of the column. The two columns of the 31st Regiment took up the sides of the road, while in the middle, the 155th Heavy Artillery Regiment''s 152mm heavy guns, pulled by draft horses, passed through the ranks of the infantry. Behind each gun followed an ammunition cart and a personnel cart, along with plenty of spare horses. Just managing the horses, this regiment had hundreds of coachmen specialized in providing fodder, grooming, repairing saddlery, and most importantly, shoeing the horses. Watching the scene, Wang Zhong suddenly felt the enemy wasn''t so terrifying, for his own troops also showed a bit of the aura of the Huang Wei Corps from "The Grand Battle." Of course, it was limited to the 31st Guards Regiment. The horses of the 155th Heavy Artillery Regiment also performed well, full of vigor! As soon as the 31st Regiment was up, Wang Zhong had just thought that Yegorov should be arriving soonwhen a jeep drove over, and Yegorov jumped out, rushing up the earthen mound in three strides. "This high ground is excellent!" Yegorov blurted out as soon as he arrived, "Let the 31st Regiment defend it!" Wang Zhong: "No, I only n to ce an artillery observation post here, plus a battalion as reserve. I need the 31st Regiment to cover the tanks and antitank guns for the ambush." Yegorov: "Ah, you mentioned the ambush. Use those shelters you came up with to catch the enemy off guard! But we can only do this once, right?" Wang Zhong smiled, "Who says so? We will prepare more shelters, scattered across multiple ambush sites, each ambush being at a different spot. "That way, we can not only surprise the enemy but also deplete their heavy artillery shells and Smoke Bombs." Wang Zhong could already imagine what the enemy would do after being hurt in the first ambush: they would cover the revealed ambush positions with heavy artillery and then confuse us with Smoke Bombs, finally charging in relying on experience for an armored melee. He was prepared to turn the tables on them. Yegorovughed, "I''ve seen youmand armored units; I''m not worried about that. No, as long as you don''t get yourself captured by the enemy, I''m not worried." Major Eugene eximed in shock, "What? Captured? Is the Major General going to charge personally?" Yegorov: "Oh, he charges fiercely. The first time he charged, he was running a fever, and after the charge, he fell off the tank, nearly getting a concussion. Luckily, everyone rushed to catch him." Major Eugene looked puzzled, clearly unable to imagine the scene. Popov added, "He also personally directed a tank to blow up themander of the enemy''s 15th Armored Division." "Blew up?" Eugene asked with confusion. "Ah, my mistake in phrasing, killed." Major Eugene: "The kind of ''killed'' I''m thinking of?" Yegorovughed, "Could it be any other kind?" Major Eugene: "That''s amazing... But I heard someone say that it was because the T34 is a good tank?" Yegorov: "That''s where you''re mistaken. He was just as fierce whenmanding the BT-7 and the T28, with gratifying results." Finally, Wang Zhong, overwhelmed by the praise, cut off Yegorov, "Let''s talk about something serious." Yegorov nodded repeatedly, "Understood, understood. Major Eugene, Coachman, let''s have a couple of drinks tonight and I''ll tell you all about it, privately!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that Yegorov, perhaps after spending too much time with Vasily, had also be chatty. Yegorov''s gaze turned to the northeast, and he carefully observed through binocrs. "Wait a minute," he said, maintaining his posture with the binocrs, "Are you sure you''re only putting one battalion here? What if the enemy bypasses our ambushes and heads straight for this high ground?" Wang Zhong pointed at the treeline: "Set up fire positions there, with crossfire covering the high ground. Without breaking through the woods to our north and clearing the defenses inside, they wouldn''t dare attack our position on Hill 153 at our feet." Yegorov: "What about smoke? Cover the entire in in smoke and then charge over!" Wang Zhong: "That''s why we need to deplete the enemy''s Smoke Bombs in the initial ambushes. If the enemy attacks us from the north in a nking move, their supply difficulties will increase, and they won''t be able to replenish their Smoke Bombs that quickly." "Makes sense," Yegorov nodded, "but this is a risky move. If the enemy captures Hill 153, our movement among the hedgerows will bepletely exposed, and the troop deployment in the woods will be crystal clear to them." Popov: "Even if we don''t lose the high ground, the enemy''s aerial reconnaissance is still deadly." Wang Zhong: "That''s why we are choosing the woods as our defensive positions. If the enemy''s nes can''t see us, that eliminates a huge threat." Popov: "Then... where do you n to use God''s Arrow Company?" Wang Zhong: "Still on air defense. We have enough antitank firepower in our hands, but for air defense, relying on a single battalion of 72Ks is obviously not enough." While they were talking, another jeep stopped on the reverse slope of Hill 153. Pavlov struggled to pull himself out of the jeep''s bed and climbed the high ground: "What, having a little meeting here?" Wang Zhong: "Admiring the impressive advance of our forces." Pavlov snorted, "It looks pretty majestic, but ording to the preliminary reports, nearly twenty percent have fallen behind. Especially the 5th Byeshensk Regiment; not only did they fall behind, but about a hundred seemed to want to desert, and they were caught by the Judge." Major Eugene awkwardly said, "Our main issue is that we have too few veterans, and all the officers are like me, civilians converted over, so it''s normal for the soldiers to feel it''s not reliable. If we had more professional officers, they wouldn''t run. Should I go and speak to the Judge for them?" Pavlov: "Forget it, once the Tribunal catches them, they usually don''te back. Your task is to restore order as much as possible tonight, and cram those who didn''t deliberately fall behind back into their units." "I''ll try my best," Major Eugene said solemnly. Unable to help himself, Wang Zhong spoke up, "Aren''t you managing a mine with over a thousand people? Just treat them like miners, and train them however you need to!" Eugene grimaced, "They''ve got guns." Yegorov: "That''s simple, just show bravery once in battle, and everyone will respect you. Speaking from experience." "Spare me," Pavlov said, "We''ve got enough high-ranking officers who like to take the lead on the frontline; one divisionmander is enough!" Chapter 160: Chapter 12 Open Strategy "All right, let''s end the small talk here," Wang Zhong put down his binocrs, "Although there isn''t enough time left today to conduct a detailed reconnaissance of the designated engagement area, there shouldn''t be a problem with just circling around Orachi to inspect the surrounding situation." Yegorov, "Indeed. I''ll apany you for a walk around." "Then I''ll go... fight with all kinds of troublesome matters." Pavlov said, grabbing Popov, "You''re not the military officer, you''reing too." Popov looked up at the sky, "Alright, I''ll join. But I''m mainly in charge ofmunicating with the church!" Colonel Eugene looked at the few familiar faces and asked, "Do I... as the military officer, also need to go? I am the military officer, right? Why don''t you find a real colonel instead, I''m really not up for this..." Wang Zhong, "You, as a mine manager, how can you be so timid?" "If you gave me a mine to manage, I would be up for it. How about this, assign me someone who understands the military, I''ll pretend, and he can give suggestions. I can do that." Wang Zhong, "Pavlov?" The chief of staff scratched his head, "I''ve just got enough staff here." Wang Zhong, "Here''s what you do, find a staff officer, you''ll take over his duties, then send him to the Fifth Bieshensk Regiment." Pavlov looked at Wang Zhong with the eyes of a wronged woman, "You think I''m looking good again, don''t you? Do you really want me to have panda eyes?" Wang Zhong, "I trust in your capability." "Fine, fine, one staff officer and no more!" Wang Zhong smiled and turned to call Grigori, "Grisha, bring the vehicle over!" "I suggest we ride horses!" Yegorov said, "You look east and it''s in, driving there is no problem, but look to the northeast side, it''s tough for vehicles, better to ride horses, they can move through the woods too." Wang Zhong, "Alright then, Grisha, bring the horses!" Wang Zhong took his men and half-circled Orachi, which exined why the elder they encountered before had specifically mentioned that there were horses and milk cows for sale at the local market. There was a huge breeding ranch nearby, with many horses and milk cows kept. Yegorov even joked, "Now, while we dig entrenchments here, we''ll have plenty of milk every day." Wang Zhong, "These cowsheds and such, they aren''t suitable as defensive positions, are they? And they would block the firepower points set up in sturdy buildings..." Yegorov, "True, if the enemy attacks from this direction, we''ll have a hard time defending, there''s too much man-made cover. To defend we can only dig tank shelters here ording to your method and use the tanks as support points,bined with trenches. But we have only 30 tanks." Wang Zhong, "25, five broke down on the road, I''vemandeered masters from the tractor factory who are rushing to repair them." Wang Zhong had always thought the T34 was as rugged as the AK47, expecting it to run without issues. Now he understood that the T34''s ruggedness was only rtive to the Sturmtiger tanks. Tanks, when run on roads, do break down, and the T34 was no exception. That''s whyter tanks were transported by heavy trucks when maneuvering and only drove themselves on the battlefield. Anyway, Wang Zhong did the right thing by drafting workers and masters from the tractor factory. Yegorov, "The enemy isn''ting right now, they can be fixed. We''ll start digging shelters here, and it''s fine if they''re not used, it''s better than being unprepared if the enemy attacks from this side." Wang Zhong nodded, took out his notebook, and noted this down. "Let''s go, we continue." The other directions around Orachi were quite suitable for defense, especially the ironware factory in the northern part of the town that mainly produced all kinds of iron pots and shovels. The factory buildings seemed very sturdy and could serve as solid defensive points. Moreover, the factory water tower was the second-best artillery observation post around Orachithe best one was on the 153 high ground. Afterpleting the city''s circumferential reconnaissance, Wang Zhong returned by the same road and saw the B4 heavy artillery being moved into the city. Wang Zhong counted the numbers, sighing, "I originally thought the heavy artillery would break down, but to my surprise, they entered the city safely, while five T34s broke down." Yegorov, "Indeed, I also thought these delicate things would get ruined, but unexpectedly they made it through. If they weren''t at the very back of the formation, they would definitely have slowed down the entire division''s pace." Wang Zhong nodded; after all, this world''s B4, being self-propelled, wasn''t easy to towthe powered version was too heavy. Then these four B4s managed to travel nearly 100 kilometers under their own power to Orachi. As Wang Zhong pondered this, an olddy stopped him, "General sir, I heard the roar of many tractors they say they are tanks and artillery. Are the Prosen peopleing to attack here?" "Yes. Olddy, you should quickly take your children and flee." The olddy, "Oh, general, you''re a kind soul, worrying about us. Don''t worry, my daughter-inw has already fled with my grandsons and granddaughters to the Holy Yekaterinburg!" Wang Zhong, "Then why didn''t you leave?" "My eyes, they''re almost blind. I''m useless, better to stay here." The olddy gestured over her eyes, "You see, now I can''t even make out your rank, I can only judge you''re a general by the color of your insignia!" The Ante Empire''s general cor insignia is orange, different from all other ranks, making it quite recognizableIt is said this was learned from the Prussians. Wang Zhong didn''t know how to respond to the half-blind old woman, and could only say, "Grandma, I still have work to do. If you have any difficulties, speak to the Priest from the church, they will help you." The half-blind old woman asked, "I just wanted to ask if my son is in your troops? He is called..." The old woman gave a name, but Wang Zhong had no recollection of it. He had collected the names of all the new recruits, just as he had in Loktov, but the names of the Ante People were too long and repetitive, and difficult to remember. It was already difficult to remember a thousand names, now with nearly ten thousand soldiers in his troops, Wang Zhong truly had no way to quickly grasp so many names. Therefore, Wang Zhong could only say, "I''ll keep an eye out. Now, I must be going." "Of course!" The old woman stepped back to the side of the road, drawing a triangle on herself, "Bless you, kind General." Pavlov had set up the division headquarters and amodations for the senior officers, staff, and clerks in arge house owned by the local noble, Boye. The local Boye was a count, and the house was befitting of his title. Pavlov transformed the parlor directly into a map room, while the adjacent dining room became the telegraph room''s office. He also didn''t close the door between the map room and the telegraph room, so the taps of the telegraph could be clearly heard in the map room. Wang Zhong quite liked this aspect, as the tapping noise provided the atmosphere of amand headquarters. The staff who had arrived early with Popov yesterday had already drawn a detailed topographical map of the area surrounding Orachi, which was disyed on therge table in the map room, while the situational map of the entire southern front hung on the wall. Wang Zhong took out his notebook and began pointing at the topographical map, "The artillery positions, I feel, can be set up here. The woods are not too dense, so they won''t hinder the artillery fire, but they''re thick enough to shield from aerial reconnaissance, and with camouges, the effect would be even better." Yegorov said, "We can dig artillery emcements for further concealment. Also ce some fake artillery positions nearby." Wang Zhong continued, "If God''s Arrow Company is solely responsible for air defense, we can disperse them in these four directions, and Brother Peter''s sound array can be ced here." "I have no objections," Pavlov said, "after all, I haven''t surveyed the terrain in person." Yegorov said, "The reserve troops can be ced around the artillery positions, giving us one battalion on Hill 153 and another near the artillery positionstwo battalions of reserves should be enough." Wang Zhong added, "Apart from these areas needing fortifications, we also need to dig shelters that can amodate two tank toons near the pastures east of the town. Let''s start tonight!" Popov scratched his head, "The locals have some with night blindness, we''ll need illumination for construction at night, and we temporarily do not have that many torches." As they spoke, everyone looked out the window, the night hadpletely fallen. Yegorov suggested, "Waiting until daylight to begin construction won''t be toote, as the nights are very short right now." Wang Zhong said, "Telephone lines must beid between the artillery positions and themand post. It would be best to set up a radio as well." After all, vehicle number 422 had a radio, so when Wang Zhong was in the vehicle, if the artillery had a radio, he could call for precise strikes. But Pavlov''s face immediately showed difficulty, "Radios are truly scarce. How about we let Vasily bring over the captured Plosen Walkie-Talkies?" "That works," Wang Zhong replied. Actually, there was another way, which was to leave a tank toon leader''s vehicle. However, tanks with radios were too precious, and Wang Zhong couldn''t bear to part with them. "Tomorrow morning, I n to lead a reconnaissance mission to the northwest, northeast, and due north of Orachi, expecting to advance approximately twenty kilometers," Wang Zhong said, pping the northern edge of the Orachi map on the table, "Take the staff who drew this map with me, and make sure to draw the maps of the designatedbat zones as well." Pavlov ordered, "Captain Andrei! Bring your aide with you tomorrow and advance with the General." "Yes, sir!" Wang Zhong nced at Captain Andrei and noticed his boots were not riding boots, then asked, "Can you ride a horse?" "I learned at a club," the Captain answered. Wang Zhong queried, "A club? You''re not a noble?" "No, but don''t worry, my riding skills are no problem. I studied for three years at the club," he said. Wang Zhong affirmed, "Alright. I''ll have Grigori pick out a more gentle horse for you to ride." Yegorov spoke up, "General, are you really nning to advance twenty kilometers to engage the enemy?" Wang Zhong assured, "Indeed, just as you wouldn''t expect me to do this, the enemy certainly won''t expect it either. To catch them unawares is the key to victory." At that point, Vasily couldn''t help but turn around, "General, aren''t we going to ''nt'' fake mines this time?" Wang Zhong dered, "This time we have enough real mines." Chapter 161: Chapter 13 July 25th Situation of the Prussian Army (Alliance Hierarch added) Central Army Corps Headquarters, temporary airfield. The senior generals of the Army Group gathered in the waiting area at the side of the airfield, chatting quietly amongst themselves. "It seems like they''re here to urge us to turn south again," said Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch, the general in charge of the Second Armored Division and Prussian Armored Forces Director, to the Army Groupmander, Marshal Von Bock beside him, "But we''re so close to the Ante capital! Turning south toplete the encirclement would mean pushing forward 500 kilometers, while taking the capital is only 300 kilometers away!" Marshal Von Bock soothed him, "Those 500 kilometers aren''t just for you to fight, General Von Steiermark from the First Armored Division will also attack from the south, it''s a pincer movement! Besides, the south is all great ins, which is perfect for tank maneuvers right now. "But if you advance east, not only do you have forests and rivers, but also the enemy''s fortified regions." General Mauch: "There are rivers to the south too!" "But most of them are in their dry season, and your tanks can ford them," interjected Marshal Von Bock, pausing then adding, "Most of them." General Mauch: "Alright, perhaps a southern attack isn''t too problematic tactically, but strategically, it will greatly dy our attack on the enemy''s capital! I think that''s strategically incorrect!" Marshal Von Bock consoled him, "Patience. His Majesty has arrived at the front line, so you cany out the pros and cons for him. If you convince His Majesty, you can continue toward Saint Ekaterinburg after replenishments areplete." General Mauch pursed his lips. At that moment, a Junker tri-motor aircraft bearing the royal eagle insignia descended from the sky and gently touched down on the airfield. The ne gradually slowed down, then turned and slid towards the generals. Ground crew at the airfield pushed a boardingdder towards the ne. The ne stopped right in front of the boardingdder with the cabin door facing it. General Mauch grumbled, "Always with such formalities!" Marshal Von Bock: "Even you, who''s so trusted by His Majesty, shouldn''t openly say such things." General Mauch: "I think His Majesty is broad-minded enough! That''s why I respect him!" Marshal Von Bock said nothing, after all, he couldn''t say that His Majesty wasn''t broad-minded. At that moment, the cabin door opened, and the then Emperor, Reinhard von Hohenzollern, strode out of the ne in high spirits. "Ah, my brave generals!" He hadn''t even reached the crowd before he let slip such a remark. The generals saluted in unison. The Emperor merely waved his hand in response and then began to hug the officers in order of rank. Once the hugging was over, the Emperor spoke, "I''m here to seek your opinions for I have noticed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunityid out before us! "By seizing this opportunity, we will decisively prove that our Prosen nation is the superior one! "We shall discuss this opportunity at a proper venue! Lead the way, Marshal Von Bock!" The Marshal bowed immediately, and a sedan that had been prepared nearby drove up. The Marshal personally opened the car door for the Emperor, ying the role of a servant without a trace ofint. Nobody thought there was anything wrong with this. After the Emperor got into the car, everyone else quickly followed suit, and the motorcade made its way to the Central Army Corps Headquarters. Ten minutester, the generals had taken their seats in themand center''s conference room. Pacing back and forth in front of arge map, the Emperor said, "I''m sure you''ve heard that I n to order General Mauch''s armored forces to head south to coordinate with the First Armored Division in initiating a pincer attack on the Kazaria Kingdom''s capital, Argesukov!" General Mauch stood up, "Your Majesty! I am only 300 kilometers away from Saint Ekaterinburg! Give me one more month, and I can push to the city''s gates!" The Emperor frowned, visibly showing his dissatisfaction, "You may understand military matters well, but you don''t understand economics and politics! "We need Argesukov, need Kazaria''s coal, steel, and grain, and we need their beef and dairy! "Moreover, once the encirclement isplete, a million enemies will be vanquished, and the Ante Empire will be left without the military strength or morale to fight us! By then, Saint Ekaterinburg will be nothing more than a grape waiting to be plucked!" No sooner had he spoken than an attendant brought in washed grapes. The Emperor, seeing the grapes and delighted, went over and plucked one, "Look! Grapes! Just like this, swallowed in one bite! But some among you don''t properly recognize the importance of annihting the enemy''s living forces! "At present, the Ante People''s resistance is expected tost another five or six months at most! And the destruction of their strong forces in Argesukov will greatly shorten this duration!" "But," General Moochi began, "the Ante Empire has always been known for their steamroller tactics; manpower has never been their concern." The emperor spun around abruptly, his golden hair flying up, "That was the case before, but times have changed! Before, the Tsar''s grey beasts could be armed with just a rifle, even without guns they could manage! "But now, if infantryck technical equipment, they''re mere rubbish, easily annihted! The same goes for infantry thatcks training!" "And now, Argesukov''s Heavy Army Corps has arge amount of technical equipment, including many new types of tanks reported from various locations!" "If we do not annihte this Heavy Army Corps and instead focus single-mindedly on attacking Saint Ekaterina, once this corps recovers from our devastating strikes, it will pose a serious threat! To eliminate this threat, we must annihte them, we must!" General Moochi hesitated, wanting to speak. The emperor stared at him for a good while, nodding with satisfaction, "It seems that you''ve realized this. Defeating the Ante Empire has never been a difficult task, we knew from the beginning that we would defeat them! "When we made the offensive nsst December, we knew the war would end within a year, we were clear about that! "But victory is not enough! What''s important is that we defeat them decisively! Annihting a million-strong enemy Heavy Army Corps in one fell swoop will profoundly shock our enemies, making the still-resisting United Kingdom and the onlooking Federation fear us!" The entire meeting room fell silent. Someone shouted "Long live the emperor!" and then everyone joined in a chorus, "Long live the emperor!" Hohenzollern waved his hand to quell the cheering, before turning to General Moochi again, "What''s the current situation with the Second Armored Corps?" General Moochi immediately answered, "All our Armored Divisions ceasedbat operations yesterday to recuperate. The report I received before boarding the ne here stated thatpared to June 22 when the offensive wasunched, we have 230 fewer tanks." "230 tanks!" the emperor raised his voice, clearly the number was unexpected. General Moochi hastened to exin, "Of these, 110 can be repaired through field service, and 50 can be sent back to the factory for repairs. My men have already marked the locations of these tanks. "However, only two of our ten field service battalions have reached the front line, and the tank repair factories haven''t arrived at their designated locations yet. We nned to set up the tank repair center in Chehalski, where there should berge front-line repair facilities capable of repairing severely damaged tanks. "Yet there''s nothing there now." The emperor frowned, "What''s causing such slow progress?" Before General Moochi could speak, Field Marshal Von Bock interjected, "The condition of the roads is much worse than we expected, and the railways aren''t in good shape either. We originally nned our supplies ording to the standards of our own railways, but the railway system within Ante Empire can only handle thirty percent of our intended transport volume. "At present, there''s a shortage of ammunition and fuel on various fronts, which necessitates a pause to wait for resupplies." The emperor: "High Command told me it was traffic jams!" "It''s indeed traffic jams," Field Marshal Von Bock nodded, "Traffic jams are the outward appearance, while poor road conditions are the underlying issue. High Command didn''t tell you the underlying issue, probably out of fear that you would think they were shirking responsibility." The emperor''s mouth twitched, "These damn Junker nobles!" Most of those present were, in fact, part of the Junker Nobility, but they all pretended not to hear. The emperor then asked General Moochi, "So when can you start moving south?" General Moochi: "At the current pace of repairs, we manage ten tanks a day. We estimate that by August 5th, thebat readiness of our Armored Troops will rebound to its peak. By then, ammunition and fuel will also be fully resupplied, and the soldiers will havepleted their rest, ready for another offensive." The emperor shook his head, "No, that''s too slow. The enemy''s Heavy Troops could realize our intentions at any moment. In fact, their current deployment already shows signs of this. To the south of you, aerial reconnaissance has identified three of the enemy''s tank armies, all brand new. "These three armies are obviously intended to dy you, or even they might n to use these armies topletely crush your group, severing our offensive spearhead!" General Moochi confidently said, "They will not seed. Most of Ante''s tanks are subpar, though there are a few new models worth noting. However, most of their new tanks were destroyed before they even engaged us. We hold an absolute lead in armored technology." The emperor: "Then you shouldunch the attack even sooner. I think you should start attacking at thetest by August 2nd. Your Corps will form the outer encirclement, and the infantry units of the 11th Army Group will act as the inneryer, crossing the river here to initiate the offensive. "The Southern Army Group will cross the Dnieper River here and outnk Argesukov from the south." General Moochi: "If we start the attack on the 2nd, some divisions will have a significant shortfall in tanks. After all, we didn''t lose tanks evenly across all divisions!" "Don''t worry about that," the emperor waved his finger back and forth, "I''ll enhance your group with the Asgard Knights'' Amprah Armored Division and the Asgard Knights'' Emperor''s Personal Guard Division. These are elite units newly organized and will be the central pirs guarding our sacred Empire of Asgard in the future!" Although those present were military men, these words still sparked murmurs. After all, everyone had heard rumors that the emperor intended to establish forces independent of the Imperial Defense Forces, and this was the first time the rumors materialized. The emperor dered proudly, "These units are extremely elite,manded by my most trusted Siegfried. They consist of rigorously selected veterans equipped with thetest weapons. They will crush our enemies!" As he spoke, the emperor clenched his fists to express his emotions. General Moochi: "Understood. We willunch an attack on August 2nd, not any sooner." "Agreed," the emperor consented briskly, "The Argesukov campaign will end within twenty to thirty days, and then we can charge towards Saint Ekaterina!" Chapter 162: Chapter 14 In the Forests of Orachi (Addition for 10,000 monthly tickets) ``` On July 30th, at 1130 hours, in the northern shrubbery of Orachi. Tactical number 427 T34 was slowly reversing from the lowestyer of the tank shelter to the middle tform, so the turret emerged above the ground. "Good!" the toon leader of the tank waved the g in his hand, "Stop, don''t reverse anymore!" The gunner andmander of Tank 427 poked his head out of the open hatch and looked around: "Not bad, apart from the grass in front obstructing the view, this shelter is nearly perfect!" Wang Zhong put down his binocrs, nced at themander, and said, "Cut the chatter, hit the target!" He stood next to the shelter of Tank 427, having just been observing an officer from the Anti-tank Artillery Battalion set up the targets through his binocrs. These specially set up targets were used by the anti-tank guns to quickly determine the distance to their targets, usually disguised as various conventional objects so they would know approximately the distance once an enemy tank passed nearby. Wang Zhong made a gesture to the staff officer beside him, who then raised his hand and fired a re. The people setting up targets in the distance immediately left the target area and mounted their horses to pull away. Wang Zhong said to the crew of Tank 427, "Set the range to 700, aim at the ground, use armor-piercing shells, quick." Themander of 427 immediately returned to the tank, while the gun''s elevation mechanism began to adjust, and the tank gun slowly lowered. The next moment, the tank fired. The st from the muzzle made the camouge covering the tank shelter ripple like waves on water, and the grass that originally blocked the front of the shelter was instantly knocked down. Indeed, the smoke from firing was much less than it would have been on open ground due to this post-war designed tank shelter. It was indeed advanced. Wang Zhong paid attention to the firing and only turned his focus to the armor-piercing shell when it hit the ground and bounced like a ping-pong ball, flying farther away. The point of impact seemed quite far from the target. Wang Zhong: "Tank 427, your sights are seriously misaligned; adjust them at once! Fire again in twenty minutes." The T34 tanks assigned to the temporary 151st Infantry Division had many inuracies with their gun sights. Previously at Argesukov, there hadn''t been such arge area to conduct live firing, so this issue hadn''t been uncovered until now with each test fire. Wang Zhong: "Next, Tank 428!" "Right!" themander of Tank 428 raised his right hand, "I''ve already made adjustments, it should hit close to the range mark!" "Then fire." A minuteter, the armor-piercing shell hit the target and shattered it. Wang Zhong: "Who the hell told you to shatter the target! The artillerymen have to set up a new one now!" "I swear I didn''t aim for the target!" Tank 428''smander poked his head out, "The shell drifted over there! The error margin of this gun is definitely greater than what the factory manual states!" Wang Zhong frowned, unsure if it was because Ante''s craftsmanship was poor in this timeline, or whether Earth''s T34s were also this roughly made. Through the detailed testing over these days, Wang Zhong realized that when he led the parade troops out to the armored confrontation with the Prosen people at Loktov, the first round of shots hit only a few times, which might not be the tank drivers'' fault. Perhaps the vehicle that Wang Zhong rode in was a spoiled observation vehicle, therefore it was finely crafted and strictly quality controlled, which allowed it to hit wherever it was aimed. Wang Zhong continued to supervise the tank troop''s main gun and sight testing, when Yegorov came over. "It doesn''t seem to be looking good," he said from a distance. Wang Zhong: "Luckily we tested early. After these adjustments, it should be a lot more urate. How are things on your side?" "The trenches have been mostly dug. I''ve reassigned some of theds to help the Labor Camp with road construction." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong turned to look at the road being busilyid behind the positions, where arge number of civilians were shouting chants, pulling stone rollers taken off millstones, andpacting the road surface. This road was built for the anti-tank guns; with mules pulling the guns and ammunition carts, they could move faster on the road, enabling quick evacuation from positions. Of course, tanks could use this road too. Although the T34 tank had good off-road capability, constantly driving through wild terrain was likely to cause breakdowns. Yegorov: "We''ve been here a week, building so many fortifications and still going. The troops are getting tired." Wang Zhong: "Hmm... I also feel that we have enough fortifications. Let''s leave the rest to the Labor Camp. They don''t have to go to the front lines and can work until the enemy attacks." Yegorov: "My suggestion is not just to give time off but also to organize some activities, like throwing a dance party with the nurses from the division''s medical unit, something like that." Wang Zhong: "A dance party?" "Not the sort of noble-style dance party you''re thinking of. Ourmoner''s dance party only needs a campfire, a Bayan, a blaika, and then we can enjoy the music." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows: "The dance you''re talking about isn''t a waltz, but the Cossack War Dance, right?" "Right!" Yegorov immediately squatted down and began doing the famous "Cossack squat dance," also known as the "knee destroyer dance." The soldiers around, who had nothing else to do, had their attention all drawn over, and some began cheering. After about thirty seconds of dancing, Yegorov stood up, struck a pose, and said, "That''s the dance, understand?" Before Wang Zhong could reply, someone in the ranks shouted, "Come on, regimentmander, your turn!" "Yeah, yeah, the general''s turn!" Wang Zhong, who actually didn''t have much of a dignified airnor could he really afford toare now well-acquainted by the soldiers, so jokes were thrown directly at him. Of course, Vasily, the "shit-stirring king," yed a part in this, preferring talking trash even while hauling manure, and so incidentally, Vasily had helped demolish Wang Zhong''s authority. Pavlov had serious objections to this, repeatedly telling Wang Zhong, "As amander, you need to maintain authority so the soldiers will follow you into the charge." However, Wang Zhong himself didn''t mind. At this moment, faced with the soldiers'' egging on, Wang Zhongughed and said, "Do you want to see me paralyze myself from the waist down? Everyone has things they''re not good at, and dancing is something I''m not good at." Actually, the original owner of the body might have been quite good at it, judging by his love for partying, but Wang Zhong was genuinely not capable. If forced to "do a number," he could only show the soldiers a bit of the "Call of the Times" dance. ``` The soldiers mored for quite a while, watching Wang Zhongpletely unmoved, then suddenly someone said, "Why not have the General give us a motivational speech! People from the 31st Regiment all say the General is powerful, they were moved to tears listening to him, and we haven''t heard it since we joined!" This suggestion immediately received everyone''s endorsement, even the staff officers following Wang Zhong looked up with interested expressions. Wang Zhong, "Speeches are for boosting morale, and I see your spirits are already high. When we engage the Prosen forces and suffer heavy casualties, even if you don''t want to listen, I''ll give a speech then, but for now, let''s not." The atmosphere that had just heated up suddenly quieted down. Wang Zhong looked at everyone andughed, "Don''t worry, look at these defense works we''ve made, I have confidence that we''ll inflict heavy casualties on the enemy here!" "But you can''t guarantee we''ll all survive, can you?" someone asked. "Yes, this is war. Even the ''Magician of the Battlefield'' can''t guarantee there won''t be casualties," Wang Zhong answered. Originally, he thought the soldiers would be silent after hearing this response, but someone carelessly said, "Then we''ll just be the colors on the banner!" The othersughed as well. Another said, "Hey, let''s not scare ourselves. Maybe it won''t even be our turn to take action. There are three armored divisions to the north. I heard one division is all T34s, which is six or seven times our equipment number! Maybe if that divisionunches an attack, it will directly crush the enemy''s armored cluster!" Wang Zhong, "If that''s the case, it would be the best." That was his genuine thought, if it could be that way, then the war would end soon, and there would be no need for so many sacrifices. But... Wang Zhong knew, it wouldn''t be so. That night, Wang Zhong returned to the division headquarters from the front line and immediately checked the updated situation map at 1830 hours, then pointed at the two newly appeared armored units and asked, "What units are these?" Pavlov, "The new units discovered by aerial reconnaissance and cavalry scouts, the unit identification marks on the armored vehicles are different from all the ones from the Second Armored Group. Wang Zhong, "How are they different?" "The marks of other armored units are more casual, some are simple symbols, others are animals, and there''s a variety of deformed letters. But these two divisions both adopted shield crests." Wang Zhong immediately felt that the situation was not good, "Shield crests?" "Yes." Wang Zhong, "Is there a notch in the upper right corner of the shield?" "Right, how did you know?" "A guess. What''s on the shields of these two divisions?" "One has a key, and the other seems to be some kind of ancient Scandinavian rune." Wang Zhong tutted, "This is not going to be easy..." "Additionally," Pavlov paused, "The Tribunal discovered that the enemy''s call signs have included a unit called the ''Asgard Knights.'' Asgard is the mythical realm in the creation myth that the Prosen Empire is endeavoring to propagate..." Wang Zhong, "The Asgard Knights, huh? I have a feeling these units are going to be tough to deal with." "We still don''t know if these call signs are associated with the two new divisions," Pavlov said. At that moment, Nelly came in, pushing a cart loaded with food, "I''ve made skewered meat and walnut jam pies in the kitchen, you can take and eat them while you work." The staff officers immediately eximed in admiration, "Amazing." "Nelly, you really are an angel!" Nelly parked the cart next to the map table and left it there, turning around to stare at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong blinked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Nothing, just curious. I didn''t believe what Miss Liu Da told me, about how Alyosha is now an outstanding soldier and stuff. I didn''t buy it." Wang Zhong, "Do you believe it now?" Nelly shook her head, "Still no. I think you might not be that bastard anymore." "Then who am I?" Wang Zhong countered. Nelly, "Who knows? Maybe Saint Andrew descended using that bastard''s body, I don''t know. Liu Da certainly likes you though." Wang Zhong, "And you?" "I need to observe a little longer," Nelly answered. Wang Zhong shrugged, stood up, squeezed through the staff officers, took a te, and helped himself to a big serving of walnut jam, wiping it up with the pies. "Oh," he eximed, "Delicious! Sweet but not greasy, fantastic job Nelly!" Nelly was just about to reply when suddenly, music was heard from outside. Pavlov immediately started cursing, "What''s going on? At such a critical time for war preparations!" Wang Zhong, "The soldiers'' work is almost done; I approved Yegorov to hold a dance event to boost morale, and I even approved leave for tomorrow." Pavlov, "Such matters don''t just require your approval; the bishop''s consent is needed too. Popov is going to be furious!" Just as he was speaking, Popov came in, "Me? No, I think the troops are too tense and should rx a bit. Holding the dance is a good idea. It''s just a shame we have so few female soldiers." Wang Zhong, "We can let the girls from the fieldundry and cooking teams join in." Popov, "That still won''t be enough. We might as well get all the local girls to join in too, for a good rxation before the battle starts." Wang Zhong gave a thumbs up. Just then, Nelly suddenly asked, "Are you going to dance too?" "Ah? Me? No, no, I''d rather not. I prefer watching others have fun over dancing." "Eh~" Nelly drew out the sound but didn''t say much more. Chapter 163: Chapter 15 Start On August 2, 914 Jules, at 0430 hours, the headquarters of the Second Armored Division of the Prussian Army. General Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch nced at his pocket watch and nodded at a staff member who was on the phone. The staff member immediately gave the order, "Begin artillery preparation!" As the staff member hung up the phone, the distant rumble of thunder could be faintly heardthe sound of the artillery from the Armored Cluster Command opening fire. General von Mauch stood in front of the map, fixated on St. Ye Katerina Fortress on the map. After a long silence, he said, "In truth, continuing our push to the east does pose a risk. Our supply line will be stretched to six hundred kilometers, and the infantry troops of the Central Army Group will be spread thin along the lengthy supply line, certainly leaving us vulnerable everywhere. "If the enemy''s heavy troops advance north, they could potentially find themselves in a perilous situation." The chief of staff said, "The Southern Army Group is advancing too slowly. Even though it''s all open ins, and they have naval support, their progress is embarrassingly slow. "To make excuses, they''ve evene up with a ''White Horse General'', iming he''s some kind of defensive genius, repeatedly holding back the charge of the Armored Cluster." General von Mauch frowned, "A defensive genius? Why haven''t I heard of him?" The chief of staff said, "The information was suppressed by the higher-ups, and the Southern Army Group was reprimanded. The Imperial Propaganda Minister was furious and directly called to question the Southern Army Group, asking if they intended to undermine the propaganda that Ante is an inferior race." General von Mauch, already notable for his furrowed brow, now had wrinkles so deep as though they could hide a flea: "Get me thebat records rted to this White Horse General, preferably the unembellished original versions." The chief of staff said, "Well... after all, this enemy isn''t someone our Army Group has encountered, and the rted information was suppressed by the Empire, so we don''t know the details." General von Mauch cursed, "What''s going on? Don''t they know? Sharing information on an enemy''s outstandingmander''s style ofmand can effectively reduce our casualties." No one in the room answered. After a struggle, the chief of staff said, "Perhaps we will encounter him, and you can personally test his mettle." General von Mauch snorted, "Good, this war has almost turned into another armed parade like the one with the Carolingians. If this continues, even if we encircle a million Ante Army at Argesukov, others will say we merely defeated a horde of primitives!" ------------- On the southern front, the headquarters of the First Armored Division of the Prussian Army, at 0430 hours. "Fire," said General Ewald von Steyr-Mark,mander of the First Armored Division. The staff member picked up the telephone immediately. Momentster, distant thunders rolled. Steyr-Mark asked, "Has the intelligence department still not found General Rokossovsky''s deployment location?" "We''ve just received a telegram,mander. The Imperial Intelligence Agency''s Rabowell branch reports that Major General Pyotr Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is now serving as the senior operations staff officer at the Southwestern Front Army Headquarters." General von Steyr-Mark frowned, "What? Why would they ce such a war general on the staff? Is this transfer even proper?" The others in themand center exchanged nces. The chief of staff suggested, "Could it be a namesake? Maybe a brother or something?" "Hmm... Never mind!" General von Steyr-Mark shook his head, "If such a troublesome fellow has indeed been tucked away in the staff room, then our victory is nearly certain. Thergest encirclement and annihtion battle in human history, this fight will no matter what be remembered in military history!" ------------- Ante Army, Argesukov, the Southwestern Front Army Headquarters, 0510 hours, August 2, 914 Jules. All the telephones were ringing. Every phone, as soon as the receiver was put back, would immediately start ringing again. And those receivers that were picked up, without exception, had a staff officer shouting into them: "Hello? Louder! You need to be louder!" Amidst the constant calls for "louder," General Skorobo frowned, looking at the deployment map of the Southwestern Front Army. On this map, there were already six symbols indicating "suspected enemy intentions to attack." It was foreseeable that there would be even more. The chief of staff of the Front Army came over: "As of now, we''ve confirmed that at least ten divisions are subjected to the enemy''s artillery preparation, and there are definitely more taking fire. I think the enemy has indeedunched arge-scale pincer offensive." The chief of staff suddenly stopped, as if deliberately caught on the rest of his thought. General Skorobo said, "You want to say that the ignorant Rokossovsky got it right? Fine, I admit, he did predict the enemy''s moves a bit earlier than us, but his pessimistic ideas are utterly uneptable! "The enemy attack is an opportunity! Just during today''s daytime, if our three tank armiesunch an attack, the situation will be reversed! We will drive the enemy back to their starting positions, and even reim the territories upied by them! "Rokossovsky, with his patchwork of a temporary force set up in the defensive fortifications at Orachi, will be of no use!" Having said that, General Skorobo punched the table, indenting the wood. Due to the excessive force, the surface of his fist cracked open, and blood spread across the table, even dripping down the edge. The chief of staff, looking at General Skorobo''s hand, said, "The enemy''s air superiority might affect our armored counterattack..." ?&ߧ+?-?+- "We have thetest reinforcements in ce, a squadron of destroyers! Let them cover our boys! The enemy will definitely turn to ashes before the steel tide!" Chief of Staff, "Yes." Front Army Bishop, "There is another option, to retreat the tank army to Orachi. From the information I have gathered, Major General Rokossovsky has built a great number of fortifications there." General Skorobo, "Don''t you know the oue of the Carolingian battle? Fortifications are useless! Now that the Air Force''s bombs can destroy bunkers and heavy artillery can tten minefields! The era of relying on fortifications is over, it is now the age of armored corps shing head-on!" "Who uses tank troops for defense!" Front Army Bishop, "Major General Rokossovsky fights very well; the Church considers him an expert in using armored forces for defensivebat." "He has victories only because our tanks have an armor advantage, not because he is thatpetent! After today, no one will take his achievements seriously anymore, because with our advanced tanks, such victories are like picking things out of a bag!" General Skorobo stopped, took out a handkerchief, and wrapped his bleeding hand, "Put the northern three tank armies onbat readiness! Be ready to depart for a counterassault at any moment!" Shepetovka, August 2nd, 914, at 1030 hours. Major General Chesnokov,mander of the 6th Tank Army, personally climbed onto a tank and said to the tankmander, "You, get out! Let this old Tank Operator drive this tank!" The tankmander immediately got out. Having once served as the head of the Armor Corps Academy, many of these men were his students and would execute his orders without hesitation. Chesnokov stood on the tank, turned back to the entire Tank Army, and announced loudly, "Men! The time hase to make our mark! Numerous front-line examples show that the enemy cannot cope with our T34 tanks! They can only rely on the Air Force! But today" While he was speaking, a V formation of La-3 fighters swept across the sky, a full 15 nes! Chesnokov saluted the nes and waited for them to passpletely before continuing, "This is just a part of the Air Force''s 5th Aviation Army that supports our operation; more fighters will join in. Today marks one of the rare asions in this war when our army does not need to worry about the enemy Air Force! "With less Air Force support, our tracks will crush the enemy''s skulls! Today is the moment to counterattack! Move out!" After speaking, Chesnokov jumped into the tank, put on his tank helmet and headset, and ordered, "Driver, advance!" With a duang sound, Chesnokov''s tank took to the road, roaring as it headed north. They would soon be facing the Armor Division that had newly arrived at the battlefield. Asgard Knights'' Armor Division "Anp," Division Headquarters, at 0830 hours. Division Commander William Dietrich said to the Vanguard Commander, Major Mueller, "ording to current intelligence, we have at least one enemy tank army in front of us, and they are equipped with the T34 tanks that everyone finds very troublesome. "So our n is very simple. After breaking through the enemy''s first line of defense, we will immediately set up the 88mm anti-aircraft guns. The anti-aircraft gun positions will be deployed here." William Dietrich pped a little hill on the map with his riding crop. "This spot has a good field of fire, but the bad news is, there are not many obstacles to hide our heavy anti-tank guns. So when you lure the enemy Armor Troops in front of the 88mm gun position, don''t just stop and watch the show. You have to outnk the enemy from both sides. "You are responsible for attracting the enemy''s attention, allowing the 88mm guns to take out arge number of the enemy. "Generally, before encountering us, the enemy tank troops have already been bombed to disarray by the Air Force. But better safe than sorry. "Do not underestimate this tactic; we used a simr method to deal with the charging B1 heavy tanks at Carolingian. "It''s a simple yet very effective tactic!" William Dietrich stopped, looked at Major Mueller, "Do you understand? If so, repeat it back to me!" Major Mueller nodded, "Upon encountering an enemy armor counterattack, find a way to lure them in front of the ambushing 88mm guns. While the 88mm guns are taking enemies out, we will outnk from both wings, drawing attention for the 88mm guns!" William Dietrich nodded and continued with simple motiviation, "You are all handpicked elites. Look at the Zeus holding a lightning bolt on your emblems! You are the Guardians of the Asgard Kingdom! You should fight to thest man, thest round! "Of course, this offensive probably won''t require us to fight to thest man, thest round. Alright, move out!" Major Mueller saluted, turned, and walked toward themand room door. William Dietrich followed, continuing to remind him, "The weaknesses of the enemy''s two new types of tanks are marked in the booklet. It''s okay to cripple them and then leave them to the infantry." The two walked out of the headquarters into the courtyard outside, just in time to hear the soldiers of the Division Headquarters'' Guard Armor toon preparing their tanks for departure, singing, If Lady Fortune abandons us once more, If we can no longer return to our homnd, If bullets are fired at us, To put an end to fate, To cease life, At the very least, our loyal tanks, Will give us a steel grave. Chapter 164: Chapter 16 Bubbles in the Sunlight Ante Army, Argesukov, Southwestern Front Army Headquarters. Crown Prince Ivan Nikyevich Andronov entered a noisy map room and at first nce saw the bandage on General Skorobo''s hand, and he eximed in shock, "What happened? Did the enemy reach the headquarters?" Skorobo waved his hand: "It''s nothing, I just got too emotional and punched the table." "Punched the table?" The volume of the Crown Prince''s voice rose sharply, drawing the attention of the surrounding staff officers. Fortunately, at that moment, the headquarters was filled with roars of "Speak up," so it was not particrly noticeable. The Crown Prince lowered his voice and asked, "So, Rocossov is right? The enemy reallyunched a pincer movement, didn''t they?" "He''s right about that part," Skorobo paused, then raised his voice, "But he''spletely wrong about whates next! Our armored counterattack will crush the enemy''s offensive! Look here!" Skorobo stood up and moved in front of the map: "Thetest intelligence suggests that the enemy might havemitted a part of their second Armored Division. We believe they have three divisions, nine Armored Battalions, approximately 400 tanks." "And we haveunched a counterattack with three Tank Armies; we have over a hundred T34s alone! Plus dozens of KV1s, and more than two hundred BT tanks." "These tanks are well-supplied with fuel and ammunition, utterly different from those forces thatunched counterattacks in the first month of the war with a shortage of both! They willpletely shatter the enemy''s offensive." The Crown Prince stared at General Skorobo: "Can we really push them back?" The General hesitated for a moment before responding decisively, "Yes! Absolutely!" The Crown Prince nodded, "Then what should I do?" "Your Highness should return to Yekaterinburg! The enemy''s nes have bombed the Argesukov airfield, but there is an intact field airport on the east side of the city, capable ofunching transport nes. We have arranged a flight to Yekaterinburg" The Crown Prince: "I''m not going anywhere. Since you are convinced the counterattack can stop the enemy, then I''ll stay here. News of my departure would affect morale!" The General was silenced abruptly, struggling for a few seconds before saying, "Our victory does not mean this ce isn''t dangerous." At that moment, amunications officer rushed in with a telegram and saluted General Skorobo: "General! An urgent message from the High Command in Yekaterinburg." Skorobo snatched the message and nced at it. The Crown Prince: "What does it say?" General Skorobo: "His Majesty the Tsarmands us to decisively repel the enemy''s attack." "The Tsar said that? I think my father may not understand what''s happening on the front line; I could call him..." General Skorobo: "You can fly back to Yekaterinburg and tell His Majesty the Tsar in person." The Crown Prince bit his lip and shook his head, "My mission is to supervise the army here and boost morale. Since my father has ordered you to hold your ground, I should set an example." General Skorobo stared at the Crown Prince for a few seconds before saying, "I think I may have had some misunderstandings about you before. Since you''ve decided to stay, then we can only give our all-out effort to thwart the enemy''s advance! "We have a vast army and an array of technical weaponry at our disposal; we are not weaker than the enemy! "As soon as the Sixth Tank Armyunches their offensive, everything will start to improve!" Ante Army, Sixth Tank Army, Chesnokovmanding the tank. Armymander Chesnokov heard a report on the radio: "This is the Fifth Tank Battalion; we have already lost six tanks, should we stop the charge?" "No! Let the tank operators of the broken tanks hitch a ride on other tanks, so if any crew members fallter in the battle, they can rece them and keep fighting!" Major General Chesnokov''s voice was cold and merciless. "Yes, General!" The response came through the static noise from the crew. Chesnokov wanted to see the situation ahead, so he put his eye to the tank gun''s sight, but the violent shaking almost made him vomit. He had no choice but to push open the turret hatch and stick his head out to observe the front. Then he noticed dust clouds up ahead; it looked as if a "wall formation" of cavalry in a horizontal line was charging forward. "All tanks, attention!" Chesnokov pressed the microphone against his throat, "The enemy tank cluster is right ahead! This time, they don''t have their Air Force to help them, let''s show them what we''re made of!" Scattered "Ura" cries came through the headset, mainly because the T34 radios were so poor in quality. Chesnokov, still in a head-out position, used his binocrs to observe the front, excitedly spotting Prosen tanks arranged in a dense Strike Formation. At the start of the war, the Prussians had used this dense formation to gain a localized advantage and quickly broke through the Ante Army''s anti-tank positions at the border. "Enemy tanks!" Major General Chesnokov shouted over the radio, "Combat ready!" As he said this, he retracted back into the tank turret. Just as he closed the hatch, he looked back to confirm that the majority of the Sixth Tank Army was following right behind him. Back inside the tank, Chesnokov immediately put his eye to the gunsight and started selecting a target. Unfortunately, the enemy was too far, and the tank was shaking violently due to the high-speed charge, so every time Chesnokov spotted a target, it was lost to the shaking before he could even align the crosshair on the enemy. "Mikhail! Stop, let me pick a target and fire a shot!" As soon as he finished speaking, the tank braked hard, and Chesnokov''s body mmed forward, his head knocking against the handrest above the gunsight. Chesnokov cursed, quickly maneuvered the turret to find a target, chose a Prosen tank that was almost facing directly toward the gun barrel, and fired! First shot, a hit! The Prosen tank lost power, slid forward gradually slowing down, and the crew members opened the hatches and scattered to escape. ???*!?#??-? Meanwhile, enemy attacks also struck Chesnokov''s tank, but they merely produced a dull thud against the armor, sounding as if someone was hammering on it. "Hahaha, that''s it! The White General earned splendid victories with this! Soon, every crew will have that level of sess! Load quickly!" More shells hit Chesnokov''s vehicle, yetpletely failed to prate the robust armor of the T34. One armor-piercing shell seemed to have been deflected by the T34''s shape, leaving a sound like long fingernails scraping on the surface of a cast-iron pot, which raised goosebumps on the tank operators. Loader: "Armor-piercing shell, good!" "Send off another one!" Chesnokov fired, and the shell hit the target tank on the side, bounced off the ground, and flew into the air, as if it had be a distant star. "What''s going on! Load again!" At that point, the enemy released smoke. "Cowards!" cursed Chesnokov, "Mikhail, forward! Get the tank moving! We''ll roll over them, crush them! From today on, the Prussians'' armor advantage is done for!" The T34 started up again, with the engine and transmission mechanisms making so much noise that even internalmunication was scarcely effective. Due to excessive vibration, the gun sight lost its ability to search for enemies, and Chesnokov had to rely on the viewing ports on the sides. However, the design of the T34''s turret made it very difficult for him, as the gunner, to use the viewing port on the loader''s side, almost making it impossible to observe properly. After all, with the two-man turret of the T34, the loader and gunner sat side by side,pletely blocking each other. It wouldn''t be long before the enemy''s Prussian armored troops discovered this and developed targeted tactics. Chesnokov struggled for a while, finding it awkward no matter how he tried and he had to once again stick his upper body out of the hatch. The enemy tanks had released a smoke screen that totally obscured the front, making it impossible to see the other side of the smoke. But Chesnokov believed that the enemy''s smoke couldn''t be released indefinitely, and once they broke through the smoke, it would be the moment for the enemy''s armored division to be obliterated! By doing so, he might even earn himself the Ante Hero Medal! At that moment, his tank charged into the smoke first. In the smoke, even sticking his head outside the tank, the visibility was terribly poor, so Chesnokov retreated back inside the turret. After a moment, the previously obscured gun sight in front of Chesnokov suddenly disyed an image again! Chesnokov immediately leaned in, trying to find the fleeing enemy''s Number 3 tank. However, there was nothing up ahead. "Where did they go?" At that time, the tank''s engine and transmission system were as noisy as ever, drowning out almost all sound outside the tank. Major General Chesnokov rotated the turret, trying to find the vanished Number 3 tank cluster. Suddenly, a panicked voice came through the radio: "Who''s shooting at us? Has anyone seen the enemy firing? Where is that cannon from?" A cannon? Major General Chesnokov tossed aside the gun sight, nced through the observation port on his side, and all the T34s charging with him seemed fine, with no sign of attack. Then he turned to the other side, pushed the loader back, and looked out through the observation port. What''s the matter? Isn''t my tactical Number 671 fellow tank fine? In the blink of an eye, a streak of light shed across the Number 671 T34, which immediately slowed down, slid for a few meters, and then came to aplete stop, moving out of the narrow field of view of the observation port. What happened? What was that just now? Major General Chesnokov wanted to check the status of Tank 671, so he turned and pressed his eye to the observation port at the rear of the turret. However, he couldn''t see anything through the narrow viewing port. He was about to use the radio then remembered that the wingman tank was not amand vehicle and did not have a radio. Chesnokov turned back, trying to spot the enemy attacking their forces through the gun sight. But the gun sight was too shaky. To get a clear view, Major General Chesnokov gave a very brave, but also very foolishmand: "Mikhail! Stop!" The tank screeched to a halt, and before it even steadied, Chesnokov was rotating the turret searching the front He hadn''t seen anything when way off in the distance, there was a sh! An 88mm k cannon''s shell sliced through the T34''s front armor as easily as cutting through butter. Because the shot came from a great distance, the falling angle negated part of the nt of the T34''s frontal armor. The shell went straight through driver Mikhail and exploded behind him. The entirebat roomthat is, the turretflew up into the sky in the explosion. Chapter 165: Chapter 17: The Darkest Hour (Alliance Hierarch Bonus) Prussian Army, Asgard Knights Amp Armored Division frontlinemand post. Divisionmander William Dietrich set aside his binocrs. Just one kilometer ahead, positioned on high ground, an 88mm anti-aircraft gun emcement was firing continuously. The four 88mm guns kept up a relentless barrage, and each shot meant another Ante tank was destroyed. The 88mm gun, designed as an anti-aircraft weapon, had an exceptionally impressive projectile speed to ensure shells could reach the "interception zone" as high and as quickly as possible. This also resulted in an astonishing capability to prate armor, even at very long distances. To ensure a sufficient rate of fire, the 88mm gun boasted an excellent firing rate among cannons of the same caliber. With a well-trained crew, the weapon''s volume of fire was formidable. Add to this the Prussians'' customarily superior sighting equipment, and this device became a renowned tank killer, able to hit and destroy tanks from great distances. William Dietrich suddenly said, "The 88mm gun is like sunlight, and the Ante Empire''s new tanks are like soap bubbles, quickly dissipating under it." He smacked his lips lightly, savoring the poetry of his own creation, growing fonder of it the more he reflected, and then took out a notebook to write it down. Then he began to adjust the phrases, trying to make them rhyme. At that moment, the sound of submachine gun fire came from a vige nearby. William Dietrich asked, "What''s the situation? An enemy ambush?" A staff officer immediately dispatched a messenger to check, and five minutester, the returning messenger reported, "The gendarmerie is clearing the vige of inferior races and potential resistors to make room for the troops'' encampment in the rear." William Dietrich nodded and continued to ponder his poem in the notebook. The sound of submachine guns continued sporadically in the vige behind him. Ante Army, Argesukov, Southwestern Front Army Headquarters. August 2nd, 1530 hours. Themunications officer saluted in front of General Skorobo: "Report!" General Skorobo said, "It''s news of the counterattack, isn''t it? The counterattack was sessful, wasn''t it?" Themunications officer looked embarrassed. "No, we haven''t made contact with the Sixth and Eleventh Tank Armies, and the Fifth Tank Army, primarily equipped with outdated models, has copsed. Its remnants are retreating towards Orachi." "No!" General Skorobo interrupted the officer, "The Sixth and Eleventh Armies are out of contact because they''ve advanced too swiftly, running so rampant that they haven''t had time to stop and report via radio. Have the praise choir hasten their report!" At that moment, General Skorobo finally noticed the telegram in themunications officer''s hand and asked, "What''s that?" The staff officer said, "This is a reconnaissance report from the Air Force, spotting arge number of tank wrecks on the line from Odenodorf to Shepetovka. Aerial observations suggest those are our new tanks." As he spoke, the staff officer handed over a stack of photos: "These are the photos submitted with the Air Force''s report." General Skorobo took the photos, his expression turning grim. Even the blurred images taken from the air showed the wrecks'' sloped armor, a design not even the Prussian tanks had yet adopted. General Skorobo stared at the first photo, not intending to flip to the next one. The Crown Prince stepped forward, took all the photos behind the first one, and began to flip through them. "Weren''t our tanks supposed to have absolute armor superiority?" the Crown Prince asked softly. Standing beside the Crown Prince, the Front Army Hierarch answered, "That should be the case, but Rocossov previously reported that the enemy aimed at the tracks and turret rings to immobilize the tanks before leaving them for the infantry to deal with. This might be... " "What''s this?" the Crown Prince picked out a photo and showed it to everyone. The Chief of Staff said, "It looks like a Prussian anti-tank gun position. This type with cross-shaped anchors was mentioned in reports from the Castilian Civil War88mm anti-aircraft guns, which can also be used as direct-fire anti-tank firepower after recing the sights for groundbat." "These things destroyed our tanks?" the Crown Prince found another photo, trying to piece it together with the first, but he couldn''t quite fit them correctly. The Chief of Staff selected a photo and handed it to the Crown Prince: "Fit this one in the middle." Following the instruction, the Crown Prince did so, and the edges of the three photos fit together perfectlythey clearly belonged together. "I''m not knowledgeable in photo interpretation," the Crown Prince said, "but I understand sizeparisons with the nearby houses. The anti-tank gun position is super far from the wreckage area!" The Chief of Staff said, "About two kilometers. The enemy managed to prate our armor from two kilometers away. More rming is their ability to urately hit targets from that distance. It seems we need to order that bombers and ground-attack aircraft should prioritize targeting these guns." As soon as the Chief of Staff finished speaking, General Skorobo set down the photos and stood up. "What are you nning to do?" the Front Army Hierarch demanded, "As themander, you must remain calm at all times; you can''t make a joke out of the lives of hundreds of thousands!" MVLeMpYr-story General Skorobo said, "What are you talking about? I''m about to fulfill the duties of a Front Army Commander-in-Chief. Although the armored counterattack has failed, we have not yet lost!" General Skorobo picked up a pointer and began to gesture on the map: "Based on confirmed intelligence, the enemy has four directions of attack. On the farthest nks, two armored groups are driving towards each other over hundreds of kilometers. On the inside, two groups primarily made up of infantry Army Groups haveunched offensive spearheads. "I think we can leave the outer armored spearheads for the moment. Duke Meishikin''s Shepetovka Group is responsible for blocking the northern second armored group, and the southern first armored group is faced by several of my Army Groups inyered defenses." Chapter 166: Chapter 17: The Darkest Hour (Extra for Alliance Hierarch)_2 "Even if they manage toplete the encirclement, it won''t be until after August 30. Before that, we can first stop the enemy''s advance from the two infantry Army Groups on the inner line. We may even annihte the enemy''s infantry formations and deplete their numbers!" The Crown Prince opened his mouth wide, "So... we can really hold out?" "Of course, we have so many troops and so much supply! Even if we do get surrounded, we can fight for dozens of days," General Skorobo asserted confidently. MVLeMpYr-reader The Crown Prince nced at the map, then at the resolved face of the general, "I can''t find any faults, after all, I graduated second tost from the military academy. Should I report it to Father like this?" General Skorobo: "We had already received orders to hold at all costs. Argesukov is one of the origins of the Ante Empire, before the year of Jules, this ce was once the ancient capital of Ante, anyone who lightly talks of giving up Argesukov will most certainly abandon the holy Yekaterinburg in the future!" At that moment, themunications staff officer entered again: "Urgent telegram from the High Command!" "Read it!" General Skorobo waved his hand grandly, while grabbing a cup of water to drink. Themunications staff opened the folder and read, "Do not give up any inch of the territory,manders at all levels who vacate theirmands to retreat will be deemed traitors, and both they and their families will be executed by firing squad!" General Skorobo: "See! They''ve just ordered us to hold out, and now they''ve issued such a mandate to the whole army. Now we can only engage in a decisive battle with the enemy here! Don''t worry, Your Highness, we will stop the enemy''s attack from within." The Crown Prince nodded and then asked, "But what if the enemypletes their encirclement from the outside?" General Skorobo fell silent for a second, then answered, "As I said, we have enough ammunition and food tost for dozens of days. We will fight for the empire here until thest moment." The Front Army''s bishop said, "Although we must hold on, we can issue a general evacuation order to the ordinary civilians of Argesukov. Let the women and children retreat to the rear." General Skorobo nodded, "That''s not a problem. Once we get besieged, women and children may starve to death due to theck of food. Arrange for it to be executed!" Ante Empire, Holy Yekaterinburg, Summer Pce, Jules 914, August 2, 1630 hours. "No, no!" Tsar Nichs V roared at the generals, "You promised me that the heavy forces in Argesukov would be able to effectively defeat the enemy! Now let them defeat the enemy!" The Chief of General Staff of the High Command Marshal Kulenov said, "ording to the aerial reconnaissance, our new tanks thatprise the tank army are no match in front of the enemy, we have overestimated thebat effectiveness of these tanks. Although the enemy''s pincer movement has just begun, but..." "You weren''t saying this two weeks ago! You said that even an idiot who finishedst in his ss and wet his pants could use the T34 to destroy arge number of the enemy''s tanks!" The Tsar banged his hand on the table angrily, the ring on his ring finger making a crisp sound. At that moment, the great doors opened and the guards outside said in panic, "Your Highness the Princess, you can''t go in! The highest military council is in session!" Princess Olga Nikyevna Antonovna ignored the guards'' attempts to stop her and surged all the way to the center of the meeting room, stopping by the map table. Nichs V impatiently said, "Olga! There''s no time to y at pretending to be Empress Ekaterina! We''re discussing important matters! Military matters!" Her Highness the Princess nced sidelong at her own father, "Father, I also have military matters to discuss." Niki V turned to look at the maid hiding by the door, shivering: "What are you standing there for? Take her away!" Olga Nikyevna Antonovna locked eyes with her father: "Father, have you read the battle reports from Peniye, the ones without embellishment? Since The Church Tribunal has sent a report to my brother, there should be one on your desk as well." Niki V felt somewhat embarrassed and was about to answer when his daughter continued: "And then there''s Loktov''s battle report. Anyone who has read that report knows that Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is an undisputed military genius. He has an acute sense for the battlefield and his militarypetence is solid!" "Such a man couldn''t possibly be rankedst, so there''s only one possibility! He must have intentionally rankedst for my foolish brother!" "He had to ensure his score was not higher than my brother''s while also making sure he could graduate. Isn''t this precise control of his ranking enough to prove that he is actually a military genius?" The generals and marshals in the room looked at each other, at a loss for words. Only Niki V continued to scold the princess: "Olga! This is not one of your childish games!" The princess stared back at her father: "I am pointing out how foolish these generals under yourmand are! If you think about it, they''re no different from the defeated Sanctified faction nobility; they simply chose a better side during the civil war but are all fools nheless!" "Moreover, some of them are deeply connected to the defeated Sanctified faction nobility!" "Father! Your failure to thoroughly eradicate these people has led to the dire defeats over the past month!" "Your Highness!" the Chief of General Staff of the High Command, who was also the only surviving prince of the entire empire, Marshal Kulenzov, said angrily, "Even the imperial family must not speak so recklessly!" Princess Olga retorted: "Am I not stating the truth? You deceived my father with your fancy words, making him believe that Argesukov was as stable as Mount Tai! Now you''re here telling my father that Argesukov must retreat! You..." "Enough!" Niki V pped his daughter, "Get out!" At that moment, the youngest, Duke Raoul, stood up and advised: "Your Highness, please leave. This way, please." He tugged at the princess''s sleeve as he spoke. Princess Olga reluctantly turned and left the room, followed by Duke Raoul. "Your Highness," he whispered to the princess, "we had a chance to persuade His Majesty to issue a retreat order. Your outburst has embarrassed him, making a retreat now less likely, at least not today." Olga: "Is this my fault? Weren''t you the ones iming a few days ago that the tide of the war had turned? And how did that turn out?" Duke Raoul was slightly embarrassed: "Yes, we underestimated the enemy. But we are correcting that mistake, and you''ve seriously disrupted our ns." "Hmph!" Princess His Highness did not bother to hide her disdain. Duke Raoul continued: "Moreover, as smart as you are, how could you not know that His Majesty relies on us to counter the Grand Patriarch and the church? You would be wise not to get too close to the church as well. During the civil war, the Sanctified faction had some public support, and the church needed us to win them over." "After ten years of champagne and caviar, the public is now full of Secr faction believers. This war is ourst chance." Olga: "Yet you''re not doing well. I think that at such a critical time, the fact that you''re still concerning yourselves with these matters is truly the darkest hour for the mothend of Ante." Chapter 167: Chapter 18: The Battlefield Named Orachi (Extra for 11000 Monthly Votes) In the year 914, at 2030 hours on August 2nd, Orachi, the headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division of the Ante Army. Wang Zhong stared at the operational map on the wall, lost in thought. Next to the map, a staff member was setting up a new candbrumthe sunlight outside was still present, but much diminished, so the division headquarters used candbra to supplement the lighting. Orachi had electricity, but lights had to be controlled at night, and the light could be concealed by drawing the curtains if using candbra. Wang Zhong sighed, "The battle has already started, yet why have I been idle all day?" Popov approached him, "Isn''t that a good thing? We''ve strengthened our fortifications for another day, and buried an additional 1,000 mines today!" The locations of the mines Wang Zhong selected this time were ces where enemy artillery fire was unlikely to reach, and they were widely spaced apart, emphasizing a "psychological warfare" approach. Using sappers toy the mines, with such spacing, it would take half a day toy just a dozen or so. It''d be even more wasteful to use tools like mineying cords, as one cord wouldn''t detonate many mines. Without using sappers, people would regrly be blown up into the sky. How annoying is that! In terms of vexing the enemy, Wang Zhong was quite confident. Just then, Yegorov entered, and Wang Zhong asked, "Why have you returned from your forwardmand?" "Came to check the overall situation. It''s about to be night, and it''s very likely the enemy won''t reach us today. So, what''s the situation now?" Yegorov said as he made straight for the water jug in the room, lifting it to his mouth to pour. Wang Zhong pointed to the map, "Take a look for yourself. The general direction of the enemy''s attack is as I predicted. The Army Group led by Duke Meishikin to our northeast is engaged in fierce battle with the enemy. I thought we''d be up against at least a division of the enemy, but I''ve been idle and anxious all day." Pavlov briefly put down his pen, picked up the cold coffee on the table, and joined the conversation, "It must be the counterattacks of the Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Army that have had an effect. They may not have eliminated many enemy forces, but they certainly disrupted the enemy''s offensive sequence. "Reorganization and such takes hours. By the time they start moving again, they won''t get far before it turns dark." At this point, Wang Zhong felt mixed emotions. Allies were being sacrificed needlessly; he should be grieving, but when he thought about the method by which the allies were dying the enemyforcing them to reorganizeit seemed absurdlyical. read-first-at-MVLeMpYr Ante Army soldiers were brave, but who knows how many more would fall victim to these pig-headed generals. At that moment, Vasily, who was listening to a captured radio set in the corner, suddenly shouted, "I''ve picked up the Prussians'' radio transmission!" Wang Zhong and the others immediately gathered around, even the staff officers involved in other tasks stopped to look toward Vasily. Vasily listened intently with both hands on his headset, "There''s no call sign, I might have missed it. The content being said is... Our force''s advance is unimpeded, unimpeded!" Upon hearing the words "unimpeded," Wang Zhong couldn''t help but imagine various implications, but he restrained himself from making any sarcastic remarks. Vasily, "There''s a new location code! ''Berry Orchard'', I''m not sure where it refers to, but some unit has reached Berry Orchard." Wang Zhong, "Too bad, if we could have captured another one of the enemy''s codebooks, we might know exactly where to fire our artillery." Wang Zhong currently had 4 B4 heavy howitzers and 24 152mm heavy guns. If he knew where the enemy was camping for the night, he could give them a little surprise. Yegorov, "Didn''t you personally scout the viges to our north? Just firing blindly might get you a hit." Wang Zhong, "No, we must use our firepower prudently to ensure every shot inflicts effective damage on the enemy." At this moment, the sound of horse hooves and the voices of the division''s guards could be heard outside. Soon, a captain was escorted in by the guards, "The mounted reconnaissance team has returned from its mission!" Wang Zhong, "What''s the situation?" The captain reported, "General, we discovered the enemy''s advance recon team at Kirileyev vige, but since they had Mark II tanks, we took out one sentry and withdrew without engaging further." Wang Zhong immediately moved to the table with the detailed map of the nearby area and located Kirileyev vige. Yegorov, "If the scouts have already been there, we are bound to engage the enemy tomorrow!" At that point, Vasily, who had been all ears, chimed in, "Why wait until tomorrow? Deploy the T34s now, take them out, and snag a codebook today!" Wang Zhong, "No, I''ve inspected the roads to Kirileyev, and the T34s might break down mid-assault. Captain, how long would it take for your cavalry to return to Kirileyev?" The captain immediately answered, "Half an hour, Excellency." Wang Zhong, "Then in half an hour, we willmence artillery bombardment on Kirileyev vige, and after the shelling, see if you can pull something off. Try to find a briefcase belonging to the officer leading this armored recon unit, a map case would do as well!" The captain smiled, "General, I''ll strive to bring back both." Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, "Good! Go!" The captain saluted and left. Yegorov was surprised, "You''re not leading the mission yourself?" It seemed that in Yegorov''s eyes, Wang Zhong had be someone who enjoyed charging into battle himself. However, that wasn''t the case for Wang Zhong; he simply chose the method that maximized the use of his ''Golden Finger''. He could destroy a multitude of enemy tanks by personallymanding a single tank. But as an infantryman or a cavalrymanthat is, as himselfthe results he could achieve would be quite limited. He had tried it in Ronied, not just by himself, but also with his fiance Liu Da, and the wounds from that time had not yet fully healed. Wang Zhong, "I am simply choosing the most effective method. As an infantryman, or as a cavalryman, mybat effectiveness is very limited. "Pavlov, order the artillery to... " He nced at his watch. "At 2100 hours,mence firing at Kirileyev vige! One shot per gun should suffice." ``` Four 203mm rounds and twenty-four 152mm rounds, I guess that little vige of Kireyev is going to be turned inside out. Pavlov immediately picked up the phone and began giving orders. Just then, Nelly came in pushing the food cart: "Mealtime!" All the staff officers, orderlies, and clerks in the room turned their heads to look at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: "Let''s eat!" The next moment, everyone in the headquarters rushed over like pigs to a trough, forming a long line in front of Nelly''s food cart. Vasily: "It smells like a Kalcho soup, have the cattle from the ranch been ughtered?" Nelly: "To boost morale, the factory manager ughtered eight cows. He said it''s better for us to eat them than to let the Prussians take them." "Oh, beef soup!" The staff officers all got excited. "The sausage produced by the Church Meat Union is not bad either, but I definitely prefer beef!" Wang Zhong, smelling the aroma, felt his appetite surge. Just as he was about to jostle with his men for food, the telephone rang. He could only turn his head to answer the phone: "Hello? This is Rocossov, what''s up?" "This is the artillery observation post on Hill 153. We see tanks approaching from the northern ins." Wang Zhong frowned. Pavlov immediately said, "Take positions, there''s a situation!" The young men who had just crowded around Nelly''s cart swiftly returned to their stations. Wang Zhong: "Keep calm, have you identified which side the tanks are from? Ours have sloped armor, while the enemy''s tanks are more boxy." "The light isn''t good right now, and they''re too far away to see clearly," the artillery observation post replied. Wang Zhong held the receiver and exchanged opinions with others: "153 says they''ve spotted tanks to the north. But the cavalry scout team just reported that only the enemy''s armored vanguard has reached Kireyev, right?" Popov: "Could it be the remnants of the defeated 5th, 6th, or 11th Tank Armies?" "Hmm..." Vasily said, "Shall I try calling them on our armored forces'' frequency?" "Go ahead," Wang Zhong just finished speaking when another phone rang. Pavlov picked it up: "This is Pavlov. What? Hold your fire for now!" After speaking, Pavlov covered the receiver and looked towards Wang Zhong: "The anti-tank gun positions also see these tanks and are asking whether to open fire." Yegorov: "Fire a re. It might help us get a clearer view. Let the infantry do it to avoid exposing the anti-tank gun positions." "Agreed." After Wang Zhong nodded, Pavlov immediately ordered the anti-tank gun positions: "Hold steady, stay hidden. Wait for orders." Then he rapidly pressed the receiver hook several times: "Operator, connect me to the 3rd Infantry Battalion." At that moment, Vasily called out: "I''ve got them!" Wang Zhong hurried over: "What did they say?" Vasily: "Our divisionmander wants to speak to you." After saying that, he handed over the headset and microphone to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong then imitated a pose from the movies, pressing the headset to one ear while holding the microphone with his other hand. "This is Major General Rocossov from the 151st Division. Report your unit, we almost opened fire on you!" The other side was shocked: "Rocossov? As in the White Horse General Rocossov?" Wang Zhong''s first thought was at least they didn''t call him ''Diarrhea General Rocossov,'' which was eptable. Wang Zhong: "Yes, it''s me. Which part are you from?" "We are the 13th Armored Battalion of the 5th Tank Army. Our organization is rtively intact, and we have plenty of ammunition. We can still fight." Wang Zhong: "What tanks are you equipped with?" "T26, we have 30 intact T26 tanks!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that he really couldn''t escape the fate of using all those junk vehicles from the early days of the war, but given the situation, he couldn''tin too much: the light tank still had a 45mm gun and two machine guns, which could effectively kill enemy infantry if used correctly. Wang Zhong: "Head south and you should see a high ground. We''ll have the infantry fire a re to guide you and have the infantry lead you through minefields and anti-tank barriers. Wee to join us." Pavlov immediately tranted what Wang Zhong just promised into orders for the infantry battalion and conveyed them over the phone. Just then, at 2100 hours, thunderous roaring came from the direction of the artillery positions. Wang Zhong: "Don''t be afraid, we''re striking the enemy''s forward units." The other side was silent for a second before replying through gritted teeth: "Good! Hit them hard!" ``` Chapter 168: Chapter 19: Interrogation of Prisoners of War Twenty minutester, thirty T26 tanks rolled into the city,ing to a stop in front of Wang Zhong''s division headquarters. The main courtyard of Boye Mansion wasrge enough to amodate anything. Leading them was a toon leader''s vehicle, equipped with a long radio antenna. As soon as the vehicle stopped, a burly tank operator major struggled to climb out of the small tank and made his way towards Wang Zhong with urgency. Wang Zhong thought the man''s approach seemed to indicate a handshake, so he extended his hand. The major, without thinking too much, grabbed Wang Zhong''s hand and shook it vigorously before realizing something was amiss and snapped to attention, saluting properly. After returning the salute, Wang Zhong said, "You''ve had a difficult journey. Where are the other units of the tank army?" The major''s mood immediately darkened, "They''re gone. We thought we wouldn''t have to worry about enemy air forces this time with fighter cover, but we didn''t expect to encounter such fierce armored troops! "We mainly faced enemy units equipped with 38-type tanks. In theory, we should have been able to go toe-to-toe since our main guns could easily pierce through that kind of tank. But the battle turned out to be aplete surprise! "We usually achieve effective hits at 300 meters, but the enemy could hit us from 700 meters! That extra 400 meters distance could mean the difference between life and death!" Pavlov, standing to the side, tried to offer somefort, "The enemy''s scopes are more advanced than ours, and they''re better trained. It''s not your fault." Wang Zhong asked, "Where did you encounter the units equipped with 38-type tanks? What kind of identification marks were on their vehicles?" Recognizing the insignia could help determine which division it was, and Wang Zhong was intimately familiar with the war history of Earth. He could easily guess the enemy''s strengthposition based on a division''s number. The major asked, "Do you have a map?" Wang Zhong gestured invitingly, "Pleasee inside." Then he and Pavlov led the major into themand headquarters. The remaining members of the Fifth Tank Army stayed outside with their tanks, staring at the division headquarters'' guard battalion soldiers. That was when Nelly came out, "You must be hungry by now,e and have some food." As she spoke, Nelly began to mobilize the field cooking team''s girls, who carried buckets of thick soup on shoulder poles. The savory aroma of the thick soup instantly drew the attention of the tank operators. "This Kalcho thick soup is actually made with real beef!" "Fantastic, I could eat three big bowls of this!" Soon, all the tank operators were served thick soup, with each one receiving a generous piece of meat in their bowl. A young tank operator, after a few sips, suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion and began to choke up. His tankmander immediately scolded him, "What are you crying for! The brother units are watching! You''re disgracing our Fifth Tank Army!" But themander''s reprimand only made the young tank operator cry even harder. "You idiot!" Popov suddenly appeared, grabbing the raised hand of themander, "That''s enough. He''s been holding it together after such a terrible defeat. It''s understandable that he''d break down after rxing with some good soup." "But, Your Grace the Judge, his behavior could affect the morale of the troops..." Popov replied, "Not at all. Everyone feels fear, everyone falters, everyone must stay strong. Letting it out in tears is good for him. He''ll be braver afterwards." story-at-MvLeMpYr The young tank operator nodded repeatedly. Popov encouraged, "Go on, drink your soup before it gets cold!" The tank operator obediently bowed his head and resumed drinking his soup. Inside the headquarters, Wang Zhong was surprised, "It looks like the enemy units we''re facing on the farthest left nkor rather, the western nkare a motley division equipped with 38-type and a considerable number of Mark II tanks." Both the Mark II and the 38-type tanks were outdated by this point in time. These outdated tanks could be dealt with using 45mm Anti-tank Rifles and PTRD-41 Anti-tank Rifles. Of course, they could be addressed by T26 tanks as well. However, taking on these tanks with T26s required clever tactics. Wang Zhong''s gaze shifted from the situation map on the wall to the topographical map on the table near Orachi as he pondered how to effectively use the T26 tanks to deal with the potential enemy assorted armored units, thereby reducing the losses to more powerful units like the T34. At that moment, Nelly came in with a bowl of thick soup for the major, "Time to eat." The major''s stomach immediately let out a heartily mournful growl. Outside, the remnants of the 5th Tank Army were enjoying their hot thick soup and rye bread when a group of about a dozen warhorses trotted into the yard of the headquarters. The leading captain looked bewildered at the sight of so many T26 tanks. At this point, the tank operators of the T26 tanks noticed the person riding with the knights. "He''s got a Prosen with him!" "Damn, kill that bastard!" "Crap, he''s in a ck uniform, it''s definitely Prosen Armored Troops!" ``` "Kill him!" The cavalry captain, seeing the situation, hurriedly shouted, "Don''ty a hand on him! He''s a prisoner we finally caught! The general wants to interrogate him! We lost two men just to capture him!" It was only then that everyone realized there were two riderless horses in the cavalry squad. The tank operators, who had been so impassioned just moments before, fell silent. The Prosen lieutenant looked terrified, watching the surrounding people with fearful eyes. One of the tank operators noticed this and shouted, "Odd, aren''t they supposed to be the superior race? Why are they so afraid of us?" "Yeah! Just look at this scaredy-cat!" The captain dismounted, took the prisoner from the saddle, ced him on the ground to stand up, and then escorted him into the headquarters, nked on either side by his men. As they entered the door, they happened to run into a major from the fifth armying out of the headquarters. The major jumped in surprise, but quickly realized this was a prisoner, spat on the prisoner''s face, and cursed, "You dog!" The prisoner was thus escorted into the division headquarters. As soon as they entered the map room, the captain saluted General Rokossovsky, "General Rokossovsky! We have captured the enemy armored reconnaissance team leader! We''ve seized his briefcase and map case!" Wang Zhong was overjoyed and immediately came over to examine the prisoner. He noticed that the prisoner''s insignia was different from that of the average Prosen soldier. The typical Prosen soldiers'' insignia looked very simple, without any fancy frills, emphasizing practicality and functionality. However, the prisoner''s insignia was well-crafted and quite borate, depicting Zeus holding a spear made of lightning, ring down from above. The spear made of lightning, Wang Zhong vaguely remembered, seemed to be called Gungnir. Wang Zhong frowned, recalling that on Earth there had been an infamous unit whose insignia featured twin lightning bolts, though he wasn''t sure what the impact of removing one bolt would have on a unit''sbat effectiveness. Wang Zhong called over Vasily, "Come here, be an interpreter." "Alright!" Vasily immediately put down his headset and ran over excitedly, "Just ask away, I''ll trante perfectly." Wang Zhong, "Which unit are you with?" Wang Zhong was a little worried the prisoner might just y the stoic, but to his surprise, the prisoner readily opened up, "Captain of the armored reconnaissance battalion of the Asgard Knights'' Anp Armored Division." Wang Zhong looked at him in surprise, "Is it really okay for you to say that outright?" After Vasily tranted, the prisoner smirked disdainfully, "Why wouldn''t it be? Anyway, by tomorrow you''ll be annihted by the Anp Division, not even the dregs will be left! We''ll also be winning the war very soon, very soon! "Next spring, we''ll be freely selecting our own plots ofnd across the vast fields." Wang Zhong, "Next spring, huh? I thought you''d say you were going to win the war before Christmas!" His own men were the first to be startled by his words, and they all looked at Wang Zhong. The judge responsible for overseeing the codebooks even gave Wang Zhong a sharp look. Vasily, sensing the sarcasm in Wang Zhong''s words, almost couldn''t hold back a smile as he tranted. Whatever he tranted, the prisoner''s eyes bulged as he shouted a few iprehensible words. Vasily, "He says even we wouldn''t be so optimistic!" Wang Zhong, "You are already quite optimistic, a little more wouldn''t hurt. As for me, I believe the war willst at least four more years, and after four years, we will march into the ruins of your capital!" Vasily proudly tranted Wang Zhong''s deration to the Prosen prisoner. The Prussianughed heartily, saying, "You? With those outdated T26s in your yard? You probably don''t know that even yourtest T34s can be easily destroyed by our 88-mm anti-aircraft guns!" Wang Zhong, "I don''t believe it!" The prisoner, "Hmph! Our division was attacked today by more than two hundred of your sixth tank army''s T34s, and not a single one got close enough to our anti-aircraft positions to spot them! "Our technology has far surpassed your imagination!" No, it''s just a high-velocity anti-aircraft gun, after all; its performance is indeed excellent, but in the end, it is just an anti-aircraft gun. Don''t overy it. Wang Zhong, "Hmph, I don''t believe you!" Right then, the prisoner grew agitated, "Then just wait to be crushed under our tracks!" Wang Zhong, "So, when are you nning to roll over us?" "Of course, tomorrow morning! Our division will take this city and obliterate your outdated T26 tanks and infantry in just a morning!" Wang Zhong, "Tomorrow morning, huh... Are you sure you aren''t revealing any military secrets?" The prisoner sneered, "What difference does it make? Even if you knew the exact time of the attack, you have no way to stop our offensive! You''ve never been able to hold off our attacks!" Wang Zhong, "Is that so? Well, you''d better stay alive to see how we thrash that what''s it called? The Asgard Knights? The Asgard Knights'' Anp Armored Division?" The prisoner, "Hmph, ignorant primitive!" ``` Chapter 169: Chapter 20 Look, the Owl In the year 914 of Jules, August 3rd, 0100 hours, Prosen Army, Asgard Knights Armored Division headquarters. Major General William Dietrich scrutinized the disheveled sergeant from the armored reconnaissancepany and asked, "What was the cause of the artillery fire just now?" The sergeant said, "We had entered the vige of Kiryalev, nning to spend the night there. The toon leader discovered a sentry missing and was organizing a search when the shelling suddenly started. It was swift and fierce. "Then, before we could react, we heard hoofbeats!" "Hoofbeats?" Major General William Dietrich repeated, surprised. "Yes, hoofbeats! Cavalry charged at us, firing with submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols, and throwing hand grenades and Molotov cocktails. We were caught off guard. "The toon leader nned to rush to Tank No. 2 and retaliate with its machine gun, but the tank was done in by a Molotov cocktail. In the end, I just jumped on the motorcycle and rode it back here." William Dietrich nodded, "It''s not your fault. You did well toe back; at least now we know what happened to the recon unit. Did you hear any identifying information about the enemy, like their unit number or anything?" "I don''t understand Ante," the sergeant said. "But I feel that the enemy''s uniforms don''t quite match those of the cavalry in the identification manual, missing the cloak." "Alright, is there anything else to report? If not, you can go and have your meal." The sergeant saluted William Dietrich and turned to leave the armoredmand vehicle. William Dietrich approached the map table and drew a circle around the vige of Kiryalev with a pencil. "The enemy''s artillery that could reach here... Where could it be?" Chief of Staff: "Where else could it be? Orachi, of course! Itmands a vital roadway, and there are woods nearbyit should be the best defensive position across this whole area. "Tomorrow we can push up to here and deploy." As he spoke, the Chief of Staff picked up a pair of divider calipers used for drawing and sketched a line on the map with the pencil end. Major General Dietrich nodded, "Let''s set off early in the morning. The reconpany leads, with the main force''s First Armored Company directly behind. Once in position, the armored recon will advance, while the First Company will deploy into a Strike Formation." "Sounds reasonable. The Ante people will hide in fortified positions near the cities, just like before," the Chief of Staff replied. "Furthermore, my division has the authority to directlymand the Air Force''s 117th Recon Squadron. We can request a scout ne to conduct low-altitude reconnaissance along the road. The FW189 is reliable in this kind of bushy terrain." "Mhm, no problem," Dietrich nodded. In the year 914 of Jules, August 3rd, 0410 hours. Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus to the first ambush site. Grigori, carrying a red g, followed him. Seeing the red g, many soldiers got excited and stepped out of cover. "General! Will we strike the enemy hard today?" "We will!" Wang Zhong said with certainty. "Today, we will utterly destroy them!" Popov, who came with Wang Zhong, shouted, "Get back to your positions! Stay concealed! Today it''s about patience! If we are more patient than the enemy, we will win!" While talking, Wang Zhong reached his beloved Tank 422''s hiding spot. Tank 422 was parked at the very bottom of the hiding spot, covered with a camouge; even the red g on the radio antenna was obscured by the hideout. In a while, just a simple reverse, and Tank 422''s turret would be uncovered on the ground, incidentally revealing the red g. The enemy will certainly be taken by surprise. A battalion of the 31st Guards hid in a W-shaped trench in front of the ambush position; they were responsible for blocking the enemy''s infantry, and for releasing smoke to cover the tanks and anti-tank guns when they had to withdraw from their positions. On the side of the tank ambush position, there was an anti-tank gun toonposed of four guns, whose mission was to strike the enemy''s nk when their tanks attempted to charge in for closebat. Wang Zhong asked his gunner Alexandria, "How are the tanks?" "Excellent," replied the driver Beliyakov, "it has never been in better shape than it is now." Wang Zhong, "Then I''ll go check the condition of the other crews." This time Wang Zhong not only dug tank shelters but also, following the Soviet Army tactical manual from the Cold War era on Earth, he assigned observation sectors to each vehiclethat is, the areas they were to monitor closely. This was incredibly important for the T34, whichcked situational awareness capability; if they only had to watch specific areas, they wouldn''t move their heads around randomly trying to locate targets with their tank periscopes. Wang Zhong seriously suspected that the reason the Soviet Army during the Cold War did this was because they were terribly hampered by poor visibility during the big war. After checking the status of each vehicle by walking around the ambush position, Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus to the very front of the entire position. Themander of the first battalion of the 31st Regiment initiated contact, leaving his shelter to greet him: "General! We are ready!" Wang Zhong, "Rx, the first engagement will be a pleasant ambush. Ideally, we will be targeting the enemy while they''re in march formation." Themander, "That would be great." Wang Zhong continued, "Your task is to lead your troops to capture the enemy''s equipment after the ambush is over and to ensure every tank is destroyed. Also, bury some of those modified hand grenades as booby-traps." Themanderughed, "Those corpse booby-traps? Just thinking about more Prussian ghosts getting killed by these things makes me especially happy." Wang Zhong alsoughed, "Hahaha, exactly! These damned invaders all need to be dealt with sooner orter." Just then, Wang Zhong suddenly heard an engine sound from above; he hurriedly dismounted and pulled Bucephalus to hide under the trees alongside him. Grigori also ced the red g on the ground and covered it with fallen leaves. In an instant, all signs of life in the entire thicket disappeared. An FW189 flew by overhead. Lieutenant Fox, a pilot of the 117th Reconnaissance Squadron of the Prussian Air Force, flew his reconnaissance ne along the crude roads of the Ante People. The captain intelligence officer in the back seat kept observing the ground with binocrs, "Good, there''s nothing." At that moment, the radio inquired, "Owl Owl, do you see anything?" "Wolf Wolf, all is normal, no trace of the enemy found." The captain intelligence officer paused for a moment, "Repeat, no trace of the enemy found, we are approaching Orachi and still see no signs of the enemy!" There was silence on the radio for about five seconds before the next message came through, "Continue reconnaissance, Wolf out!" "Wolf out!" Vasily finished tranting and turned to look at Pavlov, "I think this ''Wolf'' might be ground forces, and ''Owl'' is probably the reconnaissance ne." only-found-at-MVLeMpYr Pavlov, "Your deduction is truly marvelous!" At that moment, the telephone rang, and Pavlov picked up the receiver, "This is Pavlov speaking. Mm-hmm? Have God''s Arrow Company been notified? Good, good, continue monitoring, Brother Peter. Over." Pavlov hung up the phone and looked at Vasily, "This owl seems to be an FW189 reconnaissance ne, and it''s about to be taken down by God''s Arrow Company. As for the wild wolf..." Pavlov walked to the table and looked at the map found on a Prosen reconnaissance battalion officer captured yesterday. Pointing at the symbol-drawn shield on the map, he said, "I asked the erudite from the town, this rune is called Hook of the Wolf, and Wild Wolf must be the radio call sign of this division." "Now it all makes sense. We''re not facing a ragtag armored division that wiped out the Fifth Tank Army, but rather the freshly deployed elite Asgard Knights. We should notify the divisionmander of this." ------------- Wang Zhong held the handset, "You''re saying what we''re up against is the Knight Corps?" "Yes, best to be careful." Wang Zhong stroked his chin and asked, "The prisoner from yesterday, is he alright? Didn''t show any supernatural signs, did he? Like sudden red eyes, or a thirst for blood, or turning into a werewolf under the moon?" "No, why do you ask?" "No reason." Wang Zhong was actually somewhat concerned that the enemy might suddenlye up with some unscientific nonsense, since there was already the Divine Arrow and choral squads on his side, along with human radar. If there were vampires from another world''s Sturmtiger, that would be normal, right? In case the enemy suddenly started singing "The Devil''s Long Socks" with red glowing eyes, thenthen they would just have to rely on the clergyman Popov. But as it stands, the enemy is still human, at most, fanatically devout humans. Pavlov said, "Nothing additional to report, the enemy''s reconnaissance ne has been shot down by Divine Arrow. The one who took action is your fiance." Wang Zhongughed, "She''s gotten quite adept at it." Ludm, the nemesis of the Prosen reconnaissance nes. The FW189 reconnaissance ne goes by the nickname of "Owl," so Ludm might as well be known as the Owl Hunter, the terminator of Owls. Just as Wang Zhong hung up the phone, another call came in. The phones in these frontlinemunication bunkers are direct lines that don''t go through an operator; they connect directly one-to-one. The phone that is now ringing connects to the advanced observation posts. That''s why, when Wang Zhong heard the phone ring, he immediately ordered, "Prepare for battle; the enemy ising!" After saying that, he answered the phone, and sure enough, a hushed voice on the other end said, "The enemy has passed the observation post. The enemy has passed the observation post. Marching formation, no anomalies detected." "Understood, look for a chance to evacuate." The job of the observation posts is to provide early warning; once that''s done, they can slip away. As Wang Zhong set down the handset, the walls of the bunker began to tremble. The enemy was nearing. Wang Zhong rushed out of the bunker towards his beloved vehicle. Bucephalus wanted to follow but was bellowed at, "You stay put, stay back!" The white horse shook its head and did not follow. Just as Wang Zhong climbed into his tank, the enemy appeared. The enemy''s vanguard consisted of a three-wheeled motorcycle and two wheeled reconnaissance vehicles, followed by a long column of tanks. There were none of the Panzer I or Panzer II tanks used for padding; they were all Panzer III G models. The biggest difference of the G model from the early versions Wang Zhong had faced before was the increased weight; with the G model, the Panzer III had be a true medium tank of 20 tons. The most apparent benefit of the increased tonnage was enhanced protection. Furthermore, the G model had a specializedmander''s cup, improving situational awareness even further. Seeing thatmander''s cup, Wang Zhong couldn''t help but feel envious, given that his own tanks were practically deaf and blind. The lead tank of the enemy crossed a tree marked with white paint, indicating they hadpletely entered the ambush zone. Wang Zhong ordered, "All tanks, move to firing position!" Themand delivered by radio, and then the toon leaders ryed the orders to the nearby runners verbally. Finally, the runners would run through themunication trenches to each bunker to pass the orders to the tank operators. Without radios, it was just moreplicated. The entire ambush site roared with the sound of engines. Wang Zhong''s Tank 422 had already started backing up, so he appeared as if sprouting from the ground in the turret hatch. With a clearer view, Wang Zhong saw the enemy tankmanders also heard the engines and were looking over in confusion. It was then that the gunner, Alexandria, fireddespite the tank still not being steady. The armor-piercing shell hit the side of the enemy''s lead tank, setting its engine ame. The burning Prosen tank operators scrambled out of the tanks, rolling on the ground. The northernmost tank at the ambush site also fired, hitting the rear tank of the enemy urately. Now, the entire battalion of 44 Panzer IIIs and 19 Panzer IVs were trapped on the road! Wang Zhong''s 30 T34 tanks unleashed furious fire, armor-piercing shells shooting through the woods at the enemy. The machine guns of the 31st Regiment''s 1st Battalion also sounded, mowing down the apanying enemy infantry like cutting grass. The enemy began releasing smoke and reversed towards the west side of the road, trying to break away. Thus, they exposed their nk to the 45mm anti-tank guns hidden on the nks of the ambush site. The four anti-tank guns fired madly. The enemy released even more smoke. But the smoke had no effect on Wang Zhong''s dominating perspective, as he clearly saw the remaining 18 tanks of the enemy retreating backward,pletely demoralized. The first ambush utterly destroyed an enemy tank battalion! The enemy left behind no fewer than 45 tank wrecks! Wang Zhong couldn''t help but burst intoughter, for this was indeed the famed tactic of another world''s elite First Guards Tank Brigadeso effective! Chapter 170: Chapter 21 The Beginning of a Strange Tradition (Bonus for 12,000 Monthly Votes) Wang Zhong confirmed that the enemy was retreating, so he yelled into the radio, "Cease fire! Cease fire! Conserve the ammunition!" As he was shouting, he picked up a branch that had been shaken off the turret top by the cannon fire and threw it at the signalman who was fully focused on the enemy. The signalman was startled by the hit and turned his puzzled gaze towards Wang Zhong. General Wang: "Cease fire! Tell all the tank crews to stop firing!" "Oh!" The signalman finally sprinted off along themunication trench. It took a full two minutes before all 30 T34 tankspletely stopped firing. It was unclear what those guys were shooting at after the enemy smoke cover. Wang Zhong continued to instruct the signalman, "Order the infantry battalion to advance! Look for the ranks of the prisoners, capture lieutenants and above, especially those with staff armbands, adjutant ribbons, carrying briefcases, carrying map cases." Signalman: "What about the prisoners who are below the rank of lieutenant?" The first response that came to Wang Zhong''s mind was, "The enemy fought bravely and did not surrender; we mustmemorate their fighting spirit and erect a monument for them." "Yes!" The signalman turned and ran off. "Wait a moment!" Wang Zhong called out to him. If they kept enemy officers alive, it could lead to unfavorable consequences in the future. And he remembered someone saying that if they didn''t keep prisoners, during future counter-offensives, the enemy would fight to the death when encountering their own forces. After a second of silence, Wang Zhong changed his order, "Ignore what I said earlier about the prisoners. For those below the rank of lieutenant, injure their arms to ensure they can''t return tobat for three months. Then let them walk towards the enemy''s direction." The signalman nodded his head and walked away. Although he didn''t condone executing prisoners, the current situation of the 151st Division definitely didn''t allow for taking care of prisoners; so, it might be better to use them to feed the enemy misinformation. Wang Zhong: "Order all tanks to rev their engines, make them sound louder!" Consequently, the whole ambush position roared deafeningly, as if a whole tank army were advancing. Filippov led his toon towards the road filled with the remnants of tanks and vehicles. Yes, Filippov had been promoted to toonmander, but it wasn''t an exceptional promotion since they were originally going to be warrant officer toonmanders after their military academy graduation; it was merely an early start. Apart from each squad leader, Filippov''s toon consisted of green recruits. Seven or eight had fallen behind during the march, and he wondered if seeing the dead enemies for the first time they might act up. This made Filippov anxious. After cautiously approaching the road with his toon, Filippov ordered, "Spread out, don''t bunch up! Have you forgotten what I told you during training? Huddling together makes it easier to die; machine guns prefer firing at clusters!" "Acting alone, on the other hand, the enemy machine gunners won''t feel it''s worth wasting bullets on you." In fact, what Filippov said was more of an Ante Army philosophy, as the Ante Army had always been short on ammunition and needed to conserve it. Had it been some other military unit, even if there was only one enemy, the entire toon would have unleashed its firepower, with machine guns and rifles firing simultaneously. Watching as his subordinates scattered, Filippov led the way onto the main road. Wherever he looked, there were Prussian Army corpses, and some of the tanks stopped on the road were still smoking. A signalman on horseback came galloping down the road: "The general has ordered us to capture officers above the rank of lieutenant as prisoners, and for those with insufficient rank, we are to injure their arms and let them run back. We are to leave the enemy''s wounded to carry themselves back!" Filippov: "You all heard that! Semyon, take your squad to check the tanks, don''t look inside, just lift the hatch and throw a grenade in." Sergeant Semyon immediately led his squad towards the tanks. Filippov continued shouting, "First, remove the enemy''s weapons. Their hand grenades are very well made and are more effective than ours! And their submachine guns are good stuff; look, I''m using one and won''t switch back, itplements the Tokarev perfectly." While speaking, Filippov also deliberately adjusted the position of the MP submachine gun slung over his shoulder so it was ready to shoot instantly. Just then, another veteran who had experienced the battle at Loktov shouted to Filippov, "Filippov, these guys'' uniforms look a bit different! Aren''t they the then Emperor''s Imperial Guard?" "Possibly." Filippov said, pulling on his raincloak, a symbol of the Ante side''s Imperial infantry. At that moment, Sergeant Semyon, who was checking tanks, shouted, "Grenade out! Don''t get scared!" As soon as the words fell, a muffled explosion followed, with smoke puffing out of tank number 235''s hatch. Sergeant Semyon jumped off the tank and led his men to the next one. At this moment, Filippov saw his new recruit, Aleksei, standing in front of an enemy''s corpse, looking as if he were contemting life. He went up to him and asked, "Alyosha, what are you thinking about?" "toonmander! It''s nothing much, I''m just wondering if war is really such a simple andfortable thing?" Filippov: "We thought the same when we just repelled the enemy''s first wave of attacks at Loktov. After the General''s precise round of artillery fire, the enemypletely copsed. We thought we could advance into Ploseni by tomorrow." Aleksei: "What happened then?" "Then, half of us did not get to see the next day''s sun," said Filippov. "Or rather, we became the colors on the General''s standard." Aleksei''s mouth opened wide, as if he were an oxygen-deprived goldfish. In the distance, Sergeant Semyon shouted, "Grenade out, don''t" Suddenly, a Prosen Tank Operator popped out of the tank, using a submachine gun to shoot down the new recruit about to throw a grenade into the hatch. The grenade dropped right at Sergeant Semyon''s feet; he managed to curse "Damn" before the explosion flipped him onto the ground, with his leg blown high into the air. The Prosen Tank Operator, standing in the turret, aimed his submachine gun at the closest squad from Semyon and fired, bringing down three new recruits instantly. Filippov''s toon of rookies froze, while the veterans were already prone. Filippov himself, half-kneeling, aimed his submachine gun. It happened in a sh. Aleksei fired. Tokarev''s first semi-automatic shot missed, striking the edge of the turret and sparking a shower of sparks. The enemy tank operator immediately swung the gun barrel around, but by then, Tokarev''s second shot came, piercing his shoulder. Aleksei, shouting loudly, kept firing until he had emptied Tokarev''s magazine. In reality, the subsequent shots all missed, hitting the trees behind the tank. The lifeless enemy slid into the tank under the force of gravity. Aleksei continued to shout, desperately pulling the trigger, regardless of the fact that there were no bullets left to fire. Filippov pulled out a grenade, primed and threw it in one smooth motion, the "little flying stick" with its trail of smokended inside the tank''s hatch. With a muffled st, the tank became still. Aleksei knelt to the ground, his entire body copsing to the side. Filippov thought he had been hit and quickly came over to check, "Where are you hurt? Are you okay?" After a cursory check, Filippov found that the man hadn''t been shot, he was perfectly fine. But there he was, lying on the ground like a deted eggnt. Filippov didn''t bother with him further and ran towards Semyon''s squad, "Medic! Medic! Nurse!" "I''m here, I''m here!" The nurse, dressed in military uniform, ran over, felt Sergeant Semyon''s neck, shook her head, and moved on to the next one. After handing over the injured to the nurse, Filippov returned to Aleksei''s side, only to find him clutching his stomach in pain. "What''s wrong, private?" Filippov asked. "My stomach... it''s cramping, and I can''t feel my legs. Am I going to die?" Filippov grabbed Aleksei''s shoulders and hauled him up, "No! You''re still fine! You''re just too tense! Stand up!" chapter-source-MvLeMpYr However, it was no use at all. The new recruit, Aleksei, just slumped onto Filippov like a mound of mud, his speech tinged with a crying tone, "I''m going to die... I''m going to die..." Filippov tried to console him for a bit, but to no avail, eventually shouting, "Priest! Where''s the priest?" The priests were professionals at dealing with this sort of thing, so it was a sure bet to find them. But Filippov called for a while with no response. At that moment, he suddenly had an idea. He threw the new recruit, Aleksei, asidehe immediately copsed to the ground, sprawling like a heap of goo. Filippov rushed onto the enemy''s tank, climbed inside, and dragged out the tank operator who had just surprised everyone with a submachine gun, pulling him all the way to the new recruit, Aleksei. Then Filippov once again pulled up the recruit, forcing him to look at the tank operator, "Take a good look, this is the enemy you brought down!" The new recruit, Aleksei, stopped his wailing and looked at the enemy, "I brought him down?" Filippov said, "Now, as your toon leader, Imand you to piss on his pants!" The new recruit Aleksei was stunned, "What? Why?" "I''ll tell you why!" Filippov said, all the while subtly reducing his support for the new recruit, Aleksei, "Our divisionmander, Major General Rocossov, is very brave, isn''t he? If you don''t know how brave he is, you can ask the people of the tank units, ask those old guys from the original 23rd Tank Army, they''ll tell you because the BT tank turret only fits two people, the general stood outside the tank when hemanded them, directing while mowing down Prussians with the roof machine gun amidst a hailstorm of bullets!" The new recruit Aleksei had a look of admiration, "I''ve heard about it! But what does that have to do with making me piss..." "Do you know what kind of person he used to be? You should ask the old soldiers from the original Third Plowsonia Amur Group, they all know! Before the war, the general was a coward, and no one wanted to follow him to the front lines. Then the war broke out, a Prosen tank fired a shot, and the general pissed himself from fright!" The new recruit Aleksei was even more puzzled, "I know... but that doesn''t change the fact that he''s now a brave and fearless general, does it?" "Don''t you understand?" Filippov said, "With that piss, the general washed away his past cowardice! That''s called learning from shame to be courageous! Right now you''re a coward too, but you''ve killed an enemy! Just do as the general did, and you''ll be set!" Filippov pointed at the enemy, "Piss! On his pants! What are you hesitating for? You were just about to piss your own pants, weren''t you?" The new recruit Aleksei eked out a word, "Yes." "Then what are you waiting for?" The new recruit Aleksei gritted his teeth, and wet the enemy''s body. After he finished, Filippov stepped back, "Does your stomach still hurt now?" "Eh? This..." Filippov, "Look at your legs, are they still weak?" "Really! I... I do feel braver!" The others exchanged nces. "Wait a second, I remember now," someone yelled, "I killed that enemy! He''s mine!" "Give it a rest, it''s clear he was killed by a machine gun. Could your Tokarev make such a big hole? I think it''s mine to piss on, not yours, I killed him, so I should be the one to do it!" "Then I''ll do this one!" Just then, the unit''s priest finally arrived and frowned at the scene before him, "Wait a minute! What are you guys doing?" He spoke while holding his nose because it reeked. Filippov, "We''re conducting a ritual to embolden the new recruit!" The priest looked at the enemy''s corpse, and understood. The priest said, "You guys... collect the weapons before pissing, who''s going to use these dirty weapons now? Whoever pissed on them is responsible for collecting, cleaning, and using them! Understand? Now get moving!" That evening, the Imperial Guard 31st regiment 1st battalion 1stpany, along with the unit priest, wrote in their log: "I originally thought that the rumors about the general''s dark history would weaken our unit''s cohesion, but now it seemspletely unfounded. In fact, these dark histories have, in a wondrous (crossed out) in a ridiculous manner, enhanced the general''s prestige, which is worth studying in depth." Chapter 171: Chapter 22: Enemy Intelligence Obtained by the Prussian Army (Alliance Hierarch Added) ``` At this time, Wang Zhong was keeping an eye on the enemies that had been let go using an external device. As soon as thest enemy disappeared from sight, Wang Zhong immediately ordered, "Exit the tank emcement and maneuver to ambush position two." Tank 422 quickly backed out of the emcement, then pivoted in ce, heading south along the path pressed by the tank tracks. Wang Zhong shouted to the messenger, "Go inform the infantry battalion to act ording to the original n!" The original n was to deploy mines on the battlefield after cleaning up and then have the entire battalion retreat to the cover trenches of ambush position two. Having seen first-hand how much T34s needed infantry cover, Wang Zhong would never allow the tanks to operate separately from the infantry. If the distance was great, the infantry could ride on the tanks and move with them, but the two ambush positions were not far apart. It would take the infantry only about twenty minutes to walk there at a normal pace. Tank 422 moved past the other tanks'' emcements, and most of the tank operators brought in by Loktov followed suit. However, some of the newly added tank operators, immersed in the immense joy brought by their battle sess, failed to notice that the battalionmand tankthe Tank 422had already withdrawn. Wang Zhong had already made arrangements for this: he had infantry beside each tank to lift the hatch and inform them. Soon, 30 T34 tanks exited their positions and drove towards the second ambush position on a crudely made road prepared earlier. After the tanks left, the anti-tank gunners also hurried their horses, dragging their cannons out of position. Grigori, holding a red g, led Bucephalus as they mixed into the artillery column. While the 151st Division was evacuating its position, 20 kilometers from the ambush site, Major General William Dietrich of the Prussian Army''s Asgard Knights'' armored mobilemand vehicle had a furrowed brow. "Eighteen tanks returned?" Major General William approached the deputy battalionmander of the first armored battalion, raised his hand to p him, but then stopped, "Since the battalionmander is either dead or missing, I won''t punish you!" The staff officer said, "This isn''t the soldiers'' fault. We clearly sent the Air Force reconnaissance nes for a low-altitude survey, and it was the reconnaissance nes that told us everything was normal! It''s their responsibility!" Major General William red at the staff officer, "ming the Air Force just like ming the enemy for being too cunningthere''s no difference! This is all because we weren''t careful enough; I should have sent out enough forward reconnaissance squads! "Even if we''re to me the Air Force, it''s because I trusted them too much. We all know they can''t be relied upon!" The others in the vehicle remained silent, waiting for Major General William to conclude his self-reflection. Just then a messenger ran in, "Report! The wounded from the first armored battalion have returned!" William eximed in shock, "Wounded?" "Yes, the wounded say that the Ante people only captured officers ranked captain and above, and for the others, they just shot them in the arms and let them go." William cursed, "These Ante people are too cunning! This way, these wounded can''t return to battle and will strain our medical system and use up our supply transport capacity!" But he quickly reconsidered and said, "Bring the highest ranking among the wounded to me; I want to hear what he has to say!" The messenger immediately turned to leave. The staff officer stepped forward and said, "The information brought back by these people could be deliberate misinformation spread by the enemy. We need to be cautious." "I know," Major General William sighed, expressing his dissatisfaction. At that moment, the messenger returned with two wounded soldiers, one a lieutenant who had just been low-flying under the Ante''s standard for capturing prisoners, and the other a sergeant major, wearing a badge of senior exemptionindicating that he didn''t have to participate in ordinary duties and was a backbone veteran of the troops. Major General William first asked the lieutenant, "Do you understand Ante?" Lieutenant: "No." Major: "I see. Then using your observational abilities, what information did you gather from the enemy?" "The enemy has a veryrge number of tanks, all hidden in the woods. We were hit by nking fire from enemy tanks, but we could only see the mes and smoke from their firing, not the enemy tanks themselves." Major: "How can you be sure there are arge number of tanks if you couldn''t see them?" MVLeMpYr-unofficial-text "The enemy''s gunfire was very dense, and there was a continuous roar of massive engines. Our battalion was almost instantly destroyed, after at most three volleys of simultaneous fire. And I saw many shells flying off targetthe Ante''s gunnery skills are as poor as ever! "So I believe there must have been at least 60 tanks hidden in the woods attacking us!" In fact, this was a misperception, as in reality, the shooting of Division 151 was quite urateat least rtively soaveraging only two armor-piercing shells to destroy a Prosen tank. But viewed from within the formation, due to perspective issues, it gave the illusion that many shells were missing their mark. The lieutenant, unaware of this, made his definitive judgment. Major General William wrote a sixty on the map with a pencil and put a question mark beside it. "What else?" he asked. Lieutenant: "The enemy''s infantry had Imperial Guard cloaks and were very well equipped, all with semi-automatic Tokarev rifles and arge number of our confiscated MP submachine guns, with plenty of magazines too." ``` "Experienced elite infantry," Major General William wrote another line on the map, "Continue." The lieutenant shook his head, "That''s all. I wanted to dy and see their tanks appear. But the tank group has been hiding in the woods without any intention to show themselves." At this moment, the senior sergeant major spoke up, "The enemy is performing a Voodoo Ritual!" Everyone turned to look at the sergeant major. The staff officer took out an identification book and opened it in front of the sergeant major, "Which kind of Voodoo Ritual?" The sergeant major quickly flipped through the book and still shook his head, "It''s not in here. This kind of ritual seems to require desecrating the bodies of the enemy! After the ritual, those who performed it let out howls like barbarians." The chief of staff said, "ording to imperial propaganda, the Ante People are barbarians." "Uh..." the sergeant major was embarrassed, "Let me think, right, howls like viking war cries!" In fact, it was not the case, it was just the sergeant major''s subjective consciousness that distorted his memory. "Viking war cries?" Major General William wrote down the words viking war cries on a paper and marked it with three question marks, "I thought the Vikings were a branch of the Germans." The chief of staff asked, "Do we need to report this? During the Carolingian campaign, the mria called forth by witches was more troublesome than all the armies of the United Kingdom." Major General William, "No, let''s report after the battle ends. Reporting now would look like making excuses for ourselves. Even if this is some sort of evil ritual, it generally takes a very long time to take effect. That''s the limitation of these superstitious practices." The sergeant major suddenly said, "They are the Ante People! In the primitive jungles of the east, witches wield the power embodied in Beast Elements! Voodoo Magic can awaken the strange beings of the forests!" "Stay calm, this is Kazarlia, most of this kingdom is grasnd," said Major General William, "Alright, if there''s no other intelligence, I need to..." Suddenly, the lieutenant said, "Wait, although I don''t understand the Antenguage, I can understand their names because I speak Carolingian, and many of the Ante names are variations of Carolingian." "Oh?" Major General William showed renewed interest, "What did you hear?" "I heard theirmander seemed to be called Aleksei something Rokossov." The chief of staff immediately ran to look through the directory of enemymanders issued by the Southern Army Groupmand, searching for names and corresponding unit numbers. He found it right away, "That''s the Ante general who performed well in the battles of Peniye and Loktov! The Southern Army Group''s assessment of him is, ''A master of defensive warfare, likes to charge alone to boost morale, a rash general.''" Major General William furrowed his brows, "How do those two descriptions go together? Aren''t the masters of defensive fights usually the experts drawing maps in their own headquarters?" The chief of staff spread his hands in a gesture of not knowing. Major General William paced back and forth, and only after a few seconds of thought, he realized the two informants were still there, so he waved his hand, "You go and get treated. One question, did everyone released get shot in the shoulder?" Both men nodded in unison, and the lieutenant added, "And they deliberately missed the artery and vein, as if afraid we''d bleed to death on the way back. This General Rokossov is quite merciful, like a gentleman. Could such a noble person truly be an inferior being?" The chief of staff eximed in rm, "Lieutenant! Don''t let the Imperial Security Bureau hear you say that! You''ll get us all killed!" The lieutenant shut his mouth. The chief of staff said, "Hurry along, just rest up in the hospital, and keep quiet." After saluting, the two men left. The chief of staff turned to Major General William, "What do we do now? The second battalion is temporarily in chaos due to the impact of the first battalion''s retreat. Even if we want tomit the second battalion to attack, it will have to be an hourter." "No," waved Major General William, "We''re not in a hurry to attack. Let''s wait until the infantry, artillery, and engineers arrive. Also, call the Air Force, tell them to make up for their mistake, I want that forest plowed!" "Yes, sir!" ---------- Wang Zhong had been waiting at the second ambush position until 1530, when he finally heard the sound of engines in the sky. He switched to an aerial view and indeed saw arge fleet of nes flying in this direction. No, they were flying towards the first ambush position. At that moment, in the trenches of the infantry ahead, a soldier yelled, "Don''t be afraid, those nes are surely headed to bomb our previous position. Don''t be afraid!" Soon enough, from his aerial view, Wang Zhong saw the area next to the previous ambush position getting bombed. My, the Prosen Air Force had bombed off target! With your level of performance, no wonder themander is called Mayer. After the round of bombing ended, Wang Zhong thought that maybe tomorrow they could return to the first ambush position and ambush the enemy once again. Then, in his earpiece, other tank operators inmand of the tanks asked, "General, now that the bombing is over, the enemy should being, right?" Wang Zhong replied, "Don''t be impatient, the enemy''s goal is to break through us and encircle Argesukov, they will definitelye." Chapter 172: Chapter 23: Old Tricks Repeated (Alliance Hierarch Bonus) However, by 1630, Wang Zhong and the others still hadn''t seen the enemy''s assault. He stood beside the shelter of his No. 422 vehicle, continuously phoning the observation posts in various locations, taking advantage of the calls to confirm enemy movements within the observation posts'' range. Although it wasn''t his own line of sight highlighting the enemies, on a in as vast as Orachi''s surroundings, even without forced highlighting, a sweeping nce from an overhead perspective would reveal most of the enemies. As he waited, Wang Zhong grew hungry and started looking for something to eat, only to find that he had to share the Ante Empire''s military rations with others. They were truly inedible. So inedible that Wang Zhong wanted to have everyone in charge of the Imperial Army''s food supply executed by firing squad. But right now, their ambush positions were a little bit too far from Orachi, and it wasn''t feasible to bring the field cooking team''s girls to the front line. Especially to a front line where the enemy could attack at any moment. Wang Zhong ate the barely ptable military rations while pondering whether, besides grenades and submachine guns, he should pack a sausage in his personal belongings box in the future. The sausages made by the Church Meat Union were thicker than an adult male''s arm, and the ingredients strictly contained 25% beef, 70% pork, and thest 5% eggs and dairy, highlighting a cost-effective,rge, and filling portion. As Wang Zhong began to fantasize about the taste of sausage, adding some vor to the wooden-like bread in his hand, artillery shells fell. Wang Zhong instinctively wanted to hit the ground, then realized that the shelling wasn''t targeting his location. He and others turned their gaze toward the number one ambush position, observing the mes and smoke kicked up by the heavy artillery. After a quick switch to the overhead perspective, Wang Zhong noticed thatpared to the unreliable bombing of the Air Force, the Army''s own artillery fire was much more urate. Aside from the fact that it had been an empty position, it could be called perfect. At this time, others on the position also looked in the direction of the first ambush site, everyone disying a triumphant demeanor. Everyone probably realized that the more ammunition the enemy wasted on an unmanned position, the less would fall on their own heads in the future. Major General William Dietrich was in hismand vehicle, issuing tasks to all tank officers from toon level and above, "The enemy is heavily fortified in this stretch of woods. Our n is to spread out as much as possible during the artillery''s fire suppression of the woods, engaging the enemy on open ground. The enemy''s tank gun uracy is inferior to ours. "If we don''t gain an advantage during the exchange of fire, deploy smoke bombs and feign a weak retreat to lure the enemy within range of our 88mm guns and PAK38 anti-tank guns. "ording to intelligence provided by the Front Army, this General Rokossov is very fond ofunching attacks to fight tank battles. He has indeed obtained very impressive results from several proactive attacks. "We have to lure him out with eptable losses, as a tactic specifically against his personality!" As Dietrich spoke, he turned to the chief of the divisional guard tank toon, "Additionally, we have another bait. I''ll use mymand vehicle and the spare radio truck as bait to hook Rokossov. "Of course, based on previous battle reports, Rokossov might choose to shell a fake headquarters. If that''s the case, the guard tank toon must evacuate the shelled area quickly." William Dietrich paused, contently scanning the ns already mapped out on the map before him, "In short, the mission''s focus is to lure Major General Rokossov into making a move. "He is one of the most outstanding officers of the Ante Army at the moment, meaning, the most outstanding and yet to be killed or captured by us. Therefore, killing or capturing him is of great significance!" No sooner had William Dietrich finished speaking than a lieutenant toon leadermented, "Another tactic of feigning defeat to draw the enemy deeper, huh!" "Because the enemy may use T34 tanks, which are difficult for us to handle! Brother units share their experience that jamming the turret ring or breaking the tracks is possible; it''s not that this advice isn''t good, but the 88mm gun is more cost-effective." Another toon leader asked, "What if the enemy doesn''te out?" "Then we''ll call in the Stukas. The enemy will reveal their positions by exchanging fire with us. After previousmunication, the Air Force promised that during our attack, a squadron of Stukas loaded with bombs will be ready to take off. Our Panzer IVs will shoot colored smoke bombs to mark the targets for the Stukas." The Panzer III''s 50mm gun doesn''t have smoke shells, with only a singleunch smoke bombuncher on the tank. The short-barreled 75mm howitzer of the Panzer IV can fire smoke bombs hundreds to thousands of meters away. When the Panzer IV encounters sturdy buildings it can''t destroy with high-explosive shells, it does just this: firing a smoke bomb to mark the target and waiting for the Stukas to arrive. Major General William Dietrich followed up, "Alright, is everyone clear on theirbat mission? Once back with your units, make sure every person understands our mission, and then move out. The artillery preparation should conclude in about an hour and a half." The toon leaders all stood up and filed out of the armoredmand vehicle. "Wait a moment!" William Dietrich called to thest toon leader, "You''re thepanymander of the reserve team''s 5th Company, 3rd Battalion, right? I need to switch with you; I must go to the front line to see for myself how this White Horse General arranges his troops!" The Chief of Staff expressed rm, "Don''t do this! The White Horse General likes to targetmand posts and other key objectives with artillery. If you go to the front line and enter the range of his artillery observers, it will surely draw fire!" William Dietrich looked at the Chief of Staff, "Which is exactly why I need to disguise myself. The White Horse General won''t waste precious artillery shells on a reserve tank toon, especially one that''s expanded into a loose formation!" Indeed, tanks are vulnerable to howitzer fire; if a shellnds too close, an entire tank crew is done for. But as long as the distance between thending point of the shell and the tank is increased past a certain threshold, tanks can survive heavy shelling. Using heavy artillery to strike tanks deployed in a loose formation is, in fact, quite wasteful. Only if there are no better targets and one doesn''t mind wasting shells would they do so. The Chief of Staff was persuaded, "Well, then, I can only wish you a triumphant victory." William Dietrich nodded and began to exchange outfits with the chosen tank toon leader. On Wang Zhong''s side, the operation to deploy their formation against the enemy was crystal clear. First, he wasn''t prepared for artillery fire, and second, the most important function of his add-on was to ensure visibilitymost of the time it was its only function. So he just watched as the enemy''s armored forces deployed their formation on the open ground. You wouldn''t believe it, but with so many tanks spread out so widely, my own 30 tanks might not actually be able to take them all out. Especially if the enemy charged with infantry aboard for an armored meat grinder, that would be even more troublesome. Wang Zhong was somewhat uneasy, after all, he didn''t have a way to know if the enemy''s n was to engage in long-range firing and then draw us deeper in. He thought the enemy was about to surge forward and grind us to bits. Wang Zhong''s ambush position, apart from the 30 T34s, only had four anti-tank guns and a small number of anti-tank mines on either side of the position. The enemy had deployed almost two hundred tanks; if they charged from all directions, Wang Zhong would surely regret not having ced all his infantry in front of the ambush positionwell, actually they wouldn''t have been able to deploy properly and would just be experience points for the enemy''s heavy artillery. Wang Zhong smiled bitterly as he looked down at the enemy tank formation, thinking that if there was a KV1 in my troops right now, the situation would still be manageable. Unfortunately, there wasn''t. He continued to scan the enemy''s tank formation. When highlighting enemy units, Wang Zhong''s add-on usually wouldn''t provide names for each enemy. But there were exceptions, such as when divisionmanders entered Wang Zhong''s line of sight, they would be highlighted. Sometimes there were names, sometimes not, the principle was unknown. But it was certain that divisionmanders would be specially marked, roughly equivalent to the red arrows in a monk''s vlog. Now Wang Zhong had spotted a red arrow. story-source-MvLeMpYr On the outermost side of the enemy''s tank formation, there were several widely spaced Panzer IVs, looking like the reserve force for the whole offensive. A red arrow was floating right above the tankmander''s head as he peeked out. Huh? That''s the enemy divisionmander... has hee to the front for reconnaissance? And then, fearing that I might rush up and decapitate him, he''s disguised himself as a regr tankmander? Oh my, I can''t justify not sting him with one shot. Wang Zhong turned and picked up the telephone handset, nodded at the soldier responsible for the phone, and the soldier began cranking the handle of the portable generator like mad to charge the phone. After hearing the operator''s voice, Wang Zhong said, "Connect me to the artillery unit." The call was connected promptly. Wang Zhong, gazing down from above, reported the coordinates of the Panzer IV the marked man was riding in, and then said, "Three rounds of rapid fire, no need to adjust. Just fire over. Make sure the man is blown to death." The artillery unit was confused for a moment, "Blow who to death?" "Don''t worry about it, just fire it over quickly!" "We are resetting the firing elements. Fire will begin in about five minutes." "As fast as you can!" After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong continued to look down on the enemy, like an eagle eyeing the rabbits scurrying across the in. Actually, resetting the firing elements took only two minutes. Wang Zhong could already hear the whistling of the iing rounds! The target enemy sensed something was wrong and immediately retracted into the tank, closing the hatch. No sooner said than done, the first barrage hit! 24 rounds of 152mm heavy artillery shells, though theck of adjusted fire made the circr error probability a bitrge, with sufficient firepower density, high inuracy could be ovee! Wang Zhong was pleased to see the smoke arising from the ground engulfing that Panzer IV. That was just the first round, and as the second roundnded, the smoke from the previous explosion hadn''t cleared yet, making the whole scene from above look like a wall being repainted over and over again by two masters. It was then that Wang Zhong realized, his 203mm heavy artillery wasn''t under the control of the artillery unit but was an independent unit, and he hadn''t called in firepower from the 203! Forget it, he thought, let''s see if this can kill him, save some ammunition if we can. The third wave hit, and Wang Zhong figured that Panzer IV must nearly be in pieces by now. The smoke gradually dissipated, and Wang Zhong saw the charred and twisted wreckage of the Panzer IV. The other tanks'' operators rushed out, heading for the tank that had been singled out for special attention. Soon, a barely alive body was rescued from the tank by the crowd. Wang Zhong was amazed; the guy still wasn''t blown to death, now what kind of justice is this? He picked up the handset, intending to call in the 203mm heavy artillery and a second round of 152mm artillery fire, but then he saw a three-wheeled motorbike enter his field of vision, picking up the divisionmander and speeding out of Wang Zhong''s sight. Well, forcing the enemy to changemanders in the middle of battle is also a good thing, let''s see what the neer has got in terms of offensive capability. Whether they were transferringmand or not, the enemy''s deployed armored line just sat there on the in, motionless. Chapter 173: Chapter 24 Suspicion (Holy shit, its the fifth watch) The Prussian Army''s Asgard Knights'' Ampu Armored Division headquarters, Chief of Staff Kluge von Hessendaier grasped Division Commander William Dietrich''s hand, "Leave it to me." The lieutenant who brought back Major General William said, "I think the Major General is currently in a deepa and probably can''t hear what you''re saying." "I know," Kluge von Hessendaier nced at the lieutenant. The Asgard Knights, as confidants of the Emperor, tended to prefer officers not from Junker nobility. The establishment of the Knights was one of the means by which His Majesty sought to reduce the influence of the officer corps. However, the position of staff officer is not quite the same as that of a militarymander. First, staff officers don''t umte military exploits easily; even if thebat n is wholly devised by the staff officer, and even if the n''s execution is personally directed by the staff officer, any victory would still be credited to the militarymander. Second, staff officers value the ability to do paperwork on maps over qualities such as battlefield intuition. The development of a staff officer''s abilities also relies heavily on umtion over many years. Thus, the Emperor could not quickly promote staff officers without an officer corps background through military exploits, and in the Prussian Army, the staff officers mainly came from the Junker officer corps. Kluge von Hessendaier was a member of the Junker nobility, but he had good rtions with non-Junker officers who had rapidly risen since the Emperor began his conquest. This was why he had been ced in the Asgard Knights, the equivalent of the Prosens'' elite forces, to assist the star war general. Now that the star war general had left the stage, Kluge had to shoulder the responsibility. He turned his head to inquire of the lieutenant who had just spoken, "Why would the enemy specifically shell a tank toon situated in a reserve position?" The lieutenant shook his head, "I don''t know, Chief of Staff, Your Excellency." Kluge asked further, "Did the Major General do anything that could have revealed his identity?" "There shouldn''t have been any such actions." At this moment, the vicemander of the First Armored Battalion said, "An entire artillery battalionunching three rounds of concentrated fire, allnding around the Division Commander''s vehicle... They were clearly targeting the Division Commander." "I know," Kluge interrupted the vicemander, "but the question is, how did the enemy identify the Division Commander? That White General previously also had the feat of killing Major General Randolph of the 15th Armored Division. It''s hard not to be suspicious." Kluge paused, "Major General Randolph was killed in the general''s uniform of the defense forces, and he was with hismand vehicle when it happened. That''s understandable, considering how conspicuous the defense force''s general uniform is, especially with that red cor insignia." The Prussian traditional military uniform featured a red cor insignia for generals, which could be discerned from a great distance in field conditions. There had already been precedents in the previous Carolingian campaign where sharpshooters from the United Kingdom had taken aim at generals. For this reason, the uniform of the Asgard Knights removed the red cor insignia for generals. And before Major General William went to the front line, he even swapped clothes with the tank toon leader. Kluge paced back and forth, and at this moment someone on the staff said, "Could it be the effect of that Voodoo Ritual?" Kluge sneered, "How could that be possible. Merely wounding the Division Commander won''t paralyze ourmand. If the enemy wanted to deal with us, the Voodoo Ritual should have targeted our entire headquarters. No, it shouldn''t be that." "But," the staff officer continued, "saying it''s the Voodoo Ritual makes it easier to exin to the higher-ups." Kluge clicked his tongue, "That''s indeed the case." Staff officers after all are nonbatant military officers, more adept at office struggles within the military rather than battlefieldmand. Kluge said, "Then we should find those wounded soldiers who escaped and ask them in detail how the enemy''s Voodoo Ritual was conducted and write a detailed report to submit to the Armored Cluster Command." Just then amunications officer ran out from inside, "Chief of StaffActing Division Commander, the Second and Third Armored Battalions are both asking what to do." The Chief of Staff waved his hand grandly, "Haven''t they been given the battle n? The Division Commander has been seriously wounded and gone back for treatment. We must execute his n to the end! Attack." Wang Zhong was in a standoff with the enemy''s tank formation. To be able to open fire and stop the enemy at the first chance, 30 T-34 tanks had backed up from their concealed positions to the firing tform, and simr to the first ambush, Wang Zhong had designated focus areas for each tank. An armored battle was on the verge of breaking out. But the enemy simply wouldn''t move, idling in ce burning fuel. Wang Zhong didn''t dare to move either as long as the enemy stayed put; he even stayed with the rookie holding the telephone the entire time. Wang Zhong had counted already, the enemy had a total of 181 tanks. Although there were only 131 of models three and four, with the rest being the filler models two and 38T, models two and 38T could still break the T-34''s tracks and jam the turret rings when they got close enough. Besides, the performance of models two and 38T was more than enough to ughter infantry. No, the 20mm machine cannon on model two might be even more efficient at killing infantry than the 50mm ''candy dispenser'' on model three. As Wang Zhong pondered these misceneous thoughts, the enemy made its move. The exhaust pipes of the Prussian tanks arrayed across the in simultaneously belched ck smoke, and the roar of their engines markedly increased. Wang Zhong immediately ran towards his tank, climbed into the turret, and then said to the soldier crouching beside the cover holding the telephone, "Get up here! Stand on the tank engine cover, I need to make calls to coordinate with the artillery battalion at any moment!" "Oh!" The rookie promptly climbed onto the tank, appearing somewhat excited; he might have been looking forward to riding in a tank for a while. The voice of the armored battalionmander came through the headset, "General! Shall we fire?" Wang Zhong, "Are you stupid? Fire when the target is in sight, dammit!" After several days of testing, Wang Zhong was already resigned to the poor uracy of this batch of T-34s. Hence, he intended to let the enemy get within 700 meters before opening fire. Although this distance might not be enough to stop so many Prussian tanks from closing in for meleebat, it was still better than wasting ammunition firing beyond their effective range. Wang Zhong had emphasized the concealment of their positions before the battle precisely for this reason. The Prussians were known for their excellent gunnery, along with superior sighting equipment and Zeiss high-magnification lenses. They often achieved hits at 1000 meters or even 1500 meters. Letting the enemy get close before firing was the best strategy against Prussian armored troops. Wang Zhong waited for the moment when the enemy tanks would cross the 700-meter mark. However, the enemy stopped! They stopped 1,200 meters away! Wang Zhong didn''t know what the enemy was up to. The next moment, the enemy opened fire, targeting the decoy tanks and anti-tank guns Wang Zhong had prepared. The wooden models were about to fulfill their purpose. The gunner, Alexander, from tank #422 asked, "Should we fire now? I''m confident I can hit them at this distance!" Wang Zhong, "Don''t rush, once we open fire, other crewsespecially the new oneswill definitely fire indiscriminately. I can''t expect them to have your level of skill. You were an instructor for the Armored Troops, and the man who actually took down Division Commander Randolph!" Alexander fell silent, probably dazed by Wang Zhong''s ttery. After unleashing a barrage of fire at a distance of 1,200 meters, the enemy finally began to advance. After all, Wang Zhong hadn''t given the order to open fire yet, and the camouge on his own positions was too good. Even if the enemy wanted to engage in a fire fight from 1,200 meters away, they had no targets to shoot at. Wang Zhong waited for the enemy''s attacking front to cross the mark. Finally, enemy tank #313 closely passed by the target! Wang Zhong, "Fire!" He didn''t specify which target to fire at, but Alexander just happened to choose tank #313. The precise attack punched a hole right through the front upper armor of tank #313. The tank immediately caught fire, and the enemy''s Armored Troops hurriedly abandoned it. The results of the first salvo came quickly. Wang Zhong countedout of 30 T34s that fired, six enemy tanks were hit. In the morning ambush, with a firing distance of less than five hundred meters, we could only manage to take out one enemy with two Armor-Piercing Shells. Can we ept this result now at a distance of 700 meters? A second volley was fired, and another five enemy tanks were abandoned. By then, the enemy had figured out roughly where the shells wereing from, and fierce direct fire started to hit the second ambush position. However, the enemy was not urate, probably because the protective positions dug by Wang Zhong''s engineers andborers were too scientifically done. The enemy couldn''t see exactly where the targets were; they could only guess based on the direction from which the shells came and fired wildly, hoping to hit some high-value units. Both sides sketched outlines of each other for several rounds. The enemy had lost over twenty tanks temporarily tobat incapacity, while Wang Zhong''s side didn''t lose a single tank. It seemed the enemy was on the way to a "slow death"! In the headquarters of the Ampu Armored Division, Kluge pressed one hand on the field telephone, activating the "speaker" function, so the entiremand vehicle could hear the soldiers from the Second Armored Battalion''s various screams of terror. -chapter "Where the hell is the enemy?" "We''ve poured seven or eight rounds of ammunition in the direction of the iing shells, why are they still attacking?" "The smoke from the enemy tank''s firing is blocking my vision! I can''t see anything at all!" "I saw a tank turret, they are fighting us with tanks buried in the ground!" More and more nonsensical reports emerged. But what struck Kluge the most was that cry of "Mommy". Finally, Kluge couldn''t take it anymore and picked up the handset, "All units, execute n B!" n B was to use Smoke Bombs to attack the enemy positions and then call in the Stukas to drop 500-kilogram bombs on the smoke-covered spots. Kluge''s order was executed faithfully! When the enemy fired smoke at the second ambush position, Wang Zhong initially thought they were going to retreat. But when he saw the color of the smoke, he immediately realized what was happening. "Enemy bombing is iing, release smoke, and get the infantry to release smoke to cover our withdrawal. The infantry won''t be able to run in time, everyone hide in the anti-bomb shelters!" The next moment, smoke rose before the infantry trenches at the ambush site. Wang Zhong, "Hurry up! Reverse, move out!" The infantry could actually find sufficient coverif dive bombers wereing, only an incendiary bomb would be effective. But tanks were another story; Wang Zhong still remembered the lessons learned from Peniyeif it hadn''t been for the Stuka dive bomber damaging tank #67, that crew would still be fighting alongside him! Wang Zhong''s tank #422 backed out of the protective spot and onto the makeshift evacuation route. All tanks with radios also got moving, but those without radios continued to fire from their positions. Wang Zhong shouted at the Army personnel standing by, "What are you waiting for? Go knock on the tank hatches and tell them we''re leaving!" At that moment, the sound of engines came from the sky. The Stukas had arrived. Chapter 174: Chapter 25 Let the East West South North Wind Blow as It Will Wang Zhong had no time to worry about the other tanks, thinking that as long as the tanks were inside the dugouts, they wouldn''t be greatly damaged unless a 500-kilogram bomb happened tond directly inside. Now, the smokepletely enveloped the position, and even 500-kilogram bombs could be precisely dropped into the dugouts, a real-life version of "Final Destination". There was no saving them; it was time to ept fate. Wang Zhong urged the driver, "Beliyakov, hurry! Once we''re out of the bombing zone, we''ll be safe." The Stukas in the sky targeted the dyed smoke released by the enemy tanks. Tank 422''s engine roared to life, charging out of the smoke and into the bushes on the other side of the main roadthis was originally a fake position made of dummy tanks and anti-tank guns. The T-34s with radios and several alert T-34s followed Tank 422, all hiding in the faux position. Then came the sharp, deadly howling from the sky. The explosion came very quickly; the noise from the 500-kilogram bombs was terrifying. Wang Zhong instinctively shrank further inside the tank, letting the open hatch shield most of his body. The columns of smoke from the explosion looked like gigantic cabbages, turning the ambush position into a giant''s vegetable garden. The sound of gunfire from the ambush position nearly vanished, though this could be because the smoke released by the infantry obscured the tanks'' vision. Even though Wang Zhong knew the remaining tanks were without radios, he still asked over the radio, "Is everyone okay?" "toon leadertoon leader''s tank is fine. By the way, other tanks from our toon have also followed, our toon is fine." "toon two''s leader''s tank is fine." "toon three''s leader..." As the radio checks continued, a T-34 came from the ambush position, with its tankmander poking his head out from the turret, looking utterly shaken, shouting from afar, "Is this what Stukas are like? They''re terrifying." Then one after another, tanks emerged from the ambush position, bringing with them dire news: "Tank 448 was flipped by a bomb. When I passed by, I didn''t see any surviving tank operators." Before Wang Zhong could respond, someone reported over the headset, "Commander! Enemy tanks are attacking!" Themander of the Second Armored Battalion, Stauffenberg, watched the effects of the bombardment. He asked his deputy via radio, "What do you think of the enemy''s condition now? I believe we canunch an attack. We can prate the enemy''s rear nks, especially since the smoke they released to disrupt the Stukas can cover us." The deputy replied, "I see no problem. Should we consult with the Third Armored Battalion? Have them move right and upy the cover positions." "Then let the Armored Grenadiers rush forward to engage the enemy infantry. I think this n is workable." With that, Stauffenberg adjusted his radio tomunicate with his superiors, "Wildcat calling Wolf, Wildcat calling Wolf." "Themander of the Second Armored Battalion believes an attack can beunched based on the situation on the ground," the radio operator reported back to the acting divisionmander Kluge. "Approved. Let him try, and if they hit a hard spot, they can pull back. Have the Third Armored Battalion and the Armored Grenadier Battalion coordinate with him," Kluge, as a staff officer, was well aware of his capabilities. Since the frontline officers judged that it was worth a try, then they should go ahead and try. However, he also needed to assert his own role, adding, "If the attack is hindered, remember to feign retreat and lure the enemy into the firing range of the 88 guns." Although Wang Zhong wasn''t the first to discover the enemy''s assault, his external aid allowed him to be the first to grasp the overall situation. The enemy divided into two tank clusters, the first appeared to directly break through to the nks of the ambush site to upy the side positions. The second cluster took arger detour, seemingly preparing to upy remote firing positions to cover the first cluster. Moreover, the enemy''s Armored Grenadiers had broken away from the tank units and begun to advance, evidently nning a rush attack through the smoke-obscured visibility of the ambush position to engage in closebat with the 31st Regiment 1st Battalion in the trenches. Having grasped the situation, Wang Zhong immediately said to the orderly who had followed the tanks out, "Go inform the 1st Battalion to evacuate the position! The enemy ising up for closebat, tell them to head to the reserve position." In the past ten days, the 151st Temporary Infantry Division and the Orachi Labor Camp had dug a multitude of preset positions and repeatedly practiced moving between them. Wang Zhong certainly wouldn''t let his troops, primarilyposed of new recruits, get minced with the enemy. As for the enemy tanks making the detour, although the position Wang Zhong and his men upiedcked tank dugouts, there were many trees and various obstacles left from constructing the faux position, making a gunfight in this location still advantageous for them. What''s more, the T-34s already had the upper hand in armor-piercingbat, so as long as they protected their tracks from being disabled, it would be difficult for the enemy to get an upper handwith so many obstacles, it was also hard for the enemy to precisely hit the T-34s'' "neck". It was a bit like War Thunder, where you''d use camouge foliage to cover the tank''s weak points, making it hard for the opponent to aim properly. At this moment, another three T-34s left the ambush position to join Wang Zhong and his group. With this, the number of tanks that had run out reached 21; out of the remaining nine, it was confirmed that Tank 448 was done for, the conditions of the others were unknown. "Quick, get into formation! Find your own toonmand tank!" Wang Zhong shouted while gesturing to the three newly arrived tanks. The leading vehicle''smander noddedit was unclear whether he really understood or was just nodding to cate himbut he directed his tank to turn in front of Tank 422 and followed the formation of the current tank group. The other two tanks followed suit, passing in front of Tank 422, theirmanders saluting Wang Zhong as they went by. Wang Zhong: "Stop saluting me! Get into formation, the enemy is here!" This was unbearable; in the future, securing captured radios would have to be the top priority. powered-by-NovelBin At this time, from a bird''s-eye view, Wang Zhong saw the infantry retreating along themunication trench to the preset positions, while the enemy''s infantry was about two hundred meters away from the ambush position''s trenches. Good, the effects of the repeated practice in changing formations were showing. Since the enemy was about to enter the position Wang Zhong adjusted the radio frequency, tuning it to the frequencymonly used by the Prussians. The Prussians would be monitoring this frequencynot so much monitoring, as expecting tomunicate on it, of course they would pay close attention. And there was another person constantly listening to this frequency, that was Vasily, guarding a captured field telephone. Wang Zhong: "The long, drawn-out sobs of the violin in autumn, repeat, the long, drawn-out sobs of the violin in autumn." Vasily put down his headphones: "A code hase through! Artillery, target the second ambush position!" "The second one?" Pavlov confirmed. "Yes! I''m certain it''s the code for the second ambush position," Vasily insisted. Pavlov picked up the phone: "Connect to the artillery battalion! Make it quick!" Prussian Army, Knightly Order of Ampr Armored Division HQ. Klose acting as divisionmander, heard the sudden voice over the radio and shouted, "Who knows the Antenguage?" "I do! That''s the first line from Weilun''s poem, ''Autumn Song,''" said a staff officer. Division Commander Kluge: "Why recite a poem all of a sudden? Is this some kind of code? Is something going to happen?" A concerned staff officer asked, "Could it be that they''re going to shell us?" Clearly, the precision strikes other divisionmanders had experienced were causing them severe psychological pressure. Kluge waved his hand: "Don''t scare yourselves. If they were going to bomb us, they would have done so already, why wait until now? No, this must be some other kind of code. My Ante Army doesn''t have enough radios, so we have to rely on telephonemunication. The one issuing orders must have left a node with a telephone for some reason. "He''s got a radio beside him... He must be in a tank." Suddenly, Kluge came to the table, picked up the white general''s service record, flipped through it quickly, and shouted, "Tanks! This white general likes tomand the troops from inside his tank, and his tank likes to hang the military g on the antenna! Tell the second battalion, the enemy''s white general is in a tank, and there''s a military g on the tank antenna!" Wang Zhong was paying attention to the enemy infantry when suddenly Vasily''s voice came through the headphones: "General! The enemy knows you are in a tank, and they know your tank has a military g! Quick, take down the g!" Wang Zhong nced at the red g on the antenna, shook his head, and said, "Let theme. And you, kid, stop shouting in innguage!" Actually, to keep radiomunication secret now, one could only use codes or call signs. Basically, both sides could hear each other''s radio broadcasts, and those advanced things like frequency hopping and encryptedmunication didn''t exist yet. That''s why the Yanks came up with the idea of using Native American code talkers. Wang Zhong had just scolded Vasily when he saw the enemy infantry enter the second ambush position. At that moment, symbols for armored troops suddenly appeared at the ambush position! A T-34 that had been stunned by arge bomb "woke up"! It was seen reversing and firing at the same time, retreating to a makeshift road. Then more tanks "woke up"no, it was three tanks waking up, forming an armored toon with the one that had awakened first! But Wang Zhong quickly noticed that one of the tanks had its track blown off and couldn''t move. He watched the tank operator jump out of the tank and shoot at the elite armored grenadiers with his weapon. However, the enemy''s machine guns soon started firing. It was traditional for the German soldiers; infantry used the 98K rifle with a bolt action, relying entirely on machine guns to provide continuous suppressive fire. The light machine guns'' torrential firepower quickly brought down the tank operators. Wang Zhong''s heart twisted in pain. Luckily, by then, the remaining three tanks had sessfully retreated past the hedge line into an open field, forcing enemy infantry who tried to get close back toward the hedges with their firepower. Now was the time! Wang Zhong: "The monotonous mncholy that stabs my heart. Repeat, the monotonous mncholy that stabs at my heart!" "Got it!" Vasily responded. Wang Zhong: "Damn it, don''t respond!" Even though Vasily was a bit of a blockhead, Wang Zhong wasn''t worried about him screwing up. A few secondster, the whoosh of artillery shells tearing through the sky could be heard. The first volley of 152mm heavy artillerynded. The hedge position, just plowed over by the Stuka''s 500kg bombs, was once again covered in steel and fire. The birch trees that made up the hedge shook wildly but stood resilient like bamboo, "withstanding a thousand blows." Unyielding to winds from any direction! Chapter 175: Chapter 26 Damn it, The White Horse (Alliance Hierarch added) The barrage from the 152mm heavy artillery continued, and Wang Zhong also saw fireballs created by even more powerful 203mm heavy artillery. Wang Zhong could see the enemy infantry rapidly diminishing, as highlighted figures were wiped out in swathes. If this were a game, artillery brothers would be awarded a star for every shell they fired, and after the battle, they''d be full-star artillerymen. Unfortunately, reality had no such mechanism. Although the infantry attack had been halted by the artillery, the enemy''s tank troops were still maneuvering around. discover-stories-on-NovelBin Then the problem arose: the remaining three tanks were exactly blocking the main forces of the Armored Troops from the enemy! Wang Zhong: "Fire! Cover them! And you guys, retreat quickly!" In his urgency, he forgot that the very reason those three tanks could be destroyed by a 500kg bomb was theirck of radiomunication. Tank No. 422 fired first; Alexandria did well. The shell passed between therge sides of the three friendly tanks and struck an enemy Panzer III on the move. The other tanks also fired sporadically, but the hit rate was worrisome. After all, there were no targets to provide range references; it all depended on the experience of each crew. The enemy fired too, but their targets were the three tanks frantically retreating. After the first salvo, Wang Zhong watched as friendly tanks No. 438 and No. 440 stopped moving, presumably with their tracks broken. However, because Wang Zhong had previously organized a veteran experience-sharing meeting, the rookies in these two tanks didn''t abandon their vehicles but instead fired back in ce. Tank No. 431 continued to retreat, and at that point, itsmander seemed to finally realize where the friendlies were positioned, so he ordered the driver to turn the tank around. But whether the driver, out of nervousness, turned in the wrong direction, or themander gave the wrong orders in confusion, the tank wound up turning its front toward the friendlies, exposing its rear to the enemy. How could the elite of the Prosen tanks let such an opportunity pass? Wang Zhong watched as three or four shells hit the rear of Tank No. 431. The engine of Tank No. 431 immediately died, and Wang Zhong could see the thick smoke rising from the radiator, even from such a distance! The crew of Tank No. 431 scrambled out of the vehicleafter all, without the engine, the turret could only be hand-cranked. At this point, abandoning the tank would not be held against them. The Prussians'' machine guns began strafing, blocking the tank operators'' route of retreat and forcing them to take cover behind the tank. Tanks No. 438 and No. 440 were still resisting, but the second round of the enemy''s assault came, targeting the turret rings. By this time, the attacking enemy armored group had also suffered heavy losses; out of Wang Zhong''s 21 tanks, several salvos knocked out more than a dozen enemy tanks. But the problem was, the enemy still had dozens of tanks! At that moment, Wang Zhong saw an original Tank No. 430e back to life from the treeline. Lucky fellow, this one had been stunned by the enemy''s 500kg bomb and then hammered by friendly 152mm and 203mm rounds. Now it was somehow back in action! And it could drive! It backed out of the tank shelter and turned its head outwards to rush out. Yes, Tank No. 430 charged along the hedge toward the side nk of the enemy''s armored group. It broke through the hedge, and all the enemies seemed not to notice it! Tank No. 430 thus charged to the enemy''s nk! Wang Zhong found this maneuver all too familiar; it was exactly like his tactics when driving an M18 Hellcat in War Thunder! Rushing to the side and sending out powerful 76mm high-explosive rounds to the German tanks one by one. But the notorious poor visibility of the T34 came fully to light again: Tank No. 430 didn''t notice the Prosen armored cluster covering from a distance. No sooner had it stopped than three Panzer IIIs from a distance opened fire. However, in their haste, the Prussians did not hit their target; the armor-piercing shells hit the ground and bounced up, grazing the frontal armor of Tank No. 430. Tank No. 430 returned fire, hitting a Panzer IV; it seemed the gunner deliberately targeted the less numerous but more valuable Panzer IVs. More distant enemies then fired, and Tank No. 430 was hit repeatedly but still managed to fire a second shot. mes spurted from the hatch of a Panzer III. Seeing this scene, Wang Zhong couldn''t stay put any longer. He had to push his own tank forward next to the three disabled tanks, which would eliminate the obstruction of the firing line for the friendlies and bring them closer, allowing his novice tank operators to aim better and waste fewer shells. Wang Zhong: "All units, attention, follow me forward! Beliyakov, advance!" Tank No. 422''s exhaust belched out arge cloud of ck smoke, thundering as it advanced, with the red g on its radio antenna fluttering in the breeze. Wang Zhong''smand vehicle burst through the treeline, galloping across the open field! The other tanks followed suit, charging towards the friendlies trapped on the grasnds! Themander of the Second Armored Battalion, Stauffenberg, still had his upper body out of the turret, so he was the first to see the T34 tank breaking through the treeline. "Wildcat calling Wolf, Wildcat calling Wolf! Visual confirmation of the enemymander''s vehicle, a specially designed T34 tank with arger turret than the other T34s. "A red g is hanging on the radio antenna, I repeat, there is a red g! The tactical number is 422, I repeat, tactical number 422, and there is a white horse insignia, I repeat, white horse insignia!" After reporting, Stauffenberg immediately switched to the battalionmand frequency: "Aim at that T34 with the red g, tactical number 422!" His own vehicle was the first to respond to the order, turning its tank gun toward that T34. At that moment, an order came from division headquarters over the radio: "Remember the tactics arranged by the divisionmander!" Stauffenberg: "But the enemy has only one battalion, I think we should be able to cope!" "What are the losses?" Stauffenberg fell silent. Acting Division Commander: "Execute the nned order!" "Yes. All units, you heard, execute the nned order!" The Second Armored Battalion began to discharge smoke and turned around to retreat. At this point, most of the Prosen tanks finally noticed Tank No. 430 on the nk. After a barrage of concentrated fire, Tank 430y paralyzed on the grasnd. As Tank 422 charged past three friendly tanks paralyzed on the ins, Wang Zhong ordered, "Stop! Stop!" After the tank jolted to a halt from braking, Wang Zhong raised his binocrsthis was just for show since the enemy''s smoke had already blocked all visibility ahead. Using the external viewer from his elevated position, Wang Zhong saw the enemy retreating. It wasn''t just the tank units retreating; the infantry scattered all over the ambush position were also retreating. What does this mean? Wang Zhong was now reminded of a ssic moment from aedy sketch by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao: "But I haven''t even fired yet!" "Hey, doesn''t this just show how urate your shooting is?" Wang Zhong thought to himself, I just rushed out here, preparing to position for a sniper battle with you, and you''re leaving? I haven''t put in much effort yet, and you''re already falling? By now the other tanks had also reached the line of Tank 422. Most of them stopped, but a few inattentive ones charged past. You couldn''t me them; it''s easy to get fixated on what''s ahead when the tankmander also serves as the gunner. Wang Zhong even heard a toon leader blowing a whistlethis was the original method ofmand envisaged by the headquarters of the Ante Armored Troops, but it turned out to be useless. Having gone through the battle with Loktov, Wang Zhong had already found that whistles and semaphore were ineffective, which is why he had arranged for someone to lift the tank''s hatch as the most direct means ofmunication. Hearing the whistle, Wang Zhong pressed the throat microphone: "Alright, stop blowing. Use the anti-aircraft machine gun to shoot at the backs of their heads; that''s the only way to make them realize they should stop!" As he finished speaking, the toon leader who had been blowing the whistle opened fire, and tracer rounds from the anti-aircraft machine gun hit the backs of the heads of the crew in the tanks that continued to push forward. Finally, all the tanks stopped. Through the smoke, Wang Zhong observed the enemy''s movements. Wait a second, isn''t this the same situation I saw in Loktov? So, is there an 88-mm gun position set up behind? Wang Zhong took out the map, and just like in Loktov, he had carefully surveyed the entire battlefield. However, thend to the north of Orachi was too t, making it impossible to find a spot particrly suited for cing anti-tank guns. Or rather, the best defensive location in the area was already upied by Wang Zhong himself. Damn, now there''s no way to steal the enemy''s guns. Facing off against 88-mm guns in an open field is not really how I want to hasten my death. At this time, the Guards Regiment 31 Battalion 1 reentered the position they had just abandoned. Wang Zhong began to consider the next defense. At the rate the enemy was retreating, it would take some time for them to organize another offensive. Organizing an armored assault is much moreplicated than an infantry assault, and the enemy had suffered significant losses. Even the tanks that withdrew had reduced crews, which needed rearrangement. Wang Zhong continued to examine the mapwhere would the enemy regroup? The regrouping location should be very close to the highway to facilitate resupply. It should also be near a medical station, as there might be some lightly wounded requiring simple bandaging. The hospital must be around the wells Using the process of elimination, Wang Zhong quickly locked in three possible locations for the enemy''s regrouping. In fact, during the earlier reconnaissance of the terrain, he had already paid special attention to these ces and had assigned each a codename. Let''s fire a round at each location for a prize. If we''re lucky and hit the target, the enemy won''t be thinking of attacking today. "The enemy hasn''t taken the bait!" Klose picked up the document detailing the previous battles of the White Horse General, "In Loktov, he didn''t take the bait either, and immediately bombarded the areas likely to be anti-tank positions. Tch, order the anti-aircraft artillery battalion to move out!" Themunications officer saluted and left. Kluge turned to Stauffenberg, "How bad are our losses?" "Heavy losses; my battalion lost thirty tanks." "How many can be repaired?" Stauffenberg clicked his tongue, "Your Excellency, the acting brigademander, if we do not upy the battlefield, there is no way to repair those tanks abandoned on the field. The enemy now controls the front line." "Alright. It seems we can only wait for tonight and let the infantry try to retake the position with a night attack." No sooner had his voice faded when the sound of an artillery shell tearing through the air reached them. Kluge asked, "Is it here? Are they targeting the anti-aircraft guns?" He strode to the door of the armoredmand vehicle, pulled it open, and looked outside. However, the artillery battalion was unharmed and in the process of moving. The sound of explosions came from far away. Kluge looked into the distance, "What are they bombing?" Another staff officer frowned, "Judging by the direction, it''s near the field hospital... These inferiors!" Kluge shook his head, "No, they''re bombing our logistics nodes and assembly points! Hurry up and evacuate the personnel!" As he spoke, another shell whistled overhead, and even Kluge, with little frontline experience, could tell the impact was very close. He immediately lunged for cover! But the shell did notnd on themand vehicle; instead, it hit a threshing floor not far away. The Armored Battalion 2, which had retreated, had not regrouped there, but a mess truck parked there was distributing food and the extremely bitter coffee. Kluge raised his head, only to see therge pot used for making coffee flying into the sky. Like many other Prosen generals who had previously encountered the White Horse General, Kluge swore, "Damn it, White Horse!" Chapter 176: Chapter 27 Battlefield Interlude (Additional chapter for reaching 13,000 monthly votes) On Wang Zhong''s side, once it was confirmed that the enemy had fully retreated, he hurried to clean up the battlefield, seizing weapons and tallying losses. He first found Tank 430''s crew. The four men were being bandaged and immediately stood up and shouted when they saw Wang Zhonge over, "General Sir!" This roar, reminiscent of Zhang Fei bellowing at the Changban Bridge, made Wang Zhong''s head buzz. The nurse said, "Their hearing has suffered irreversible damage, and they may also have concussions; they can no longer fight, and they might never be able to again." So all the injuries the four of them had were from a 500KG aerial bomband their own side''s 152 and 203? Wang Zhong nodded, took out a notepad, and wrote with a pencil, "Thank you for your sacrifice and bravery." He then handed the paper to the tankmander, gesturing for him to pass it to the others. After themander handed the note to the loader, he shouted loudly, "We can still fight! Just fix up the tank, no, we can join another crew as reserves!" The nurse closest to the loud tankmander had to turn her head away but showed no sign of disdain. Wang Zhong took out another note and wrote: "The Empire needs you elsewhere, please heal and then train new tank operators." He tore off the note and stuffed it into themander''s hand. Themander stared at the note for a long time before finally handing the piece of paper to the loader. He said nothing and just sat down to let the nurse continue bandaging until the bandage covered his entire ear. At that moment, the battalionmander of the armored battalion ran over and saluted, "Report, General, the inspection of the damaged vehicles isplete: four totally destroyed, four can possibly be repaired, and one is recoverable but the entire crew was sacrificed, with no damage to the tank." Wang Zhong said, "Recruit volunteers from the survivors of the destroyed tanks to form new crews." Right then, the previously bowed head of Tank 430''smander shouted, "I''ll join!" Wang Zhong looked at the nurse. The nurse said, "He can''t fight anymore! I suspect he may have a minor brain bleed and must receive treatment! The other members of his crew are the same! They can recover if they get treated now, at least enough to lead normal lives! Without treatment, they''llpletely lose their hearing!" So Wang Zhong ced his hand on themander''s shoulder and gently shook his head. "Your war is over. Leave the rest to us." Wang Zhong turned to look toward the west, where thend had been lost and the setting sun was descending. Behind him, on Antenna 422, the red g fluttered in the wind. Just as Wang Zhong had predicted, the enemycked the capability to organize an offensive with the remaining daylight. At 2030 hours, the 2nd Battalion of the 31st Guards Regiment took position on the battlefield, recing the 1st Battalion that had fought all day, assuming the night defense C it would not be good if the painstakingly held defensive position were to be lost to a night raid by the enemy. In addition, a volunteer repair squad made up of 200 workers from the tractor factory arrived on the battlefield to start repairing the four damaged tanks. After inspecting the tanks, the masters reported that two of them could be easily repaired, while the other two would be better used for parts. The first day of fighting resulted in the loss of six T34s. And these losses came in a defensive ambush position. The enemy was indeed elite. Wang Zhong was solemn throughout the ride back to the third ambush position in Tank 422. The armored battalion would be spending the night at the third ambush position, mainly to reduce the chance of mechanical failures in the tanks. The 3rd Battalion of the 31st Regiment, stationed at the third ambush position, served as the reserve during the day''s fighting and was nearly at its breaking point. When they saw the tank unit led by Wang Zhong approaching, everyone from the battalion rushed out of the trenches, shouting to Wang Zhong, "General, let us enter the fight!" Wang Zhong said, "Rest assured! There will be a time for you to fight! Don''t rush it!" Today, they had encountered just one armored division of the enemy. Southbound, the second armored group had seven such divisions C it was originally six, but it had now been reinforced with two especially powerful Asgard Knights divisions. Wang Zhong was not worried at all that his troops would have no battles to fight. In fact, the real question was how many people would remain after this war. Just as the tank unit drove into the tank shelters, the field cooking team''s girls C both young women and olderdies C arrived in horse-drawn carts. The carts carriedrge pots filled with thick soup, whose aroma wafted from a great distance. Wang Zhong had originally nned to return to Orachi to check on the front-line situation, but the sight of the arriving carts made him hungry. He shouted to the lead cart, "I wonder if you''ve cooked a portion for this divisionmander!" The woman driving the cart shouted back, "Yes! We''ve cooked enough for three battalions!" As she spoke, she pulled the reins taut: "Whoa!" The cart slowly came to a halt. A girl holding a basket of bread jumped down from the cart and called out to Wang Zhong, "Major General, did you destroy many enemies today?" "Yes, we destroyed a lot of enemies!" Wang Zhong said with certainty. This was the truth; just in the morning ambush, they had almostpletely wiped out an enemy armored battalion. Although the afternoon battle had many unexpected developments, they still destroyed 27 of the enemy''s Mark III and IV tanks. In terms ofbat results, it already exceeded the armored charge at Loktov C most of Loktov''s sess in destroying over a hundred units was due to the infantry''s efforts. The infantry troops mainly were responsible for battlefield cleanup and final clearance of remaining enemies on the positions, the major battle achievements were aplished by the Armored Division and anti-tank gun units. At that moment, a veteran from the third battalion who had participated in Loktov shouted, "The generals had their fun; we didn''t even get started!" Soldiers from the first battalion immediately echoed, "Yeah, all the meat went to the tank units and the artillery, we didn''t catch a break!" The driverdy and a few girls together ced the soup pot on the ground, turned their heads to thoseining, and shouted, "Be content, you''re standing here intact, there will be plenty of opportunities to kill the enemyter! Come on, eat the meat!" "We''ve been waiting!" the soldiers revealed their mess tins one after another. Some even started to ng the bottoms of their mess tins with their spoons. "Stop knocking!" the Military Chain shouted, "For heaven''s sake!" Wang Zhong: "Alright, they''ve just fought a battle, let them rx a bit." It was as if the soldiers received a decree from His Majesty the Tsar, they became noisy, "The Major said we can rx a bit!" "Third Battalion Commander, where''s your blaika, strike it up!" The Chain of the third battalion came over to Wang Zhong,ining, "Is this alright, Major? Beingx could cost them their lives." Wang Zhong: "Look on the bright side, Chain, it''s good that the morale is high. Things are going to get tougher from now on, and you might wish they''d sing and dance." The Chain thought for a moment: "You''re an experienced War General, I''ll follow your lead." At that time, Wang Zhong noticed the reluctance of the Third Battalion Commander, so he shouted loudly, "Third Battalion Commander! Where''s your blaika!" The Third Battalion Commander, with a resigned look on his face, fished a blaika out of his backpack and began to assemble it. -exclusive Wang Zhong: "Let''s all enjoy the music!" ... The second battalion of the 31st Guard Regiment of the Ante Army,te at night. Because of the ckout, fires were not allowed, so Private Ivan and Sergey sat in the trench in the dark, drinking tea that had gone cold. "Did you hear?" Sergey spoke up, "Someone from the first battalion discovered something, that peeing on the enemy''s trousers gives you endless courage. That''s the general''s secret to bravery!" Ivan frowned, "Really? You''re pulling my leg, aren''t you?" "True story! Remember the coward from the first battalion, the drummer''s squad? He was about to piss himself when the drummer told him to do it on the enemy. Suddenly his legs weren''t shaking anymore, and he was brave!" Filippov was good at drumming, so he was nicknamed the drummer among the soldiers. Ivan, still frowning, expressed disbelief. Sergey: "I saw it, the bodies of the Prussians around us haven''t been cleaned up yet, let''s go pee on one!" At that moment, Stepan, who had been napping in the nearby artillery bunker, crawled out and said to them, "You know what? It only works if you pee on an enemy you''ve shot yourself. Didn''t you see the first battalion arguing when we were changing guard? They were fighting over who killed the enemy. "Those who haven''t peed are worried they''ll die in the next battle." Ivan frowned, "Does being brave or not have to do with whether you''ll die?" "Haven''t you heard the old soldiers say? The more cowardly you are, the faster you die, whereas the bold are hard to kill." Stepan said mysteriously, "That''s why the general can never die. I''ve heard it from the veterans of the third line of the Amur Group, a 381 shell! Do you know the 381 shell? A shell as thick as your waist, when one falls, Duke dimir and hundreds of staff died! But the general survived!" "That doesn''t sound right," Ivan countered again, "It was the general and the Duchess''s favorite who survived. I''ve heard that guy isn''t brave?" Stepan sighed, "You''re no fun at all, don''t you know how to chat?" With that, hey back down in the artillery bunker. A secondter, he spoke again, "You watch, tomorrow I''ll kill one, no one betterpete with me!" Just then, the three of them heard a sharp challenge in the darkness: "Who''s there? Identify yourself!" Then a gunshot rang out. The three were bewildered, as they were all new soldiers who had never seenbat before and didn''t understand what was happening. Just then the toon leader came rushing, "Prepare for battle, the enemy is attacking at night!" As soon as he finished speaking, thepanymander began to blow his whistle. Simultaneously with the whistle, machine guns fired, spraying tracer bullets into the darkness. The toon leader grabbed Ivan''s shoulder, hauled him up, and threw him to the firing slot, "Prepare for battle! Hurry, get into firing position, don''t worry about whether you can see anyone, fire at anything that looks human!" Ivan looked nkly at the darkness outside the trench; although having stayed in the dark environment allowed him to faintly see the contours of thingsbut Suddenly, Ivan saw something move, and he immediately fired in that direction, a burst from the Tokarev! Next to him, others also fired their weapons, the sound of gunfire was constant. After emptying a magazine, Ivan heard the toon leader shout, "Ceasefire! All ceasefire!" The sound of shooting gradually quieted down. Sergey poked Ivan''s side: "Did you hit anyone? I feel like I hit one, let''s check when it gets light." Ivan: "I don''t know, I feel like I hit one too." "Let''s check together tomorrow." Chapter 177: Chapter 28 The situation of the Prussian Army on the night of August 3 Prosen Army, Second Armored Cluster Command, August 3rd, 2330 hours. When Acting Division Commander Kluge entered themand, Armored Cluster Commander Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch was examining a map. Acting Division Commander Kluge stood at attention and saluted, "Your Excellency, Commander!" "Hmm, rx a bit." Mauch lifted his right hand as a return salute, "I had youe over in a Kubelwagen (which is the German jeep, a proper noun) to get an update on your division''s encounter today. The journey must have been tough." Kluge, maintaining his posture, responded, "For His Majesty the Emperor!" "Very well," Mauch waved his hand, "Now, tell me, what happened today? Let''s start with how Division Commander William Dietrich got seriously injured? Wasn''t he a brave general who performed excellently in the Bohemian Campaign and the Carolingian Campaign? Howe he faltered in Ante?" "Division Commander William nned on personally scouting the enemy, so he swapped clothes with a reserve position tank toon leader and boarded the toon leader''s vehicle to head out. Then he was hit by 72 heavy artillery shells from the enemy''s batteries, leaving only one tank intact in that tank toon." Mauch clicked his tongue, "Specifically targeting a divisionmander disguised for scouting?" The Cluster Chief of Staff asked, "A spy tipped them off?" Kluge immediately replied, "Absolutely not, the military police have already wiped out all potential hostile elements that could have leaked information in our garrison area." Frowning, Mauch eventually refrained frommenting on the military police''s actions and continued, "Regarding espionage, it''s unlikely for a spy to maintain contact with a divisionmander at the front line; espionage organizations tend to avoid such t structures for the sake of secrecy." "I''m more inclined to believe there were hidden observation posts. Your headquarters might have been within the enemy''s line of sight. Even if you changed clothes, an observation post seeing to whom you salute would understand everything." Kluge said, "If that were the case, why not bombard the staff headquarters? It doesn''t make sense. Before the attack, all officers of toon rank or higher from my division were gathered for a meeting. If a round of artillery had fallen at that time, my division would have been crippled." Mauch nodded, "You have a point. So how was this aplished? This ''White Horse General'' also has a feat of killing uh, bringing about General Randolph''s sacrifice." "Randolph''s case is understandable," the Cluster Chief of Staff said, "The ''White Horse General'' drove his vehicle close to Major General Randolph''s headquarters, which was entirely due to Randolph''s own recklessness. That star general in the Carolingian Campaign also seemed to prefer leading the charge in a tank." Mauch said, "Ah, young Erwin, his spirited charges, after being praised by His Majesty, seem to have made the young generals fond of charging ahead." Mauch shook his head, "A general should grasp the overall situation. Back to what happened to you today, is there anything else to supplement regarding Division Commander William''s injury?" Kluge hesitated, then said, "There''s also the Voodoo Ritual" "We''ll leave that matter to the High Command''s scientific department to research. Before you arrived, the cluster''s staff were more inclined to believe it was merely coincidental. The ''White Horse General'' might have spected a high-ranking individual''s presence through formation deployment or some other subtle clues." After speaking, Mauch paused and changed the subject, "What''s your impression of the ''White Horse General''?" Kluge''s face tensed, "He is a cunning and despicable fellow, yet extremely meticulous. He must have thoroughly examined the battlefield and knew where we would establish our logistical points. His artillery fire, though it was more of a lottery, did kill over forty of our experienced soldiersthey were having coffee at the time! "What''s fortunate is that our tank operators were still checking the tanks and not having meals! Otherwise, we would''ve needlessly lost a battalion''s worth of elite tank operators!" Mauch said, "Bombing the dining areas? This reminds me of the trench warfare days when we used to bomb each other''strines. Such matters be routine with habit. Does he have any other distinguishing features?" After some thought, Kluge said, "He seemed tomand his troops to dig a very strange type of shelter. Our infantry approached to inspect this shelter and were covered by enemy artillery fire before they could get a close look. "But it seems to be a very advanced andplicated type of shelter. Our tank shelters are usually just a square pit for the tank to drive into. Their shelters are much moreplicated than that and require much more earthwork. "Even our tank operators could dig their own shelters if equipped with a dozer de; a push with a tank would suffice. "Their shelters probably require a significant amount ofbor and sapper troops to dig for a long time." Mauch seriously confirmed, "Shelters?" "Yes, shelters. Such shelters are very difficult to spot, even when the tank fires, and the smoke from the firing itself obscures the vision, interfering with our aim. "If it weren''t for the poor marksmanship of Ante''s tank operators, our losses could have been even greater." Mauch and his Chief of Staff exchanged nces, then asked, "Isn''t he supposed to be a brute? After all, he brazenly made it all the way to General Randolph." "No, he''s definitely not a brute. He ambushed us, and before our Stuka bombing, he withdrew most of his tanks and infantry, then covered the ground with artillery fire when our infantry advanced. Clearly, this is the doing of a cunning defense expert!" Mauch mused, "A cunning defense expert, huh, but in the Ante Army, armored officers all prefer offensive tactics. In Castile, they would even use tanks to charge our anti-tank gun positions, like a group of porcupines, charging at human arrow formations and then lying dead in the fields." "Then he is an exception!" Kluge asserted, "Our attack today suffered a major setback! And I, along with all my officers, believe that they have not even deployed their full forces!" Mauch, with his chin in hand, fell into deep thought while the Cluster Chief of Staff said, "But the intelligence from Rabowell indicates that he''s just a a wastrel who graduatedst." Kluge retorted, "Does this look like the result of someone who graduatedst? I refuse to ept being defeated by a bottom-ranker! No, it wasn''t my n to attack, I refuse to believe that Major General William Dietrich''s n could bepletely outmatched by a bottom-ranker! Absolutely not!" The Chief of Staff raised his eyebrows and looked down to review the intelligence Rabowell had sent, "Wait a minute! There is one more line of Rabowell''s own assessment here. ''Considering that the penultimate is the Crown Prince of the Ante Empire, we cannot rule out the possibility that Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky intentionally controlled his score.'' The Chief of Staff raised his head, looking at the others. The entire High Command fell into silence as if even the sound of typewriters from the adjacent clerical department had diminished. Moochi concluded, "So, are we facing an extremely clever, cunning expert in defensive warfare?" "We?" Kluge sharply caught the word, "Were the Duke of Meishikin''s forces crushed?" "No. In fact, they have also constructed arge number of fortifications, quite troublesome. That''s why the Cluster is nning to bypass the strong fortified regions and are preparing to pass in front of you toplete the encirclement." wee-to-NovelBin Moochi paused, then continued, "Tomorrow the 16th Armored Division will join you. Additionally, the corps''s artillery will also move toward your side, and they are expected to arrive in thebat zone by tomorrow evening." "Furthermore, the 8th Air Force will do its utmost to support your operations." Kluge asked, "These troops... will all be under mymand?" "Yes, because... the Emperor hopes for you to perform excellently. After all, you are the Asgard Knights." Kluge grinned, the Zeus on his cor badge reflecting the light from the electricmp. At that moment, the air raid rm suddenly sounded. Everyone in the High Command looked up, puzzled. Moochi demanded, "What''s happening?" "I''ll find out right away." A staff officer immediately left the High Command. No sooner had he left than the telephone rang. The Chief of Staff answered, "This is High Command. What? What? Understood, got it." After hanging up the phone, the Chief of Staff reported, "The troops heard the sound of airnes passing overhead, everyone heard it, and they''re sure they''reing toward us." Moochi asked, "Airnes? At night? Didn''t the Air Force say night bombers are still experimental? How did the Ante peoplee up with them?" The Chief of Staff shook his head. Then an explosion was heard outside. Moochi quickly went to the window, just in time to see a bine fly over the High Command and drop something. That somethingnded in the yard and exploded in the next moment. It looked less like an aerial bomb and more like a hand grenade. Moochi was puzzled, "What is this thing?" The Chief of Staff also looked bewildered. Time passed in the confusion of everyone for five minutes. Then the phone rang again, and the Chief of Staff immediately picked up, "High Command. How many? Why didn''t the anti-aircraft guns fire? Extremely low altitude? Understood." After hanging up the phone again, the Chief of Staff reported, "Six bines observed, entering our airspace at extremely low altitude, dropping what appeared to be hand grenades, causing a total of six deaths and 11 injuries." Moochi fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "What''s the point of such an air raid?" "Don''t know. The Ante people''s understanding of the art of war is different from ours," the Chief of Staff paused before adding, "unless they do this every night from now on. This will cause significant psychological pressure on our soldiers, making them unable to have a good night''s sleep." Moochi asked, "Sending out old bines for bombing missions just to disrupt our sleep? What kind of bizarre tactic is this?" "You can''t understand the Ante people withmon sense." Moochi shook his head and turned back to Kluge, "Anyway, you organize the next attack tomorrow, don''t let the ''White Horse General'' seed again! You graduated top of your ss from the Imperial Military Academy! Although you have never fought a battle." "Seize this opportunity! I believe this is what His Majesty the Emperor is also expecting!" Kluge eximed, "I will not let His Majesty down!" Chapter 178: Chapter 29: The Situation of the Ante Army on the Evening of August 3 Argesukov, Ante Army Southwestern Front Army Headquarters, 2330 hours. "How far have they advanced?" General Skorobo leaped to his feet in shock. The staff officer bowed his head to confirm the numbers on the report, then cautiously replied, "40 kilometers." General Skorobo, "What about our troops? How could we let the enemy''s armored clusters move forward forty kilometers?" As the general roared with fury, the operation staff at the Front Army headquarters emotionlessly ced an arrow representing the enemy on the map to the south of Argesukov, near the coast. The enemy''s Southern Army Group''s First Armored Cluster, the southernmost pincer of the entire pincer movement, had already prated 40 kilometers into our defenses. Looking at the map, the defensive sector of the 35th Army Group, which was originally responsible for blocking the First Armored Cluster, had been split in two by the enemy like a sweet potato. Still venting his rage, General Skorobo eximed, "Forty kilometers! Are the enemies holding a marathon in our defense sector?" "General, sir," the chief of staff spoke up, "yelling at themunication staff is useless, it''s not their fault the enemy has pushed forward so quickly." General Skorobo hesitated for a few seconds, took a deep breath, "You''re right. So what exactly is the 35th Army Group doing? They should have built defensive positions on the front line, shouldn''t they?" The Front Army chain said, "We also have fortifications along the border, yet the enemy still broke through." At this point, the Crown Prince joined the conversation, "General, you yourself said that fortification is useless, it''s out of date." "When did I say that?" Crown Prince, "Yesterday, when you were evaluating Rocossov''s work at Orachi." Mentioning Rocossov at this time sent a surge of anger through General Skorobo, "Don''t mention that name!" Front Army chief of staff, "Rothe fortifications of the 151st Division might be different from what we usually consider as defenses, we could have him share his experiences when we get the chance." General Skorobo red at the chief of staff, and at that moment his adjutant spoke, "It''s Rocossov who kept saying that the enemies in the north would push southward, so all our defenses were focused up north. Having only one army group facing the enemy''s First Armored Cluster based on past experience is definitely not enough." Crown Prince mmed his hand on the table and stood, "Enough! Rocossov warned you that the enemies from the north would head southward. Did they move south? They did! He also said they wouldunch a pincers movement, and I remember he said exactly that! Did they pincer? They did! "He got it all right! So who was it that said everything was wrong? It was you! You said an army armed with new tanks would crush the enemy! Did it crush them? "You said we could thwart the enemy''s infantry assault, did we thwart them?" Chief of staff, "Actually, we did thwart them. The enemy''s infantry army group''s attacks did not make much ground today; we even counterattacked and took back a town. Our infantry troops still have a strong will to fight." The Crown Prince momentarily felt a bit embarrassed; he hadn''t quite understood the state of the infantry assault, but that didn''t stop him from continuing, "But your initial assessment waspletely wrong! Because the enemy''s main breakthrough and encirclement would be carried out by the armored clusters! "Incidentally, it''s still Rocossov who is holding back the northern pincer of the enemy!" Chief of staff, "It''s Rocossov and Duke Meishikin together holding them back, without Duke Meishikin, his single division would''ve already been encircled." Crown Prince, "Regardless, they held them back! And his 2300 hours telegram said they destroyed more than sixty enemy tanks in a day!" General Skorobo''s adjutant remarked, "It sounds a bit low..." "Because he actually destroyed more than sixty tanks! Now look at the 35th Army Group; they imed to have destroyed more than a hundred of the enemy''s tanks, so why could the enemy cut through their lines like slicing butter? Was it because the enemy deployed a thousand tanks?" the Crown Prince questioned the adjutant while tapping the table. Chief of staff, "That front couldn''t deploy a thousand, judging from the breadth of the enemy''s breach, there should have been only about a hundred tanks. After the breakthrough, they fanned out and swept through our logistics." Front Army chain, "The 35th should contemte a retreat." your chapter source mv-l,e mp _yr The adjutant was at a loss for words. While General Skorobo ced his hands on the map table, his palms covering his forehead, "Enough, that''s enough, Mishka (nickname of the adjutant). Trying to maintain my dignity now is pointless, my dignity has already been lost by my own hand." With that, the general lowered his hands. For a moment, the Crown Prince thought he saw new wrinkles conjured up on the general''s forehead. The general looked toward the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, may I ask you to send a telegram to your father, persuading him to allow us to retreat?" The Crown Prince, in turn, was startled, "Retreat? The enemy''s pincer movement has advanced less than a hundred kilometers together, there''s still a long time before they close the gap." General, "Of course we will strive to dy the enemy, but now we should prepare for the worst. We still have some tank units,posed of T26s and BT series, and ording to the frontline reports, these tanks can still prate the enemy''s armor at the right distance. "We also have enough Molotov cocktails to destroy the enemy''s tanks in the carnage that''s citybat. "However, Your Highness, our south is a vast in. Even if we can hold one or two cities, the enemy will flood over us like water over a dam." When the general finished speaking, the chief of staff continued, "Unless our Air Force suddenly bes aspetent as the enemy''s. I heard that the Air Force''s Il-2 attack aircraft are quite effective, but currently, only one squadron is assigned to our Front Army. "One squadron can dy a division, but cannot stop an entire armored cluster." After the chief of staff finished, the room fell silent. The Crown Prince sighed, "I''ll give it a try. But I think with my father''s stubbornness, he won''t change his mind so easily." General Skorobo, "Then we drag on until he changes his mind. I suggest you immediately fly back to St. Ye Katerina Fortress to persuade His Majesty the Tsar." The Crown Prince showed a wry smile, "You don''t understand my father, he... he''s very sensitive. He appointed me to oversee the forces, and if I were to run back on my own, he would fly into a rage. He wouldn''t be persuaded in such a state." Silence descended once again. As a general, he had heard enough about the Tsar''s temperament. The Crown Prince reassured, "Don''t worry, I''ll send a telegram to my sister. She''s so smart, she''ll definitelye up with a solution. Unless she has just angered our father, His Majesty will surely be persuaded!" General Skorobo nodded, "Very well, I''ll leave that to Your Highness. Now, we need to brace ourselves and strive to dy our retreat, to obtain a favorable situation for withdrawal." The Front Army Chief of Staff suggested, "We could consider an infantry attack. If we can hold up the enemy''s infantry and separate their armored groups from the rear, they might stop." General Skorobo agreed, "We can try that." The Crown Prince sat down, looked up at the mural on the ceiling, and silently prayed, "Olga, you must be persuasive. If you can''t convince father, these troops will be sacrificed here." ------------- Orachi, headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division of the Ante Army, August 4th, 00:10 hours. When Wang Zhong entered the room, Pavlov was surprised, "Why are you back? I thought you''d be asleep with the troops." "I need to adjust our deployment," Wang Zhong said. "The enemy''s bombing caused us the most damage today, so I want to take measures against their nes." Wang Zhong approached a table disying a detailed hand-drawn map of the Orachi area. "Our anti-aircraft guns are currently protecting our artillery positions, but upon reflection, if the enemy discovers our artillery, the 25mm anti-aircraft guns from just one battalion won''t be enough to stop them. "However, if this battalion were pushed forward, it could cover our tanks and even engage enemy infantry if necessary. At the right angle, they could even fire on enemy tanks, like those makeshift ones, the Mark I and Mark II." Todayyesterday, on August 3rdthe 151st Division destroyed more than sixty tanks, and those were Mark III and IV. The makeshift Mark II and the 38Ts were not even counted. Pavlov nodded, "I have no objections." Popov added, "Actually, I''ve checked the camouge of our artillery positions. As long as they are not spotted by enemy reconnaissance nes flying at an ultra-low altitude, we should be fine. I''m referring to the 152 positions; the B4 is so big it might be spotted by enemy high-altitude reconnaissance." Previously in Loktov, the B4 was ced within the city, making it easier to hide. Although Loktov was small, it was a railway hub with many factories. Orachi only had two factories, one making iron pots and shovels, the other producing cheese and dairy products, and then there were therge ranches. It was truly difficult to hide something as big as the B4. Wang Zhong said, "No choice then, if necessary, we''ll have to burn tires!" "That''s the problem," Popov spread his hands. "During my exchange with the local church, I learned about the city''s situation: there aren''t many tires to burn. We''ve tried our best to collect any, but they will be gone after burning them a couple of times." Wang Zhong cursed, "Damn it, all we''ve destroyed are tanks, which don''t have rubber tires to salvage." Popov suggested, "Then let''s try to fire as many shells as possible before we''re discovered." Wang Zhong agreed, "You''re right. Now take over the B4 position and give the sleeping enemy a little surprise." Pavlov asked, "Which vige do you want to hit? Or... throw a round at each one?" Wang Zhong replied, "Throw a round at each, let the rain fall evenly. If we hit them, it''s a bonus." Pavlov nodded, "Okay, I''ll make the arrangements." And then he went to make a phone call. Wang Zhong then turned to Popov, "Besides moving the anti-aircraft artillery battalion, tomorrow I n to move half of the Divine Arrow Company to the front line." Popov inquired, "To target the Stukas?" "Exactly! It''s not about how many we shoot down, but to make the enemy pilots wary. I remember clearly, back in Peniye, the enemy''s Stukas were scattered like birds and beasts after a single Divine Arrow brought one down." Popov admitted, "I wasn''t part of your unit back in Peniye, but I trust your experience." At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly realized this was the umtion of experiencetangible, touchable experience! He, too, was growing. Popov, puzzled, asked, "General?" "Oh, I just spaced out for a moment. Tomorrow, I want to send that little one, the one who talks tough... ah..." He paused, changing the perspective to look at the Divine Arrow Company''s icon and consulted the roster. "Yekaterina Andropovna Bnchevalet her and two other prayers go to the front, while Ludm continues to defend Orachi." Popovmented, "That''s reasonable. Bncheva can ensure the shooting down of enemy nes. If it''s just about deterring the enemy, you could even have her just guide the shots, firing one at a time, which might put even more pressure on the enemy." Wang Zhong pondered, "Hmm... indeed, but I think we should fire all three shots at once for the first volley, to cause a substantial decrease in their numbers." "That''s possible." As they finished talking, Nelly pushed the door open and entered with a basket in hand, "Would you like somete-night snack?" "Just some yogurt for me," Wang Zhong said. Nelly stared straight at him, "Only yogurt? No vodka? In the stories, the soldiers all hope their general eats meat and drinks heavily." Wang Zhong responded, "I''m not a Khan from Kazarlia. Just some yogurt, please." Chapter 179: Chapter 30 The Troops Pressing the Border (Alliance Hierarch Added) Prussian Army on this side. While heading back to his own division headquarters, Kluge suddenly saw a fire in the distance. He was almost asleep when the sight of the ze startled him awake, driving away all drowsiness. "Stop!" he shouted, and the driver mmed on the brakes, bringing the barrel car to a halt on the rough dirt road. Kluge stood up in his seatthat was possible in this kind of open-top barrel car. However, it was too dark; even standing up, he could only discern three civilian houses aze, unable to see any specific details. So Kluge called out to the Prussian soldiers gathered by the roadside smoking, "Which unit are you from?" The soldier nced at Kluge, and probably because he didn''t see a red cor patch, didn''t pay much attention and answered perfunctorily, "We''re from the 16th Division, getting ready to join the Crusader Knights!" "Not Crusaders." Another soldier, a sergeant sporting a senior exemption armband, corrected, "It''s the Asgard Knights, something new His Majesty hase up with." Kluge: "What''s with the big fire up ahead?" "Up front... Who are you?" The speaking soldier checked Kluge''s rank again, then realizing he had never seen such a rank, said, "Spying on military secrets? Be careful or I''ll report you to the military police!" Kluge pulled out his identification and unfolded it for the soldiers to see. A few soldiers crowded around, one of them took out a shlight and turned it on, and the next moment everyone snapped to attention as if electrocuted, straightening their backs: "General, sir!" Kluge: "What happened up front?" "Reporting, general, my unit had just entered the vige ahead when suddenly the enemy''s artillery fire came in. The supply train that entered the vige ahead of us had just set up an oil depot, and it got hit!" Kluge frowned, "All your fuel''s gone?" "No, the supply trucks hadn''t finished unloading everything, and they ran out after the shelling. Only the oil tanks that were moved into the depot got hit." Kluge cursed and muttered to himself, "Looks like facing this White Horse General, we can''t enter viges, we have to stay in the fields even with houses around. Damn it, isn''t he worried about killing his own people?" Kluge shook his head, "Truly a cold-hearted bastard!" At 0430 hours, Wang Zhong led a small group of riders out of Orachi. His idea was simple: to use his special trait of having enemies highlighted in his field of vision to scout ahead before the enemy''s main force moved. He brought along Vasily and the only field telephone in the whole division, ready to call in an artillery strike in clearnguage if necessary it didn''t matter if the enemy heard, the point was to create a deterrent; how many enemies it killed wasn''t important. No sooner had the cavalry left Orachi than they encountered God''s Arrow Company on the move in vehicles. Ekaterina Andropolovna was leaning over the rear guard of the truck vomiting when she saw Wang Zhong riding a white horseing from afar, quickly straightening up and wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Wang Zhong: "Do you get car sick?" "Yeah, so what?" Ekaterina lifted her eyebrows challengingly. Her demeanor made Wang Zhong want to flick her forehead with his finger. Suppressing the urge, Wang Zhong said, "Are you okay? Today you''re very important, if we can sessfully deter the enemy pilots, we can greatly reduce our losses." "Hmph, I''ll guarantee that every Divine Arrow I guide will hit its target!" Wang Zhong: "That''s good to hear." After he spoke, he nudged his horse and sped up Bucephalus. He was in a hurry to scout for enemy intelligence. It would be too dangerous to do so once the enemy was deployed and ready to attack, perhaps even chased by enemy motorcycles. Motorcycles with sidecars always had machine guns, and Wang Zhong did not want to test the firing skills of enemy gunners. Then, Ekaterina''s voice came from behind, "You''re just leaving?" Yes, what else? Wang Zhong looked back without stopping and began to trot along with the cavaliers. Wang Zhong bypassed the first ambush position and was about to continue forward when he saw several of his soldiers by the road urinating on the corpses of Prussian soldiers. "What the hell are you doing? Which unit are you from?" Wang Zhong pulled the reins tight, making Bucephaluse to an abrupt halt, and questioned them. The men, without even the time to pull up their trousers, quickly snapped to attention and saluted. Wang Zhong frowned, "What''s wrong with you? Pull up your pants first! You lot are so loose and undisciplined, where''s the chain? Go and call over the chain from the 2nd Battalion!" Immediately a guard rode his horse towards the first ambush position. The soldiers pulled up their pants, their faces showing the look of impending doom, it seemed their battalion''s chain was rather strict. Wang Zhong didn''t dwell on it, asking, "What were you just doing?" Soldier: "Collecting the enemy''s weapons!" "Then why didn''t you pull up your pants?" "Needed to pee urgently!" "Desperately needed to pee on the enemy?" "To express our hatred for the enemy!" "Right, we were night-attacked yesterday, and several of our brothers died!" Wang Zhong was shocked, and just then the battalion''s military chain arrived,ing to Wang Zhong and saluting, "General! I will enforce strict discipline!" "Good. I leave it to you." Having said that, he turned his horse around and continued to move north. The escort galloped to catch up, smiling at the three soldiers they passed. As Vasily passed by, he joked, "Looks like someone''s off to shovel manure!" After this brief interlude, Wang Zhong hurried to the edge of the northern forest, stopped beneath a birch tree, and raised his binocrs. The enemy seemed to have no intention of attacking; Wang Zhong could only see scattered lookouts on the ins, hidden in foxholes. Advancing further would risk detection by the lookouts, so he could only strain his eyes from this vantage point, barely making out a few Prosen tanks at the edge of his vision. How very strange. Wang Zhong had left at 4:30, and it was now 5:30, with the day already brightened, yet the enemy showed no signs of organizing an offensive. He had expected to find enemy tanks amassing for an attack when he reached the point where he could not go any further without alerting the lookouts, and then he would be able to call in artillery fire. But there were no enemies in sight; the Prussians seemed to be sleeping in. Or could it be thatst night''s surprise raid had thrown the enemy into disarray? In terms gamers would understand, was it possible thatst night''s bombardment had reset the enemy''s organization level? Were they regrouping this morning? Wang Zhong peered into the distance, and it seemed he could see smoke in the direction of the distant viges, perhaps fires caused byst night''s shelling that had only just been extinguished. Was artillery fire really that effective? If so, during defensive battles they should get into the habit of disrupting the enemy''s sleep with midnight bombardments. Lost in thought, Wang Zhong didn''t notice Vasily, carrying the wireless, who then spected, "Aren''t Prussians known for their discipline? My father''s friend said they wake up at four in the morning to study. The libraries at Prosen universities are bustling by then!" Wang Zhong nced at Vasily, "What''s the name of your father''s friend? I''ll have the Tribunal pay him a visit." "Oh, he was arrested by the Tribunalst year for espionage." Good riddance, how satisfying! Unaware of Wang Zhong''s response, Vasily continued to stare at the empty field, saying, "Looks like the Prussians aren''t as diligent as he said. Of course, it might also be that firing 203mm shells into their vigesst night had an effect. What do you think, General?" "I think my 203mm did the trick." "I agree. How about another round then?" Wang Zhong shook his head, "No, I see a few Panzer IIIs over there, and though they''re just IIIs, we have plenty of shells, and even a mosquito''s leg is meat. Let''s hit them. Give me the handmic for the wireless. Set the frequency!" Before heading out this morning, Wang Zhong had pulled a tank equipped with radio from the 5th Tank Army, which served as a divisional reserve, and sent it to the artillery. Thanks to the tank''s wireless, he could finally establish radiomunication with the artillery. Vasily immediately tuned to the correct frequency, called twice, received a response, and handed the handmic to Wang Zhong, "Ready!" Wang Zhong took the handmic, "White Horse calling Rhino, White Horse calling Rhino." "Rhino here, loud and clear." "Fire at the following coordinates, repeat, fire at the following coordinates" "White Horse, Rhino received, over." Wang Zhong handed the handmic back to Vasily and observed the tanks once more. Only then did he realize no one was inside those tanks! The tank operators only now came into Wang Zhong''s field of vision, picking their teeth while moving towards the tanks. No wonder there was no sign of activity; Wang Zhong had thought they were out of range, seeing the tanks but not the tank operators inside them, but they were actually unmanned. Suddenly, a Prussian officer appeared and shouted something at the tank operators. The previously rxed tank operators hurried onto the tanks and started cranking the hand startersit seems cars and tanks back then also needed to be hand-cranked to start, unlike inter times where a simple turn of a key would suffice with an electric starter. Just as a few Prussian tank operators had cranked up their tanks, the shells fell. A single volley of fire and the resulting explosions enveloped the tanks in a massive cloud of dust. Wang Zhong watched the engulfed enemy andughed heartily. It was then that the roar of engines filled the sky. Wang Zhong immediately raised his gaze, and without much effort, located the enemy aircraft. This time it was a group of bombers, judging by their flight path and altitude, they were definitely heading for Orachi. As the nes flew over his head, Wang Zhong sincerely hoped the fieldundry and cooking units, along with other logistical personnel in Orachi, would remain safe and unharmed. At the headquarters of the Asgard Knights'' Armored Division, Kluge was outlining his battle ns to the Commander of the 16th Armored Division: "We''ll deploy northwest of Orachi, and your division should deploy west of mine and maneuver to the west side of Orachi. "ording to the map, there is a Hill 153 here, which we predict is upied by enemy heavy forces. Your division does not need to take the hill, just position your IIIs and IVs outside the effective range of the enemy''s anti-tank guns and suppress them. "You have a good number of Panzer Is and IIs which can maneuver quickly; they can cut across to seize the highway and block the enemy''s supplies. "We suspect the enemy artillery is in these forests. Once your Panzer I and II units seize the highway, your division''s motorcycle reconnaissance battalion should advance decisively to scout these woods and be ready to call your divisional artillery to strike." After exining, Kluge looked up at the Commander of the 16th Armored Division. The Commander of the 16th Armored Division was a bona fide Wehrmacht general, bearing the red cor tabs of general officers, who haughtily questioned, "And what mission is the illustrious Asgard Knights carrying out?" Kluge: "We willunch the main attack at the front. To draw the attention of Rocossovthe ''White Horse General.''" No sooner had he finished speaking than an explosion sounded outside. The Commander of the 16th Armored Division was rmed: "What''s happening? Is the enemy counterattacking?" "Stay calm," Kluge said through clenched teeth, "Our adversary enjoys these sniper and artillery sneak attacks. They don''t cause much damage, but they''re infuriating. Today, he will taste our might!" Chapter 180: Chapter 31: The Thunder of Cannons (Alliance Hierarchs Additional Release) Wang Zhong stopped again when he passed the first ambush position and shouted loudly, "Company Commander of the Second!" The Company Commander of the Second immediately appeared, stood at attention in front of the horse, and saluted, "General!" "Withdraw from the position immediately and move to the third ambush position, leaving behind a lookout with signal res." The Company Commander of the Second confirmed again, "We''re withdrawing from the position?" "Yes. The enemy knows the locations of our first two positions, and I suspect they will shell them first. Your unit has excellentlypleted the task of defending against the enemy''s night attack; there''s no need to stay in the position and get shelled." The Company Commander of the Second saluted and said "Yes," then turned and left. Wang Zhong led his men towards the city, all the way to the third ambush position. Last night, the tank unit had encamped here, and the tanks were parked on the bottom level of the bunker, thoroughly camouged. Upon entering the position, Wang Zhong saw soldiers from the Third Company gathered around a pot, drinking leftover soup from yesterday. Wang Zhong said, "Be careful drinking that cold soup, or you might get diarrhea." Everyone was stunned, then burst intoughter. Wang Zhong, looking confused, asked, "What''s the matter?" "General, who gets diarrhea from drinking a little cold soup?" someone asked. Is that not the case? Back on Earth, Wang Zhong''s father had always taught him to reheat leftovers before eating as they could easily cause diarrhea, so he had always believed that to be true. It seemed that the Russians didn''t have such concerns. Of course, it could also be because Russia was at a highertitude where the cold meant food didn''t spoil as easily, and their stomachs had adapted to the cold. Probably. A soldier called out to Wang Zhong, "General, won''t you have some?" Wang Zhong checked his stomach and indeed felt hungry after riding for two hours that morning. "Alright, I''ll have some." "Hey, General, you really should try this. It''s delicious, even cold! Look, it''s even frozen, this part is the best, all for you!" Wang Zhong dismounted, mingled with the soldiers, and had a big mouthful of the thick soup turned to ice. It was indeed delicious, rich but not greasy, with a tangy note of sour cream. "This is really good stuff," Wang Zhong eximed, "Come on, have some for yourselves too." Right then, the Second Company arrived, moving along the road into the position. The leader nced at thepanymander and the apanying Priest, saw that they wouldn''t interfere, and shouted, "Hey, Third Company, what good stuff are you eating?" "Leftovers fromst night''s soup! Come and join us!" Just at that moment, the sound of a whistling shell tore through the sky. In the past, the new recruits would hesitate while the veterans hit the dirt. Today, upon hearing the whistle, all the new recruits dropped down, while the veterans remained standing. "Don''t be scared!" a veteran shouted, "It''s not for us." As soon as he finished speaking, a column of smoke rose from the first ambush position due to the explosion. Then, explosions urred at the second ambush position as well. The enemy''s artillery poured their furious barrages into these two positions. Meanwhile, Wang Zhong watched with his armored troops and two infantrypanies from the third position as the enemy wasted their firepower. The trenches of the third position were dug especially deep and could amodate three fullpanies; it was originally built as a standby defense position for the reserve forces and the main defense. It was precisely because the third position had such arge capacity that the cooking team had delivered meals for threepanies the day before. Soldiers from twopanies shared yesterday''s leftover soup while watching the enemy squander their firepower. Wang Zhong heard someone ask, "General, did you calcte all this?" He looked at the person who had spoken and realized it was one of the trio who had stealthily gone to scavenge enemy bodies that morning and had been caught red-handed by him. The soldier, now obviously cowed under Wang Zhong''s direct gaze, shrank his neck, looking like he wanted to change the subject. Wang Zhong just smiled and replied, "It''s just a little bit of militarymon sense. The enemy is certain to prepare artillery fire for positions we''ve already exposed, so we withdraw and let them prepare. "If the enemy is aggressive and manages to move up during the artillery preparation, and we are not able to upy our positions in time, we simply cover them again. "The trenches we''ve constructed only offer proper artillery protection in your current position; the trenches in the first two positions are shallow, and if shelled, the enemy would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties." The surrounding soldiers listening to Wang Zhong all illuminated with understanding: "So that''s why!" "The General is so clever!" In truth, this wasn''t something Wang Zhong had figured out on his own; post-war Soviet tactical manuals spelled it out in ck and white. As Wang Zhong was enjoying the ttery from the soldiers, the Third Company''s signalman came over with a telephone in hand, dragging the phone line, "General, a call from the rear!" always on m|vl|e|mp|y|r Wang Zhong took the receiver, "This is Rocossov. Who''s speaking?" "This is the artillery observation post on Hill 153. General, we''ve spotted enemy tank units maneuvering to our west side. The enemy tank units are maneuvering to our west side! The number is..." In fact, without needing the observation post to report, Wang Zhong pulled up a bird''s-eye view and saw everything. It wasn''t his own view, so there was no highlighting effect, but the situation was clear enough anyway. It looks like about one and a half battalions of Panzer III and Panzer IV are maneuvering west of Hill 153, and in front of this one and a half armored battalions, there isis that arge group of Panzer I and II tanks? Prosen''s Armored Division, like the Sturmtiger from Earth, has the distinction between rich divisions and pauper divisions. The main thing is the proportion of Panzer III and IV. Some of the poorer divisions might have over a hundred Panzer I and II tanks just to make up the numbers, with Panzer III and IVbined making up only one battalion. Yesterday, the Asgard Knights'' Ampraa Division, which shed with the 151st Division, also had a number of make-do Panzer IIs, but more than half of the division consisted of Panzer III and IV tanks. Moreover, this division didn''t have Panzer I, the least they had were Panzer II. Even among the make-do tanks, there were 38Ts, which actually weren''t too bad. Therefore, yesterday''s Ampraa Division was absolutely a well-off division. Now, seeing thisrge swarm of Panzer I tanks like cockroaches, Wang Zhong immediately realized that the forces in front of him consisted of more than just that well-off division. My goodness, I''m an infantry division, how am I supposed to fight against two armored divisions? Luckily the one replenishing them is a pauper division; it would be even harder to fight if another well-off division showed up. As Wang Zhong was assessing the situation, someone from the artillery observation post, not knowing Wang Zhong was doing the same thing, asked anxiously, "General? General? What do we do? The enemy tanks are moving fast and they''ll cut off our supply line!" In fact, the 151st Division wasn''t too reliant on the supply line at the moment, mainly because they had stockpiled a lot of provisions for the war and could hold out for a few days even if their supplies were cut off. Moreover, with the forces of Duke Meishikin next to them, even if the supply line of Argesukov was cut off, they could still get supplies from Duke Meishikin''s side. However, Wang Zhong''s main goal in holding his ground here was to clear a path of survival for Ante''s troops from Argesukov. What kind of path of survival would it be if the highway were cut off? Of course, Wang Zhong had made preparations for such a situation long ago. He had deployed eight anti-tank guns on Hill 153. Although they were only 45mm anti-tank guns, they were effective enough to handle Panzer I and II tanks. As for the enemy''s Panzer III and IV tanks... Wang Zhong decided to entrust them to the T26 of the original 5th Tank Army''s 13th Armored Battalion. Based on yesterday''sbat experience, the new tank shelters proved to be effective in preventing the enemy from spotting ambush tanks. Even if discovered, it was difficult for the enemy to achieve a sessful hit. Yesterday, Wang Zhong''s T34s, from their shelters, engaged in a firefight with the enemy, and most of the enemy''s shells didn''t hit the T34s. Since that was the case, having the T26s enter shelters to dy the enemy''s attack should be no problem. Therefore, Wang Zhong ordered the observation post, "Get the anti-tank guns on alert, open fire as soon as the enemy approaches. I willmand the 13th Armored Battalion of the 5th Tank Army to rush to Hill 153 to assist you in repelling the enemy. "Remember to guide the T26 into the tank shelters." "Yes!" Wang Zhong hung up the phone, took the handset of the field radio carried by Vasily directly, and then said to Vasily, "Change the frequency, I want the 5th Tank Army''s 13th Armored Battalion." Vasily, "It''s this frequency, just call and it''s done." Wang Zhong, "White Horse calling Lame Wolf, White Horse calling Lame Wolf." "This is Lame Wolf, do we finally have a mission given to us?" Wang Zhong, "Proceed to Hill 153, proceed to Hill 153, over." "Understood! White Horse, can we really hit the enemy this time?" The 5th Tank Army seemed not to have engaged much with the enemy before beingpletely wiped out, that''s why themander of the 13th Armored Battalion asked. They probably chose "Lame Wolf" as their radio call sign, out of frustration. Wang Zhong, "You will hit them, and this time you will win! Hit them hard!" At the same time, Argesukov, Crown Prince Ivan Nikyevich Andronov, was pacing back and forth anxiously in themand post. Finally, themunication officer came through the door, saluted the Crown Prince, "Your Highness! The reply from the capital has arrived!" The Crown Prince was overjoyed, "Is it my sister? Or has she already convinced the Emperor?" Themunication officer, with an embarrassed face, handed over the telegram, "You''d better see for yourself." Since it had to be decoded, themunication officer must have read it. Confused by his expression, the Crown Prince snatched the telegram and began to read, "Dear brother, unfortunately, I already angered the Emperor yesterday, and the generals are saying that unless you suffer a major defeat, it is unlikely that the Emperor will order a retreat. I will try again once the Emperor has cooled off." Crown Prince Ivan Nikyevich Andronov sighed deeply, "My sister, oh what are you doing!" He sped his hands together, as if intending to crumple the telegram into a ball, but stopped halfway through the motion, then slowly spread the telegram out again, handing it to General Skorobo. The General was embarrassed, "I don''t think I should look at the Royal Family''s telegrams, right?" "Indeed," the Crown Prince replied, handing the telegram back to themunication officer, "Take care of this for me. I don''t want future generations to know about this." The others in the room all looked embarrassed. After all, the idea that an Army Group of several hundred thousand could be annihted because of the Emperor''s pique sounded far-fetched. The Crown Prince, watching as themunication officer reduced the telegram to ashes, then looked up to ask General Skorobo, "Is it possible to send reinforcements to Rokossov?" The General''s face was ashen, "His defensive line hasn''t had any problems yet, and to the south, the enemy''s armored groups are pushing forward furiously. Any reinforcements we send now would inevitably go to the south." At that moment, anothermunication officer came in with a message, "Report! Urgent dispatch from the 35th Army Group, they say they cannot plug the gap! It''s as if the enemy is flooding through the breach like a tide." General Skorobo turned to the Crown Prince, "You see. I have no reason to send the reserve to an area that has no apparent issues. I''m not formting any grudges against General Rokossovsky; I admit he''s an outstandingmander, but..." The Crown Prince sighed, "I understand. Let''s see if my little sister can think of a solution. She..." Suddenly, the Crown Prince pped his forehead, "My sister doesn''t have my seal! Damn." Chapter 181: Chapter 32: Nellys War (14000 Monthly Tickets Plus) Orachi City, currently under the control of the Ante Army, 1030 hours. In the distance, the dull rumbling of thunder could be heard, which was actually the enemy preparing artillery fire for the defensive positions outside the city. Nelly, carrying a basket, left themand post through the side doorthe general''s dormitory and themand post were together, so naturally, Nelly also lived there. Because she lived there, she could make full use of the kitchen of Lord Boye to prepare meals for everyone at themand post. Now she was getting ready to go out and gather ingredients for dinner. Of course, themand post of the 151st Division was stocked with enough food, as it was designated to be thest phase of the city''s hand-to-handbat defense support point, so it was essential to have plenty of food and water. But Nelly didn''t like military rations much, and as long as there was a supply, she nned to try to make some food besides the military rations. Besides gathering ingredients, she also prepared to deliver the mixed sd she had madest night to Miss Ludm. This was the youngdy''s favorite food. Nelly walked past the guard with her basket slung over her arm. The guards knew she was the general''s orderly and let her through without even checking her identification. As soon as she stepped out, Nelly was stunned, because the entire row of houses directly opposite themand post was engulfed in raging fire, and the residents of Orachi were working together to fight the fire. After watching for a few seconds, Nelly ultimately decided to ignore the firefighting and continue with her errands. Just then, a house on the edge of the fire copsed with an explosion. The st startled Nelly, causing her to take a step back. The sentry at themand post said, "Don''t worry, they are sting a firebreakdemolishing buildings that catch fire easily first, so the fire won''t spread here." Nelly nodded and, clutching her basket tightly, moved on. She passed a bomb crater and saw a child sitting on the edge of it, looking lost and seemingly deep in thought. Next to the cratery the bodies of people who had died in the bombing, with a priest in the midst of the corpses conducting a mass. Nelly quickened her pace, her footsteps pattering as she moved through the city cloaked in the mes of war. Soon she arrived at the northwest corner of the city at a building and nodded to the soldiers guarding the door. The soldiers opened the door and stepped aside. The soldier manning the machine gun smiled at Nelly: "You''re still so punctual, maid Miss." "I''m the general''s orderly," Nelly said. "Then you should at least be wearing your side cap. Want to wear mine?" The machine gunner took off his own cap. Nelly showed a look of obvious disgust. The machine gunner dejectedly put the cap back on: "Alright, alright, I get it. Go on up, don''t let the Divine Arrow missy go hungry." Nelly entered the building and took the stairs all the way to the attic. In the attic, one window frame had been removed to set up a Divine Arrowuncher, and Ludm was sitting on the sill of the other window. There were also two female soldiers in the attic, checking the spare Divine Arrows. Ludm, with a book in hand, was reading in the gradually brightening noon sunlight. Nelly: "Miss? The battle has begun." Ludm put down her book and looked at Nelly: "But it''s none of our business, is it? Nelly,e here, see the sound array on the roof over there? They''re supposed to call on this phone when they hear the sound of enemy reconnaissance nes." Ludm pointed to the telephone on the chest of drawers next to the window; the telephone line was pulled in from outside and was pinned down at the edge of the windowsill with arge brick. Ludm: "Then my battle task will begin. Until then, I can only watch them, powerless to do anything." As she spoke, Ludm looked out towards the northern fields. Ludm: "The north is rather calm today, isn''t it?" Nelly nced at the plumes of smoke rising continuously from the north and asked doubtfully, "Calm?" "Extremely calm, don''t be fooled by the enemy''s vigorous shelling, but Alyosha must have withdrawn his troops." "Eh?" Nelly eximed in surprise, "Alyosha... young master?" "Yes, the current Alyosha," Ludmughed, "The current Alyosha would never let his troops be swallowed up by the enemy''s artillery preparation. His forces must have already withdrawn to the third defensive position, which has better protection against artillery." Nelly "huh"ed in response, then after a brief silence she asked, "Miss, after all" "Alyosha is Alyosha, don''t you like the current Alyosha?" Nelly nodded: "I do like him, I''m just not quite used to it." "Men grow up." Just as Nelly was about to reply, her attention was drawn to the situation in the west side of the city. There seemed to be a major battle breaking out in the west, with tracer rounds flying chaotically. Nelly curiously watched over there. "Nelly," Ludm called softly, "here, for you." Nelly looked down in surprise and discovered Ludm offering her a pair of binocrs. Taking the binocrs, Nelly looked towards the west. The Rokossovsky family was a military familyin fact, it is rare for a noble family in Ante not to be a military family, as per the empire''s rank system, titles were generally tied to military ranks. However, the Rokossovsky family was one of those "true" military families, so most of their servants had some military knowledge. Nelly knew how to operate binocrs and adjust its magnification. Thus, Nelly clearly saw that on the western highway, Ante Army tanks were in a major battle with the enemy tanks. These were the small tanks that had just arrived in Orachi two days earlier to join under themand of Major General Rokossovsky, much smaller than the T34s. Opposing these little tanks was a group of little tanks as well. These little tanks seem to be able to fire continuouslywith most of their tracer rounds being green (the No. 1 only had machine guns, while No. 2 tanks were equipped with autocannons). And Ante Army''s small tanks could fire, so the enemy quickly fell into disadvantage. Nelly held binocrs, watching and saying, "Looks like... we have the advantage? So are we going to win?" Ludm gave a bitter smile, "Alyosha said it might take three to four years and millions of casualties." At the mention of casualty numbers, Nelly shivered, almost dropping the binocrs, but she immediately caught them. "Oh!" Ludm pped her hands, and the other women of the Guardian Army joined in apuding. Ludm: "Is this the reaction speed you developed to avoid breaking dishes and bowls?" Nelly blushed a little. She changed the subject and said, "Look, the enemy''s tank is smoking!" "That''s smoke, the Prussians like to use smoke, it''s said mainly to defend against Divine Arrow. In Ronied, the smoke did indeed block our field of fire. We had thought we could control a whole street with Divine Arrow, but when the smoke came, we could only control five hundred meters. "Then Yeca Neiko, who wasn''t Deputy Knight at the time, ordered us to move forward, and we encountered Prussian infantry on the way. The God''s Arrow Company was nearly wiped out, leaving only a few of us." "Ah, don''t tell Alyosha. I haven''t told him about it yet to keep him from worrying." As Ludm spoke, she gently stroked Nelly''s head. Nelly: "That''s dangerous..." "The battlefield. Whether it''s me or Alyosha, one never knows when one might be gone. You should be careful too, Nelly. I think you should go back, I heard the Rokossovsky family bought a new estate at Mount Raoul. If you go there..." Nelly shook her head like a tambourine: "No, I''m not going anywhere. I want to stay with you all!" Ludm: "Then you need a garrison cap, or you won''t look like an orderly." Saying that, she took off the headband from Nelly''s head and put her own garrison cap on the maid''s head. "Hmm, it looks pretty good," Ludm said with a smile. That''s when the telephone rang. Ludm shouted "Battle stations" while picking up the telephone: "God''s Arrow Company, Brother Peter? Which direction? Okay!" After hanging up the telephone, Ludm instructed the Guardian Army, "They''reing straight at us, we''ll hit them head-on." Then shey at the attic window and shouted outside, "Ivan! Prepare to move!" Nelly: "Move?" "Yes, after firing, we must move immediately. Before, we were nearly hit by a Prussian remote-controlled bombI don''t know what Alyosha meant by remote-controlled bomb, but it''s powerful; it almost killed our entire Divine Arrow." Nelly: "Then I''ll help too!" "Okay, take that! Get going first!" At that moment, one of the Guardian Army called out, "Target sighted!" Ludm immediately looked outside the window and indeed saw a twin-engine reconnaissance ne flying this way. Then the next moment, a Divine Arrow rose from the forest and struck it. Ludm was stunned: "Eh?" Nelly: "What''s wrong?" Ludm stomped her foot in anger: "Damn Katyusha (Ekaterina''s nickname), she stole my target!" One of the Guardian Army said: "As long as the general isn''t snatched away, targets and such don''t matter." Ludm looked at the Guardian Army, "Check Divine Arrow! Reportbat readiness status in ten minutes!" "Yes!" Nelly: "Ekaterina has her eye on the young master too?" Ludm: "Yeah, right now he''s a hotmodity; it''d be strange if she didn''t." Nelly: "Miss, you seem pretty proud." "I am very proud." Nelly clicked her tongue, when suddenly she remembered a piece of "militarymon sense": "Wait, so miss, are you now dedicated to air defense? Wasn''t Divine Arrow invented to deal with tanks?" "Alyosha likes to use Divine Arrow for air defense," Ludm shrugged her shoulders, "In terms of wild ideas, he''s just the same as before." At the same time, Wang Zhong sneezed several times. Then the radio transmitted a call from the 13th Armored Battalion: "Lame Wolf calling White Horse, Lame Wolf calling White Horse!" Wang Zhong: "This is White Horse, go ahead." "Lame Wolf has taken out number one and two that cut off our supply line, now preparing to enter the tank hide and meet with number three and four." Wang Zhong immediately switched to the troop perspective. Although ally vision was not highlighted, checking out the situation on the battlefield was not a problem. And he saw a pile of number two and one''s wreckage near the highway. Goodness gracious, I asked you to get into the hide and line up against enemy number three and four, but you went ahead and gobbled up number ones and twos reserved for the tank gun? Thisbat spirit, good! content source mvlempy r Wang Zhong: "Lame Wolf, well done, Lame Wolf, well done! Continue the operation." Wang Zhong meant to say it three times, but he said it once less in his excitement. "White Horse, leave it to us. Even if we fight until we run out of ammo, we''ll ram the enemy till they''re paralyzed." Wang Zhong: "No, I order you, achieve victory and then return alive. Repeat, I order you, achieve victory and then return alive!" The other side was silent for a few seconds, then answered, "I''ll try my best. Lame Wolf, over!" Chapter 182: Chapter 33 "Brother, Will You Forgive Me" (Another five updates) Wang Zhong finished responding to the 13th Armored Battalion and refocused his attention on the enemy in front. Because the artillery preparation wasn''t done yet, the enemy remained at the edge of Wang Zhong''s sight. From a bird''s-eye view, he could only see a few tanks and not therge troops that were assembling. Through naked-eye vision, one could blurily make out the distribution of therge troops, but since Wang Zhong actually didn''t know how to calcte distances and coordinates, he couldn''t guide the artillery to attack. . Damn it, once the spring mud period arrives next year and everyone is immobilized, I must find an opportunity to properly learn how to calcte distances and coordinates. At this moment, Wang Zhong heard Yegorov''s voice and turned his head to see his number one infantry tough guy standing outside the regimental headquarters shelter, shouting, "The artillery fire has started to extend. Are we preparing to enter the position?" Wang Zhong quickly nced at the aerial view and indeed the point of artillery impact was extending backward. He was about to answer when the enemy''s smoke bombs arrived. The first and second ambush positions werepletely enveloped in smoke, making it impossible to fire even if one went there. At the same time, the enemy began to advance. To the north were the enemy''s Armored Grenadiers, and to the northwest were two of the enemy''s armored battalions, nearly a hundred Mark III and Panzer IV. Wang Zhong looked at Yegorov, pointed to the ground, meaning to stay put. The position was all smoke, and going back wouldn''t allow for effective firepower to be used, plus there would be a meat grinder with the infantry. Their rivals were elite infantry, who had fought through Bohemia and the Carolingian. Ever since thest close-quartersbat with the enemy''s elite infantry at Loktov, Wang Zhong never wanted to engage in closebat with these veteran Prosen soldiers again. Damn it, they were even scarier than tanks. Yegorov gave a thumbs up and turned back into the regimental headquarters shelter. Wang Zhong turned to find the signal soldier waiting on the tank engine hood with a telephone and telephone wire, picked up the phone, "Connect to 152... 155 battalion." Under Wang Zhong''smand, this heavy artillery battalion was numbered 155, but he always called it 152 because the caliber of the guns in the battalion was 152 millimeters. The phone quickly connected: "155 battalion here, please speak." Wang Zhong: "I am Rocossov, aim at the coordinates..." After he reported the coordinates, the artillery battalion responded, "We need about five minutes to reset the firing parameters." "I know, I know, you need five minutes." Last time the artillery battalion also said five minutes, but they opened fire in two minutes. Wang Zhong: "After settings are done, wait for my orders before firing." "Understood, but this time aren''t we targeting the positions that we have pre-set?" "Right, targeting the positions would only blow up the infantry, and our fortifications would still allow many infantrymen to survive the st. We''ll bomb the columns in transit." Phonemunications generally aren''t eavesdropped on by the enemy because the battlefield is chaotic, and the signal soldiersying the phone lines often can''t even find where they areid. So, detailed information can bemunicated over the phone. There was silence from the artillery battalion, and Wang Zhong ced the receiver on his shoulder and continued to observe the enemy forces. The enemy truly had no idea that the 151st Division''s troops were stationed in the third position behind them. They were pressing forward from three directions. Wang Zhong kept the phone on his shoulder while speaking to Alexandria through the vehicle''s internal line: "Aim at the enemy tanks advancing from the nk. You can hit them, right?" "Leave it to me," Alexandria replied confidently, beginning to turn the turret. At this time, the tank engine wasn''t started, so the turret could only be turned using electricity from the batteries, and the batteries of the Ante Empire were terrible, so Alexandria could only turn slowly. The reason for not starting the tank, of course, was that the engine sound was too loud and could be heard by the enemy. The electromechanical engineer of tank 422 stood beside the tank with a crank, just waiting to help turn it over when Beliyakov ignited it. As the enemy finally advanced to the point pre-aimed by Wang Zhong, he shouted, "Fire!" Soon Wang Zhong heard a whistling sound in the sky, and then the shellsnded right in the middle of the enemy''s attack formation. When advancing, the Prussians liked to use a rtively dense formation; if a heavy artillery shell could hit between two tanks, there was a chance of simultaneously sting off the tracks of both. A broken track on the battlefield isn''t like in games where it gets fixed in just ten seconds. On the battlefield, a broken track means the tank should be temporarily abandoned until afterwards, when the battlefield is retaken, toe back for repairs. Additionally, heavy artillery might even concuss tank crews if it could hit urately. After the first round of 24 shellsnded, all the infantry in the enemy''s attack formationy down. In Wang Zhong''s aerial view, at least 30 infantry were visible as killed by this salvo. Five tanks also stopped their advance, and this rate of casualties was actually eptable. Wang Zhong: "Adjust the firing parameters, correct for elevation and traverse..." Through parameter adjustment, it was possible to finely tune the impact point of the artillery. Wang Zhong had specifically learned a bit about this from Dietrich. Dietrich was now at a gunner observation post on Hill 153. If enemy tanks entered the range of Hill 153''s observation post, they were likely to face even more precise attacks. After the second round of high explosive shells came down, another four tanks halted their advance. The enemy tanks all stopped and began releasing smoke. The infantry also got up and threw smoke bombs. It seemed the enemy had judged that they were currently within the view of the artillery observer and chose to obscure the sight lines before continuing to advance. Was it any use, Wang Zhong wondered. That''s when he heard the roar of engines in the sky. He immediately used the aerial view to observe the sky. Recon ne 215! This was to observe our artillery positions! Loktov and Wang Zhong had three B4 howitzers knocked out by this thing. Wang Zhong, "Cease fire, artillery battalion cease fire, prepare to move to the backup position." As an experiencedmander, Wang Zhong naturally had a backup position prepared for the artillery battalion. After all, they had been outmaneuvered by the enemy once before. In addition to ordering the artillery battalion to prepare to move, Wang Zhong issued another order, "Have the covering troops prepare to burn the tires." Whether the artillery battalion moved or not, the gunners dared not open fire at will while this thing was overhead. Soon, if the enemy upied the position, they couldn''t even use it to cover themselves. Now it was time to see the true strength of the infantry and armored troops. Wang Zhong patiently waited for the enemy to enter the firing range of the armored unit. He was waiting when Alexander said, "This distance is about right. Any closer and the enemy might rush us and take advantage of the better view. Fire!" Wang Zhong checked the distance, 600 meters, indeed already within the effective firing range of ordinary members of the armored unit, so he said to Alexander, "Fire!" The cannons roared to life immediately. Beliyakov also roared, "Crank the handle! Start it up!" The mechanical operator put all his strength into cranking the handle furiously. The next moment, the iconic rear exhaust of the T34 belched ck smoke, and the engine''s roar came to life. Just then, Alexander fired his second shot, urately hitting a Panzer IV. It was then that the other tanks began their first volley of fire. Six enemy tanks were immediately hit. At that moment, a Panzer IV stopped, and its turret turned towards the position of Wang Zhong''s third ambush. Wang Zhong, "That Panzer IV turning its turret! See it? It''s going to fire a smoke bomb at us! Definitely!" Loader, "Armor-piercing shell, ready!" Alexander immediately fired, but the enemy also fired at the same time. Alexander''s armor-piercing shell hit the Panzer IV''s vertical side armor, and the next moment, the surviving Prussian tank operators jumped out of the tank and ran, with great skill, without dy. It seems Prussian regtions are to protect experienced tank operators, demanding they abandon the tank immediately if they can no longer fight. But the Panzer IV''s shell flew slowly, taking two seconds before Wang Zhong heard the explosion and saw the colored smoke from the smoke bomb. Wang Zhong, "The Stukas areing! Evacuate the shelter, infantry release smoke!" With the previous hands-on experience, the reaction of both the armored and infantry units was very swift. Wang Zhong had already spotted the Stukas, and it would be painful if the Prussians coordinated their bomb drop with artillery fire. The Death Scream came from the sky. The next moment, three Divine Arrows rose from the ground, meeting the diving Stukas! All three Divine Arrows hit their target, and before the Stukas crashed, a second volley of Divine Arrows ascended. The pilots were clearly flustered; they only knew the White General would shoot down reconnaissance nes to block scouting, not that he would use Divine Arrows like fireworks. Struck, the Stukas spiraled down towards the ground. Wang Zhong turned and shouted to Grigori on horseback, "Go, capture the pilots!" Grigori nodded, mounted his horse, and with the cavalry previously guarding Wang Zhong, galloped towards the crash site of the Stukas. As Wang Zhong expected, the enemy''s aircraft scattered like monkeys, all flying low to make it harder for the Divine Arrows to find their mark. The aimlessly dropped bombsnded about fifty meters in front of the third ambush spot, a distance that was no cause for concern for the carefully constructed site. The shock wave and shrapnel couldn''t harm anyone. Wang Zhong thought to himself that it was fair; if you jam my heavy artillery, I jam your air support. And when we catch the pilots, we can interrogate them properly and pull out some intelligence. ---- While fierce battles erupted in Orachi, at Saint Ye Katerina Fortress, the Summer Pce. Olga Nikyevna Antonovna was shouting at the guards at the door, "I''m the princess! How dare you forbid me from entering my own home''s rooms?" The guard was unmoved, "This is themand center, not a salon, Your Highness. Moreover, His Imperial Majesty has personally ordered not to let you in to disturb their meeting." Olga angrily said, "What meeting? Discussing how to send nearly a million troops to their doom? We need to retreat now!" Guard, "Your Highness, shouting at me is futile. Even if I concede you are right, I still can''t let you in." Olga took a deep breath, shook her head, and walked away. Once she got some distance, in a corridor with no guards, Olga quietly took out an exquisite sachet and from it, pulled out a gold ring. The ring was identical to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince''s ring. "Though I don''t like to use the fake ring I cast in secret, the situation is urgent, brother, you will forgive me." Chapter 183: Chapter 34 Rising Tide On Wang Zhong''s side. After the Air Force''s attack was dispersed by Divine Arrow, the Prussian Army did not stop their assault. The enemy''s Panzer IVs and mortars added more smoke to the ground, and then the mixed cluster of armored vehicles and infantry attacking the nk directly turned towards Wang Zhong and his colleagues at the third ambush position. Meanwhile, the armored grenadiers originally attacking from the north continued to advance towards the now-empty first and second ambush positions. The enemy''s choice was understandable; retreating to reorganize the attack would have wasted one or two hours. Such a division-level offensive action, being able to organize an attack within two hours, would already be considered elite. The staff officers at all levels must have been very experienced. Wang Zhong had already prepared for this situation. Although his principle in setting up the positions was to avoid closebat as much as possible, facing the Prussian Army who liked using smoke, he had to consider the possibility of hand-to-handbat. Wang Zhong, "Tank column, follow mymand, remind each other without radio, maneuver to the nk." In addition to tank bunkers, Wang Zhong had prepared many points for side attacks and had all 30 tank drivers familiarize themselves with the routes between several points in jeeps so they could quickly change their positions duringbat. The main reason they were unable to change positions during the Stuka raid yesterday was that many crew members were on the battlefield for the first time, so busy firing their guns they didn''t notice theirrades beginning to maneuver. Today, Wang Zhong especially arranged a messenger behind each tank, who normallyy behind the tank gun turret and, seeing other tanks maneuver, would lift the lid of the turret to notify the inside crew. This could be considered a form of human radio. The good news was that themunication efficiency was alright; the bad news was that it was manpower-intensive, with the person outside often injured by stray bullets. Damn it, Wang Zhong was fed up with fighting this frustrating war. Next year, when the aid from the Federation arrived, he would definitely equip the entire army with Shermans. In the second year of the war, the Sherman was basically a true god on the battlefield. The Sturmtiger, with its short 50 tank gun, couldn''t even scratch therge sloped front armors of the Shermans. The reputation of the Sherman only copsed in ''43 when facing Tiger and Panther tanks. While thinking this, Wang Zhong led his troops to maneuver to the side firing positions. As he passed by Yegorov''smand bunker, he saw Yegoroving out and shouted, "I''ll leave the front to you!" "Don''t worry. Guys, remember the anti-tank techniques I taught you: First, cut off the infantry; second, find a way to get close to the blind spots in the tank''s visionthe closer you are, the less the tank can see you; and finally, throw Molotov cocktails!" "Two people in a team; the first throws grenades to scatter the infantry, the second approaches to ensure the Molotov cocktail hits the engine''s cooling cover!" Wang Zhong left Yegorov''s words behind in his head. The battlefield demands specialization, and Wang Zhong''s tank toon''s task was to upy the nk, circumventing the enemy''s smoke cover to shoot at the reinforcements. The meat grinder at the front had Yegorov''s two battalions. As Tank 422 sped towards its predetermined position, a signal re rose from the distant forest. This was a re shot by the scouts left behind, mainly to inform the friendly forces that the enemy had charged the position, so artillery cover could be provided in time. But Wang Zhong looked up at the sky. The enemy''s Do 215 reconnaissance ne was lingering overhead, and even if they ignited the hard-gathered tires to produce ck smoke, there was no guarantee the enemy wouldpletely fail to notice the artillery positions. The enemy''s heavy artillery had just finished preparing for fire and upon receiving coordinates provided by the observation ne, could start firing immediately. Wang Zhong had already lost three B4 guns like this in Loktov. If it had now reached the critical moment where not firing would mean the front couldn''t hold, Wang Zhong would have ordered to open fire. But it was obvious that it hadn''t reached that point yet. So he looked again at the signal re in the sky and quietly said, "I''m sorry." The current Wang Zhong was able to make such tough decisions, heart as hard as iron. Yegorov ran around the trench and returned to themand shelter, where the battalion staff officer immediately said, "A signal re has gone up. The enemy must have entered the position we abandoned. Why aren''t we covering with fire?" "There''s a reconnaissance ne in the sky," Yegorov pointed to the sky. "That craft will tell the enemy artillery where our artillery positions are." The staff officer immediately got close to the shelter''s observation window, ducking down to look up at the sky, trying to spot the reconnaissance ne. "It should be over Orachi. The noise is blocked by the outer wall. You''ll hear the roar as soon as you step out the door." Staff officer, "Then... aren''t we just sacrificing the scout who risked his life tounch the signal re? He must have been spotted by the enemy!" Yegorov nodded, "Yes. But even if there were no enemy reconnaissance nes, covering the location of the scout with artillery would still mean his death... it would just be death by friendly fire instead of being killed by the enemy. There are countless things like this on the battlefield." The staff officer pursed his lips and didn''t speak. At this moment, at the first ambush position. Private Semyon was skirmishing with the enemy, taking cover in the woods. The light from the still-floating signal re shone from behind him to the side. To enable the scout to deal with the numerous enemies, Semyon''s weapon was switched from the Tokarev to a captured MP submachine gun. He covered his Imperial Guard cloak with ayer of grass so he could better hide in the bushes. However, all his efforts to stay hidden became ineffective the moment the signal re went up, and Semyon had to face a toon of enemies pursuing him. He ran between the birch trees, like a startled rabbit, bing a lingering shadow in the woods. He continuously swept the enemy with his submachine gun. A Prussian toon leader was hit by a stray bullet from the submachine gun and fell, clutching his chest, while his deputy toon leader yelled something to the others behind him. Then a machine gunner rushed over, setting up his machine gun between the roots beneath a birch tree. The tearing sound of gunfire echoed through the woods, the bullets stripping the bark off birch trees that had grown for who knows how many years, creating a shower of flying wood chips. Xiemiao''s eyebrows were cut by the wood chips, blood trailing down his cheeks. He was still running, asionally firing backwards. Though he wasn''t aiming, his sporadic shooting still slowed the cautious Prussians'' pursuit. From a distance, the voice of Aleksei, theradeing to meet him, suddenly came, "Xiemiao, run this way! Where''s your re?" It turned out that therades hiding in the forest hadn''t seen any res go up. Xiemiao: "I fired it! Why hasn''t the artillerye down yet?" "Xiemiao!" Aleksei yelled, "Run to themunication trench! We are in themunication trench!" As Aleksei spoke, he fired his Tokarev, trying to stop the enemy from pursuing. As a result, the enemy''s machine gun immediately swung around, forcing Aleksei to abandon his position and dash towards themunication trench as well. Xiemiao''s submachine gun was out of ammo, and in his frantic attempt to reload, a bullet severed his thumb and the full magazine dropped to the ground. Xiemiao screamed. The enemy was closing in; he didn''t dare pick up the magazine and just kept running forward, all the while shouting, "Where''s our artillery? I fired the re! And I specifically stayed around the designated impact zone! Where''s our artillery?" Aleksei had reached themunication trench and joined forces with a squad inside. The squad leader yelled, "Xiemiao! Run ahead, we''ll cover you! Fire at will!" The final word was addressed to everyone in themunication trench, and so six Tokarevs fired in unison. The enemy''s machine gun immediately swung around to suppress themunication trench. But this was precisely the squad leader''s strategythis way, Xiemiao should be able to escape! However, no one noticed that about three hundred meters from themunication trench, and less than two hundred meters from Xiemiao, a Prussian sergeant, leaning against a birch tree, raised his bolt-action 98K rifle. The sergeant also had an unlit cigarette in his mouth, the insignia of an experienced veteran on his arm proiming his status as an old soldier. He carefully adjusted the sight and took precise aim. At the moment the rifle fired, Xiemiao''s entire body suddenly twitched, his back stiffenedpletely. He opened his arms, like a bird spreading its wings to fly, and his submachine gun fell to the ground. Aleksei cried out, "Xiemiao!" Xiemiao fell to his knees, plunging his face toward the ground. In thest moment of his life, he thought of the day of hising-of-age ceremony, the bonfire party in the vige, where the girl he loved grabbed him, running towards the threshing floor. Just like then, he had been pushed down onto the pile of wheat on the threshing floor by the girl. Aleksei turned to the squad leader who came to help and shouted, "Why is there no artillery? Why?" Squad leader: "Listen to the sound in the sky, there''s an enemy observation ne! This is how we lost half an artillery battalion in Loktov! When the enemy''s observation ne is present, we can''t fire and expose our artillery positions!" Aleksei: "Then did Xiemiao die for nothing?" "The artillery is a precious piece of technical equipment, more valuable than Xiemiao, than you, than me! More valuable than all of us! Instead of shouting at me here, channel your anger towards the Prussians!" With that, the squad leader grabbed Aleksei''s cor and forced him to look towards the approaching Prussians: "Pick up your Tokarev and fire, Imperial Guard soldiers never shy away at times like this!" Aleksei took a few deep breaths and raised his rifle to aim at the enemy. Squad leader: "Fire, private!" Aleksei pulled the trigger, channeling the unavenged fury of his fallen friend into the bullets. The Tokarev faithfully executed its task, the action automatically recoiling, ejecting the spent casing through the ejection port. Aleksei continued to shoot, his bullets flying towards the detested enemy. Facing the fierce semi-automatic firepower of a squad, the Prussian Army retreated-the covering forest wasn''t suited to their light machine guns and bolt-action rifles were even less suitable for jungle warfare. Aleksei saw the retreating back of a Prussian soldier, so he swung the rifle around and took aim. Aleksei''s experience wasn''t enough for him to think of adjusting the sights under these circumstances. He just lined up the notch on the rear sight with the bead on the barrel, aimed at the figure, then pulled the trigger repeatedly, emptying the magazine of its remaining bullets. The target was hit, the body spasming once before twisting and falling to the ground. Although there was no evidence that the killed was the actual perpetrator who had killed Xiemiao, Aleksei still roared in rage. Chapter 184: Chapter 35: Surging Waves Hitting Shore (Extra for 15,000 monthly votes) Wang Zhong''s tank unit quickly maneuvered to a nking firing position and opened fire before evening to a stop. The other tanks also opened fire after turning to face the enemy. The Prussians reacted quickly as well. Previously, they were merely caught off guard by the overly scientific tank fortifications created by Wang Zhong, but now the T34s firing in the open field were naturally spotted immediately. In fact, before long, both sides on the Eastern front would learn to dig a pit to hide the lower half of their tanks, leaving only the turret exposed to fire. At this moment, the distance between the two sides was less than five hundred meters, and the fierce exchange of fire began. The enemy needed precise aiming to hit the turret of a T34, whereas the T34 could fire as soon as its scope was set. Moreover, in terms of armor, the T34 had a clear advantage; even if the turret was jammed, the crew inside remained alive. A hit from the T34''s 76-caliber gun could kill at least half of an enemy tank''s crew. After twenty minutes of exchange, the enemy began to release smoke to retreat. Wang Zhong, seeing the enemy release smoke, took a long breath of relief. This exchange was different from before, his side had no terrain advantage, at best only slight cover provided by the forest and underbrush. This was a real artillery duel, and in the end, Wang Zhong''s unit held the upper hand. Wang Zhong, "Report from each vehicle, how many have their turrets jammed?" "Firstmand vehicle, all clear." "Secondmand vehicle, all clear." "Third toon reporting, my tracks are off." ... After checking themand vehicles with radios, Wang Zhong ordered an assessment of the tanks without radios. During the tally, he shifted his focus to Yegorov''s position. Because Wang Zhong had moved out of the directmand range of Yegorov, the headquarters of the 31st Guards Regiment, the Second and Third Infantry battalions all became military symbols on the map. Fortunately, Wang Zhong''s vision covered almost half the battlefield, allowing him to clearly see the carnage within the smokethe tank unit''s nk fire had only cut off the enemy''s reinforcements; the tanks and infantry that had charged the positions needed to be dealt with by Yegorov''s troops. A fierce mixedbat of infantry and tanks was underway. Yegorov split his troops into multiplebat groups, first using grenades to suppress the infantry around the tanks, and then directing grenadiers to throw Molotov cocktails. The fight was extremely fierce, but fortunately, Yegorov''s troops were "thick" enough to sustain the casualties of the meat grinder. While Wang Zhong was focused on that side, the tally here waspleted. The toon leader reported via radio, "A total of 6 tanks have their turrets jammed, and 2 have broken tracks. The ones with broken tracks are being rapidly repaired; the jammed turrets will probably have to wait for the mechanics from the tractor factory to fix them tonight." "Good," Wang Zhong had just started speaking when soldiers called out from the distance, "The enemy ising from the woods!" Wang Zhong hurriedly turned his head, relying on the light-up mechanism to see arge number of Prosen soldiers approaching from the woods; these were the enemies who had just taken the First Ambush position, pressing on along the woods. The infantry toon reporting to Wang Zhong looked to be on sentry duty in amunication trench between positions. Wang Zhong, "Are the mines activated?" "Activated, General! But we didn''t nt many mines between positions because we were afraid of friendly fire," the squad leader leading the team said. Wang Zhong, "All tanks, change formation. The enemy is pushing from the woods, prepare to intercept with machine gun fire!" Saying this, Wang Zhong himself picked up the anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the turret and started firing at the Prussians in the woods. Then the Prussian machine guns opened fire, forcing Wang Zhong to duck back behind the cover formed by the tank''s hatch. It was then that Alexandria opened fire, a high-explosive shell broke a birch tree and exploded before hitting the enemy machine gun, the shrapnel instantly felling five enemies. But the machine gun was still firing, bullets dinging against the turret. It was at this moment that the driver-operator started firing the hull machine gun, the tracer bullets counterattacking the enemy machine gun''s tracer fire, reminiscent of the pdash special effects kung fu movies Wang Zhong had watched as a child, with both sides exchanging sts. Then the enemy repeated their old trick and released smoke. Wang Zhong immediately ordered, "Establish a fire sector, just like we''ve practiced!" Indeed, because the enemy liked to use smoke, Wang Zhong''s troops, whether infantry or armored forces, had trained to weave a web of fire even without visibility. The enemy tried to surge forward, but upon realizing that prating the dense fire would result in too many losses, they decisively chose to retreat. However, Wang Zhong''s side had only one toon of infantry from the initial withdrawal and two additional toons that cameter to support; they did not dare to pursue. Tanks were too vulnerable to close-range infantry attacks in the forest. The standoff continued on both sides. Once it was confirmed that the enemy infantry could not advance, Wang Zhong turned his attention to Yegorov''s situation and found that the 31st Guards Regiment had also repelled the enemy''s attack. Seven Panzer IVs were burning near the defensive trenches of the Third Battalion, and three more tanks had crossed the first trench line but were destroyed before the second trench line. In addition to ten Panzer IVs, the enemy also left behind about 200 bodiesWang Zhong was estimating since his ability did not highlight corpses. Once it was confirmed that the enemy hadpletely retreated, Wang Zhong took a breath of relief. ``` But the problem wasn''t resolved, as the enemy still upied half of the forest. Ifter the enemy''s artillery groups start their fire preparation again and force Wang Zhong''s troops out of their positions, it''s likely the position might bepletely lost. The only solution was to carry out a fire strike on the lost positions immediately, and then send in the first battalion, which had been kept in reserve, to counterattack. Wang Zhong raised his head and looked at the reconnaissance aircraft that had been circling in the sky, the Dao 215. Damn, this was the first time Wang Zhong found reconnaissance aircraft so annoying. Or should half of the artillery battalion fire, sacrificing half of the artillery to take back the position? What would happen afterward? Their own artillery firepower would have been depleted, while the enemy remained unharmed... Wang Zhong was mired in a dilemma. s, he wondered how much fuel the enemy aircraft had left. The Prosen Army, 141st High-altitude Reconnaissance Squad, Aircraft No. 229. The pilot looked at the fuel gauge and reported to themander, who was also the navigator of the aircraft, through the intra-nemunication, "Fuel has gone below the warning level, we should head back or else we''ll be forced to make a roughnding on those bad mud roads." Themander said, "No, the army below needs us, just because we''re up here, the Ante Army wouldn''t dare to use heavy artillery. Let''s stay a bit longer, or request our squad to send a ne to rece us. I''ll request the squad for the recement, radio operator!" The radio operator started calling, "Eagle''s Nest, Eagle''s Nest, Vulture 29 calling, Vulture 29 calling." . The squad''s response came immediately, "Vulture 29, this is Eagle''s Nest. Your fuel should be at the critical level, return immediately." The squad''s response was heard by everyone in the aircraft through the intra-nemunication circuit. The pilot and co-pilot exchanged nces. "Commander, the squad said so," said the pilot. Themander directly contacted the radio, "Eagle''s Nest, Eagle''s Nest, my aircraft is suppressing the enemy''s defensive fire, requesting someone to rece my aircraft." After a brief silence, the response from Eagle''s Nest came through, "No go, all reconnaissance nes have been deployed, all reconnaissance nes have been deployed. Return immediately, over." In the cockpit, themander-cum-navigator sighed, took off his sses, and began massaging the Jingming acupoint. After a moment of silence, he said, "Radio operator, call Wolf." "Wolf, Wolf, this is Vulture 29 calling. Wolf, Wolf..." "This is Wolf, have you spotted the enemy artillery positions?" The voice was distorted through the radio, but the excitement on the other end was still discernible. The radio operator fell silent, turning to look at themandertheir seats back to back. Themander picked up the handset, "No, the call was to inform you we are leaving. Over." "What?" The response on the other end came immediately, dismissing any radiomunication protocol, "If you leave now, their artillery will start firing! We will have many, many casualties!" "I apologize for this," themander replied, "but we''re running low on fuel and must return immediately." "Isn''t there another reconnaissance ne that can take over?" "All reconnaissance nes are on missions; no one can rece us," themander said, temporarily turning off the microphone and letting out a long sigh. The ground fell silent. The pilot reminded him, "The fuel keeps dropping, and although we have reserve fuel tanks for emergencies, they won''tst long. I''m not confident about making a forcednding on Ante''s terrible roads." If thending gear hit a single pothole or stone duringnding, it would be a disaster for both the aircraft and the crew. And Ante''s "roads" were only about a quarter the quality of the standard roads within the Prosen Empire, filled with potholes and stones. Therefore, even the most experienced Prosen pilot wouldn''t dare to make a forcednding on Ante''s roads. Themander didn''t answer the pilot, but waited patiently for Wolf''s reply. Eventually, everyone''s headset ryed Wolf''s voice, "Understood, wish you a safe journey." Themander said, "I also wish you victory." After cutting off themunication, themander looked at the navigator''s station in front of him and ordered, "Turn to a new heading of 200, we''re returning." While the pilot repeated the order, the aircraft tilted and began a counterclockwise spiral. Kluge looked up at the reconnaissance ne turning to leave and cursed, "Damn it, I thought the Air Force was reliable for once!" Themander of the 16th Armored Division asked, "What do we do now? My unit has suffered heavy casualties and we''re currently stopped in front of Hill 153. The enemy has dug some strange tank entrenchments, and we''re not getting anywhere in a shootout." Kluge''s lips pursed, his palm clenched into a fist, then released. Finally, he made up his mind, "Onest try. Order the artillery to begin fire preparation, targeting the enemy''s current defensive positions! The second and third battalions of armored grenadiers in the forest are to organize a new wave of attacks during the artillery preparation!" Once Wang Zhong confirmed through the bird''s-eye view that the enemy reconnaissance aircraft had indeed left, he decisively ordered through the radio transmission, "This is White Horse, target the first preset position, fire!" ``` Chapter 185: Chapter 36: Ebb Tide (16,000 monthly votes plus update) Wang Zhong originally nned to leave behind a group of volunteers who would stay in the bombproof shelters at the position, withstand the enemy''s firepower, and dy the attacking infantry. The main force would then retreat to the secondary position and waityes, under Wang Zhong''smand in Orachi,yer uponyer of defensive positions were dug, and extensive earthworks were carried out. There was no choice, with only so many troops, constructing more fortifications was essential to face the superior enemy. If he were to write a booklet on defensive warfare after the battle, he would definitely include this, "If you do not have enough troops, then prepare more defensive works." Of course, the fortifications built by Wang Zhong had ws. Firstly, the ck soil of Kazarlia was too soft; without sufficient concrete, it was almost impossible to build strong underground fortifications. Secondly, the terrain near Orachi was too t. Although forests provided cover, there was ack of reverse slopes for protection against artillery. Given this situation, Wang Zhong made some designs, with the most important being that the first twoyers of positions, aside from tank emcements, had no artillery protection. And because of the entrance structure, the tank emcements could easily be hit by shells fired from near Orachi, so they weren''t very protective against artillery either. This design was intentional because the first twoyers of positions were meant for ambushes, with the thirdyer being the main defensive line. However, if there were no troops in the first twoyers of positions when the enemy attacked in the morning, they would still have to prepare for artillery fire on these positions. All of thisbat experience didn''t originate from Wang Zhong himself; it all came from various "booklets" he had read. As a military enthusiast, Wang Zhong collected many such booklets, including ones published by our country like "How to Fight Tanks" and "How to Fight Aircrafts," brimming with theoretical knowledge. In summary, by the time Wang Zhong ordered the artillery to fire, his main force had already retreated to the next line of positions, leaving only the volunteersor should we call them the "Dare to Die" squadon the third line. On the third line of positions, there were solid shelters made of the hard-won concrete, in which those hiding could survive a heavy artillery bombardmentsting two hours with quite high odds, and these people could then use the machine guns of the position to block enemy attacking units. However, since the enemy''s reconnaissance ne had gone, the situation was simpler: you cover me, I cover you, and no one would be able to immediately organize an assault after the artillery fire ceased. The Dare to Die squads, originally the main force, now became an insurance, preventing the enemy from being so audacious as to be able to organize an attack wave immediately after the bombardment. Now, right after Wang Zhong''s side fired, the enemy also opened fire. However, Wang Zhong''s main force had already pulled out, and the Dare to Die squad left behind were all in strong support points. The enemy infantry in the forest hadn''t had time to withdrawapparently, they hadn''t expected the aircraft overhead to leave. Wang Zhong watched as sections of the forest marked in red disappeared, and couldn''t helpughing out loud: Haha, I''ve won yet another exchange! He checked his watch; it was already three in the afternoon. By the time the cover fire ended and the reserve units weremitted to a counterattack to recapture the entire position, today''s battle shoulde to an end. He waved his hand, and the battalionmander of the reserve unit climbed onto the tank, "General, is it time for us to move out?" "Yes, the second and third battalions will reenter the positions we just vacated, and the task of clearing remaining enemy forces in the forest falls to you." The battalionmander saluted, "Mission aplished!" That response was very much like the army Wang Zhong was familiar with. In the dugout of the Fifth Bieshensk Regiment''s headquarters, the messenger Misha sighed deeply and said to Colonel Eugene, "Why is there nothing for us to do again? Look at all the excitement over there! Does the General look down on us?" "Stop talking nonsense." Captain Andrei, who had been assigned to the Fifth Bieshensk Regiment as the Chief of Staff, said loudly, "Our assigned positions are also very important; this is the only high ground overlooking the entire in, and the artillery observation post is located here. If we lose this, the whole situation will be passive." Misha asked, "How passive?" "Let''s put it this way, if we lose this position, the General might sacrifice half a division to recapture it. Even if we lose Orachi, this ce cannot be lost." Captain Andrei had barely finished speaking when the battalionmander of the Thirteenth Armored Battalion of the Fifth Tank Army, Olof, lifted the curtain at the entrance of the dugout and came in, "My tank operators need water and food." Colonel Eugene had been silent when Mishained, but immediately nodded in response to Olof''s words, "I will order someone to fetch it right away." Olof turned to Captain Andrei and asked, "Whomanded the digging of this dugout? It''s quite remarkable. Although the size of the dugout isn''t quite suited for our T26 series and slightly affects the firing angle, if we park the tanks further back and ce them on the ramps of the dugout exit, the height is just about right. "In such dugouts, even those Prussians would find it difficult to hit us urately." Captain Andrei, "Of course, it was General Rokossovsky whomanded the digging of the dugout; it''s his unique design, not found in any operational manual or ordinance issued by the Imperial Armored Troops headquarters." Olof nodded, "I knew that, I was originally a tank operator! His Excellency the Inspector General of Armored Troops would say that a tank''s main task is to attack, attack, and keep attacking!" The battalionmander imitated the Inspector General''s tone; his serious manner actually made him look somewhatical. Olof, "If you ask me, that Inspector General is a Prussian fanboy! Just like how the Tsar was ackey of Frederick the Great back in the day! "Isn''t it strange that, when ites to radios, the Inspector General suddenly wants to draw a line with the Prussians? The Prussians have radios in every tank, yet we only have them in the toon leader''s vehicle!" Captain Andrei felt a bit awkward, "I''m not very familiar with armored troops matters; I studied in the infantry." Colonel Eugene, "I studied minerals." Olof looked at the Colonel in surprise, "What?" "I''m a mine manager, switched to military service ording to the empire''s relevantws," Colonel Eugene shrugged, "I know you two must feel ufortable being under mymand." Olof, "Not at all, you have organized the defense very well." Major pointed at Captain Andrei, "It was all his doing. I just oversaw the digging of the anti-shell bunkers. The soil here is somewhat simr to when I was a mine manager; to excavate tunnels safely requires good structural support..." At that moment, the telephone rang. Captain Andrei went over to answer it, "It''s from the Belensk Regiment. Mm-hmm, I see." After hanging up, the Captain turned to the Major, "The artillery observation post saw the tanks in front of us beginning to retreat." Company Commander Olofughed, "Well, isn''t that right? We destroyed at least 20 of their Mark IIIs and IVs, not to mention the Mark Is and IIs taken out in the highway melee. We''ve inflicted heavy damage on the enemy division. I originally thought our battalion was done for, but victory turned out to be so easily won. "The General told me that my mission was not only to win but also to survive. I thought I wouldn''tplete either one, and now I''ve done both." It was clear, Olof was very happy. He continued, "It''s a pity, though. The General onlymands a temporary infantry division. If he were inmand of our 5th Tank Army, then maybe we wouldn''t have been routed so meaninglessly." The other people in the room exchanged looks; they were miners and infantrymen, so they couldn''t point out to Olof that even if White Horse Generalmanded the T26s, they probably wouldn''t achieve any spectacr results in battle. Olof went to themand post''s observation window, looking at the retreating enemy in the distance. At that time, his second-inmand came in saluting, "Company Commander, the loss count isplete, we have 14 tanks intact. I''ve reorganized the tank crews that suffered casualties, and we have an eight-man gap for gunners, with four extra drivers." After speaking, the second-inmand handed over a clipboard with documents attached, "Take a look." Olof took the clipboard and read out the names of the fallen tank operators one by one. At this point, runner Misha said, "General Rokossovsky seems to be able to recite all our names from memory; he''s recognized and called people by name several times already in the regiment." Lieutenant Colonel Eugene nodded, "I''ve heard about that too, but it''s normal for such an outstanding military man to be knowledgeable and well-read." Captain Andrei said, "It has a huge impact on boosting morale. The General must have memorized all our names for that reason." Misha sighed again, "Ah, I thought after this battle we''d be close to bing guards. That cloak would be so dapper, but now the fighting has been done by others." Lieutenant Colonel Eugene was about to speak when the artillery outside suddenly stopped. The Colonel immediately went to the observation window and joined Company Commander Olof in looking outside. No more shells fell from the direction of the forest. The enemy''s bombardment also stopped almost at the same time. Lieutenant Colonel Eugene asked, "What''s happening? A tank battle?" Company Commander Olof replied, "I don''t know, but I think it should be infantry retaking positions. Today''s battle is probably about finished." Misha dered, "Hey! We missed out on the action again!" Captain Andrei looked at him, then turned to Lieutenant Colonel Eugene and suggested, "We should have the priestsfort the soldiers'' emotions. Being eager to fight is good, but it''s bad if it leads to bottled-up emotions." The Colonel nodded, "Alright. Besides, I''m pretty good at handling these situations; I was a mine manager after all. Come on, Misha, tell me about it!" "What''s there to say, Colonel! I want to be a guard as soon as possible, that cloak is just too stylish!" The Colonel shook his head, "No, we don''t fight for a stylish cloak. We fight to protect our homnd from enemy ravaging. We are..." Company Commander Olof looked at his second-inmand and said, "This sermonizing tone sounds like my mother." The second-inmand just smiled. At that moment, singing suddenly came from outside the bunker, it was "We''ll Be Found Beneath the Rubble": Please carry us out of the rubble, Parting forever with our beloved tank. Let the guns fire in salute as the armor parades, To take us on our final journey. Let the guns fire in salute as the armor parades, To take us on our final journey. Olof stormed to the entrance of the bunker, shouting at those outside, "Why has the perfectly good ''Tanks Roaring Over the Fields'' been turned into this! Who changed it? Was it you, Kumachi! Come here!" The one called Kumachi, a tank operator, approached, "Reporting, Company Commander, I was just expressing the sentiment from yesterday''s total defeat!" "We weren''t totally defeated! Isn''t our battalion still here? We showed those Prosen bastards today! In the future, we''ll continue to make them pay! Don''t you ever change the song like that again!" "Yes, sir!" Kumachi saluted. . Olof said, "On second thought, the lyrics about tanks roaring over the fields aren''t that great either. Let''s sing something more upbeat, how about ''Dark-Eyed Girl''!" With that, Olof himself started to sing, his cheerful melody echoing over the battlefield. Chapter 186: Chapter 37: Youre Welcome, Your Highness Wang Zhong''s side. After more than an hour of white-weaponbat, the infantry had once again expelled the battered Prosen armored grenadiers from the forest and recaptured the first and second positions. Wang Zhong ordered sentries to be left at the positions and gave up the recently secured ground. He had a feeling that tonight, the enemy would also resort to ndestine artillery shelling. If the enemyunched a night attack, the sentries would fire signal res. This time, the res would surely call down artillery fire. Before dusk had fallen, the workers apanying the army began to repair the tanks that had been disabled. Compared to yesterday, today the armored units under Wang Zhong''smand had only been damaged, not lost, and should be repairable. Wang Zhong had a premonition that the workers recruited from the tractor factory might end up fighting alongside him throughout the entire battle. When night fell, Wang Zhong returned once more to the division headquarters in the city. As soon as he entered, he heard strange noises. He paused, puzzled, in front of the map room, looking towards the source of the sounds. Pavlov opened the door to the map room, "What''s wrong? Why don''t youe in?" Wang Zhong pointed in the direction of the noise, "What''s going on here?" "Ah, the Tribunal''s people are interrogating the Prosen pilots your guard captured, trying to extract the location of the enemy airfield." Good lord, was that noise the legendary "Great Memory Recovery Technique"? It was quite loud. Pavlov, "Do you want to go take a look?" Wang Zhong shook his head, "No, let''s not. How many pilots have we captured?" "Two. How many more do you want? The nes hit by Divine Arrow burn up immediately; it''s impressive that two survived," Pavlov shrugged. "When they were first captured, they were still ranting, using us of using Divine Arrow against aircraft, saying wecked martial virtue." Wang Zhong, "We''re forced into it. If we had an Air Force, we wouldn''t have to do this." As he spoke, he stopped and stared at Pavlov. Pavlov frowned, sensing that things were not so simple, and asked with a stern face, "What''s wrong? Every time you look at me like that, I get goosebumps! Just say what you have to say!" Wang Zhong, "Could you... get heavy mortars?" Pavlov, "You never mentioned this to me before, why are you suddenly asking for it now?" Wang Zhong put his hand on Pavlov''s shoulder, pulled him into the map room, shutting out the noise of the Great Memory Recovery Technique in the corridor, and then answered, "Before, I didn''t realize the use of it. Today, when enemy reconnaissance aircraft suppressed artillery support, I realized that mortars are good. They''re quiet duringunch, and high-flying reconnaissance nes definitely won''t see them. "The uracy might be worse, but they fire quickly. And the killing effect of heavy mortars is not much less than that of heavy artillery. We need to have these." Pavlov raised an eyebrow, "You mean, you''ve only just realized the advantages of this weapon? I thought you, as a genius military strategist, deemed it useless at the start, that''s why you didn''t ask me for it." Wang Zhong, a bit embarrassed, thought to himself that he was a civilian, how could he know about this? He didn''t even like using mortars when ying "Steel Division." But he couldn''t say this, so Wang Zhong responded, "I graduatedst in my ss, how could I know these things?" "Don''t remind me of yourst ce," Pavlov shook his head. "We''re almost embarrassed to mention our own military school results! Just admit you were controlling your score to take care of the Crown Prince, please!" Popovughed heartily. Wang Zhong was embarrassed. What was this, he couldn''t even admit to being bad? He really was bad. Never mind, he decided to continue with the important matters, "Anyway, get us mortars quickly, as soon as possible, ideally from Argesukov tonight. That way, when we''re suppressed by reconnaissance tomorrow, at least we could use the heavy mortars for covering fire." Pavlov, "I''ll do my best. But the situation at Argesukov isn''t great either, the enemy on the southern front made significant advances today, they might not have time to consider our equipment request." Upon hearing Pavlov say this, Wang Zhong looked towards the map on the wall; sure enough, the breakthrough arrow on the southern front had grown longer. Damn it, Wang Zhong thought, the grand encirclement of Kiev on Earth was all thanks to the central force''s Second Armored Army Group''s wild rush, while the slower First Armored Army Group on the south was even mocked by the former. And here, he and Duke Meishikin were holding back the Second Armored Group, and now the First Armored Group on the south began their wild charge. So history is bound to correct itself? Argesukov is just ying out the Kiev script? Wang Zhong looked at that breakthrough arrow, then at the two Army Groups blocking it and asked, "How capable are the Eighth and Twenty-second Infantry Army Groups? Can they hold out?" Pavlov, "If you were inmand, maybe they could hold. After all, you''re a defense expert trained by Loktov. But these Army Groups aren''t under yourmand, and as far as I know, theirmanders are ssmates of themander of the cut-off Thirty-fifth Army Group from yesterday." Good grief! Wang Zhong gritted his teeth as he looked at the operation status map, "What is the Front Army Headquarters doing? The situation is so obvious now, they should be retreating, retreating through the corridor held by us and Duke Meishikin. If they retreat, they can still take part in the defense of St. Ye Katerina Fortress." Pavlov: "It''s possible that His Majesty the Tsar won''t allow a retreat." Wang Zhong: "What is His Majesty the Tsar doing? And the Crown Prince, hurry and advise him!" St. Ye Katerina Fortress, 2100 hours at night. Her Highness Princess Olga Nikyevna Antonovna yelled at General Tugenev, the chief of the High Command''s Military Orders Department, "Why can''t the order be issued? I have the stamp!" The general offered a bitter smile, "Your Highness, even if you brought your brother''s stamp, it would not allow us to issue the order. We could consider it with His Majesty the Tsar''s stampof course, this consideration mainly means confirming with His Majesty the Tsar himself." Olga: "Don''t you see? Argesukov is about to be encircled!" "Of course, we see that. Even if we didn''t yesterday, we do today," General Tugenev said, "But the army is not ours; it belongs to His Majesty the Tsar. If His Majesty wants to send the troops to their doom there, we also..." Olga: "The army belongs to the Ante Empire!" The general: "Your Highness, haven''t you been associating too closely with the leaders of the Secr faction?" Olga: "Never mind how close I get, don''t you all want to save our military at all? There are your friends, students, and old subordinates there, aren''t there?" General Tugenev sighed, "What can we do about it? Now, whoever tries to persuade His Majesty the Tsar to retreat will be out in the cold. Currently, His Majesty holds the authority over military personnel appointments and dismissals, not the church. No one dares to suggest retreating anymore." General Tugenev also gave Princess Olga a meaningful look, indicating that he knew one of the big reasons the Tsar was so intransigent was that the princess before him had caused the Tsar to lose face. "Ridiculous!" Olga shook her head repeatedly, "Utterly ridiculous." General Tugenev: "Your Highness, be careful not to let your father hear you say that." Olga looked at the general, "Then what can I possibly do?" "Just like before, have the logistics department send reinforcements to Major General Rocossov. I''ve heard thatthe reinforcements provided by the Crown Prince, in Rocossov''s hands, had an extraordinary impact." Olga: "Can logistics still send supplies now?" General Tugenev replied, "Ah, sending them from Argesukov right now looks rather dangerous. With the advance of the Prussian Army, their front-line airfields have also moved forward. The railway leading to Argesukov is being brutally ravaged by the enemy aircraft; the transportation capacity has already dropped to fifteen percent of what it was. "However, the position held by Major General Rocossov can receive ample supplies from other ces. The railway hub controlled by Duke Meishikin at Shepetovka can receive our supply trains, and the duke can then find a way to send the goods to the major general. "What do you n to send?" Olga seemed troubled, "I... I don''t know what he needs over there. Can you send a telegram to ask?" General Tugenev: "How did you think to send T34s and B4 heavy artillery before?" "Because the previous reports said he destroyed a hundred enemy tanks at Upper Peniye, and he did it with the T28, an outdated model!" Olga''s voice involuntarily rose, "So of course, I thought sending T34s over might allow him to perform even better." General Tugenev replied, "Then just like that time, you can find a way to send him T34s. With the stamp of the Crown Prince and being Her Highness the Princess yourself, wouldn''t it be fine tomandeer the freshly produced T34s from the factories in the city?" After considering for a moment, Olga nodded, "You do have a point. But I''d have to send the tank crews as well, wouldn''t I? Where do I find tank crews? The ones sent before were all for parade purposes; where do I find crews that haven''t been called to the front line yet?" "There are quite a few tank operators just mobilized," answered General Tugenev. "Why not go to the recruitment stations and dig out those who have received tank operator training?" Olga fixed her gaze on General Tugenev, "I suddenly suspect you''re deliberately advising me on how to get things done." "Oh, I wouldn''t presume to do that, I''m just answering the questions posed by Her Highness the Princess. As a military man, of course, I must respond seriously and respectfully to questions from the royal family," General Tugenev dered, lifting his head proudly. Olga: "Do you also believe that Major General Rocossov can turn the tide?" "I don''t think so. If he were an Army Group Commander, maybe it would be possible, but he''s only a divisionmander," General Tugenev shook his head. Olga: "I think he ought to be a Front Army Commander." your chapter source NovelBin EMPYR "Then he will have to prove he at least has the capability tomand an Army Group. Being able tomand a small unit well doesn''t mean one canmand arge one, Your Highness." Olga bit her lip and returned to the original topic, "So what else should I send him? Can''t you help me send a telegram to ask?" "Telegrams take time to decode andck timeliness. Rather than that... Your Highness, you could go to the church and borrow their choir." Olga''s expression brightened suddenly, "Right, I could seek help from the choir! Thank you, General Tugenev." "You''re wee, Your Highness." Chapter 187: Chapter 38 Night "Torrential Rain Prussian Army, Amphra Armored Division headquarters, 2030 hrs. Kluge saw the tank readiness report from the troops, and his brows twisted into knots, "You''re telling me we lost 146 tanks just in front of this damned city today?" "A significant number of those were model ones and twos from the sixteenth," the reporting staff officer even smiled, as if the loss of model one and two tanks was no big deal. Kluge red at the staff officer, "The tank operators driving models one and two, once they switch to new tanks, will bebat-effective forces! Moreover, the survival rate of tank operators is even lower when these two types of tanks are destroyed. How can youugh about it?" The staff officer closed his mouth and put on a straight face. Kluge paced back and forth with frustration. It was then that themander of the sixteenth said, "Actually, quite a few tanks might be repairable. If we reorganize the surviving crews, we can also put together quite a number of new crews. The loss isn''t as great as it seems on paper." "But we haven''t taken the battlefield, and we can''t repair those tanks that are paralyzed on the ins. Although I have no doubt that we will eventually take this city, the problem is that we have so few tanks left to put into the attack tomorrow!" As Kluge spoke, he vigorously shook the tank readiness report in his handthe readiness meant they could be immediately deployed intobat. Kluge: "The enemy has strong fortifications, heavy artillery, and at least one infantry regiment that hasn''t beenmitted to the fight! Plus, there are tanks. Before, we thought the enemy only had one battalion''s worth of T34s, but now another battalion has popped up. And then there''s a battalion''s worth of T26s that have appeared from who knows where!" The Prussian Army mistook the T26s firing from the bunkers on Hill 153 for T34s. Kluge sighed, "It looks like we can''t do without asking for reinforcements now. Last night, General Moochi seemed ready to shift the entire focus of the armored group''s breakthrough to our location..." Just then, the door of the armoredmand vehicle opened, and the guard who opened it reported, "The brigademander of the artillery brigade attached to the group has arrived," and then stepped back to make way. The artillery brigademander entered themand vehicle, brought his heels together, and saluted, "Your Excellency!" Kluge returned the salute, eager to ask, "Where have you reached? Can you start firing now?" "Anytime. Our 21CM and 17CM heavy guns are all fully deployed." Kluge nodded, then suddenly remembered something and eagerly asked, "You didn''t stop in the viges, did you? Nor near the farms, threshing floors, or barns? The enemy likes to shell those ces! By the time, it''s about to start!" The brigademander: "We have deployed alongside the highway, avoiding any buildings." Kluge breathed a sigh of relief, "That''s good then. The enemy has forced us to the point where we dare not stay in buildings; the whole army is bivouacking. Wee to joining the ranks of bivouacking." The brigademander: "We are already used to it." Kluge: "Now that you''re here, tonight we''ll give the enemy a taste of their own medicine. They don''t let us stay in buildings, but they do, let''s make sure they don''t sleep well tonight! Come here!" The artillery brigademander immediately approached the map table. Kluge, pointing to the map, exined, "The enemy is at Hill 153 and has deployed heavy forces in this forest. Then there''s the city of Orachi, the enemy''s rear logistics center. Tonight, conduct fire coverage on these three locations, bombard for an hour, and then continue the bombardment with a fire density of one shot per minute to disturb the enemy." The artillery brigademander frowned, "Is it necessary to go to that extent? Continuous bombardment means our soldiers also won''t be able to rest tonight, or at least not adequately, which will affect tomorrow''s firepower density." "That''s the point! This is a retaliation against the cunning and deceitful General White Horse! That bastard stirred us up like this yesterday! We are simply applying what we learned!" In the city of Orachi, headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division of the Ante Army. Wang Zhong: "Besides mortars, we''ve got to find a way to deal with the enemy''s high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Is there a way tobine two Divine Arrows into one to attack the reconnaissance aircraft?" Popov: "I don''t understand the technical stuff. Call Yeca Neiko to ask." Just then, Nelly pushed the door open, "Supper is ready." The staff officers in the map room seemed to have been waiting for that call, and immediately rxed. Wang Zhong looked at Nelly, "What are we eating today? And why are you wearing a sailor cap?" He looked puzzled at the sailor cap on Nelly''s head, feeling it looked somewhat familiar. Nelly: "Someone suggested I wear a sailor cap since it makes me look more like a duty soldier. Doesn''t it look good?" Wang Zhong stepped back to take a better look at Nelly. Thebination of a maid outfit and a sailor cap seemed oddly fitting! Of course, the key was that Nelly was quite attractive. Wang Zhong nodded seriously, "From an academic standpoint, I think thebination is quite nice." "Academic?" Nelly blinked, "When you used to say ''from an academic standpoint,'' it meant you were about to hit on that girl." Hey? Did I used to have that habit? Nelly: "Are you trying to hit on me?" "No, you misunderstood. Just now I was simply expressing my academic opinion, or rather, my aesthetic opinion!" Wang Zhong took a step back as if Nelly were some kind of ferocious beast, "Aesthetic!" Nelly was about to say something when a whistle came from the sky, and this time the shells fell quickly, so quickly that the people in the room hardly had time to react. The ground shook violently, the building seemed to shudder, and dust and pebbles rained down on Wang Zhong''s head. Nelly screamed, covering her ears with her hands. Shell after shell fell, and the officers at headquarters scurried to hit the floor. Wang Zhong stepped forward, grabbed Nelly''s hand, and led her to a corner of the room. "Hold on like this! Like this!" He showed Nelly the standard protective posture against shelling, "Otherwise, you''ll get concussion injuries!" Nelly nodded, mimicking Wang Zhong''s position and crouching in the corner, her sailor cap falling directly to the ground. ``` A shell could fall nearby, and in an instant, the st wave shattered the map room''s windows, spraying ss shards into the room and first cutting through the curtains. The candles in the room were snuffed out by the storm, and the entire room was plunged into darkness. Nelly screamed. The enemy''s heavy artillery had made her drop all her defenses and revert to the little girl she originally was. Wang Zhong was still making light of the situation, "Screaming is right, it can bnce the internal and external air pressure, especially the pressure in the brain! You should scream! Ah ah ooh ooh ooh!" When Wang Zhong started yelling, Nelly calmed down instead and looked at him with contempt. Wang Zhong, "Yell, it really can bnce the pressure inside and outside your brain! Ah ah ah ah ah!" The others in the room exchanged nces and also started shouting, "Ah ah ah ah!" Nelly looked at them, seemed finally convinced, and also started shouting loudly, "Ah ah ah!" ------------- Hill 153 was also covered. Colonel Eugene assured confidently, "As long as we get into the artillery shelter, we''re fine against this kind of shelling! I swear the one I dug is strong enough!" Commander Olof of the 13th Armored Division was shocked, "Artillery shelter?" Colonel Eugene, "Yes, there''s one next to the tanks as well, you can just do as we practiced before!" Olof, "Our battalion just joined you today, we haven''t practiced." Colonel Eugene, with his mouth half open, "What?" Olof, "Bad news, they don''t know about the artillery shelter, they''ll definitely try to take cover under the tanks!" He threw down his cup of coffee, ready to rush out of the shelter. Colonel Eugene grabbed him, "Don''t go! You don''t know where the shelter is either! I''ll go!" With that, the colonel charged out of the shelter first, running and yelling, "Quick, get to the artillery shelter, tank operators, get to the artillery shelter!" Messenger Misha also dashed out, following the colonel and shouting together, "The shelter is on the left! The small path on the left!" The enemy''s shells kept falling, like gigantic raindrops, each one creating sshes of mud on the ground. The colonel and Misha, like ants scurrying in a storm, could be flipped by the giant raindrops at any moment and vanish without a trace. Olof stood at the entrance of the shelter, just about to go out, when Captain Andrei dragged him back and pinned him to the ground, "Don''t go! Two people are already in danger! The colonel is very familiar with the position, he''ll be fine!" Olof got up, maintaining an anti-shell posture, while cursing, "Damned Prussians! I''m not done with you! I''m not done with you!" ------------- The bombardmentsted for over an hour, and when it finally quieted down outside, Wang Zhong lifted his head. Somewhere outside a fire had started, and the light from the fire shone through the window, casting a red glow on everything in the room. Wang Zhong checked on Nelly, noticing the girl shiveringshivering was good, it meant she was still alive. The next moment, Wang Zhong''s flippant words came out, "Weren''t you pretty calm during the bombardment?" Nelly, "It went by so quickly during the bombing, I didn''t even react!" Wang Zhong stood up, pulled Nelly to her feet, and then picked up a boat-shaped cap from the ground and ced it on her head, "You''re wearing a boat-shaped cap now, which means you''re a soldier in our army. How can you be afraid of bombardment?" After speaking, Wang Zhong took off his ownrge cap and pped the dust off it. mpy _r. The others also began to stand up one after another, and Pavlov said, "Anyone who''s dead, speak up." A faintughter sounded in the room. Popov, "I feel like this shell is more powerful than the one that hit us during the day. Has the artillery from the Armored Division arrived?" No sooner had he spoken than another shell fell in the city, causing more dust to fall from the ceiling. Nelly swiftly ducked down again, very quickly. The others didn''t rush to take cover but instead looked up, listening for the next shell. "It''s noting, they''re just firing single shots to harass us," Wang Zhong said. Nelly stood up awkwardly, picking up her boat-shaped cap herself. Wang Zhong, "The enemy''s heavy artillery group has certainly arrived." He went to the table, struck a match to light the candles, and examined the map, "Where will they deploy their heavy artillery group? And how much ammunition do we have left?" Pavlov, "We used up one base number today. The good news is we still have two base numbers left. The bad news is that both are stored in separate ammunition shelters, and right now the artillery is working hard to transport the ammunition to the positions." The enemy''s second cold shot fell. Everyone in the room showed no intention of taking cover, as if the sound of the shelling were just ordinary thunder. Nelly stood to the side, carefully observing the calm and collected Wang ZhongCount Rocossovin front of the map table. ``` Chapter 188: Chapter 39: Communication (17,000 monthly votes plus update) After the third shell fell, Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, "This can''t keep happening without a response." He picked up the phone receiver, "Connect me to Brother Peter." Soon, Brother Peter''s voice came through, "No enemy nes scouting, feel free to counterattack." Wang Zhong asked, "Then can you hear the enemy''s artillery fire?" "The curvature of the earth will block the sound of gunfire; you know the earth is round, right?" Wang Zhong replied, "Although I graduatedst in my ss, I still know that much." "There you go. If there are clouds in the sky that reflect the sound of gunfire, I can indeed hear it, but I would only know the direction, not the distance. Do you see any clouds in the sky now?" Wang Zhong picked up the phone, went to the window, and looked out, indeed seeing that the sky was clear, with the moon and stars scattered, devoid of clouds. At that moment, Nelly came in with a broom and dustpan, "Move aside, I need to sweep up the broken ss." Wang Zhong quickly got out of the way, nced at Nelly, then continued speaking to Brother Peter, "Sorry for the trouble, please continue to monitor the enemy scouts." After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong returned to the map and threw the receiver onto the table. Popov asked, "Send out a night reconnaissance team?" Wang Zhong replied, "We have no field telephones, and reconnaissance would need to return to report any findings. No, I think we can try to hit Xu Jin with an artillery barrage along the road." Pavlov countered, "What if the enemy has stopped in a vige this time, wouldn''t that be a waste of ammunition? Although we still have two base supplies, given today''s rate of ammunition consumption, we won''tst long." Wang Zhong felt, "I believe the enemy is still transporting on the road. Judging by the intensity of the attacksing from Duke Meishikin today, our pressure tomorrow will be greater. Disrupting enemy transport is good too." Pavlov pursed his lips and remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "You''ve convinced me, General." Wang Zhong said, "Telephone! You make the call, after all, you are the chief of staff." "Sure!" Pavlov had just picked up the receiver when he suddenly sensed something amiss, looking up at Wang Zhong, "What do you mean I''m the chief of staff? Is there a hidden meaning in your words?" Wang Zhong deflected, "It''s just your imagination, make the call!" ------------- At the bunker of the 153rd Hignd, Fifth Biesensk Regiment''s headquarters, Colonel Eugene entered the bunker covered in dirt and took a seat with a thud. Captain Andrei asked, "What about Misha?" Colonel Eugene nced at Captain Andrei, "He''s gone. He shouldn''t havee out with me. I''m someone who has survived three mining idents! Three times!" As he spoke, Colonel Eugene took off his cap and began to twist it violently in his hands as if trying to crush it into a ball. "I''ve survived three mining idents! I even organized rescue operations for two of them! Shells can''t do anything to me! Misha... the boy... he didn''t have such luck." Just then, the colonel saw Olof and changed the subject, "The tank operators have all entered the bunker, Captain. They''re alright; the shelters I dug will definitely hold!" Olof nodded and ced his hand on the colonel''s shoulder. Lowering his head, the colonel continued to twist the cap, "He never got the Imperial Guard cloak he longed for, never got the cloak." Olof was about to offer words offort when the sound of artillery fire came from behind. Olof turned and quickly stepped out of the bunker, looking towards the southeast. The artillery regiment of the 151st Division was well-concealed, and even at night, there was no visible sh from firing, but the thundering sound was clear. Colonel Eugene also rushed out of the bunker, standing beside Olof, pping the abused hat against the walls of the trench, "Good! Hit them! Hit them hard! Send them all the way back to Prosen!" ------------- In the Prosen Army, at the headquarters of the Amprah Armored Division. Hearing the st, acting divisionmander Kluge immediately left his tent to look in the direction of the explosions. The duty officers also emerged from the armoredmand vehicle, and Kluge shouted, "What was that explosion? What new thing has that damned enemy discovered about us?" An officer replied, "No reports received!" "Then go and ask, quickly!" Several officers returned to themand vehicle. Kluge watched the rising dust clouds in the distance with a worried expression. Ten minutester, an officer reported, "The enemy''s Xu Jin artillery barrage is advancing along the road." "What?" Kluge eximed in shock, "Tell the artillery brigade to retreat quickly!" "They are already retreating, but because of your order, they continue firing, so the withdrawal speed is not very fast." Another officer came out, "The artillery brigade has ordered the ammunition vehicles to retreat first, and the crew has left the cannons to seek shelter from the barrage." Kluge scolded himself, "Who ordered them to keep firing? It was me, dammit!" As he spoke, he pped himself hard on the face, "It was my own damned order!" Another officer came out, hesitated at seeing Kluge''s temper re and didn''t dare report. Kluge demanded, "What''s the issue? Speak up!" The third officer reported, "The 23rd Armored Division is on the move as ordered, towards us they are on the road. And behind them is the 12th Armored Grenadier Division" Kluge eximed, "No! Get off the road! Tell the troops behind to get off the road! Forget how many motor hours you have left, get off the road!" Motor hours usually refer to the continuous operating time of an engine before maintenance is needed. ``` However, maneuvering through the field off the highway not only greatly increases the rate of mechanical failures, but it also elerates the consumption of engine hours. As soon as Kluge finished speaking, a staff officer immediately ran towards the radio vehicle. It was then that Kluge realized, "Which divisions are moving toward us?" "The 23rd Armored Division, the 12th Armored Infantry Division. Besides, the Second Armored Cluster Command is also moving toward us, but they''re not taking the main roads, they''reing from the northwest on small paths." Kluge: "And what about frontlinemand authority? When will I losemand authority?" "We have not yet received any orders, nor have we been notified of assumingmand over the 23rd Armored and the 12th Armored Infantry." Kluge: "Nonsense! How are we supposed to organize tomorrow''s attack?" -mp _yr. The staff officers looked at each other, then the highest-ranking one answered, "We don''t know." In Orachi, the counterattack began five minutes ago. Wang Zhong looked at the ceiling, "Did they stop shelling us with cold artillery?" Pavlov nced at his watch, "It''s been five minutes since they fired, it stopped. Damn, you won the bet again." As he spoke, he patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder. Popov: "In the future, will the Prussian Army establish a regtion that artillery positions can''t be set up in towns or along highways?" Wang Zhong: "Possibly. The future trend in artillery is motorization, which would then actually require deployment on highways." This was Wang Zhong''s experience from "War Game Red Dragon," where during 1V1 ranked games, both sides kept close watch on enemy artillery positions, hence self-propelled artillery had to be ced on roads to quickly maneuver following a firefight, or else they''d be caught by enemy counterfire. Towed artillery, the kind that''s inconvenient to move, waspletely obsolete. But whether game experience would be of much use in reality was another question. Pavlov: "Self-propelled artillery, huh." Popov: "Looks like we''ll finally get a good night''s sleep." Wang Zhong: "Have the casualty numbers from the troopse in yet?" "Not yet, the shelling caused some chaos, it might take another half-hour to reach us." Pavlov looked at his watch, "You should go rest. You''ve been running around the front lines all day today. If the soldiers don''t see you at the front tomorrow, they will start imagining things, dealing a fatal blow to morale." Wang Zhong thought for a moment and realized Pavlov had a point. He was indeed exhausted today, having ridden his horse around since the early morning, andter in Tank 422 as well, feeling so fatigued like lead was poured into him that it wouldn''t be surprising if he copsed at any moment. "Then I''ll go rest. Nelly!" Nelly immediately responded, "The bed is already made, but I''m not sure if you can sleep after the recent shelling. I''ll go check, wait a moment." Having said that, Nelly quickly left. Wang Zhong yawned deeply. Popov: "You better sleep quickly, maybe you should call Ludm back to help you sleep more soundly." "Please, spare me." Wang Zhong revealed a wry smile, "Under these conditions, asking for my ''public grain'' is just poking fun at me, isn''t it?" "Who''s asking for your ''public grain''? I meant, you should rest well in the tender harbor of your loving wife." Wang Zhong: "I''d rather choose to sleep like a baby in the embrace of my mother. Do you understand what I mean by a mother''s embrace? Ludm is indeed virtuous, capable of doing everything that a mother can, but she has more of a young girl''s feel,cking in maternal radiance." Pavlov: "What about Nelly then? She seems quite like your nanny." Wang Zhong was taken aback and looked at the staff chief who had a bear-like stature and was somewhat balding, "Nelly? Maternal? Are you sure?" "I just said she''s like a nanny. Look at all the jobs she''s doing." Popov: "That''s what an orderly does, it''s all the same." As they spoke, Nelly came in, "The bed''s ready, I''ve also warmed some water for you. I can help you wipe down before you sleep. It can help relieve fatigue." Wang Zhong stared at Nelly. For a moment, he truly felt a "mother-like" glow radiating from Nelly. But that was ultimately an illusion. Pavlov nudged Wang Zhong, "Go on, General. Have a good rest after wiping down." Wang Zhong nodded and followed Nelly out of themand post. Popov looked at Pavlov, "Aren''t you taking an orderly with you?" "I have an orderly; the old man who made tea for me this morning is my butler," Pavlov said. Popov: "I see. No wonder the coffee tasted so good." "It was tea," Pavlov corrected. Just then, the phone suddenly rang. Pavlov: "At this hour?" Although puzzled, he still answered the phone, "Division headquarters, Pavlov speaking. What? When was this heard? Alright, I''ll head to the sanctuary with the regimentmander immediately." After hanging up, Pavlov looked at Popov, "The choral heard a hymn from St. Ye Katerina Fortress, for us. And the other side is still in a state of hymnal, so we canmunicate with them." Popov stood up, "Then we must hurry over, this state won''tst long." Pavlov turned to a staff officer and shouted, "Go get the regimentmander down here!" ``` Chapter 189: Chapter 40 Crisis (Extra for 18,000 monthly votes) When Wang Zhong entered the sanctuary, his hair was still dripping. Su Fang saw him entering, and was about to speak when she suddenly remembered she was inmunication, and gave a meaningful nce to the female Guardian Army beside her. Wang Zhong was puzzled, "What does that mean? She can''t talk now?" The female Guardian Army exined, "She is currently synced with the Hymn Monk in the capital. Whatever she says, they will say the same thing there, and vice versa." Wang Zhong nodded, then asked, "What did she say just now?" Another member of the Guardian Army brought over a notebook to Wang Zhong. Written on the notebook was, "Princess Olga Nikyevna Antonovna is asking General Rokossovsky if his unit needs assistance, and what kind of assistance is needed." Wang Zhong turned his head and exchanged nces with Pavlov. He decided to ask first when this support could arrive. Even if the princess were to send two hundred T34 tanks, that would still take time and they would likely be intercepted by the enemy''s airforce en route. Wang Zhong, "Your Highness, may I ask how long it will take for our reinforcements to arrive?" Su Fang immediately repeated Wang Zhong''s words, parroting them exactly. Then she fell silent, obviously the other side was discussing how to respond. One could anticipate the current situation; sending reinforcements to Orachi would be quite a challenge. While waiting, Wang Zhong gradually formed an idea of what kind of reinforcement to request a kind that could disregard the battlefield situation, reach Orachi by tomorrow, and be effective. When Wang Zhong had made up his mind, the response came from the other end, and Su Fang spoke, "Your Excellency, considering the current battlefield situation, we can only send reinforcements to Shepetovka first, and then have Duke Meishikin organize the transport. If we leave immediately, we can reach Shepetovka by dawn the day after tomorrow." That meant no matter what, they would arrive only the day after tomorrow after all, even the princess couldn''t instantly get what Wang Zhong needed and immediately organize a train. After organizing the train, loading it would take additional time. Wang Zhong was about to speak when Su Fang said, "Additionally, I''ve intercepted 30 newly produced T34 tanks from the factory. They are being loaded onto a train, which should depart by tomorrow." See, Wang Zhong thought, it sure wasn''t possible to send them immediately. Waiting for these 30 T34 tanks to reach Shepetovka would also take until the day after tomorrow. Indeed, what he should request was precisely the kind of reinforcement he had just considered! Effective by tomorrow! Wang Zhong, "Your Highness, we urgently need airforce support. I''ve received airforce support in Loktov and Upper Peniye. I need MiG-3s to tackle the enemy''s high-altitude reconnaissance nes, and I need IL-2s to clear the enemy on the ground. "I hope they can appear above Orachi by tomorrow! Additionally, I need reconnaissance nes to scout the enemy''s artillery positions!" After Wang Zhong finished speaking, Su Fang almost had recited in full, and the sanctuary quieted down again. The response came quickly this time. Su Fang, "Is that all you need?" Wang Zhong, "Those are the most urgent at the moment! I''m facing two armored divisions, two! And we''ve just been shelled by 21cm heavy artillery, which is the enemy Army Group''s level of heavy artillery. Tomorrow, we might face the enemy''s Army Group main force!" As he said this, Pavlov and Popov both widened their eyes because there was no intelligence report indicating that the Army Group main force would attack tomorrow. Wang Zhong was bluffing, exaggerating the situation to be as dire as walking on eggshells, to more conveniently demand supplies. The reply also came very quickly: "Understood, I will immediately make a request to the Air Force. I guarantee you will have our nes covering you tomorrow. Do you have any other requests?" Wang Zhong signaled to Pavlov, "I need the following supplies!" Pavlov took out his little notebook and began to read. Su Fang repeated as she read, but halfway through, she suddenly stopped. Wang Zhong urged her, "Keep reading!" "It''s cut off," Su Fang answered, "It''s been too long." Wang Zhong, "Can such a connection be established again?" Popov answered on behalf of Su Fang, "This type of connection requires a lot of resources for the mass, which we can''t manage right now." Su Fang added, "And having just done such a synchronousmunication, I estimate I won''t be able to chant hymns for a while." As she spoke, she yawned a long yawn and visibly showed signs of fatigue. It was evident that maintaining that kind of connection took a heavy toll on her spirit. In this world, these supernatural things were useful, but somehow not "that" useful. Is Divine Arrow powerful? It is, but when targeting ground units, the opponent''s use of smoke can blind it. In targeting air units, if the enemy flies at an extremely low altitude, they can still escape, since besides Ekaterina, the others need to maintain continuous visual contact. Is Brother Peter''s hearing amazing? That''s also impressive, but that''s about it. And so it goes with Su Fang''smunication as well; is it powerful? Definitely, if it weren''t for Su Fang in Upper Peniye, Wang Zhong''s small unit would have already been annihted. But the reason they could summon a KVst time was because Wang Zhong''s brother was a staff officer at the Front Army headquarters. Then there were so many limitations to this means ofmunication. In the current situation, one cannot ask for more, and Wang Zhong nodded to Su Fang, "Get some good rest, you''ve been a great help." Sufangughed, looking very happy. Nelly stared at her intently, like a cat sensing a threat, bristling and hissing menacingly. Wang Zhongpletely ignored this little fray, turned to Pavlov and said, "As long as His Highness can muster the Air Force, tomorrow will be much easier. Simply driving away the enemy''s reconnaissance nes would be a huge help." Pavlovughed, "Of course. But I''m really worried that the lie you just told wille true, and if we face the main force of the Second Armored Group tomorrow, even with the Air Force, it will be very difficult." Wang Zhong waved his hand, "No worries, Duke Meishikin is holding up well! He will attract the main force of the enemy''s Second Armored Group!" Pavlov nodded, "Indeed, thank goodness for Duke Meishikin. I''m almost ready to toast to the Duke''s health." "Great, there''s something to celebrate, let''s drink a little." Wang Zhong turned to Nelly, "How about a small drink today?" Nelly: "A little drink helps with sleep, I have no objections." Wang Zhong burst intoughter, looking genuinely delighted, since the Air Force mighte to their support tomorrow. He hugged Nelly and vigorously rubbed her head. Nelly recoiled in rm, grabbing her askew boat-shaped hat with her hand. But Wang Zhong had already turned away to speak to Pavlov. "We''re going to attack Orachi with full force," said General Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch to the divisionmanders, "leaving behind two armored grenadier divisions to tie down the heavy forces at Shepetovka. They are mainly infantry,cking the ability to advance in the open field." The Army Group Chief of Staff added, "Aerial reconnaissance indicates that they also have a mobile tank force, but we can leave that to the bombers and 88mm guns to deal with." General von Mauch: "Thank you for that addition. Tomorrow, we willmit the remaining forces of the Amphra Division and the 16th Armored, as well as the 23rd and 12th Armored Grenadiers. "Whether we take Orachi or not, the main force of our group will pass south of Orachi. "The ''brilliant idea'' from His Majesty the Emperor has significantly dyed our rush to the enemy''s capital. We can''t waste any more time. Being held up by the enemy for two days here is already too long! Too long!" At this point, amunications staff officer entered the conference room, saluted, and reported, "The artillery brigade reinforcing the Amphra Division was hit by enemy fire, losing two 21cm heavy guns and one 17cm heavy gun. There are several casualties, and they are currently changing positions." General von Mauch: "What happened? Did the enemy have aerial reconnaissance? How did they discover our artillery positions?" "The artillery brigade deployed by the roadside, and the Ante Army used Xu Jin barrages to cover the entire road. Additionally, the 23rd Armored also came under enemy artillery fire while on the march." General von Mauch''s eyebrows furrowed, "What''s going on! What are the losses?" "Minor, because it was a Xu Jin barrage. It didn''t repeatedly bombard the same segment of the marching column, and there was time to scatter and avoid shelling. However, the 23rd Armored reports that their deployment in Orachi will beter than scheduled." General von Mauch cursed, "Uneptable! Have them deploy on time as nned! I left redundancy in the n to deal with such things! Tomorrow morning, we must surround Orachi! We need topletely annihte this small enemy force, just like smashing a walnut with a hammer!" After a brief pause, he added, "Do not fear the enemy''s bombardment! Continue advancing on the road; as long as we move quickly enough, the enemy can''t inflict significant losses on us!" At 04:30 on August 5th, inside the city of Orachi. Wang Zhong, though he drank a little yesterday, woke up at this time due to his biological clock. Whether it was the alcohol or the reassurance of Air Force support, he had slept very well, and when he opened his eyes, he felt more energized than ever. Just as he finished dressing and was about to call Nelly, the whistling of artillery shells pierced the air. Without a word, Wang Zhong hit the deck; the next moment, a barrage of shells fell upon the city. "Dammit!" shouted Wang Zhong, "Didn''t we hit the enemy''s artillery positions yesterday? How can there still be so many heavy guns?" Of course, because that was an artillery brigade. The intense bombardmentsted about an hour. When the explosions subsided, Wang Zhong stood up, and Nelly entered at that moment, "You''re alright!" "What, you were hoping something happened to me?" said Wang Zhong, slipping on his shoes haphazardly and striding out of the bedroom. Nelly: "Aren''t you going to eat breakfast?" Wang Zhong: "If they''re shelling this early, there must be something happening." Saying this, he dashed down to the first floor and barged into the map room. Pavlov, with a grave expression, was holding the phone, "How many troops? What amount of troops did you see?" Wang Zhong grabbed the receiver abruptly, "This is Rokossov, what did you see?" As he asked the question, he switched to a bird''s-eye view and realized that the observation from Hill 153 was alight, indicating the call was from the artillery observation post on Hill 153. He immediately checked the situation and was stunned. It wasn''t his own vision that highlighted the enemy, but there were so many of them that he could see, without any highlighting, the overwhelming number of the enemy. A "tidal wave" of enemy armored forces and infantry lines was surging toward Hill 153. Over the phone, shouts came through, "This is the observation post on Hill 153, a massive number of enemies is heading our way! A massive number! Commence firing immediately! Commence firing immediately!" Chapter 190: Chapter 41: Storms and Turbulence Wang Zhong bellowed, "Hold on, I''m figuring out a solution right now!" At this time, he still thought that the enemy had simply switched their direction of attack. For such a scenario, he had already prepared a n: to move the T34s to the hillock''s side edge of the forest to form a crossfire. No sooner had he hung up the phone than the ringtone chimed in again. He could only pick up the receiver once more. "I am Rocossov, speak!" "This is the second battalion of the 5th Bieshensk Regiment. We have arge number of tanks maneuvering on the eastern side of our position!" The position of the second battalion of the 5th Bieshensk Regiment was to the east of the city, mainly responsible for guarding the artillery positions. They were also a reserve force, ready to be mobilized to the northern forest for a ughter if necessary. Wang Zhong didn''t ask for details; instead, he chose to overview the situation himself. What he saw was that there were also at least a battalion of tanks maneuvering on the east side of Orachi. Where did all these tankse from? At that moment, in the northern forest, res soared into the sky. Those were signals shot by the sentries at the first and second ambush positions, indicating that the enemy had infiltrated the forest. The enemy was charging in from all directions! Wang Zhong reassured them, "Don''t panic! Lower the B4 heavy artillery for direct fire! I''ll think of something!" Before he could hang up that call, another telephone rang, and Pavlov picked up the receiver, "Division headquarters, speak! What?" Wang Zhong dropped his handset and snatched Pavlov''s, "I am Rocossov, speak!" The voice of Brother Peter came from the other end, "Stukas! The roaring sound of Stukas! I''m not sure how many, at least 30 aircraft!" Wang Zhong was stunned for a moment, then instinctively responded, "Hold on! I''m thinking of a solution!" Brother Peter retorted, "I don''t even have a gun, what''s there to hold? General, you have to hang in there. In such a situation, if you can''t hold on, morale will copse in an instant, like an avnche." Thanks to Brother Peter''s words, Wang Zhong''s mind cooled slightly. Indeed, if he panicked, it would quickly spread throughout the troops, and even a defensible situation would be untenable. He had to remain calm andposed, making the best use of everything he had at hand. "Thank you, Monk. Thank you," he said. "You''re wee," Brother Peter replied. Wang Zhong set down the handset. The phone rang again, but Wang Zhong did not pick it up, instead, he left the spot for Pavlov to take over. Turning around, he noticed Nelly standing worriedly at the doorway. Wang Zhong''s brief loss ofposure had not yet spread to the troops, but it had already shaken Nelly considerably. Nelly asked, "Is the situation very bad?" Wang Zhong gave a faint smile, "We''ve been through worse than this. Get me coffee, make it strong." Nelly nodded and turned to leave. Looking over the map on the desk, Wang Zhong quickly made a decision. "Order the heavy artillery regiment to cover the forest. Infantry are soft targets and are especially afraid of heavy artillery. The remaining T34s should move to the nk of Hill 153 as originally nned to relieve the high ground first." Pavlov nodded, picking up the phone to begin issuing the orders. Popov asked, "Aren''t you going to personally lead the tanks?" Wang Zhong replied, "With so many enemies, a single tank can''t change much now. That''s one thing. Secondly, although I am not inside Tank 422, the red g is still hanging there. The soldiers will be as inspired by seeing the g as they would be by seeing me." After Pavlov issued the orders and returned, he asked Wang Zhong, "What about the Stukas? They should be almost here." Wang Zhong replied, "We can only rely on the Divine Arrows now. Hopefully, the Prosen Air Force is still as afraid of death as ever." On Hill 153. The soldiers of the Anti-tank Artillery Battalion were rushing to their gun positions with 45mm anti-tank shells. During the enemy''s fire preparation, people and ammunition hid behind the counter-slope gun shelters. Now that the enemy started their assault, it was time to upy the position at once. Although Hill 153 was called a high ground, its entire slope was very gentle. The anti-tank gun positions were set up on the smooth gradient, with only the trenches housing infantry in front for protection. The Prussians, believing in their absolute superiority, did not use smoke bombs but chose to let the firepower of their tanks take full effect. At this very moment, the enemy''s assault wave was fast approaching the foot of the high ground. Following the order to open fire, the anti-tank guns began to shoot. Pre-determined firing data ensured that the first volley from eight anti-tank guns resulted in eight hits. Only three tanks stopped, with their crews jumping out to take cover on the spot. The remaining five continued to advance, apparently the shells had not prated them, and they had not spotted the position of the anti-tank guns. As the second round of firing from the anti-tank guns began, it could no longer be called a volley; every gun crew received orders to fire the shells as quickly as possible. Lieutenant Maximov was inmand of a 45mm anti-tank gun. His crew consisted of twenty men, eight of whom were responsible for transporting the shells from the rear gun shelters to the front line, three to manage the horses, with the rest located near the gun crew. Maximov was in charge of designating targets and calling out the firing data. Gunner Karamazov was responsible for the aiming, and the rest were loaders, each holding a 45mm armor-piercing shell. "Fire!" Maximov shouted. The muzzle of the gun spouted mes and recoiled, ejecting the still smoking shell casing onto the ground. The floor was already littered with seven or eight shell casings, all emitting smoke. After a stray shell hit his head, Karamazov yelled, "Load!" and then toppled backward, falling among the smoldering casings. Seeing this, Maximov immediately rushed behind the gun mantlet to take the gunner''s ce. At the same time, the loader stuffed a shell into the breech and swiftlypleted the locking mechanism. Maximov rotated the traverse wheel, aligning the cannon with the targeted driver''s viewing slit and then violently pulled the firingnyard. The cannon roared as the spent casing was ejected from the breech, and the armor-piercing shell struck the observation window with a sh of white light. The tank did not stop moving, but its crew burst out of the hatches and jumped to the ground on both sides of the tank. "Good!" Maximov shouted, "Load another round!" Another shell was loaded into the gun. Maximov pressed his eye to the sight, searching for the next target. He saw a Panzer IV and aimed the reticle at the driver''s viewing portwhat worked for the Panzer III should work for the Panzer IV too. Maximov fired, and then realized he had forgotten to adjust the gun sight''s range scale. Due to the incorrect range setting, the shell flew high, striking the tank turret''s mantlet and leaving a significant dent but failing to prate. "Load!" Maximov shouted, simultaneously adjusting the range scale based on the target. By the time he had adjusted it, the tank had already stopped and was turning toward his direction. Damn! That was all Maximov had time to think before everything went ck. When he regained consciousness, all he could see was the clear blue sky. He got up to find the cannon toppled over on the ground, its mantletpletely gone. The assistant gunnery atop the cannon''s trail and other loaders were scattered on the ground. Clearly, a direct hit from the enemy''s short 75 howitzer had wiped out Maximov''s gun crew. Dazed, Maximov looked around and noticed another gun crew not far away. Thinking at least he could go there and serve as a loader, he stood up and staggered toward the position. Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind and tackled him to the ground, then rolled him into amunication trench between gun positions. "Are you mad! Just walking over there, you wouldn''t have had enough lives to spend!" the man who had saved Maximov yelled. Judging by the uniform, the rescuer was an infantry lieutenant, albeit with a somewhat youthful face. The Fifth Beshensk Regiment rarely had such young faces; most were robust men in their thirties. Maximov was about to thank the lieutenant when he heard a shout from a nearby position: "Bring the ammunition quick! We''ve run out of shells!" Maximov peered out of the trench and saw two gunners, carrying an ammo box, just as they crested the top of Hill 153 and dashed toward the calling gun position. In the blink of an eye, a high-explosive shellnded between the two men, blowing them to the ground. The ammo box they were carrying split open, revealing the yellow shells inside. Maximov mustered his strength, rushed out of the trench towards the busted ammo box. "Damn, won''t you listen!" the lieutenant popped his head out and, seeing Maximov going for the shells, pulled out a captured Prosen smoke bomb from his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it behind Maximov. The white smoke spread quickly behind Maximov. He didn''t care about that; he just picked up the broken box, shoved the fallen shells back in, and carried the box back toward the gun position. "Ammo''sing!" he yelled as he ran. The gunmander of that cannon eximed, "Maximov? Your gun..." He nced at the neighboring gun site and abruptly cut himself off. "Maximov, you''vee at the perfect time! Load quickly!" Maximov: "I''ll get more ammo! Wait for me!" With that, he turned and dashed into the smoke, sprinting over the crest of the hill and then running towards the ammo storage dugout. Five minutester, Maximov, carrying an ammunition box, returned to the front of the high ground, only to find that the position he had just left had been obliterated, likely by a short 75 howitzer st. Maximov nkly stared at the ce where the gun position used to be for a few seconds, then suddenly remembered the most important thing now was to hold back the attack. So he rushed over to the cannon, gave it a cursory check to ensure it could fire. Then, he saw the sight was gone. Without a word, Maximov removed the scope and its rted supportponents, forcibly punching a hole in the gun shield. He aimed through this hole and loaded the shell himself. "Die, Prussians!" Maximov fired. As expected, aiming through the hole in the gun shield yielded no positive resultsthis shell passed by the enemy tank''s head. Maximov reloaded himself, then continued to aim through the "hole." This time the "precise" shot hit the tank''s tracks, stopping the Panzer IV. Maximov continued to load. But the enemy''s tank forces had already begun to ascend the slope. A Panzer IV with the tactical number 2316 turned its barrel and aimed at Maximov. Just then, an armor-piercing shell fired from the side struck tank 2316! Unlike the poor destructive effect of the 45 mm armor-piercing shells, this side shot set tank 2316 aze immediately. Maximov turned to the direction from which the armor-piercing shell hade, and saw a stroke of red through the trees. It was General Rokossovsky''s red g! General Rokossovsky had arrived! They were saved! Chapter 191: Chapter 42 Hell At the same time, in the northern woods of Orachi. When the shells fell, Prosen soldiers all hit the deck. However, these were 152mm heavy artillery shells, the shockwaves and overpressure of which could also inflict massive casualties. Not to mention the secondary damage caused by trees shattered by the explosions. Most wood splinters weren''t lethal, but being impaled by them hurt a million times more than being hit by shrapnel. Even for the elite Prosen Armored Grenadiers, being punctured in the face by such splinters could put them out of action. Heavy artillery shells continued to rain down, and the storm of wood chippings swept through the Armored Grenadiers'' ranks. However, the forest had been bombarded many times by both sides yesterday, leaving numerous craters on the ground that provided temporary shelters for the Armored Grenadiers to dodge the artillery fire. In addition, the artillery bombardment had cleared the forest of mines. While some may remain, as long as one stuck to the paths with craters, they would definitely avoid the mines. Even under artillery fire, the Armored Grenadiers pressed on until the Ante Army''s machine guns started firing. Wang Zhong left a guard unit in the solid support points and behind them, in the anti-artillery shelters. They would hold off the approaching Prosen soldiers until the main forces could enter the positions. The machine guns swept through the forest; preset firing solutions ensured deadly uracy, and anyone daring to stand up would be turned into a sieve. Prosen soldiers kept crawling forward. Prosen machine gunners set up their guns in the craters and returned fire, but the interference from trees skewed their distance estimation, making their suppressing fire rather ineffective. Suddenly, a heavy artillery shell hit a crater, blowing the machine-gun team stationed in it sky-high. Wang Zhong put down the receiver, having just confirmed through the phone call that there would be no immediate issues in the northern forest, and with T34 support, Hill 153 should be able to hold on for a while. The most precarious situation was actually at the 5th Belshensk Regiment, 3rd Battalion''s position on the eastern side. If this position were breached, the enemy would enter the forest and soon discover the artillery positions. "Grigori!" he called out loudly. The sergeant major entered with his submachine gun and saluted. Wang Zhong said, "Take the guardpany and reinforce the 5th Belshensk Regiment, 3rd Battalion positions on the east side. Defend the artillery. Also, tell the B4 heavy artillery unit to organize direct fire support. Make sure the shells keep falling on the enemy''s offensive line. Organize the firepower and don''t fire them all at once!" Loading the B4 required a crane from the ammunition truck and was extremely slow. But by properly timing the firing sequence, they could ensure there was always a 203mm shellnding on the front line. Grigori saluted and quickly left. Popov stood up, "I''ll go and pull out the Guardian Army from the city. They may not be well-trained, but they know the city''syout well, after all, it is their homnd." "Go ahead," Wang Zhong said, extending his hand toward Popov. Popov took it, "You take care too. There are so many enemies this time, don''t charge as fiercely as before." "I''ll try," Wang Zhong answered with the same reply as the formermander of the 13th Armored Battalion used to. When Grigori arrived at the position of the 5th Belshensk Regiment, 3rd Battalion, the young men of the B4 heavy artillerypany had already ttened their guns behind the makeshift shelters. The shelter was a simplified version of Wang Zhong''s tank shelters, with only oneyer to protect the B4 heavy artillery vehicle and provide simple covering for the gun barrel. But it was just simple cover; after all, when this thing fired, it made such a racket that everyone could see it clearly, even through the woods. Grigori ran to the artillerypanymander, squatting low, and yelled, "The general orders you to fire in sequence and maintain a continuous rate of fire!" Themander shouted, "We can''t fire all at once anyway; some guns are only being set down and moved after firing theirst round! They''re now loading!" Grigori peeked at other gun positions only to notice that the other three guns were approaching the shelters at a snail''s pace. Themander continued, "The projectiles and cartridge cases are so heavy that it''s far too slow and risky to move the guns while they''re loaded. idents could happen, like having charges and shells slip out of the barrel." Then, the gunner operating the crane on the ammunition truck yelled, "Projectile hoisted in ce!" Two more gunners immediately used gigantic tools to jam the shell into the barrel. The crane operator then hoisted the cartridge case onto the slides behind the barrel: "The cartridge bag is ready!" Again, two gunners worked to push the cartridge case into the barrel with their tools. Finally, after a long wait, the fourth gunner closed the breech,pleting the locking procedure. The gunner started aimingthe cannon had to be set to a specific angle for each loading; otherwise, the shell wouldn''t fit. But conversely, for t shooting, this reduced the process of elevating the barrel, objectively speeding up the rate of fire. The gunner made a rough adjustment to the cannon''s horizontal orientation, didn''t touch the elevation gear at all, and just stepped back to pull the rope, ready to fire. Themander raised his hand high and chopped down like a knife. The gunner pulled thenyard with force, and the cannon roared deafeningly. The st from the muzzle even made the trunk of arge birch tree convulse like it was shuddering. The shellnded within a kilometer in the middle of enemy formation, making the earth seem like it was the surface of the sea, bulging up and then exploding upwards. Two tanks were swallowed up by the explosion, the lighter Panzer IV was lifted off the ground and tumbled several times beforending upside down. The tank operator, his brain jumbled from the shaking, climbed out from the bottom hatch of the tank only to be met with machine gun fire from the third battalion''s position. The toon leader watched the effects for a few seconds and eximed, "It''s more effective than I thought! Load quickly! Prepare gun two! Why haven''t you moved the gun into cover? Never mind, is gun three ready? Fire when you are ready!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than gun three fired, the muzzle st even reaching the spot where Grigori stood. Grigori: "You''ll be spotted by the enemy; this is too loud." toon Leader: "Indeed. I''m figuring the enemy''s artillery barrage will being any minute now, so we need to shoot as quickly as possible! Sergeant Major, please leave. The third battalion will need a veteran soldier like you." After speaking, the toon leader saluted Grigorithough his rank was lower than the sergeant major''s. Grigori returned the salute earnestly and then led the guard toon rushing towards the third battalion''s position. The Prosen Army''s 23rd Armored Division, First Armored Battalion, was subjected to the direct fire of Ante Army''s heavy artillery. The battalionmander, who had been observing the situation behind the front line of the whole battalion''s attack, became restless upon seeing the enormous eruption of earth (referring to the st of a 203mm shell). "Where is the enemy''s heavy artillery? All units, pay attention and locate the enemy''s heavy artillery!" he shouted over the radio. "This looks like direct fire, the artillery must be within our line of sight!" Just after he finished speaking, someone responded: "In the forest to our west! Look quickly, Commander!" The moment themander turned his binocrs, he sawrge plumes of white smoke in the forest, and the trees swaying from side to side in the wind. The next moment, shellsnded on the battalion''s line, halting two tanks in their tracks. Commander: "All tanks, be advised, there''s heavy artillery hidden in the woods on your right, focus fire immediately, I repeat, focus fire!" The tanks of the 23rd Division''s First Battalion immediately turned their barrels. Although the battalion had not yet reached the "passing line" set by General Moochi, they took decisive action. All for victory! The 50mm gun of the Panzer III and the short-barreled 75mm howitzer of the Panzer IV opened fire, quickly engulfing the forest in mes from the explosions. Grigori rushed into the third battalion''s trench, yelling, "Where''s your battalionmander?" "He''s been killed!" a captain shouted back. "I''m themander now, what do you need?" "I''m here to support you!" Just as Grigori finished speaking, the enemy''s tank guns began hitting their mark, firing a mix of calibers. Behind the position, the heavy artillery battery continued to fire, and one 203mm round struck a Panzer IV directly, shattering it instantly, with parts raining down from the sky like a downpour. Several Prosen soldiers were hit by the falling debris, knocking them unconscious on the spot. The enemy immediately fired a second round of direct fire, and something exploded at the artillery battery. Witnessing the fireball, the fresh recruits in the battalion were petrified. Some even began to leave the trench and run towards Orachi City. Grigori shouted, "Under His Majesty the Tsar''stest order, surrender or desertion is treason, punishable by execution!" As he spoke, he raised his submachine gun and fired a dozen shots into the sky. The deserters stopped. Then they were hit in the back by the enemy''s machine gun fire and fell into the trench like a burst sack from outside the trench. Grigori kicked away the coward and bellowed, "I''m a guard of General Rokossovsky, and the general has sent his guard toon! The star of victory will shine upon you!" No sooner had he spoken than another B4 howitzer fired, causing a huge fireball to rise on the enemy''s attack front. Prosen Army, 23rd Armored Division, 66th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. The reconnaissance battalion''s motorcycles followed right behind the First Armored Battalion, and by this time the observer in the sidecar hadpleted the range-finding and picked up the radio handset to call in: "Wolf''s Den, Wolf''s Den, this is Hare, we''ve located a suspected enemy heavy artillery position." As the B4 artillery fired from within the forest, concealed by dugouts and other types of cover, the reconnaissance battalion''s observer could not tell exactly what type of heavy artillery was firing, so he reported as such. "Coordinates as follows... please arrange fire support as soon as possible, over." After speaking, the observer took up his binocrs and quietly waited for the first shell to fall. He didn''t have to wait long. A 17cm heavy shellnded in the forest, but it missed by quite a bit, failing to hit the enemy''s heavy artillery. The observer picked up the handset again: "This is Hare, call for fire adjustment, X... Y... adjustmentplete!" Soon the second trial shot fell,nding about 800 meters south of the impact of the first shell. Observer: "This is Hare, fire adjustment..." Momentster, the third heavy shell fell, hitting the forest precisely. Something inside the forest detonated violently, sending a fireball soaring into the sky. Chapter 192: Chapter 43 Mirage (Additional chapter for 19000 monthly votes) Hignd 153,mand post of the Fifth Beshensk Regiment. Major Eugene, binocrs in one hand and a clenched fist in the other, eximed, "Good! Well done! Wipe them out!" He was cheering on the T34 that had appeared on the nk of the high ground. Unable to resist, Captain Andrei said, "Major, you''ve turned into a cheerleader since just now." Major Eugene: "It''s not like I can do anything else, I''ll justmand you, right?" "Then you should go inspect the positions," Captain Andrei replied. "The enemy tanks are approaching, and the new recruits in the troops must be very scared now. You need to encourage them." "Me? Are you sure? A miner encouraging the soldiers?" Captain Andrei nced at Major Eugene: "Just carry yourself with some presence, put on the air you had when scolding the miners at the mine. The appearance of a strict father figure kind of officer can greatly benefit morale in such times." Major Eugene took a deep breath: "Fine, I''ll go make a round." Captain Andrei: "If you really don''t know what to say, just pat the soldiers on the shoulder and tell them the general is watching us. After all, the general''s tank is on the nk, and everyone can see that red g." Major Eugene nodded, squeezed out of the bunker, and ran along the trench with his back bent, firmly patting the shoulder of every soldier he met: "Hold on!" "Don''t be afraid!" "The general is watching us!" By the time he had patted who knows how many, someone shouted: "Look quick, the general is covered in smoke!" Major Eugene stopped and, like everyone else, stuck his head out of the trench to look towards the forest. Pink smoke had enveloped the T34 tanks in the woods, and the general''s banner was no longer visible. The enemy tanks were still firing, with more pink smokepletely covering the treeline. The side fire from the T34 fell silent. More terrifying was the sharp, dreadful howling sounding from the sky. This was the first time Major Eugene had heard that sound, and goosebumps immediately rose on the back of his neck. He had heard from the old veterans that it was the sound of a dive bomber called Stuka used by the enemy. At that moment, a frightened recruit shouted: "It''s a dragon! The Prussians have sent dragons to attack us!" Major Eugene didn''t understand war, but he knew how to deal with subordinates who talked nonsense. Especially during mine disasters, Major Eugene could be stricter than the Judge when dealing with those fools who spread rumors. He rushed over and pped the recruit: "That''s the enemy''s dive bomber! It must be targeting the general!" "Look!" someone shouted. Major Eugene turned his head and saw three ming dragons rising from the ground. The Divine Arrow Company had actually moved near Hignd 153 overnight! An explosion urred in the sky. The second volley of Divine Arrowsunched. At that moment, another shout rang out: "Enemy nes! The enemy nes are... they''re nose-diving!" Major Eugene cursed: "That''s called a dive!" Apart from the diving formation, three enemy nes caught fire and were falling, overtaking the formation that had activated air brakes. The second volley''s three Divine Arrows hit the target, brilliant shes of fire dismantling the enemy aircraft in midair, with burning debris falling in sync with the formation. The third volley of Divine Arrowsunched. The morale of the enemy pilots seemed to finally copse, as they dropped their bombs from two thousand meters before scattering in flight. In fact, during a steep dive by a dive bomber, even with the wind at low altitude, the bomb wouldn''t drift much; lowering the bombing altitude was mainly to see the target clearly. From a two thousand meter altitude, even targets like tanks or bunkers are just small dots when viewed from the air, blended into theplex terrain, very difficult to spot. Experienced Prussian Air Force pilots would consciously control their diving speed, only dropping bombs when they could clearly see their target from 1,200 or even 800 meters. However, facing the highly efficient ughter from the Divine Arrow, the pilots chose to bomb from two thousand meters and then save their own livesas after all, the operation manual stated that bombs could be dropped from 2,000 meters. Two of the third volley''s Divine Arrows went into the sky due to losing their target, but the third, as if it had eyes, chased after the dive bomber that rushed into the blind spot of vision and blew it up into a fireball. By then, the aircraft brought down by the first two volleys of Divine Arrows had also hit the ground, along with the bombs. The aerial bombs fell around the pink smokePrussian Air Force training was indeed well practiced, given such uracy in bombing from that high up. The bombs created a grey-brown "wall" that obscured view. Everyone in the position was paying attention to this direction, including Major Eugene who hade out to encourage his men and was now lying at the edge of the trench, craning his neck to see over there. In fact, the enemy likely found themselves in a simr situation, because during this time the enemy tanks charging in had not fired. Just as the words were spoken, a big-headed T34 burst out from the grey-brown "wall," with its antenna-bound red g fluttering in the wind. Major Eugene and the soldiers cheered together! The T34 stopped and its cannon blew up a Panzer IV. The remaining Panzer IVs began releasing smoke bombs and retreated backward. The enemy infantry also threw smoke bombs, and the once unstoppable enemy that had charged forward were now retreating! Around Regiment 153''s position, the Ura shouts were deafening. In the woods, the first toon of God''s Arrow Company''s position. "See that! I fought one more battle than you guys!" Ekaterina eximed gleefully, jumping around. "Retreat!" Yeca Neiko snatched her from the ammunition box and threw her into the jeep, "Retreat! We''ve fired so many shots, the enemy must have discovered our location! The artillery ising!" Ekaterina protested, "How could it be so fast, are you guys crazy?" "We''re not crazy!" As Yeca Neiko heaved the other Prayer Girls into the vehicle, he exined, "In Loktov, we had just left our firing position when the Prussians'' bombs fell! If it weren''t for Ludm Vasilyevna''s quick reaction, we would have all been dead!" Once he was in the jeep, he mmed his foot on the elerator, speeding off and continuing, "Our firing position was on top of an Anatolia bathhouse, the bombs obliterated the whole bathhouse, and even though we''d driven far away, we were still affected! The Prussians went to great lengths to kill us!" As he spoke, a howling noise came from the sky. The heavy artillerynded on the position they had just vacated. "Look! Do you see, girls? Old man me just saved your skins!" Yeca Neiko, the deputy knight, finished and burst intoughter, "The Prussians think they''re the best at war in the world! But we''re just as good!" Wang Zhong switched back to the indoor perspective. "The enemy''s air raid is over, I wonder how many T34s are left intact." Pavlov looked out the window of the map room, puzzled, "How can you see that the enemy air raid is over from there? How did you see it?" Wang Zhong replied, "Mirage." As long as I keep a straight face, the lie bes truth! Vasily asked, "Where?" Wang Zhong smacked Vasily on the head with the side of his hand, "Listen in! We especially need intelligence right now!" Then, without changing his expression, Wang Zhong changed the subject and approached the map table, saying, "There are hundreds of tanks around us, right here we have a battalion, here one to two battalions... " As he spoke, he took a pencil and marked on the map. "It looks like a lot, but an armored battalion requires over a kilometer of frontage to deploy. Based on this..." Wang Zhong drew a circle around Orachi on the map with his pencil, "That''s the enemy''s limit. If the enemy wants to increase the troop strength for a single assault further, they would have to deploy on the side of therge ranchthat is, on the southeast side of the city." Pavlov agreed, "Right, that side hasn''t had artillery preparation, and it''s opennd, our mines are still in ce." On the battlefield,rge-scale mine clearance isn''t usually done by engineers one by one, but by creating overpressure with explosives that detonate pressure-activated mines. The st wave from the explosives can also sever the tripwires of tripwire mines. Engineers use explosive cord for mine clearance for this reason; a rocket fires carrying a long explosive cord,nds in the minefield to detonate, and the overpressure and st wave clear out the entire strip area around the cord. Artillery fire preparation also has overpressure and st waves, and artillery''s Xu Jin barrage would not only disperse the mines along the path but also clear obstructions like barbed wire. The forests to the north of Orachi, as well as the southwest hignd 153, had undergone repeated bombardments over a few days, so there are hardly any mines left, with only the asional stray mine capable of killing a few unlucky individuals. During the Cold War, one could use a mineying vehicle to quicklyy a new minefield ahead of an enemy attack, but such equipment doesn''t exist now. However, the southeast hadn''t been plowed by artillery fire, the mines were still there. Wang Zhong, with his hands pressing on the map table, looked over Orachi, "The current strength of the enemy''s attacking forces is not yet beyond what we can withstand." "The issue is how much of our forces we need to expend each time we repel the enemy," Pavlov paused, ncing at Wang Zhong, "and how long our fighting spirit can hold out." Wang Zhong affirmed, "It''s mainly about fighting spirit." No sooner had he finished speaking than the phone rang. Pavlov picked up the receiver, "Division headquarters, speak. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Okay, very good." After hanging up, he looked at Wang Zhong, "The attack from the forest direction has been repelled; we don''t know the enemy''s losses. We have twelve dead and seventeen wounded." Wang Zhong said concernedly, "That many?" Pavlov noted, "It could have been much worse than Bilokotov." "Indeed. After all, we dug so many shelters and fortifications. I still think it''s not enough, given that we''re going to be attacked all day long." Pavlov was about to respond when the phone rang again. He answered with a couple of "uh-huhs" and, after hanging up, reported, "The enemy from hignd 153 has retreated. Based on the enemy''s attack organization speed during the past two days, I don''t think we need to worry about the highground for an hour and a half to two hours." Wang Zhongmanded decisively, "Then let''s move all the T34s to the east side! Now, immediately. Have them stop at the middle school gate on the way to the east to resupply ammunition and fuel." Pavlov promptly picked up the receiver, then realized, "We should have radio." Wang Zhong called out, "Vasily, do the honors!" After the enemy retreated, Tank 422 rumbled to life, moving past hignd 153 and headed toward Orachi. Clearly, other battles awaited the general elsewhere. The other T34s only then emerged from the lingering pink smoke and joined up with Tank 422. Major Eugene and everyone from the Fifth Belshenk Battalion cheered the departing T34 tanks with a resounding, "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" The morning sun shone upon them. Chapter 193: Chapter 44 Prison (Extra for 20,000 monthly votes) To the east of Orachi City, in the forested positions. Grigori shouted to boost morale, "It''s just the artillery that''s gone! Get your Molotov cocktails ready! Tanks aren''t so scary, all you need to do is hit the rear deck!" As soon as he finished speaking, enemy tanks began their machine gun strafing runs. In reality, at this time the tanks were still more than five hundred meters away from the attacking formation and the woods, so the machine guns could only hit targets by chance. Especially since tank coaxial machine guns were not capable of precise aim, relying on tracer rounds to correct their trajectory. But as long as the machine gun bullets were ripping through the bark of the white birch trees and the wood shavings were still greeting the soldiers'' faces and falling into their cors, the machine gunfire was a huge blow to morale. The fifth Bieshensk was a unit that took a shortcut through the Guardian Army. Panic-stricken soldiers began to run out of the trenches, fleeing backward. Grigori switched off the safety on his submachine gun and with a short burst, he brought down two fleeing soldiers. "By the Tsar''smand! Deserters and turncoats are to be seen as traitors," he roared, "ording to the order, your families should all be implicated, but I am merciful and will only kill the traitors themselves! Stay in your original positions!" At that moment, an enemy Mark IV fired a shot, hitting the thickest white birch in the forest and breaking the trunk in two, with half of therge tree falling to the ground. Grigori dodged the tree trunk, but as he avoided it, two more deserters rushed out of the trench. Grigori fired at their backs, shouting as he shot, "Think carefully! You may survive if you keep resisting, but you''ll definitely die if you run!" Just then, from the other end of the position, cheers erupted, even overpowering the roar of the enemy tanks. Grigori looked over with confusion and saw tank number 422 weaving through therge fires and thick smoke of the artillery positions. The tank fired, the armor-piercing shell whistling through the forest and striking a Mark IV precisely. More T34s followed the 422, advancing and firing at the enemy as they went. The enemy, which had been aggressively advancing just moments before, suddenly stopped and began to reverse. It''s possible that these Prussian Tank Operators had already learned from the experiences shared by other units that they should keep their distance from the T34smost T34s were incredibly poor at hitting targets at long range. The retreat of the tank units caused the skirmish line following the tanks to also begin retreating. Seeing this, the T34 squadron crossed the woods and began chasing the enemy tanks. At this time, a recruit from the fifth Bieshensk asked, "Why is there someone standing behind every tank?" Before Grigori could answer, the lead tank, number 422, stopped, and the people on the engine covers of the other tanks opened the hatches and shouted something inside. Eventually, all the tanks stopped just past the treeline, firing at the retreating enemy. The Prussian tankers who had just been willing to exchange fire with the T34s finally released smoke and chose to retreat. In Orachi City, at the temporary headquarters of the 151st Division. "Okay, understood, you did well," Pavlov said as he put down the receiver, "The eastern side is also blocked. Two T34s had their turrets jammed, the enemy''s firing uracy is very high! Plus the ones just damaged by the Stukas, we now only have 6 intact T34s left." Wang Zhong: "Do all six have radios?" Pavlov shook his head: "No, the enemy tanks seem to be targeting the ones with radio antennas. They must already know that our standard tanks are without radios." Wang Zhong shook his head, no longer wanting toment on the weaknesses of the T34. Next year must get some Shermans, or even if not, some M3 Grant Lees would be good; those things are excellent as tank destroyers. At least every tank would have a radio. Pavlov: "The good news is that the offensive has paused, and half the day is already gone." Wang Zhong looked at his watch, only to realize it was already one o''clock in the afternoon. Just then, the phone rang again. Pavlovined, "It better not be the enemy attacking again." He picked up the receiver: "Division headquarters, go ahead. Understood." After hanging up the phone, Pavlov looked at Wang Zhong with a bitter expression: "The thing we feared the most has happened; the enemy has crossed the highway from the southwest and is circling around, it looks like they''re preparing tounch an offensive at the pasture as well." Wang Zhong also furrowed his brow: "We had a good n originally, digging tank emcements over there so our T34s could resist if the enemy attacked. But now there are only six intact T34s left." "The good news is that the workers are rushing to repair the T34s damaged on the side of hill 153." The tractor factory workers are saving my lifeWang Zhong sincerely thought. Pavlov: "But right now, only the minefields stand in the way of the enemy charging into the city. The good news is, our minefields are quite thick, the enemy will need to use artillery to clear a path, that''s probably going to take an hour or two to st, which means at least until three o''clock in the afternoon, we don''t have to worry about the pasture side. "But if the enemy deploys engineers to clear the mines with explosive charges, then the pasture side will be in trouble soon. "Generally, minefields need the protection of machine guns and anti-tank guns to prevent the enemy''s engineers from quickly clearing them. But..." Wang Zhong shook his head, interrupting the chief of staff, "The enemy can create smoke, you forgot." Pavlov looked at the ceiling, "Yeah, create smoke. The Prussians love doing that. It would be great if we could figure out something to see through their smoke." Thermal imaging, perhaps, but given Ante''s level of technology, it probably wouldn''t be that simple. On the other hand, the Prussians, who had Fritz X radio-controlled bombs from the start of the war, might develop technology faster than in the actual World War II. Damn, it wouldn''t be like that German game "Armored Legion 2", with Me 262s and Ho 229s filling the skies by ''43... That would be hell mode, only hope for a miracle from the heavenly army (US forces). Pavlov didn''t know what Wang Zhong was thinking, and continued his train of thoughts, "Anyhow, in no more than two hours, there will be defensive pressure from the direction of the pasture. And we''ve run out of troops." Just then, the telephone rang again, Pavlov muttered, "I hope it''s not bad news," and picked up the receiver, "Division headquarters, speak." The next moment, he handed the receiver to Wang Zhong, "It''s Popov." Wang Zhong took the call, "I am Rocossov, what''s going on?" "There are two more Guardian Army camps here at the church, should I send them somewhere?" Wang Zhong nced at Pavlov and decisively replied, "Send them to the pasture." Popov was shocked, "The pasture? Didn''t we say during the terrain survey that it''s not suitable for defense?" "Abandon the pasture, defend the houses and streets around the pasture." Popov, "Are you nning to have the Guardian Army fight street battles? They''ll get badly bullied by the enemy!" Wang Zhong, "Do you think I want that? The enemy has already deployed by the pasture, and there''s only a minefield stopping them. If we don''t send someone to defend this district, they''ll pierce through to our heart! Once we are cut off by the enemy in the center, all defense will be but empty talk!" Popov was silent for a second, then said, "Alright, I''ll send them to the pasture. "Besides, the Labor Camp is insistent that we arm them, they want to defend their hometown themselves." Wang Zhong, "Do they know how to use Molotov cocktails?" "Of course, we''ve been teaching them that for days." Wang Zhong further asked, "Do we have any surplus weapons?" "A fair number of MosinCNagants and some shotguns." While Popov spoke, Wang Zhong heard someone shouting from the other side of the line, "Just give us something that can kill!" Wang Zhong, "Issue them the guns, and if there are still people who want weapons after the supply runs out, let them specialize in throwing Molotov cocktails." Popov was silent for a few seconds, then replied, "I admit that I deliberately pushed this decision onto you, I didn''t expect you to make it so decisively." "Because I''ve seen hell," answered Wang Zhong, "I know what it takes to stop hell from descending." "You''re doing the right thing. I''ll arm the civilians now. By the way, I heard the artillery has stopped outside, how''s the situation?" "We have temporarily repelled the enemy''s assault, but the situation is worse than in the morning. We are surrounded, trapped." Wang Zhong spoke very calmly, as if stating something as routine as ordinary. Popov sensed this and chuckled, "I''ve been with your forces for less than a monthis it a month yet?" "Just arrived." "Yes, just arrived. And I already feel like being trapped and facing an enemy far more numerous than us is a normal thing. And that you''ll hold out as usual until the mission isplete." Wang Zhong was about to answer, to boast a little, but he changed his mind at thest minute. This time, it truly seemed impossible to hold out until the southwest Front Army could escape. The enemy''s second armored group would definitely bypass Orachi and begin their deadly sprint. The Southwest Front Army''s best evacuation route would be cut off, and he could only watch it all happen helplessly. The brother of this body, his father, and his dear friends would be encircled at Argesukov. In such a situation, Wang Zhong truly couldn''t afford to be brave anymore. Popov seemed to understand it all, "You''ve done everything you could, heroically resisted here for two days C this is the third day! I believe nobody could have done better than you." Wang Zhong, "Thank you. Arm the people, prepare for the worst." "I will. Over," said Popov as he hung up the phone. No sooner had Wang Zhong put down the receiver than the phone began to ring urgently again. He picked it up without hesitation, "I''m Rocossov, what is it?" Brother Peter''s voice came through in a panic from the other end, "Route 217! The sound of airnes is the same as the one Loktov threw that radio-controlled bomb fromst time, and there are two of them! Two! Two bombers carrying those kinds of huge bombs areing at us from high altitude!" Wang Zhong, "Are you sure?" "I''m certain, I set the acoustic array to narrow-beam mode, sacrificing coverage for performance, so I can hear very clearly, it''s Route 217! Just like the onest time that almost blew up your fiance! Exactly the same!" Wang Zhong went to the window and switched to bird''s-eye view mode, but could see no enemy aircraftBrother Peter had switched the sonic array to a different mode, alerting to more distant enemy aircraft. Atst, Wang Zhong spotted those two Route 217s, and saw the guided bombs suspended under their wings. The Fritz X! Chapter 194: Chapter 45 Nirvana The 55th Royal Bomber Squadron of the Prosen Royal Air Force, Squadron ten, was flying in formation towards their bombing target with two Do 217s. Inside the lead ne''s cockpit, the radio operator was calling ground forces, "Bald Eagle calling Wild Wolf, Bald Eagle calling Wild Wolf, please respond." After waiting a while and as he was about to call again, a response came through the radio, which could be heard throughout the ne via the inte. "This is Wild Wolf, go ahead." The radio operator nced at the squadronmander. Themander spoke, "Wild Wolf, please use the Panzer IV''s main tank gun to fire a Smoke Bomb and mark the priority targets. Bald Eagle out." There was silence for a few seconds before the reply came, "Understood. Marking priority targets, Wild Wolf out." Kluge''s face was somber as, although he had lostmand of the entire offensive, he was still the officer who understood the situation on the ground best, so coordinating with the Air Force had been left to him. Kluge made a gesture, and immediately a staff officer came over, "Yes, sir?" "Select the Panzer IV crew with the best gunnery skills to mark the 153 hignds with the Smoke Bomb. Aim for their artillery observation post if possible." "Yes, sir!" Inside the bombing formation''s lead ne, the observer reported, "There''s no sign of the marker Smoke, should we prompt them again?" The formationmander replied, "Patience, the ground forces are cumbersome. They''re like a big elephant; it takes time for information to travel from the brain to the toes. Not as quick as us in the Air Force." The pilot in the cockpitughed and said, "It''s really like that. The army is just like this, slow. We''ll have to wait. Right now, they''re at a loss against the Ante People''s new tanks, and can only rely on our bombers and anti-aircraft gun battalions." Themander smiled and said, "In the Carolingian campaign, the ground forces had only those little tanks that looked like toys. They needed dive bombers as soon as they encountered any solid bunkers. Back then, the sky was full of calls from the ground forces." Themander''s words were suddenly interrupted by the observer, "Marker Smoke sighted, please bank right!" The ne instantly tilted, and then the pilot said, "Marker Smoke confirmed, I''m going to make a turn." The Do 217 started to circle clockwise, finally aligning their heading with the marker smoke. The pilotmented, "There''s a southeast wind outside, the ne is a bit shaky." In fact, he didn''t need to say it, everyone in the cockpit could feel the ne shaking, causing thepass on themander''s map table to "walk" around, moving towards the edge of the table with each vibration until themander grabbed it just before it fell off. The observer said, "Heading is good, we''ll reach drop position in 20 seconds, final check!" The mechanic announced, "Guidance system is fine, racks normal! Ready for the drop!" The observer counted, "Ten seconds to the drop!" But suddenly, the gunner in the dorsal gun turret was hit, blood spraying back onto the side gunner sitting behind him. The side gunner yelled, "We''re under attack! We''re under attack!" Then bullets prated the steel te above his head, piercing directly through his skull and incidentally hitting the arm of themander and navigator sitting next to him. The pilot looked back in horror, and in that moment, the left wing of the aircraft was repeatedly hit, the stress structure instantly copsed, and the entire wing was torn off. A MiG-3 zoomed by the bomber with its cut wing, sparks shing from the exhaust ports on the cigar-shaped nose of the engine. Next to the MiG-3''s cockpit, a neat row of red stars was painted, each one representing a downed enemy ne. Surrounded by red stars, the pilot peered through his goggles at the disintegrating bomber with a smile on his lips. As the MiG-3 swept past, another Do 217 was hit, but this time the Ant Pilot''s work was not so precise; the bullets only perforated the tail of the Do 217, damaging the steering system and incidentally blowing off the left tail fin''s control surface. This wingman was unable to control its direction and traced an arc as it fell towards the ground. After the attack, the two MiG-3s quickly climbed to regain altitude. The lead ne rolled upside down; the cockpit canopy facing the ground as it carefully searched below for other worthy targets. Through the cockpit, one could see an entire squadron of IL-2 Sturmoviks flying low over the ins. The IL-2s formed a line, strafing the ground with their 23 mm cannons and machine guns while dropping 50 kg bombs as they flew over the earthsmall for aerial bombs but packed with explosive powerparable to heavy artillery shells. From above, the IL-2s flying in formation looked like plows turning over a field full of Prussians, with the dust from the bombs resembling upturned soil. General Moochi stood on a knoll south of Orachi, watching the sudden onught of the Ante Air Force. "So, Duke Meyer was boasting again, wasn''t he? When I received the report that Ante Air Force activity had increased, I thought it was mainly around the capital. Howe there are so many active Ante Air Forces here in the southwest?" The chief of staff shrugged, "Maybe they were transferred from the direction of the capital?" "No, the Ante People wouldn''t rx their protection of the capital." General Moochi was silent for a few seconds before adding, "It''s probably just the Air Force bragging; they didn''t inflict as much damage on the Ante Air Force as they imed. They certainly haven''t destroyed 3,000 nes on the ground." Chief of Staff: "After all, it''s the Air Force. It''s normal for them." Moochi clicked his tongue, "With the Air Force''s mess, I guess the next offensive will have to be postponed, right?" "I''ll go and confirm." With that, the chief of staff turned and walked towards the radiomunications vehicle. General Moochi stood with his hands behind his back on the hillock, gazing at the city of Orachi that he had relegated to "the rear." Beside him, the Prussian armored units in marching columns were passing continuously, pushing southward. About fifteen minutester, the chief of staff returned, "The losses for all units are not as big as we feared, but it''s true that time is needed to reorganize the offensive." General Moochi: "Then let''s start with a heavy artillery bombardment of Orachi, keep it up until midnight." "Midnight?" "Of course. In the era of trench warfare, it wasmonce to have fire preparations thatsted for days. Why make a fuss when it''s only till evening? The preparation area is not just the urban district, but also those troublesome woods around it. "The enemy''s heavy artillery must be hidden in the woods, there''s no need to put in the effort to locate them, just level them. Turn the whole forest upside down." The chief of staff turned his head and gave some specific operational instructions to the staff, and then asked General Moochi, "When do we attack then?" "We''ll attack as soon as the fire preparation isplete, of course." "At midnight? A night attack?" The chief of staff eximed in surprise. General Moochiughed: "Don''t worry, by dawn, the entire city will serve as our light for the attack. The entire city will burn, bright as day. "What ''White Horse General'', what ''defensive genius'', humph!" The general smiled: "With such a disparity in force that drives one to despair, what significance does individual talent bear? Let him wither away here. I''ll include him in my memoirs, along with that ''genius'' of a tank bunker." Having said that, General Moochi turned and walked toward hismand vehicle: "We continue to advance, tonight we will camp at Meishikin!" At zero hour in the early morning of August 6th. Wang Zhong rose from the ground and looked out of the window: "Has it finally stopped?" Outside the window, the mes painted everything red. Wang Zhong: "Guard! Go see what''s caught fire!" The guard came in and reported, "General, everything''s caught fire! The whole city is burning!" Pavlov was about to speak when he heard the rumbling of engines: "Ours? No, we don''t have that many engines. The enemy''s? An armored night attack?" Wang Zhong looked out of the window, feeling goosebumps forming on the back of his neck: "No, this isn''t a night attack, the fire has turned everything into daylight!" Ludm had just woken up from unconsciousness when she heard the sound of engines. She looked outside and saw Prosen tanks advancing along the highway that passed through the city, their headlights on, pushing toward the city. "Natalia! Donya!" she called out loudly to the nuns and the Guardian Army assigned to her, "Are you all right?" No one responded. Ludm turned to look for the Divine Arrow and itsuncher, then realized that half of the attic she was in had been destroyed. Divine Arrow, nuns, and Guardian Army were nowhere to be seen. At that moment, she heard the voices of the Guardian Army defending downstairs: "Prayer Hand Miss, flee quickly! We''ll hold off the enemy with the machine gun! Head to the church headquarters!" Ludm got up, picked up a Mosin-Nagant rifle from the floor, and staggered through the attic door, running down the stairs. By the time she reached the first floor, the machine gun had already opened fire. The Guardian Army, seeing her descending, shouted, "Take the back door! Keep running along the main road! You''re more important than us! Go, quickly!" Ludm nodded and dashed towards the back door. The moment she burst onto the street, she heard the sound of a tank gun behind her. The machine gun fire immediately died down. Ludm frantically began to run, and after taking five or six steps, she heard the machine gun firing again, like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, holding back the enemy forces. She turned back but found that the buildings blocked her view, and she couldn''t see those brave gunners. She could only keep running. Wang Zhong used the phones that were still working to check the situation and made an immediate decision: "We can''t hold this position, it''s meaningless to try. The enemy''s main force has bypassed us and is heading south." Pavlov: "How to break out? With the current situation..." Wang Zhong: "No, the enemy''s night attack has actually given us an opportunity. If they were simply surrounding us not attacking, I wouldn''t know which way to go. They''re now attacking the city, and even with the big fires illuminating, they will fall into chaos. In fact, the fire itself is a source of chaos." In such chaos, if someone could highlight all the enemy positions, knowing where they are, that person would have a great advantage. Of course, it''s not enough to annihte the enemy, but creating confusion among them to enable an escape from the encirclement should be no problem. Wang Zhong began to issue orders: "Vasily! Alert Panzer 422; if it isn''t broken, it must get to the headquarters'' entrance at all costs!" Vasily didn''t ask questions and started the call immediately. Wang Zhong: "Signal corps, send a message to Duke Meishikin, saying we''re preparing to break out in the confusion and hope the duke can provide some sort of interceptionjust hoping. After sending that message, destroy the radio and burn the codebook. "All headquarters personnel, whether they are clerks, staff officers, or even cooks, must arm themselves!" Wang Zhong paused because he saw Nelly enter, carrying a Mosin-Nagant that was taller than her. He spouted offhandedly: "It goes well with your boat-shaped cap." Nelly smiled. At that moment, Vasily eximed, "I''ve contacted Panzer 422, they''re on their way! Apanied by six T34s!" Wang Zhongughed, "Good! Everyone! It''s not the time for noble sacrifice yet. See you in Shepetovka!" Chapter 195: Chapter 46 Fire and Sword Grigori pulled the bay out of the enemy''s body and looked around. The city behind him was on fire, and the Prussian tanks in front of him were also on fire. The artillery positions were on fire, the forest was on fire. Grigori held the long bay as if he were a knight with a sword, facing the soaring mes. At this moment, a messenger riding a horse came galloping from the city: "The whole army is to break out to the north! Leave enough ammunition for the seriously wounded! The whole army is to break out to the north! Leave enough ammunition for the seriously wounded!" Grigori said in a deep voice, "You heard that." His voice, like the sound of the mother river, wasn''t loud, yet no one could ignore it, easily piercing through the crackling mes. Grigori: "Those who can walk, stand up; those who can''t, please raise your handswe still have grenades at least." In the piles of corpses in the forest, quite a few people stood up one after another, each looking like a demon back from hell. Grigori: "They will not treat the seriously wounded, and those who stay don''t need to worry too much; we will soon join you. Very soon." At that moment, an explosion sounded from the artillery position behind them, startling many, with some even dropping down to the ground. Grigori: "Don''t be scared, that''s just the artillerymen blowing up the heavy guns, since we can''t let the enemy capture them and fire at us. When they blow up the ammunitionter, there will be a big firework show! But only those who stay will get to see it. "Living people, follow me! Let''s go!" Grigori, obviously not a morale booster since he only had a tenth-grade education, yet his figure was persuasive and couldmand the respect of old soldiers who had survived hell. A line of people passed through the forest, handing grenades to every seriously wounded soldier who reached out their hands. On height 153. The Prussians'' night attack had been repelled. Colonel Eugene dragged an empty ammunition box over to use as a stool, stabbing the miner''s pick, covered in blood and brain matter, into the ground. A machine gun roared beside him, pouring fire on the retreating Prussian Army. Most of the machine gun emcements on height 153 had been destroyed by continuous heavy artillery bombardment, leaving only the regimental headquarters fortification with a roof, which is why it became the most intense battleground at dawn. Captain Andrei also pulled over an ammunition box to sit on and stuck his bloodied sapper''s shovel next to him, saying to Colonel Eugene, "The sapper''s shovel is more useful than that thing; its sharp edge cuts a Prussian ghost down with every shovel." Colonel Eugene took out a cigarette and, while fumbling for a match, answered, "I''m not used to it. This fellow works well for me; I know exactly how to wield it with less effort and how to smash solid rock. Where are my matches?" Captain Andrei took out matches and struck one, leaning in. Colonel Eugene lit his cigarette, took a deep drag, leaned back against a cracked wall, let out a long breath, and then asked, "What does the division headquarters say?" Captain Andrei turned to nce at the phone, with the receiver broken in half: "Don''t know, the phone lines must be cut now, and with gunfire still in the city, I guess it''ll be a while before a signal corpsmanes to fix it." Colonel Eugene nodded. Just then, the machine-gun fire stopped, and the colonel asked, "What happened?" "Can''t see those Prussian devils anymore," the gunner said. "It''s too dark; I was just shooting bursts whenever I saw something move." "Let it be; your gun barrel is smoking hot. Quickly change the cooling water," Captain Andrei said. The machine gunner and his assistant quickly pulled the gun back and began changing the cooling water. Colonel Eugene watched them work, asking, "What happens next? Should we send someone to make contact with division headquarters?" "Might as well ask the tank crews if they still have a working radio." Right after he spoke, Major Olof entered: "We''ve received a radio callthe division headquarters has decided to break out to the north, ordering all units to destroy equipment, burn documents, and leave enough ammunition for the immobile seriously wounded." Colonel Eugene: "Is this telling the seriously wounded to cover our retreat? Isn''t that a bit..." Captain Andrei: "The enemy will kill our wounded without treatment. Because we are considered inferior people, unworthy of wasting precious medicine. If they treat you, it''s to show the mercy of a superior race." Colonel Eugene didn''t answer; instead, he just clenched the cigarette in his mouth and took a heavy puff. The tip of the cigarette brightened, turning most of it quickly to ash. Then Colonel Eugene threw the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out. The big puff made his nostrils spout white smoke like a bubbling kettle for quite a while before it stopped. He then stood up, leaning on his miner''s pick, leaving the bunker with weary steps, walking along the trench to see the almost entirely wounded soldiers. "Soldiers! The division headquarters has given the order to breakout. Two kinds of people can stay here: those who are already dead and those who are about to die. "They say the Prussians won''t treat the seriously wounded well, but we have no strength to take you with us, so we can only leave you with enough bullets and grenades. "I am a miner! I can''t predict the course of war, so I can''t assure you that we will definitely win. The only thing I can do is tell you what I used to say to my fellow miners." Colonel Eugene paused because he saw a severely wounded soldier sitting in the trench, calmly watching him. The colonel patted the soldier''s shoulder: "Thisnd treats everyone equally; it produces milk to nourish us, and, in the end, it will also be the final resting ce for each of us. "Do not consider being buried in the mines a sad affair; Kazarlia''s ck earth is like a mother, and you are just returning to the embrace of your mother." The soldier in front of the colonel suddenly hummed a song, an ancient one. A song almost every Kazarlian knew. It told of a time long ago, when riders on the ck earth resisted conquerors from distantnds. They galloped across the grasnds, fell in the trial of fire and sword, and now sleep in the dark soil of their homnd. Their bodies were buried beneath the wild grass, swept into the Mother River. And that great river, called the Mother River, flowed on in silence. To the north of the city, the sound of gunfire merged into one, clearly the enemy infantry intended to take the forest position by night. Additionally, there was gunfire from both the east and west sides of the city, with the most intense gunfireing from the direction of the pastures. The two battalions of the Guardian Army had obviously encountered the enemy. Wang Zhong stepped out of the headquarters to see the stables had been destroyed, but Bucephalus was unharmed, still munching on the scattered hay below. Wang Zhong pointed at the horse, "Saddle it up! Let the lightly wounded ride!" No sooner had he spoken than tank number 422 drove into the yard of the division headquarters, its outer armor scarred, and its g on the antenna reduced to half. The driver''s hatch was nowhere to be seen, and Beliyakov''s head was exposed, grinning when he saw Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong hopped onto the tank, turned to pull Nelly up, then climbed into his exclusive position atop the turret. He had just put on the headset when he heard Alexandria say, "You finally made it, I''ve been run ragged, being a gunner is far easier." Wang Zhong didn''t answer him but shouted to the bustling crowd in the division headquarters, "Let the lightly wounded and women get on the tanks! Give all vehicles to the women!" A woman beneath shouted, "We can walk! Let the lightly wounded sit!" "Right!" "General, you should let the lightly wounded sit!" Nelly, upon hearing she should get off, was seized by Wang Zhong, "Let the children ride the tanks and cars then! And the praying hands, the ears of the Monk!" Nelly, "I''m not a child." "You stay put," Wang Zhong said. This time, no one objected to Wang Zhong''s proposal, and all the children of the city were put onto the tanks. The city''s only surviving children. Some of the children held submachine guns, already bearing the expressions of warriors. At that moment, a thought struck Wang Zhong''s heart, and he turned to ask, "Has anyone seen Liu XiaCaptain Ludm Vasilyevna?" No one responded. Pavlov also came out of the headquarters, tossing a pile of documents into a burning fire, "Damn, we spent so much time making these reports, and they have to be redone. Professor! Where are you going?" He grabbed the only level-six clerk of the headquarters. The old man turned around, "It''s the educationalmissar! And now you should call me by my rank! My rank!" "Alright, colonel, where are you heading?" The old man, "To get weapons!" Pavlov picked up a Tokarev from a guard and handed it to the old man, "Alright, follow the troop, my professor!" "It''s colonel! Where''s the troop?" Pavlov pointed towards the troop of the headquarters lining up. The old man then strode off briskly, not at all like an elder. Pavlov, "General! You have to lead the way! Let''s move!" Wang Zhong nodded and pressed the transmitter on his throat, "Move out! Beliyakov, follow my directions! Let''s give the enemies in the city a taste of their own medicine!" "Are you sure you want to take so many children with you to fight the enemy?" "Don''t worry, we''ll crush the enemy quickly," Wang Zhong replied confidently. The tank charged out of the division headquarters'' courtyard, speeding down the streets turned red by the mes. Suddenly, a figure dashed out front, the silver-white hair sparkling under the firelight. Wang Zhong, "Liu Xia! Over here!" Ludm spotted the tank and ran over, then got pulled up by the children on the vehicle. As soon as she entered the turret, she nted an enthusiastic kiss on Wang Zhong. Huh? Is this...appropriate? Tears marked the corners of Ludm''s eyes, and after the lengthy kiss, she said, "Enemy tanks have entered the city from the northeast, the Guardian Army is fighting fiercely with them! Hurry to reinforce! The Guardian Army needs backup!" Wang Zhong took Ludm by the shoulders, "We''re about to break out. A breakout requires a rearguard." Ludm paused, "Huh? You... you''re abandoning them? Like Loktov did?" This time, Wang Zhong replied with certainty, "This is to preserve more of the forces. These are troops that have emerged from the trial of fire and sword; they must be saved. One day, this spark will be the ze that consumes the Prosen Empire." He offered no further exnation, and tank number 422 did not stop moving. Chapter 196: Chapter 47 Reinforcements (Extra for 21,000 monthly votes) The church, Popov stepped out of the cathedral and said to the people gathered around, "The main force is now ready to break out! They will attract the enemy''s attention, and we, along with the choir, will push through from different directions and meet them at Shepetovka!" "Those willing to follow the main force, head over to headquarters; you might catch the tail end. But under the current circumstances, even the main force may not be able to break out." "Separated, the enemy might ignore us because we''re militias andborers!" Someone in the crowd shouted, "What about the Guardian Army still fighting?" Popov, "When ites down to meleebat with the Prussian Infantry, their chances are slim. With the Guardian Army''s level of training and organization, there is virtually no chance of them retreating in an orderly manner from in front of the enemy. "I''ve been through the same thing in Loktov. Once the Guardian Army makes contact with the Prussians in the city, there are only two oues: First, maintain the will to fight until thest moment. Second, lose the will to fight and flee en masse, only to be killed by the Prussians. "Only a few will manage to escape." Popov paused, then continued, "If the situation is so bad that the Guardian Army must engage the enemy face to face, it means the regr army is nearly finished, and that is the current scenario. So we can only hope that the Guardian Army''s fighting spirit will hold until we break out of the encirclement, dying the enemy as long as possible. "Such is war. If anyone is dissatisfied, you cany down your weapons and go back homeafter all, you''re not in uniform. As for what the Prussians will do after they upy this ce, all I can say is good luck. "Those unwilling to ce their fate in the enemy''s mercy, follow me!" Popov drew his pistol, "Move out!" Stroking his rosary, Su Fang silently prayed, "Saint Andrew protect us," then followed in Popov''s footsteps with the choir. August 6, 0230 hours, Shepetovka. Duke Meishikin coughed violently. An orderly quickly came to pat his back and meanwhile brought him a cup of hot coffee. The Duke stopped coughing, took a sip of coffee, and then let out a long sigh of relief. He then turned to Major General Skudzheski,mander of the Tenth Tank Corps, "General...Your Excellency, may I ask how is the preparation for your troops'' strike going?" Duke Meishikin was polite to everyone, even to his subordinates, and everyone had be ustomed to it. Skudzheski, "We started preparation for the offensive yesterday at 2020 hours, and now we are ready to depart at any time." "Very good," the Duke of Meishikin coughed once again, but this time he didn''t continue relentlessly, "We have received a distress telegram from the 151st Infantry Division in Orachi, and we can now be sure that the enemy''s main forces from the Second Armored Group have moved southward." Skudzheski, delighted, said, "Then we strike straight ahead!" "No, no," the enemy has certainly prepared their defenses at the front. Although breaking through the enemy''s front lines and cutting off the Second Armored Group''s supply line seems very tempting, no, we cannot do that. "It''s not possible, to be precise. I have fully experienced our tank army''s offensive capabilities... and I don''t wish to experience it again." Skudzheski frowned, "Then what do you mean?" Duke Meishikin stepped up to the map, "Between us and Orachi, there are only a few enemy defense positions. Clearly, the enemy is more worried about their supply lines being cut off than us rescuing General Rokossovsky''s 151st Infantry Division. "Look, three highways converge at Orachi into an inverted ''Y'' shape. The enemy only has defenses on the vertical line, and although there are troops between us and Orachi, those troops have their attention solely on Orachi. "If your tank army sets out now and speeds along the highway, you will strike the enemy unexpectedly." Skudzheski frowned, "You mean we should not deploy in an attack formation?" "Yes, that''s exactly the point of surprise. You could even turn on your tank''s headlights, charge up to the enemy, and then fire res before butchering them." "Would that work?" Skudzheski frowned, "If we were equipped with T34s, it would be okay; in the chaos, the enemy wouldn''t be able to prate our armor. But we have only BT series tanks!" Duke Meishikinughed, "That''s the beauty of BTs. T34s might not have such an element of surprise. This is a nighttime sprint, and I will assign you an infantry regiment to ride on the tanks. "That way, you will look even more like a troop on the move, and in the pitch darkness, the enemy won''t be able to make out the contours of the tanks." Skudzheski: "But the enemy knows their troops wouldn''t being from this direction..." Duke Meishikin interrupted him, "Theirmanders might know, but what about the rank and file? Even the Prussian Army couldn''t possibly have every low-ranking officer clued in on the overall situation. "Besides, the enemy has been rushing south these past few days; they''re all tired. Trust me, Skudzheski! In five minutes, I will order the artillery to fire, a bombardment that willst two hours. During that time, you have to hurry through. The artillery will only cover the enemy positions on both sides of the highway. "Once you''re past, the infantry units will begin their attack." Skudzheski nodded, "Alright, I trust you. Then I''m off." Duke Meishikin: "Remember, whether in terms of training or equipment, you are no match for the Prussians'' armored units. This is merely a rescue mission, to extricate as many of the 151st Division''s survivors as possible. Once they''ve passed, return to Shepetovka. "I will order the infantry units to advance along the highway to rendezvous with youit''s a pick-up for the pick-up units. General Rokossovsky has managed to hold Orachi with so few troops for so long, he''s a true expert in defensive warfare. I believe he will be of great use in the future. "We may have to conduct strategic defense for another year or even two, and he is of the utmost importance to us. Utmost!" Skudzheski saluted, "I will ensure the mission ispleted." Having said that, he turned and left themand post. Perhaps it was due to rxation, but Duke Meishikin began to cough violently again. His Military Bishop said worriedly, "You should be careful with your health. After all, you have just returned from convalescing in Liechtenstein..." Meishikin waved his hand dismissively, "The mountain air being effective for my condition isplete nonsense. I was there for two years, and there was no improvement. Of course, the air there is fresher and the scenery is pleasant, which did lift my spirits. But that''s about it, a lifted spirit." The Chief of Staff said, "Sometimes, a lifted spirit itself can improve one''s condition..." "How can I feel cheerful in this situation? Since we''re bound to die, I choose to die on the battlefield," Duke Meishikin coughed a few times, then nced at the seat clock in the corner, "Time''s up, let the artillery begin." The Chief of Staff picked up the phone, "This is the Chief of Staff, start ording to n." The st wave swept over everyone on top of Tank No. 422 the moment it fired. Nelly pressed her boat-shaped hat down with her hand, practically hiding behind the turret. Ludm had already lost her hat, she was sitting half on the turret, her whole body leaning against Wang Zhong. About a hundred meters away at the crossroads, the enemy''s tank caught fire, the tank operators popped open the hatches and scrambled out, rolling on the ground to extinguish the mes. Wang Zhong manned the anti-aircraft machine gun, ending their agony. "Machine gunner! Set up the machine gun at this crossroads, block it! Leave a traffic conductor to guide the main force!" After issuing orders to the infantry unit beside him, Wang Zhong immediately pressed the microphone again, "Load high-explosive shells, let''s copse the houses ahead and block the enemy''s path!" Ludm heard someone shout from inside the hatch, "High-explosive shell, okay!" The next moment, the cannon fired, and the st tore at Ludm''s silver hair. The half-building behind the destroyed tank was hit, and as the supporting pirs were sted away, it copsed sideways, immediately blocking most of the road. The Prussians courageously crossed the intersection, only to be cut down by the tank and the newly set up machine gun. The next moment, the enemy used their favorite smoke. Wang Zhong, "Aim at the breakpoint in the smoke, the enemy is also human, they also feel fear!" The infantry machine gunner immediately did as told, continuously firing short bursts into the smoke with the "big-pan chicken," and indeed no new enemies came through. Wang Zhong, "Beliyakov, turn left, we continue to clear the way!" The tank turned around. Seeing this, the other tanks hurriedly followed suit, and the column of tanks resumed its progress through the city. Wang Zhong, "Turn left at the crossroads ahead." Ludm looked at Wang Zhong in surprise, "Do you know this city so well?" Wang Zhong, "I''m amander, I know every road in this city." As the tank passed an apartment building, a woman with several children stood at the entrance, looking coldly at the tank column. Wang Zhong, "Stop!" Beliyakov immediately hit the brakes. Wang Zhong, "Madam! Let the children get on! You can follow the troops!" The woman held her head high, "My ancestors were Prussians!" Nelly, "A spy! Why didn''t the Judge execute her?" While the little boy also on the tank raised his submachine gun, "Let me kill her!" Wang Zhong, "No, the Prussians won''t let him go, let her reap what she sows. Beliyakov, move forward!" Tank No. 422 started moving again. Tank after tank passed by the woman, followed by trucks, ox carts, and the marching infantry column. Everyone looked at the family. The woman held her head high, disying the arrogance of a superior race looking down upon an inferior race. No one knew whether her ancestors were Prussians, but she herself was probably a true Prussian. After finally leaving the city, Ludm breathed a sigh of relief and turned her head to Wang Zhong, "You don''t seem worried at all, as if you know whether or not there are enemies ahead!" Wang Zhong, "Nonsense, how could I possibly know? I only have a hundred percent confidence in eliminating the enemy, that''s all. To be honest, if the enemy surrounds us and doesn''t attack, I''m not sure how we''d break out." As soon as he finished speaking, Infantry Group 31 hidden in the forest shouted, "The General! Is that the General?" Wang Zhong, "It''s me! How are things?" The next moment, a group of people stood up in the forest. Beliyakov stopped advancing without waiting for Wang Zhong''s order. A lieutenant-colonel ran up to the tank, saluted, "We''ve repelled the enemy''s night assault; over a hundred of us from our battalion are left, all here." Wang Zhong, "You''ve worked hard. I''ll lead the way, and you follow and retreat!" The lieutenant-colonel saluted and turned away. Wang Zhong, "Beliyakov, move forward!" Chapter 197: Chapter 48 Racing Towards Dawn (Extra for 22,000 monthly votes) After leaving Orachi, the situation greatly deviated from Wang Zhong''s expectations. There were no enemies on either side of the road; all of them were encamped more than a hundred meters away from the road. Why? Not only were there no people on either side of the road, but also the viges along the road had no enemy presence, the empty viges were like ghost towns. As Wang Zhong puzzled over this, the Prussians encamped away from the road seemed to have noticed them and shouted something from a distance. Wang Zhong turned his head to ask Ludm, "What are they yelling?" The girl furrowed her brows, "It seems like they''re reminding us that the Ante Army likes to bombard the highways and viges at night, warning us to be careful." Wang Zhong was rmed, "But my artillery has already left their positions, the cannons are destroyed!" Ludm spread her hands, "Perhaps the Prussians forgot to pass this information on to other units." Wang Zhong was utterly astonished: Had he groped around in the dark several times only to find a miraculous path? This was indeed hitting the jackpot. Wang Zhong suddenly couldn''t suppress hisughter. Ludm looked at him, then exchanged a nce with Nelly. If possible, Wang Zhong wanted to issue orders to advance silently, but now the entire organization of the 151st Division was almostpletely disrupted, and even if he used the radio to send orders, it would not be possible to sessfully reach every unit. Moreover, using the radio now might rm the Prussian forces on both sides of the road. In any case, only distant gunfire was heard, so the troops that had fled the city were probably not detected. As for how many units had actually made it out, that would have to wait until they regrouped at Shepetovka to count heads. Such a retreat was bound to lead to disarray, and the current state of the 151st Division could be described, using the words of "The Great Battle," as a "three-dimensional tumbling retreat." He had the feeling that nothing major would happen before dawn. The problem was after dawn. At the speed of the T34s, if they were to race at full speed, they should arrive at Shepetovka by tomorrow morning, but around four a.m., the sky would start to lighten. At that time, the Prussian forces on both sides of the road would not be as oblivious to them as they were now. More to the point, the few who could rush ahead in tanks were in the minority; the main force of the 151st Division was on foot, which, if spotted by the enemy''s armored units on the main road not to mention armored units, even being discovered by arge number of semi-tracked armored grenadier units would be troublesome. The machine guns on the half-tracked vehicles were not to be trifled with, and the same went for the machine guns assigned to the enemy infantry squads. Thinking of this, Wang Zhong''s recently rxed mood instantly turned serious. Maybe it''s not a good idea to just run wildly? Perhaps they should strike the enemy first and throw them into chaos? But the only reliable force he had on hand was six T34 tanks. That there were six was thanks to the mercy of the tank engines'' souls for not breaking down until now. After all the trouble tonight, it wouldn''t be surprising if the six tanks broke down at any moment their motors were out of hours. Apart from the enemy on the steppes, the enemy''s Air Force would be deadly after dawn. Now, with no trees in sight, Wang Zhong, looking from a bird''s-eye view, could see that even in the middle of the night, the six tanks were very conspicuous. Moreover, the highway they were on was in such bad condition; it was just a ttened dirt road, and the tanks stirred up clouds of dust as they moved. It was only because there was a new moon and no moonlight that the dust clouds weren''t too visible. Once it was light, the billowing dust would be visible to airnes flying at altitudes of six or seven thousand meters. Damn it, the more he thought about it, the more worried he became. He didn''t know whether they would receive Air Force support from the Grand Duchess after dawn. The most crucial point was, the Grand Duchess might not know that the 151st Division had abandoned Orachi; perhaps Air Force support would still head straight for Orachi. Wang Zhong''s brows twisted into knots. Ludm, watching beside him, had the look of wanting to console him but dared not interrupt his thoughts. August 6th, Argesukov, within the Rocossov Duke''s manor. Old Duke Rocossov had only been asleep for two hours when he was woken up by the hurried footsteps the Duke was old, his sleep light, the slightest disturbance would awaken him. He sat up, intending to turn on his bedsidemp, but then remembered the ckout restrictions; the power district had cut the electricity to the urban area. At that moment, the old butler Mikhail entered, holding a candlestick, its light illuminating the bedroom: "Master, the second young master has abandoned Orachi and broken through." Old Rocossov was shocked, "Which way did he break through?" "Shepetovka! And he also sent a telegram requesting support from Duke Meishikin." The old man heaved a sigh of relief, "That''s good then. He held on for less time than I thought!" "ording to intelligence passed back from Front Army headquarters by the eldest son, the enemy''s second armored Army Group''s main force attacked Orachi." "The main force of the second armored Army Group? Is the information reliable?" The old Duke raised his voice again. "Yes, now the enemy''s armored Army Group main force has crossed Orachi and advanced 30 kilometers to the south." The old Duke hurried to the map table in his bedroom. The old butler immediately followed with the candlestick to provide illumination. "Thirty kilometers..." Old Rocossov wore a serious expression, "This is bad, Alyosha might not be in immediate trouble, but now the danger is upon us. The First Army Group to the south is moving so quickly, and now the Second Army Group is speeding up too. We will be encircled within a week, and this is thest window of opportunity to retreat." The old butler didn''t speak, waiting for the old duke to sort out his thoughts. Pacing near the map table, the old duke walked a fewps, then said, "Even if Alyosha makes it out, it will be very dangerous during the day tomorrow." The old butler couldn''t help but say, "You just mentioned that we are the ones in danger now." "Oh, our danger is unavoidable, but Alyosha''s side, we can make an effort. How many air force units does the Front Army still have?" The unitsmanded by Ante''s Front Army included the Air Force, which was different from the Prosen "Army Group." Themander of the Front Army could also direct the Air Force under hismand and give them instructions. "There are three fighter squadrons left, all newly transferred." the old butler said, "The source of the signal..." "Never mind the source of the signal, I need to make a phone call. Bring me the phone." The old butler ced the candle on the table and fetched the telephone from the desk, handing the receiver to the old man. The old man picked up the receiver, "Connect me to the Front Army headquarters. This is General Rocossovsky, please put the chief of staff of the Front Army on the line... General Skorobo, are you still insisting on your opinion? Retreat immediately! What? His Majesty the Tsar won''t allow it?" With a twist of his mouth, the old man cursed, "Suka! Oh no, no, I didn''t call you specifically to order a retreat, but my second son is retreating to Shepetovka, could you provide some air cover for him? You''re covering tomorrow''s offensive? Towards where are youunching the attack? "Nonsense! It''s not the old days anymore, don''t you know the oue when infantry attacks on the ins? The enemy has machine guns in every infantry squad! Each one has them! Do you realize how terrible the density of frontal machine guns is? "No, I think that regardless of whether you send air support or not, the infantry attack will fail. We should be retreating now, while the jaws of the trap are still open. Retreat doesn''t need artillery fire, doesn''t need an offensive formation, just the rapid patter of feet will do. "You..." Suddenly, the old man pulled the receiver away and stared at it with furrowed brows: "The bastard hung up on me! Hung up on me!" The old butler suggested, "Shall we try calling Lieutenant General Andreyev of the Air Force?" "No, I have retired, and it wouldn''t be right to interfere excessively with the militarymand of active personnel." After hesitating momentarily, the old butler still said, "In that case, you should leave Argesukov, while the airport is still able to handle passenger nes. Your staying here is of no help..." Old Rocossov smiled, "No, no, Mikhail, my old friend, I can''t leave. I have the most important thing to do here. Very, very important. In fact, calling the Air Force for Alyosha and such, are merely icing on the cake. It''s not my main purpose." Frowning, the old butler said, "I don''t understand, even after serving you for so many years, I still don''tprehend..." "You don''t have to understand, or maybe you will in time." Old Rocossov sat down on a chair, leaned back, and stared at the ceiling: "Now let me pray that Alyosha can escape to safety. That''s all I can do now." Wang Zhong suddenly saw headlights on the road ahead! Oh no, the enemy! He switched to the overhead view and noticed there were no highlights. It was friendly BT tanks, each carrying infantry. Wang Zhong was overjoyed, then it dawned on him, thest time he encountered friendly forces at night like this, he had been fired upon by them. So he hurriedly adjusted the microphone at his throat and turned on the radio to call out, "This is General White Horseit''s General Rocossov! Calling the approaching friendly forces." He suddenly remembered that he had not arranged any call signs with the approaching friendly forces. Simply saying General White Horse might not make the person on the other end realize who it was. He didn''t have to wait long, the response came through his earphones, "This is Major General Skudzheski of the Tenth Tank Army, Lieutenant General Rocossov? Where are you?" Wang Zhong temporarily turned off the radio: "Beliyakov, turn on the headlights." The order was executed without hesitation. Tank 422''s headlights flicked on, brightly illuminating the road ahead. "I''ve turned on the lights, can you see them?" "I see them, General... how did you know we aren''t Prussians?" Because I have a unique trick... unfortunately, I can''t reveal it. Wang Zhong responded, "I was just trying it out, had you not responded, I would have started firing!" "Good thing you called us first and didn''t fire right away. We''ll see you soon, Your Excellency!" "See you soon!" Wang Zhong cut themunication. Ludm asked with concern, "Are the forces up ahead friendly?" "Yes, they''re troops from the Tenth Tank Army. It must be because Duke Meishikin ordered them toe meet us! Since the Prussians are all camping far from the road, they managed to safely make their way here!" Momentster, Tank 422 screeched to a halt on the dirt road. The approaching BT tanks also stopped, with both tanks nearly colliding. Wang Zhong climbed out of the hatch, leapt excitedly from the tank, approached, and shook the hand extended by the Major General from the other side. "We''ve finally caught up with you," chuckled the Major General. "Duke Meishikin ordered us to rescue youat all costs!" Chapter 198: Chapter 49 Iron Stream Wang Zhong: "Thank you for the concern, Duke. Although we did request support in our telegram, we never expected to encounter the relief troops so soon." "We didn''t expect it either. We were nning on fighting a night battle against the enemy, but unexpectedly, they stayed away from the highway encampments all along the way. As we marched, we set up defensive positions along the roadside, and that''s how we managed to rush over here." Skudzheski scratched his head, "Why didn''t the enemy encamp by the roadside?" Wang Zhong, feigning innocence, said, "Indeed, why is that?" But he quickly recalled his recent worries and added, "We still have arge number of troopsgging behind, including themon folk from Orachi who can''t move quickly. Once daylight breaks, they will be annihted by the enemies on either side of the road." Skudzheskiughed, "Don''t worry, we''ll help you. As long as we rush the enemy into a dizzy state, they won''t have the chance to attack your people. We didn''t provoke the enemy earlier to meet up with you as quickly as possible, but now we can finally clean up those Prosen bastards to our heart''s content. I''ve been holding back for too long." After saying this, he saluted Wang Zhong, "Please head to Shepetovka as quickly as possible. We''re about to strike at the enemy and cause as much chaos in their ranks as we can." Wang Zhong returned the salute, "Good luck to you." Skudzheski: "I prefer to hear ''Saint Andrew be with you''." Wang Zhong: "Saint Andrew be with you." Skudzheski gave Wang Zhong a grin, climbed onto his own tank, and ordered through the radio: "All units, off the road, make way for the 151st Division''s troops and the Orachi civilians, the first battalion to follow me off the road to the left, the second battalion to the right, and so on!" "We''re about to give the enemy a heavy blow, rejoice!" After the order was given, the first battalion of the 10th Tank Army''s BT tanks uniformly veered off the road and charged toward the enemy encampment in the distance. The second battalion turned off the road to the right from Wang Zhong''s perspective, to the left and charged at the enemies there. Wang Zhong: "Pass the order, the remaining tanks are to guide the advance, engage any enemy units that obstruct, and ensure the safety of the infantry and civilians!" The messenger rode off on his horse, and Wang Zhong said to the driver of tank 422, "Beliyakov, leave the road, drive onto the side mud." Themand was immediately executed, and tank 422 left the road. The tanks following behind quickly surpassed it, and themander who was also the gunner saluted Wang Zhong and tank 422 while passing by. Ludm, puzzled, asked, "Why are we stopping by the roadside?" Wang Zhong responds, "I want to see my troops, to see what a mess my hard-earned forces are in now." Ludm gently stroked Wang Zhong''s head: "Don''t me yourself too much, you''ve fought well. We faced down at least three enemy tank divisions, held out for three days, and even managed to break out. Isn''t that enough to be proud of?" Wang Zhong: "Until Prosenia falls, I have nothing to be proud of. Or rather, it is only when we achieve a decisive victory in this war that it will be time to take pride." Ludm looked at Wang Zhong''s profile and said nothing. At that moment, five T34 tanks moved past Wang Zhong, followed by a mixed convoy of trucks carrying wounded soldiers, women, and children, and marching infantry troops passing in front of Wang Zhong. Watching the troops, Wang Zhong suddenly felt a sense of discontent. When he arrived in Orachi, he was full of confidence, nning to hold out here for a week. Back then, he had strong forces at his disposal, an impromptu infantry division, plus logistics andborers that totaled twenty thousand, far exceeding the normalplement of an Ante infantry division''s eight thousandbatants. In addition, he had so much technical weaponry at his disposal, from artillery to T34 tanks, he had everything. Now, it hade to this: only six tanks remained of the technical weaponry, the soldiers had suffered massive casualties, and it felt like they had returned to the pre-liberation days. Of course, he had anticipated the heavy losses when he took up positions in Orachi. What truly irked him was not being able to hold out as long as he had nned. The enemy had been held at bay for only two days before they decisively bypassed Orachi. Wang Zhong stood on the tank turret, watching the troops of the 151st Division pass by. Every face was weary, every person wounded, with spots of blood seeping through the white bandages, everyonethey had abandoned the city they nned to defend for seven days, lost almost all their technical weapons, suffered terrible casualties, and lost contact with their Military Bishop and many of their monks. What truly constitutes a defeat? Surely this counted as one! As Wang Zhong pondered this, he suddenly spotted Brother Peter among the marching infantry. The monk, carrying a Mosin-Nagant, swaggered down the road, nibbling on a carrot as he walked. Wang Zhong shouted, "Brother Peter!" The monk, truly gifted with sharp hearing, heard Wang Zhong despite the cacophony of gunfire created by the 10th Army, even without acoustic reinforcement. Brother Peter looked up and waved at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong said nothing at the moment, but then he saw a truck wobbling its way forward, driven by none other than Yeca Neiko, the vice knight. The monk looked extremely tired, like he could fall asleep on the steering wheel at any moment, and it was only when he saw the tank by the roadside that he suddenly snapped to attention and saluted Wang Zhong energetically. The vice knight''s truck was packed with the wounded and women; Wang Zhong only glimpsed the typically irritable Ekaterina''s face squeezed to the outer edge, looking indignant. When Ekaterina saw Wang Zhong, she immediately pouted to disy her dissatisfaction. Suddenly, Nelly asked, "Why is that little one pouting?" Wang Zhong looked at Nelly, thinking you have the nerve to make fun of someone for being short? After the vice knight''s truck passed by, there came the procession of the division''s female workers, including the fieldundry and cooking squads. The girls, carrying their "household items" from washing tubs and scrubbing boards to field kitchen pots, had everything you could think of. Although they looked exhausted, they were spirited. Following them was the squad of the Guardian Army, there weren''t many members of the Guardian Army following Wang Zhong''s main forces; no one knew where the rest of the Guardian Army and Popov had gone. Behind the Guardian Army, were troops not wearing the guards'' cloaks, probably a battalion of the Fifth Beshensk Regiment. As they walked, they spoke andughed loudly, stopping only when they saw Wang Zhong and Tank No. 422, looking at Wang Zhong, who was peeking out from the tank, with admiring eyes. Ludm noticed this and asked, "Aren''t you going to say something? Everyone is looking at you with such trustwith such admiration." Wang Zhong shook his head, "What can I say? I thought I had lost this battle, but now everyone is looking at me as if I''m a victor. What else could I possibly say?" He didn''t realize he had repeated "What else could I possibly say?" again. No sooner had Wang Zhong finished speaking than Ludm embraced him in her arms. While stroking Wang Zhong''s hair, Ludm softly said, "You''ve already done so well, that''s why everyone is looking at you like that. Take it easy. In the future, we''ll achieve a genuine victory, instead of leaving the city we defended in such a sorry state like now." Wang Zhong indulged in the feeling of his face buried in the warmth of affection. After some time had passed, Ludm let go, creating some distance, and gave Wang Zhong a nce, breaking into a smile: "That''s better. A tough War General can''t afford to show the kind of mncholic eyes you had just now." Wang Zhong was quiet for a few seconds, then thanked the girl. At this moment, the sky to the east gradually revealed the pale light of dawn; perhaps it was the effect of the morning light, but Wang Zhong''s perception of the whole scene changed. He found that everyone''s eyes brimmed with fighting spirit, as if they were ready to plunge into battle again, to fight the enemy to thest bullet and thest breath. These expressions didn''t belong to a defeated army. He hadn''t noticed this before, probably because it was dark at night. Just then, Wang Zhong spotted Vasily and Filippov in the ranks, who had also sessfully broken through the encirclement. So, Wang Zhong called out to Vasily, "Son of the music professor, sing us a song!" Upon hearing the words "Son of the music professor," Vasily made a face as if he had swallowed a fly, but when he saw that it was Wang Zhong sitting atop Tank No. 422 speaking, he immediately changed to an expression as if he had swallowed the fly and dered it tasty. Vasily: "Filippov! The drums!" Filippov: "Are you sure? I''m already so tired!" Vasily: "Major General Rocossov wants to hear music! Go on and y!" When Wang Zhong heard this, he shouted, "Wares and goes, but only music endures forever! Filippov, it''s at times like these that we need music!" Filippov took out his folding campaign drum and started to beat the rhythm. Vasily led off with the same old song, "Tanya Tanyusha." The cheerful tune seemed to quicken the pace of the column''s march. The two passed by Tank No. 422 as they proceeded. By then the sun had fully risen, its lightnding on the tank and on Wang Zhong''s shoulders. Before the now distant Vasily could sing another song, a woman from thebor camp in the ranks began to sing. "My dear ones, at the front." Ludm furrowed her brow, "That''s a song from the civil war..." More women from thebor camp joined in the chorus: "No one is as sad as he. "While loading cannon shells, "He thinks of me... "Herees a letter, stamped with an official seal! "It says my beloved, "Has died on the battlefield. "Ah, my dearest... "Lying beside a wild bush! "His sideburns, that golden hair, "Tangled by the wind into a messy heap! "His eyes, those affectionate eyes, "Pecked into hollows by crows!" Wang Zhong pursed his lips, the melody of the folksong was ordinary, and the lyrics were nothing but in speech, yet the sorrow expressed within deeply gripped his heart. Strangely enough, despite the sadness, not a single person marching along the road seemed afraid. On the contrary, the sad singing only made their steps seem all the more resolute. Like a surging tide of iron. Chapter 199: Chapter 50 Reunion ``` At this time, the 10th Tank Army and their "mounted" tank riders had already engaged the enemy in battle, tracer rounds and explosions relentlessly tearing through the dawn. Thanks to their created chaos, the battalion advancing on the highway didn''t attract much attentioneven though it was now daylight. Wang Zhong had originally thought that stationing his No. 422 tank here could draw the enemy''s attention if they attacked, covering the battalion''s retreat. But he didn''t know how long this situation couldst; the Prussians were bound to react eventually, and after all, the 10th Tank Army could only attack the enemy forces they had in direct sight. Additionally, the enemy''s Air Force was a great concern. Based on the previous few days'' experiences, the first wave of enemy aircraft usually arrived around six in the morning, and there was now less than two hours until then. Concerned about the Air Force, Wang Zhong subconsciously checked the anti-aircraft machine gun. The painful lesson of the entire crew''s sacrifice due to a BT tank''s anti-aircraft machine gun malfunctioning back in Loktov hadpelled Wang Zhong to thoroughly learn the mechanics of the gun. Now, Wang Zhong''s inspection of the machine gun was entirely that of a seasoned veteran, and even ayman could tell. Nelly looked at Wang Zhong''s hands adjusting the gun mechanism, then at his face. Ludmughed, "You''re handling that gun more skillfully than you handle girls now!" Wang Zhong frowned and looked at Ludm. At that moment, the little boy sitting in front of the turret turned his head, "What does handling girls mean? ying house?" The adults walking by the tank, both men and women, allughed. The boy was utterly bewildered, asking repeatedly, "What are youughing at? What''s so funny?" After Wang Zhong finished checking the machine gun, just as he was about to impart some adult knowledge to the little boy, he saw Yegorov sitting in the middle of the road on a peasant''s cart. Wang Zhong immediately asked, "Yegorov, since when did you start cking off?" Yegorov raised his right foot, showing off the splint and straps around his lower leg, "I broke my leg during the retreat, just got it set. I could''ve walked on crutches, but the peasant hauled me up here." The peasant driving the cart said, "If you don''t ride my cart to Shepetovka, your leg would be ruined, you wouldn''t be able to fight the enemy anymore, and it might even need to be amputated. Now I''ll give you a ride, and in half a year, you''lle back and fight the devils." Yegorov spread his hands, "See, the peasants sure know how to keep ounts!" Wang Zhongughed too, but he quickly asked a new question, "What about your unit?" Yegorov pointed westward, "They''re behind! The bunkers worked this time, I managed to lead quite a few out. If you stay in Shepetovka for a few days, I expect more scattered troops will rejoin the ranks." "Alright, I will," Wang Zhong answered. Yegorov''s nonchnt smile suddenly disappeared, he looked squarely at Wang Zhong and said, "I''m going to recuperate for half a year, and then I''lle back to hell to join you, General, in half a year." Before Wang Zhong could respond, someone among the soldiers shouted, "In half a year, it might be the enemy''s hell!" Everyone burst into heartyughter, including Wang Zhong, even though he knew that in half a year, they were far from the end of their bitter struggles. Yegorov''s cart passed by Tank No. 422, heading towards Shepetovka. Wang Zhong watched him for a long time until he could no longer see him clearly, then withdrew his gaze. Then he noticed Colonel Eugene, carrying a miner''s pick in the midst of the troops, and his assigned military staff officer, Captain Andrei. Wang Zhong, "Colonel Eugene, why are you carrying a miner''s pick?" "It''s handy," the colonel said while slinging the pick over his shoulder, "If you''re asking about the troop''s condition, most of them are here." Wang Zhong, "What about Olof from the 5th Tank Army?" "He''s behind. I nned to use their light tanks to transport some of the slightly injured, but as soon as we left the position, they broke down, and the injured had to be helped on foot." Wang Zhong nodded and then saw Pavlov and the bunch of military staff officers and clerks in the crowd. The Chief of Staff merely nodded without speaking. Wang Zhong, "Pavlov, why aren''t you speaking?" Pavlov pointed to his throat and gestured; it seemed that he had damaged his voice by talking too much during the organization of the retreat. After Pavlov passed by, Ludm suddenly said, "I haven''t seen Popov and the choir members." "Indeed, I haven''t seen them either," Wang Zhong sighed, "And there are many others I haven''t seen, like my guard, Grigori. I sent him with the guard toon to reinforce the positions in the eastern woods to cover the artillery." Ludm hesitated, sharing Wang Zhong''s anxious gaze towards the west. Just then, a rumbling sound came from the sky. Wang Zhong''s first reaction was to look westward and northward, then he realized the sound came from the northeast. He then saw IL-2s, in attack formation, flying low to the ground, strafing the Prussian forces with their machine guns. The people on the tank all looked up, watching the Ant Air Force ruthlessly ravage the enemy. Cheers of varying volumes erupted from the mixed column on the move. Ludm suddenly said, "Rumor has it that this reinforcement was requested by you from the Crown Princess?" "Yes, at that time I thought about what could immediately reach the battlefield and be instantly effective, and that was the Air Force," Wang Zhong turned his head to look at Ludm, "Are you familiar with the Crown Princess?" Ludm shook her head vigorously, "Not familiar." "Howe, I''m so well acquainted with the Crown Prince, howe you didn''t take the opportunity to get to know her?" "The Crown Princess doesn''t oftene to salons and always hangs out with the older men at balls, listening to them talk about those iprehensible things. She is Saint Ekaterina Fortress''s most unattainable flower, even you got rebuffed." I actually got rebuffed! More IL-2s joined the battlefield, it seemed at least two air regiments had arrived. The Prussians hastily organized anti-aircraft fire, but it did not seem very effective against the IL-2s, known for their robustness. At this moment, Wang Zhong saw nes with yellow-painted noses diving down from the sky. BF109! The Prosen Air Force finally took off to provide air cover for ground units! Wang Zhong had thought that this era''s Prosen Air Force would only deploy dive bombers and horizontal bombers. As the 109s joined the fray, the Ant Air Force''s LaGG-3s also enteredbat. Voices of Ant pilots could be heard over the radio, "Up, take them out! Cover the attack air squadron!" Then a row of LaGG-3s dove down from the direction of the rising sun. Wang Zhong muttered subconsciously, "Why LaGG-3s, where are the Yak-3s?" Ludm and Nelly both looked at Wang Zhong curiously, as neither had heard of these two models of nes. Wang Zhong, "Send out the Yak-3s!" Ludm asked curiously, "What''s wrong with the LaGG-3?" Wang Zhong, "This ne will lock up at high speeds, you can''t pull up, and it maneuvers like a brick at low speeds. The engine performs like it''s constipated, and the speed ispletely lost with the slightest manoeuvre, it needs ps to have enough lift..." Um? He realized then, this was information Rocossov should not have known. He looked guiltily at his fiance. Ludm, "How do you know all this? I thought you''ve never flown a ne?" "It''s... It was Vasily! He flew at the flying club! He told me!" Wang Zhong made up an excuse. Ludm blinked, "Vasily knows quite a lot!" "Yeah," Wang Zhong shrugged, "a professor''s son, the professor''s!" "But if he joined a flying club, he should have gone into the Air Force, why would he join the infantry school?" Wang Zhong, "Uh... His father wouldn''t allow it! A professor''s son, you know, his father thinks all Air Force guys are rascals and he would pick up bad habits." "I see," Ludm nodded. By then, LaGG-3s had been shot down by the skillful pilots of the 109s, plunging into the grass, bursting into fireballs. The remaining LaGG-3s were still dogfighting with the enemy nes. The radio was filled with shouts from Ant pilots, "Number 8, it''s behind you! Behind you!" "Semyon, bank left! Damn, bank left! Remember, our ne''s banking performance is different on each side!" "Mama!" "Nikitovich, take care of my son for me!" White parachutes blossomed in the sky, appearing like lone dandelions. After watching for a few seconds and feeling too distressed, Wang Zhong adjusted the reception frequency of the radio to stop listening to the pilots'' channel. Pilots were more valuable than tank operators, just to be killed by lousy nes. Whoever was in charge of assigning such lousy equipment to the troops should be taken out for target practice. He tried to direct his attention elsewhere and looked westward along the road, only to see Grigori nonchntly walking with the column while smoking a cigarette. Wang Zhong, "Grigori! Where are the men I gave you?" Grigori pointed behind him, "About two hundred are still alive, but that''s the whole battalionbined. Some surviving artillerymen are behind us too, tangled up with the civilians. The organization is a mess, I don''t know how many we have." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue and waved his hand. Grigori continued on toward the northeast, smoking leisurely as he walked. Ludm, "He looks so calm." "Yeah, that''s just how he is. He was the samest time we ambushed an enemy scout team, frighteningly calm," Wang Zhong said. Just then, Nelly suddenly pinched Wang Zhong''s waist fiercely and pointed into the distance, "Look!" Wang Zhong looked over and saw several hundred meters away that some Prosen troops realized that the column walking on the road were not their own men. "Alexandria!" Wang Zhong immediately ordered over an internal connection, "Turret left turn 20 degrees, load high-explosive shells, wipe the enemy out! Quick!" The turret began to turn right away and then it fired. The Prussians who had noticed something amiss were blown into the air in an instant. Wang Zhong operated the anti-aircraft machine gun, sprayed the Prussian tents nearby where the Prussians were, shouting to the people on the road meanwhile, "Move it! Double-time! The enemy has noticed us!" The 422 vehicle''s hull machine gun also opened fire, knocking down another group of enemies who had spotted something odd on the road. Wang Zhong, "White Horse calling the Tenth Tank Army, White Horse to the Tenth Tank Army, the enemy has spotted us, please engage the enemy as much as possible!" No sooner had he spoken than he heard someone shout, "Alyosha!" He turned towards the voice and saw Sofia sitting on an oxcart, with Popov driving the ox, and arge group of Guardian Army vigers surrounding the cart. Wang Zhong, "Stop shouting, hurry up! The enemy is catching on!" After speaking, Wang Zhong fired at the enemy once again. Chapter 200: Chapter 51 Arrival in Shepetovka (Bonus Chapter for 23,000 Monthly Votes) Wang Zhong was in a hurry when he received a response from the Tenth Tank Army, "We have seen the head of the column; your troops are finally about to finish passing through!" At this moment, Wang Zhong really wanted to change his perspective to see the situation for himself. However, the Tenth Tank Army was not under hismand, and itsmander was a lieutenant general, ranking higher than his own major general. But he soon saw the end of the column on the main road as well. About a kilometer-long procession was left,prised entirely of the Guardian Army andborers, mixed in with many local peasants'' horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts. A toon of BT tanks was at the roadside, protecting this group of people. Wang Zhong impatiently waited for these people to pass by. Finally, thest horse-drawn cart passed by next to tank number 422, and there were no more people left behindat least no organized groups. As for how many stragglers there were, Wang Zhong couldn''t do much about that. "You guys should retreat as well!" he shouted to the tank toon that was helping with the protection. The toon leader popped open the hatch and climbed out, replying, "Themander has ordered us to cover for you. You go ahead, and we''ll handle any enemies that catch up!" Wang Zhong nodded and ordered through internalmunication, "Beliyakov, let''s go!" Tank number 422 backed up about five meters, then turned right onto the road. After picking up speed for a few steps, it caught up with the tail end of the marching column and began to move forward at a pace not much different from that of walking humans. Nelly couldn''t help asking, "What''s that banging sound?" "Oh, that''s the sound of hitting the control stick with a hammer. Without hitting it, it''s impossible to control the vehicle," Wang Zhong exined. "It has to be like this?" Nelly looked down at the tank, seemingly gaining a new understanding of therge machine. At this time, a granny on thest cart in the column asked, "General, are you that General Rokossovsky everyone talks about?" "I am," Wang Zhong nodded. He thought she was going to ask something like, "Do you know how my son who joined the Guardian Army is doing?" But instead, the granny started with, "Thank you for sending my grandson away, and in the end, even giving me a seat." Wang Zhong replied, "That... wasn''t arranged by me, but by someone executing orders below. You should thank that person." The granny smiled, "I already thanked him. Now, I am thanking you." Wang Zhong said, "Once you get to Shepetovka, take your grandson and get on the train, go all the way to the rear." "Alright," the granny nodded, her smile looking genuinely pure. All of a sudden, Wang Zhong wondered if his current situation resembled Liu Bei retreating from Xinye. Yes, very much so. Would he have to go through many retreats like this in the future until finally, retreating to the foot of St. Ye Katerina Fortress and thinking, "Ante is vast, but we have nowhere left to retreat"? Wang Zhong turned his head to look back in the direction they hade from, and even from this distance, he could see the thick smoke from the fires around Orachi. Twenty kilometers away from Shepetovka, Wang Zhong saw that Ante infantry had taken a small mound by the roadside, where they had set up a makeshift position with machine guns and a 45mm anti-tank gun, with two carts hidden behind the hillock. Wang Zhong waved to them, "Hello there!" The captainmanding this small detachment gave a thumbs-up, "Hello! Salute to you!" It seemed like the captain did not recognize Wang Zhong''s rank of major general. After passing this "sentry post," Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, "We have entered our army''s defensive area, I can finally rest easy now." Ludm gently stroked his hair, "You''ve worked hard, Alyosha. Take a rest." Captain Maldaly Apollonovich watched the T34 adorned with the red g fade into the distance. He heard the gunner Vasya chewing his tongue beside him, "Did you see? That tank is carrying two beauties! A tall one, and a pretty young maid. Aristocrats really know how to live it up!" Captain Maldaly scolded, "What are you talking about? That''s General Rokossovsky! His division held off the enemy''s forces several times their size at Orachi for three days before escaping with so many civilians!" "What?" Vasya was shocked, "That was General Rokossovsky? What about his white horse? Weren''t there stories of him charging into the enemy headquarters on a white horse, alone with a sword, and killing three generals? Where''s his horse?" Captain Maldaly replied, "Are you blind? Isn''t a white horse painted next to the tank''s tactical number? That''s his white horse! Don''t you recognize that number? Tank 422! And the red g! The enemy dies of fear at the sight of that g!" Vasya was astounded, "This is the first time I''m hearing this, but why''s he bringing so many women with him to the battlefield?" That''s when the old loader beside Vasya spoke up, "Silly boy, what do you know? Those are angels sent by Saint Andrew. The bishop said it in his sermon, when Saint Andrew established the Secr faction, he had twelve angels by his side. Those twelve angels, from poor families, were blessed for their virtue and courage "The General has received Saint Andrew''s blessing!" Vasya eximed, "Ah, I see!" Captain Maldaly scoffed, "What now, you''re going to brag in the tavern again? Next time you get caught by a priest after drinking like that, you''ll be in for it!" Vasya replied, "How could I? We''ve no idea how long we''ll be stationed on this hillock. Heaven knows when we''ll get to go to a tavern." It was only after seeing the anti-aircraft gun positions deployed around Shepetovka that Wang Zhong truly feltpletely at ease. The soldiers at the high-altitude artillery position curiously watched tank number 422, and someone loudly asked, "Is that General Rokossovsky?" Wang Zhong replied, "Yes, I am!" "Did you kill another Prosen generalst night?" Wang Zhong frowned, "When did this happen? I have no idea." The anti-aircraft gunners looked at each other in confusion. Someone else asked, "We heard you wiped out a hundred tanksst night!" Wang Zhong replied, "No! That''s a rumor! You guys are exaggerating too much! Are you going to say next that I annihted an enemy Armored Division?" The expert gunners immediately erupted in jubtion, "Did you hear that, the general wiped out an entire enemy Armored Division!" Wang Zhong had a splitting headache and tried to change the subject, "Where is Duke Meishikin''smand post?" A captain pointed to the east, "Keep going, turn left at the cathedral, next to the hospital." No sooner had the words left his mouth than tank 422''s engine suddenly made a strange noise, followed by a great billow of ck smoke spewing from the exhaust pipe. The tank then began to slow down, moving a few more meters under its own momentum beforeing to aplete stop. Beliyakov climbed out of the driver''spartment cursing, "I knew it was about time! General, you better go on foot! I reckon it''s beyond a wrench''s fix now." Wang Zhong replied, "Thank God, it held out until we got here. There''s an anti-aircraft gun nearby, so at least we don''t have to worry about getting bombed by a Stuka." The very moment his words fell, the captain of the anti-aircraft battalion called out, "Need help? We have cksmiths and mechanics here!" Beliyakov replied, "Any help would be great! And if there are any old mechanics who can fix tractors, call them over too! Thanks a lot!" The captain of the anti-aircraft battalion immediately issuedmands, and a fast-legged gunner sprinted out of his position and quickly disappeared. Wang Zhong, bracing himself against the edge of the turret, tried to climb out, but his joints were so stiff from sitting too long that he nearly fell. Ludm and Nelly supported him from either side. The concerned captain from the anti-aircraft battalion asked, "Are you wounded?" "No," said Wang Zhong as he steadied himself with the help of the girls and climbed down from the tank. A child sitting on the tank asked, "Where are you going, General? Can wee with you?" Wang Zhong replied, "Stay put! The nuns from the church wille to pick you up soon!" In times like these, only the nuns were left to take care of the children, as daycares had long since closed down. The child gripped his submachine gun, "We can fight! We are soldiers!" Wang Zhong affirmed, "Yes, I know! The nuns will issue youbat orders." As Wang Zhong limbered up his numb body, Ludm also climbed down from the tank, massaging his shoulder, "I could tell during the ride that your shoulders were too stiff." Nelly also disembarked, "Shall I find us a horse carriage? I''m quite good at driving them." No sooner had she spoken than a jeep drove up the street and stopped in front of Wang Zhong. The lieutenant driving the vehicle got out and saluted, "We''ve received a call from the anti-aircraft artillery position, and we''re here to take you to themand post, General Rokossovsky! Duke Meishikin is waiting for you." Wang Zhong acknowledged, "Good. Uh... am I going alone?" The lieutenant nced at Ludm''s Monk military uniform and said, "The church people are on their way; Bishop Popov, who''s already here, will arrange for Monk Miss to rest." Wang Zhong inquired, "I also have an orderly; what about her?" Nelly volunteered, "Take me to the general''s quarters." That''s bound to cause misunderstandings! Clearly misinterpreting, the lieutenant nced at Wang Zhong and answered, "Thene along, you can sit in the back." Wang Zhong was dumbfounded and simply circled around to the passenger side to get into the vehicle. Wang Zhong had initially thought that Duke Meishikin was a mature and steady middle-aged noble. To his surprise, he turned out to be a young man not much older than himself. As Wang Zhong entered the map room, the duke was coughing, enveloped by the aura of a sickly person. It took the duke about twenty seconds to stop coughing, and as he wiped his mouth, he looked up at Wang Zhong, "So you''ve arrived, General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong inquired, "Are you... alright?" Meishikin managed a smile, "An old problem; I''ve had it since I was a child. I spent some time in Liechtenstein before the war started, hoping it would improve." He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. Wang Zhong guessed, "Tuberculosis?" In this era, that was often a terminal illness, incurable and only prolonging the inevitableand not something you''d die from quickly. If this had been Ceres, he might have had to take Fail-Drum-Skin Pills. Duke Meishikin waved the notion aside, "Let''s talk about the situation of your troops. We''ve been steadily receiving scattered soldiers and small units, and I''ve designated the dormitory of the old rail school near the station as your rally point. "Your chief of staff has already gone there, and your bishop... cough cough cough... is with the church; I don''t really meddle in church affairs." Wang Zhong nodded, "That''s a proper arrangement; we will soon set up waypoints at the city''s edge to guide everyone there." Meishikin nodded in agreement, "Once the trains are arranged, you''ll retreat." Wang Zhong objected, "What? We still have our integrity; we can still fight." Meishikin gestured dismissively, "I know you can fight, and I need troops to defend Shepetovka, but what you have left are the core elements. They will be more effective once replenished, I''m very aware of that. No, I can''t afford to have elite troops worn down here. You have to leave." Suddenly, Meishikin paused, "However, Her Highness just sent over 30 T34 tanks. I hope you can leave these with us. Once the 10th Tank Army''s troops pull back, we should be able to put together enough crews to operate these thirty tanks." Wang Zhong insisted, "I canmand these 30 T34s! My own tank, number 422, can also continue fighting!" Duke Meishikin smiled, "Isn''t it broken down? I reckon it needs to go back to the factory for a thorough overhaul, and with the tank factory dismantled and shipped away, nobody here can fix it. "And we both know that for you tomand a tank, you need a specializedmand spot, which the other T34s don''t have." This was indeed true. Wang Zhong still wanted to argue, to persuade Duke Meishikin to agree to let him stay and continue fighting. But the duke interrupted, "Alright, you''ve had a long day; get some rest. We can discuss other matters tomorrow." Chapter 201: Chapter 52: Status on August 7th (Extra for 24,000 monthly votes) Afterwards, Wang Zhong heeded Duke Meishikin''s advice and went straight to bed for a good sleep. He hadn''t expected to sleep for so long. By the time he opened his eyes and got up, the calendar on the desk showed that it was already August 7th. Just as he sat up, Nelly entered the room, "Would you like breakfast?" It was then that Wang Zhong realized that he was starving, his stomach stuck to his backan understandable feeling after nearly 20 hours of sleep. "Anything will do." No sooner had he spoken than Nelly came in with a cart. Nelly: "I saw you like walnut jam, so I prepared some, but there''s no soft bread left in town. Also, there''s no fresh beef anymore, so I made some cabbage soup with canned beef. The yogurt is from cans too." Wang Zhong asked in surprise, "Why are the supplies so poor? We always had fresh meat, eggs, and milk in Orachi!" Nelly looked at him with irritation: "Orachi had arge ranch; this ce doesn''t, and the people from the surrounding viges have run off, so we can only eat what is brought in by railcanned goods and sausage." Wang Zhong sat at the table in his room, adopting the posture of someone ready to dine: "Canned goods are fine, too. You''ve made them smell so good, my appetite is whetted just by the scent." Nelly brought the dishes to the table one by one, and Wang Zhong picked up his spoon to sip the sour and refreshing soup, which was very appetizing. With a pot of sour cream in hand, Nelly asked, "Do you want some sour cream?" At first, Wang Zhong couldn''t understand the custom of adding sour cream to sour soup, but now he had grown ustomed to it, just like Indians can''t live without mas. "Add some!" So Nelly poured a big dollop of sour cream into Wang Zhong''s soup bowl. Wang Zhong stirred the sour cream into the soup and then asked, "Where is Liu Xia? Last nightyesterday, she went to the church but didn''te back?" "She did return. Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, she didn''t wake you and went back to attend the collective funeral of God''s Arrow Company." Wang Zhong frowned, "Who died in God''s Arrow Company?" "Miss Liu Xia is the only one left in her Divine Arrow squad. The nun responsible forunching the arrows, the Guardian Army soldiers, and those protecting them all perished. Many from other squads were lost too, and it''s said that a prayerful died as well." Wang Zhong stopped stirring his soup with the spoon, "Yesterday, as we were running out, Liu Xia''s state didn''t really show it." Nelly didn''t continue the discussion but simply prepared oatmeal with milk and ced it next to Wang Zhong''s soup bowl. Wang Zhong continued to eat, asking while he did so, "Did Pavlov set up themand center properly?" "It''s in the building across from us." "Has the casualty count beenpleted?" "He wanted toe report to you yesterday, but I sent him away." Nelly hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Did I do the right thing?" "You did the right thing." Wang Zhong nodded, quickly finished his oatmeal, ate up the sour soup along with the chopped sausage inside, and finally nibbled on some bread with walnut jam. After eating, he stood up: "I''m going to themand center. Bring me my uniform." Nelly immediately brought over the uniform and cap, along with a pair of brightly polished leather shoes. Upon entering themand center, Wang Zhong went straight to the map hanging on the wall. Furthermore, the telegraph team made no segregation, ticking away right next to the map table, making the vastmand center seem exceptionally busy. Pavlov was by the map, flipping through the report in his hands: "How can the anti-aircraft artillery battalion be left with so few people?" Wang Zhong approached and asked, "What happened?" Pavlov looked up, "You''ve woken up? You seem in good spirits." Wang Zhong stared at the dark circles under Pavlov''s eyes for a few seconds and replied, "And you look like you''re about to drop dead. I suggest you get some sleep." "You talk as if it''s easy. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to gather a dispersed army like this? Not to mention, I still have five staff officers from my staff who haven''t rejoined yet, and we''re short twenty-seven clerksI have fewer than a hundred clerks in total! "All in all, our division, includingbatants and logistics, has assembled less than six thousand people. When we set out, we had over ten thousand in logistics alone!" Wang Zhong: "Did you set up points outside the cityat the vige entranceto guide the troops back?" He almost said ''vige entrance'', but Shepetovka is a railway hub and arge city. "Yes, we set them up. There are big pots filled with food and plenty of clean water there too. Every so often, some returning troops are led back over." As soon as his voice fell, singing could be heard from outside. Pavlov went to the window and pulled back the curtain to look. He then said to Wang Zhong, "Look, over a hundred more people havee. Who knows how many are still rushing this way. By the way, take a look at this roster, the efficiency of the fighters'' assembly far exceeds our expectations. We now have assembled more than three thousand people." Wang Zhong was pleasantly surprised, "There are actually more than three thousand people? I thought that we had almost run out of people." "Some battalions did run out, like the troops of the Beschenk Regiment at height 153, including infantry, armored troops, and anti-tank gun squads, just that handful of men. "I think we can still assemble more fighters. From the enemy''s posture, it seems they are in a rush to head south and don''t have the energy to capture those of us scattered across the ins. "But logistics...the level of organization of the logistics personnel is naturally not as high as that of thebat troops, and many of them can''t even read a map, bing lost in unfamiliar ces. They alsock tactical skills and aren''t good at hiding when they encounter enemies..." Pavlov shook his head. Wang Zhong asked, "What about your Sixth-Level Clerk?" "The old man got out quite smoothly. Do you hear this stamping sound?" Only then did Wang Zhong notice the thumping stamping sound amidst the dripping noises. "What are they stamping?" Wang Zhong asked, puzzled. Pavlov casually replied, "Death notices." Wang Zhong fell silent all at once. Pavlov raised an eyebrow, "What''s the matter, haven''t you gotten used to it? I thought you''d be used to it after going to deliver personal effects in person." Wang Zhong replied, "I''d rather hope that I never get used to it." He turned towards the map, then fell silent again. Pavlov took a look at the map and said, "That''s the situation; it''s very bad. The Second Armored Group crossed Orachi and rushed south at full speed. The good news is that the First Armored Group''s speed has been slowed down southward thanks to the Naval Infantry, but... it''s still not slow enough." Wang Zhong asked, "Doesn''t that mean we''ll be encircled in three to five days? Why aren''t we retreating? Is General Skorobo refusing to retreat?" "No, the Front Army headquarters already requested a retreatst night, but His Majesty the Tsar did not agree," Pavlov said, pressing his lips together. "Perhaps His Majesty feels that looking at the map, there is still such a broad area avable for transporting supplies, so there''s no need to retreat." At that moment, the Judge overseeing the use of the codebooks at the radio station nced over here but didn''t say anything more. "Isn''t it still wide?" Tsar Nichs V cursed, hitting the map, "Such a wide area, and you''re telling me you can''t get supplies through?" "Your Majesty," the Chief of Logistics at High Command tried to exin, "Logistics transportation depends on roads and railways. Most of the roads have already been cut off, and the railways have been almost destroyed due to the enemy''s advance airstrips. Your Majesty, if we don''t retreat now..." Nichs V banged the table, "You told me we could hold! You said it!" All the generals fell silent at once. Because indeed, they had confidently imed they could hold. Nichs V continued to pound the table, "You also said the enemy had reached the end of their rope and cited as proof the enemy''s central heavy troop clusters halting their advance! You talked about the massive losses of the enemy. And now? What about now?" The Chief of General Staff started, "The enemy stopped at that time, probably just waiting for supplies and the infantry... " "That''s not what you said then!" Nichs V interrupted the Chief of General Staff, "I should''ve recorded what you said back then and yed it here! Wait, there should be records of that meeting, right? Bring them out, let''s see what my generals said at the time!" Chief of General Staff said, "The battlefield situation is constantly changing, so judgments change as well. At that time, we concluded that we could hold, but now it''s proven wrong. If it''s wrong, then we need to adapt based on the current situation." "If it''s wrong," Nichs V red fiercely at the generals, "you should be shot!" "Even if you shot us, we should still retreat now," the Chief of General Staff stated. Nichs V fell silent for a few seconds, then in a much gentler tone said, "Argesukov is our most important core city, the origin of ancient Ante! Losing it would severely damage our morale! Can you bear this responsibility?" "We can let General Skorobo take this responsibility," the Chief of General Staff said. Nichs V sighed, "It seems we have no other choice. Can we evacuate all the troops now?" The generals looked at each other, and eventually, Marshal Semyon Konstantinovich spoke, "It''s difficult. Given the current situation, we estimate that we can evacuate two to three hundred thousand troops." Nichs V was shocked, "Nearly a million troops can only evacuate so few? What''s the difference between that and not retreating?" Marshal Semyon replied, "There''s no longer a million. The enemy''s attack has been very fierce, and now there are roughly seven hundred thousand troops in good order in Argesukov. The rest have been scattered and need to be reassembled and reorganized, but currently there are no conditions within the encirclement to assemble and reorganize the troops." Nichs V said, "Seven hundred thousand is not a small number! Only three hundred thousand can get out! No, I refuse such a retreat! Either you give me a secure n, at least get six hundred thousand out, I don''t care if you use troops to cover the retreat or whatever, but if we retreat, it must be inrge numbers!" Having said that, Nichs stood up and walked out of the conference room, visibly upset. The people in the room looked at each other. "Another failure," the Chief of General Staff sighed, "If it weren''t for the princess''s actions, it wouldn''t be so hard to persuade." Chapter 202: Chapter 53: Determination Argesukov, the night of August 7th, 2010. When themunication staff officer entered the room, Crown Prince Ivan Nikyevich Andronov immediately stood up, "Was it approved?" Themunication staff officer shook his head, "The High Command responded by telegram, saying that our retreat n would incur too great a loss, His Majesty has not approved it, demanding a better n." General Skorobo, standing before the map, let out a long sigh, "Send another telegram telling His Majesty that this is the best n we coulde up with, and if we act now, at least three hundred thousand men could be saved. "The reason we can save so many is all thanks to General Rokossovsky who secured us those precious two days. If we do not act now, even those two days will be wasted. General Rokossovsky General Rokossovsky and Duke Meishikin''s fierce battle will have been in vain." Themunication staff officerpleted his stenography, then read it aloud essentially, it was a written version of General Skorobo''s words. General Skorobo nodded, "Send that." "Wait a second!" themunication staff officer had just turned to leave when the Front Army Chief of Staff stopped him, "Add one more sentence, ''extremely urgent''." The staff officer made a note and then left. Crown Prince Ivan, "I don''t think this will be of any use." "This isn''t about whether it''s useful or not, we must do our utmost to make His Majesty aware of the seriousness of the situation," the Chief of Staff sighed, "even though it might be futile." As his voice faded, a silence fell over the entire map room. Everyone looked deeply troubled. Just then, the Crown Prince clenched his teeth and atst stood up, "What if we take action first and reportter? I''ll take the lead, order the entire army to retreat, do our best to break through, and then I''ll admit my mistake to my father. "At most he will depose me as Crown Prince." Everyone in the room looked at the Crown Prince, their faces filled with surprise. The Crown Prince frowned, "Why are you looking at me like that? Can''t I make a brave decision? My dear friend Rokossovsky held out in Orachi for two days, and broke through on the third; shouldn''t I also do something to rescue the Front Army?" The Chief of Staff spoke, "But, Your Highness, you making a decision doesn''t stand legally, you don''t have the authority to approve this n, in fact, no one in this room has the power to approve it. "The Chief of General Staff at the High Command has the authority to approve this n, but he has not." The Crown Prince looked puzzled, "How can a Front Army operate without its own decision-making authority?" "We have it, but for major strategic ns of this scale, it''s beyond our decision-making range." The Crown Prince slumped back down, "Is there nothing I can do?" "There is," said General Skorobo. "Tell me quickly!" the Crown Prince stood up again, urging as he pped the table. General Skorobo, "Fly back to St. Ye Katerina Fortress and persuade His Majesty." The Crown Prince deted immediately, "No, my father will be furious that I was not supervising the front properly and went back without informing him. Even if I could cate His Majesty, it would still be dayster. "Sometimes I feel that my father is still a child, fragile, sensitive, and suspicious." In the presence of so many people, only the Crown Prince dared to speak like this. The Crown Prince continued, "Nevertheless, my father''s love for all of us siblings is genuine, and that''s why we can persuade him, but it takes time. And we''re precisely out of time! "Unless we can use my father''s feelings for us right now!" The Crown Prince suddenly stopped, "Hmm?" He looked at the others, "I''ve thought of a highly feasible method, it might just persuade my father to agree to your breakout n immediately." The others exchanged nces, and General Skorobo asked on behalf of everyone, "What method?" The Crown Prince, "I''ll send a telegram to my father saying, ''Since father wishes for me to die here, then your son can onlyply with father''s wish.'' "Then I''ll lead a troop to die in battle, while you all continue preparing the breakout in secret." Because the Crown Prince spoke so casually of his own death, everyone was momentarily speechless. Then the Chief of Staff pounded the table and eximed, "No, this is not eptable! You can''t predict what His Majesty the Tsar''s reaction would be after that!" The Crown Prince smiled, "I can, I understand my father best, he will calm down after crying his eyes out, and adopt the most direct means to stop the situation from worsening. As long as I die, even just get seriously injured, my father will calm down." The people looked at each other. Nobody dared to agree to the idea of the Crown Prince going to his death. General Skorobo was still trying to persuade, "Your Royal Highness, it''s gettingte. You should rest." Crown Prince: "I need an armyno, a division to attack with me will suffice! We''ll strike toward Lebedyan, and once we''ve broken through, we can escape. "Certainly, Orachi wouldn''t be bad either. After breaking through we could rush to Shepetovka and even join up with Rokossovsky!" The crowd continued to look at each other, dumbfounded. The Crown Prince was displeased and mmed the table with force, "What are you hesitating for? Either wepletely disregard the opinion of St. Ye Katerina Fortress and break out first, iming ''an army abroad cannot follow the orders of its sovereign,'' or let me die and shock my father!" These resonant words echoed in the grand map room. ------------- Duke Old Rokossovsky put down the phone, looking toward the ever-ready old butler Mikhail: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is preparing to die generously to stimte His Majesty and to make him see the situation clearly." Mikhail was very surprised: "Him? Mistake, surely? How could he possibly have such awareness and initiative?" "That''s what growth is," said the old Duke Rokossovsky. "Think about it, the problem child of our family has already be a War General capable of standing on his own. What''s so strange about the Crown Prince making such progress? Besides, he has an example, doesn''t he?" The example, of course, referred to the former problem child of the Rokossovsky family, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, who was the friend of the Crown Prince and always rankedst. Mikhail: "Indeed. The growth of the young master is obvious." "It''s not something that''s obvious," said Old Rokossovsky as he stood up and walked to the window, looking at the crescent moon that was gradually filling out. After a brief moment of contemtion, Old Rokossovsky said: "It''s not as though we can''t give the Crown Prince a hand." Mikhail: "You no longer havemand authority, you can''t lead any troops." "Hahaha," Old Rokossovskyughed a few times, "saying I can''t lead the troops is a bit of an underestimation. Perhaps I really can''t lead the navy or the air force, but I think I can still lead the army, I just need to don a coat that looks rather formidable." Mikhail: "Your Grace! This isn''t a matter to be taken lightly, you will have to answer for this afterward..." Old Rokossovsky interrupted his old butler: "Mikhail, how many years have you served me?" "Over seventy years. I have almost been living on your estate since birth, and I started doing things that I could manage when I was six." Old Rokossovsky nodded: "Then you should understand my intentions, right?" "Please, make it clear," said Mikhail. Old Rokossovsky sighed: "Mikhail, Misha, can''t you see? This war might not necessarily end in a loss for the Ante Empire, but if the Ante Empire wins, the power of the Church will surely rise like the midday sun. "At that time, secr priests will no longer need us nobles. Never need us again!" "But..." Mikhail seemed to want to express a different opinion. "There are no ''buts''! The day the war ends, the Church''s n to purge us old nobles will begin the countdown. "Then, being nobility will be an obstacle for Alyosha and might even bring fatal peril. "But if I die in battle with the Crown Prince, or just I die and the Crown Prince survives, the situation will be different! "Nobles will shape me into a national hero to counter the rapidly expanding power of the Church in this war. "But that''s not the main point; the main point is, Alyosha will then be the son of a national hero! With his own military achievements, he will attain a lofty status in the reborn empire! Do you understand, Mikhail?" The old butler thought for a moment and had to admit: "Your vision is far-reaching, I am no match." Old Rokossovsky smiled: "Anyway, I''m nearly eighty years old, an age where dying any time isn''t surprising. Let me die a glorious death then." Mikhail: "I am willing to die alongside you." "No no no, Mikhail. If you die with me, how would my contacts be passed on to Alyosha? No, you can''t die, and you need to board a ne tonight, flying directly to St. Ye Katerina Fortress." The old butler was silent for a few seconds and then said: "Should I also bring the young master along...?" "He is a staff officer; he has his own duties to fulfill," Old Rokossovsky waved his hand, "Besides, even if he stays in the encirclement, a staff officer is not necessarily fated to die." The old butler Mikhail stopped himself from saying more. Old Rokossovsky asked: "What''s the matter? If you want to say something, just say it." Mikhail: "No, nothing else to say." Old Rokossovsky: "Then go and contact my old units for me; I willmand them personally" Chapter 203: Chapter 54 Princess Olgas Time ``` St. Ye Katerina Fortress, August 7th in the afternoon. Princess Olga Nikyevna Antonovna, the second in line to the Ante Empire''s throne, once again entered the office of General Tugenev, the head of the Military Orders Department at the High Command. The general looked up and said, "Good afternoon, Your Highness. The operations office is next door." Olga: "I was kicked out." "Well, I can''t send you back there," General Tugenev spread his hands, "Our Military Orders Department is just a stamping authority; the operations office makes the ns, we stamp them. Our real function is personnel matters. You shoulde to us when you want to make personnel adjustments. Besides that, we also manage the awarding of medals..." Princess Olga, frowning: "Why do I feel like you''re telling me about the things you can do?" "Right. Is there a problem in exining our functions to the Royal Family?" General Tugenev shrugged his shoulders. Olga: "Well, can I..." At that moment, an aide opened the door: "Major General Chekhov has arrived." "Let him in. Your Highness, you may sit down and have some tea," General Tugenev gestured to the tea set on the table. Princess Olga moved to the side, but before she could sit down, Major General Chekhov entered. Seeing the princess, the major general stopped dead: "Huh?" Princess Olga: "Continue with your affairs; don''t mind me." Chekhov saluted the princess, and upon fulfilling his duties to the Royal Family, turned to General Tugenev: "Why have I been called back? The situation at Argesukov is very bad; if I, as the logisticsmander, leave, their supply will soon be chaotic." General Tugenev waved his hand dismissively: "Don''t worry, an army of that scale forms inertia; your short absence won''t cause any major problems." "Short absence? How long is that?" Tugenev: "That depends on how quickly the Prussians act." It took Major General Chekhov a second to realize that Tugenev was not going to let him go back, so he stepped forward, tapping the desk with his wedding ring: "Are you joking? I..." General Tugenev: "Your new assignment is to serve as the logisticsmander in the Reserve Army. It was suggested by Grand Patriarch Belinsky, and after consideration, we believe that you are eminently suitable. You did very well in Argesukov and will certainly make a mark in the Reserve Army. "However, since you have no military merits, there''s a problem with your promotion, and it''s not necessary for a logisticsmander of an army to hold a general''s rank. You can go to your new post now, get familiar with the situation as soon as possible. We predictahem, the Operations Department predicts that the situation at St. Ye Katerina Fortress will gradually be severe starting from mid-September." Major General Chekhov stared at the general for a while and said: "You''ve given up on the heavy troop concentration at Argesukov." "It isn''t ''we'' who gave it up; we''ve always tried to save it, and right now, we''re still sending troops to Duke Meishikin, who has the best hopes for a breakout. It was the ipetence of the High Command and the senior officers that doomed that army." As he spoke, General Tugenev picked up his pipe, stuffing it with tobo, and continued: "Back in July, General Gorky Konstantinovich already predicted the risk of Argesukov being encircled, but at that time, themand was filled with an optimistic spirit, believing that once our new tanks entered the battlefield, the war would end quickly. "Therefore, General Gorky was relieved of his duties and sent to sit on the cold bench at the Saint Andrew Front Army. The only upside of this transfer is that General Gorky will soon show his talents in the coniferous forests and mountains around Saint Andrew Fort, as the Northwestern Front Army can''t hold on any longer." Princess Olga frowned, looking at General Tugenev with suspicion. Major General Chekhov: "You don''t need to shift the me to a mere major general like me; leave that to the historians. Where is my appointment?" General Tugenev pulled out a document and tossed it to Major General Chekhov: "Just stamped. There''s also an appointment for your adjutant. Where is he? Why hasn''t hee in?" Major General Chekhov turned and called out: "Rokossov!" Princess Olga was startled, standing up and watching the door with eager eyes. Instead, a chubby brigadier general came in. Princess Olga hesitated: "That''s not right; I remember Count Rokossov as a tall, well-built young man. I saw him from a distance at a ball." "What you''re referring to must be my brother, Count Rokossov; I am Duke Rokossov, Your Highness," the brigadier said as he saluted the princess, fulfilling his obligation to the Royal Family. Major General Chekhov passed the document from General Tugenev''s desk to Brigadier Rokossov. Reading it, the brigadier eximed, "Why am I being transferred to a logistics unit? My training is in operational nning..." General Tugenev: "We did consider sending you tomand troops, especially since your brother has performed so splendidly and your father also once did very well, which leads one to wonder if it runs in the family. "But brigadier, your map exercise scores are too poor, losing every time, and right now we can''t take the risk of youmanding troops, what if you tarnish the Rokossov name?" The brigadier''s face scrunched uppletely: "You''ve called me back just to prevent me from bing a stain on my brother''s reputation?" ``` General Tugenev: "No, no, no, we believe that you have performed excellently in logistical organization, so we are transferring you to a ce where you can fully leverage your strengths. After all, our main function at the Military Orders Department is to make personnel adjustments, to get the right people into the right ces. If there are no questions, you may leave now; my secretary has already arranged your amodation and transportation." Major General Chekhov saluted the general and turned to the brigadier general, saying, "Alright, let''s go, Brigadier." Only then did the brigadier general salute and follow the major general out of the room. After the secretary closed the door, only General Tugenev and Her Highness the princess remained in the room. Olga: "Is this the ''main duty'' of the Military Orders Department?" General Tugenev: "Yes, and it''s a very important duty. Without us acting as a lubricant, this huge and outdated machine wouldn''t be able to run for even a day. Your Highness, let''s talk about the issues that concern you." Olga: "You''re reinforcing Duke Meishikin''s forces. Are you preparing to rescue Argesukov?" "It''s unlikely that we''ll be able to save him, but we can try to rescue as many troops as possible. The enemy is very powerful, and without reinforcement for Meishikin, we might even lose Shepetovka. After all, aerial reconnaissance indicates that the enemy''s ninth infantry army group is about to move to the front of Shepetovka." "The enemy''s army group may have that name, but it''s not the same as our army groups." Olga asked again, "Will General Rokossov participate in the defense of Shepetovka?" "No, his troops will soon withdraw from Shepetovka to Shostka. We expect that he will have a month to build defensive positions there. Shostka also has a cement factory, so they''ll have plenty of cement." Olga frowned: "I don''t understand military matters, but it sounds like Shostka is different from Shepetovka?" "There''s a railway connection. After the fall of Shepetovka, Meishikin''s troops will retreat through Shostka. Additionally, there''s a river there, and although it''s not the flood season in September, it''s still hard to force a crossing. General Rokossovsky will be able to fully disy his defensive talents there." General Tugenev exined enthusiastically. "Additionally, after the troops arrive here, we n to invite the major general, along with his meritorious personnel, to the capital. At that time, we will award him and let him ept interviews from the newspapers. "After the massive failure at Argesukov, we will need these." Princess Olga''s brows were nearly twisted into knots: "You''ve already nned these things?" "Yes, if defeat is certain, we must prepare for the aftermath. Don''t underestimate the importance of what we''re doing, it can prevent a major defeat from bing aplete rout. "The Prosen High Command probably thinks that eliminating a million of our men at Argesukov means the overall situation is settled, but the Reserve Army has already organized over a million men, and that number will grow. "However, if morale copses, millions of men will surrender faster than pigs, understand? Princess Olga Nikyevna Antonovna!" Olga''s lips trembled, and she didn''t answer. General Tugenev: "You must get used to these things quickly! I heard you aim to be a female tsar like Ekaterina the Great, and the Great Empress wouldn''t tremble over such matters." Olga bit her lip to force herself to stop trembling. General Tugenev: "That''s right. As the head of the Military Orders Department, I can assure you that after this, Rokossov will receive ample reinforcements." Olga: "Are you nning to promote him?" General Tugenev waved his hands repeatedly: "No, although he has performed extremely well, he was only recently promoted to major general, and considering his earlier extraordinary promotion from colonel to brigadier general, the pace of his promotion has been unreasonably fast. We n to promote him to lieutenant general by the end of the year. "Not promoting his rank doesn''t prevent us from shaping him into a war hero. If he were in the Federation, by now he''d bepletely withdrawn from the front lines, going around making speeches, selling war bonds instead. "But we''re on the brink of national extinction; such an outstandingmander must continue to serve on the front lines. Of course, as the troops of a war heromander, we will grant them many privileges, such as returning recovered veterans to his unit as much as possible, rather than to other units. "And, for example, giving them a little more technical weaponry than others; many things will be more manageable after his return to the capital." The general paused, looking at Olga: "When he''s in the capital, Your Highness can apany him to show yourself more. Of course, when your brotheres back, there won''t be any need for you to do so." Olga stared at Tugenev for several seconds and asked, "What do you mean by that?" The general stared back at the princess for a long time before saying, "During the civil war, I wasn''t actually part of the Secr faction; I was with the centrists, working hard to prepare for defense against Bohemia and Manheim, ready to resist foreign intervention. Later, I became the head of the Military Orders Department. "The Secr faction who won the war wanted a tsar because the Sanctified faction had the support of so many people. The Secr faction says that Divine Arrows, chants, and the like are natural phenomena, which humanity will one day master, just like wireless radio. "But the old farmers in remote areas don''t think so; they all support the Sanctified faction. Do you understand? "But now, the old farmers have been convinced by sausages, champagne, and caviar, my princess." Princess Olga rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. Chapter 204: Chapter 55: A Telegram from the Crown Prince ``` August 7th night, Shepetovka. The headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division. Pavlov cleared his throat repeatedly, his brow furrowed. Wang Zhong: "Is your throat still ufortable?" "Yeah, I couldn''t help but shout during the retreat, and then I lost my voice. It''s better now, it only affects normal speaking slightly." Pavlov raised his voice and said, "But when I try to shout, this happens" His voice broke off abruptly when it reached a certain volume, leaving only the sound of air passing through his throat. Wang Zhong: "You sound just like an opera singer who''s overused his voice. Maybe you could ask Vasily; the son of the music professor might know what to do." At this moment, themunications staff at the radio stood up, walked over with a telegram in hand: "This just-decoded telegram is an order for us." Wang Zhong took the telegram, noticed that it was very short, and began to read: "''Your unit must move to Shostka immediately, to reorganize and construct defensive works there.'' Where is Shostka?" Pavlov approached the map and quickly found the location on the edge: "Here, an important railway hub on the Duva River. It''s a necessary route by train from Shepetovka to the capital." Wang Zhong also stood up and came over to the map, closely examining the ce Pavlov was pointing to. "This is really suitable for defense. It''s got mountains, forests, and even a river! Get the geographic data. I want to check the periods of high and low water level in the Duva River." The staff immediately began looking through the geographic data: "The periods of high water level... are the spring and autumn turnover periods." Wang Zhong: "So by the end of September, it will freeze over soon, right?" "But the muddiness of the turnover periods can significantly slow down the pace of the attacking troops, which is advantageous for the defenders," Pavlov replied. At this moment Wang Zhong suddenly noticed something. The border of Kazaria Kingdom just happens to go between Shepetovka and Shostka, even closer to Shepetovka actually. Wang Zhong: "We... are going to leave Kazarlia?" Pavlov had also just realized this, opened his mouth but no words came out. At this time, the others in the room were also looking towards them, most of them Kazarlian. Wang Zhong: "Since the order has been issued, let''s get ready. How many men have we assembled now?" Pavlov: "Including those with light injuries, 5100batants and 4500 logistics personnel. Except for your six small tanks, we''ve pretty much lost all our technical equipment." Wang Zhong: "Arrange for train cars, start transporting to Shostka. We have enough train cars, right?" "Yes, all day today troops have been arriving in Shepetovka by train, and the trains that were emptied were used to transport local civilians and hospital patients. It should be very easy to get the train cars to send us back." "Good, you organize this. I''d like our vanguard to leave for Shostka tonight to set up a camp. Has Popov returned? Have him take care of this, and make sure to secure support from local churches, asking the church to organizebor. Before we arrive, they should start digging anti-tank ditches and pouring concrete for anti-tank obstacles." Just as Wang Zhong finished speaking, Popov entered the room: "Did someone call for me?" "You''re finally back. How did it go with replenishing the prayers?" "No luck," Popov shook his head, "Your method of using the Divine Arrow for air defense is something the church has decided to promote. So the prayers are even more in demand now. Everyone at the front is holding on to them for dear life and even n to take ours. I''ve protested fiercely and managed to hold them off." Wang Zhong: "Good, very good. But I have a task for you. We''ve just received orders to move to Shostka. I need you to lead the vanguard andy the groundwork, starting with establishing contact with the local church and recruitingbor. We''ve suffered heavy losses in our logistics personnel and need reinforcements." Popov nodded: "Leave it to me... Shostka? Isn''t that outside Kazarlia?" Popov''s shout made even the ticking of the radios stop for a moment. Wang Zhong patted him on the shoulder: "You''re Kazarlian too?" "Of course! Can''t you tell by the way I eat? My life is owed to the sour cream from my hometown!" Wang Zhong: "Then you should eat as much as you can now. Nelly!" The maid entered the room, looking puzzledly at Wang Zhong. "Prepare some sour cream for Popov to fill up on," Wang Zhong ordered. At that moment, someone among the staff raised their hand: "I want some too." "And me!" "Me too!" Wang Zhong changed his request: "Nelly, prepare some supper, and get more of the Kazarlian local delicacies." Nelly nodded and left. Wang Zhong suddenly thought, considering how long he had been in this world, he still didn''t know what ''homnd delicacies'' were and it was a good time to get to know them. To get to know the foods of his "homnd." "Homnd." St. Ye Katerina Fortress, Summer Pce, Command Headquarters Operations Department. As soon as Tsar Nichs V entered, he asked, "Have you drafted the new n yet? How many troops can we save?" Marshal Semyon Konstantinovich stood up, took a long rod beside the map, and started gesturing over the map: "We are currently reinforcing Shepetovka, and when the relief operation begins, Duke Meishikin of Shepetovka willmand an assault. The target is to threaten the supply line of the enemy''s second armored group..." ``` Niki V interrupted Marshal Semyon, "I don''t care about your ns, I don''t understand them anyway, I just want to know how many people can be saved?" Marshal Semyon and Chief of General Staff Tukhachev exchanged nces and replied, "Four hundred thousand, it''s impossible to save more under the current circumstances." Niki V slumped into his seat, staring at the map. "Is this the best-case scenario?" he asked. Marshal Semyon nodded, "Yes." "And the worst-case? Give me some mental preparation," His Majesty the Tsar said with a voice that had aged considerably. Marshal Semyon exchanged looks with Tukhachev again. He considered for a moment before saying, "The worst-case scenario is that not a single person can be evacuated." "What?" the Tsar eximed, "Not a single person can be evacuated?" Chief of General Staff Tukhachev spoke up, "If we had started to retreat immediately at the onset of the enemy''s offensive, we could have saved more troops, but now it''s toote..." The Tsar stood up, pounding the table as he yelled, "Toote, toote! That''s all you say! Less than a week ago, you were still telling me that we could push the enemy back to the national border any minute! I should have executed all of you cowards by firing squad! You are traitors of Ante!" At that moment, Marshal Semyon said, "It was you who refused to retreat, sire. If we had retreated then, even if the situation was terrible, we could have saved three hundred thousand troops." Niki V fell back into his chair, looking much older. "Yes, it was I who didn''t allow the retreat. Are you ming me now? Do you want me to take full responsibility for this great defeat? Is that what you think, without considering who was there, thumping their chests before the war began? And who was it that arrogantly ousted Gorky Konstantinovich?" "It was you! It was you all!" After venting his emotions, Niki V sighed, "Call my son back, have a ne fetch him now!" Marshal Semyon asked, "What about the retreat n..." Niki V said, "Follow your n, I approve it." The generals exchanged nces, not concealing their surprise. Tukhachev stood up and picked up the telephone from the table, "This is the Chief of General Staff, the n has been approved, execute immediately. Repeat, execute immediately!" Niki Vmanded, "Send the best pilot! Go get my son now!" Marshal Semyon said, "Taking the Crown Prince away now could risk turning it into a rout. After these days of battle, the troop''s morale is already very shaky." "I don''t care!" Just as Niki V mmed his fist on the table, amunication officer came in through the door. Seeing the situation, he froze, standing at the doorway with the telegram, unsure of what to do. Tukhachev noticed themunication officer and said, "Give me the telegram, where''s it from?" Communication officer: "It''s from Argesukov, signed by the Crown Prince." Niki V stood up swiftly, walked over in two strides, snatched the telegram, and began to read. As he read, he copsed to his knees. The gathered generals were shocked and rushed to support their sovereign. Marshal Semyon grasped the corner of the telegram, "May I?" Niki V let go of the telegram and weakly waved his hand. Marshal Semyon looked at the telegram. "Dear Father Tsar, I have decided to fulfill my duty as an overseeing officer and lead the troops into an attack against the enemy myself. The current situation is extremely perilous, with Argesukov on the brink of encirclement. As your son, I am unable to stop the enemy''s onught and save the million-strong army here; I can only contribute a meager effort. Love, Ivan Nikyevich Andronov." After reading the telegram, the marshal passed the telegram paper to Chief of General Staff Tukhachev. The Chief of General Staff finished reading with a veryplex expression on his face. At that moment, the Tsar suddenly rallied, shouting, "Dispatch the ne! The ne! Tie Ivan to the ne and have him flown here! Fly over!" Tukhachev responded, "Understood, we''ll send a ne right away." Argesukov, Southwestern Front Army Headquarters. When themunication officer entered with uncontroble joy on his face, he announced, "The telegram''s arrived! The retreat n has been approved!" The senior officers in Headquarters were stunned; it was the Front Army Chief of Staff who first snapped out of it, "Let me see it!" Themunication officer immediately handed the telegram to the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff quickly read through the telegram and his face lit up with joy, "It''s a retreat order! Plus, High Command is preparing tounch an offensive towards Shepetovka to support our breakout. There''s another order here, Your Royal Highness; the ne to pick you up will arrive shortly." Ivan''s smile swiftly climbed his lips but vanished just as quick, "No, what would happen to the morale if I left under these circumstances?" "It will copse," the Front Army Chain said with certainty, "The breakout will turn into a mass of people bumping around like headless flies. The fields of Kazarlia are so vast that quite a few should make it out, but that''s all they''ll be doinggetting out." Ivan bit his lip, "Then I won''t go, keep to the original n. I will personally lead a force to break through, let the whole army know this. Moreover, prepare a royal banner, and make it big, bigger than the red g of my dear friend Rocossov!" Chapter 205: Chapter 56 The Children of Kazarlia ``` On August 8th, at 08:30, at Shepetovka, the headquarters of the 151st Provisional Infantry Division. Wang Zhong was originally nning to head out when he passed by Nelly packing up the dining table, possessed by some devilish impulse, he stopped and scooped up a dollop of sour cream with his finger and popped it into his mouth. Nelly: "What are you doing? You''re acting like a little kid! Can''t you use a spoon?" "Alright, alright, I''ll use a spoon." Wang Zhong took the spoon Nelly handed him and scooped up a heaping spoonful of sour cream into his mouth. Sour cream is such a strange thing, at first, it seems so odd to eat, and even odder to put into soup. But after you''ve tried it once, you can''t help but go for it again, the second time thinking, "It''s so strange, I need to savor it more." And then, you just can''t stop, you need to have some with everything. Especially here at Ante''s, where meals are those calorically dense things with lots of fat, you can''t do without sour cream to cut through the greasiness. It''s like eating pig trotters with noodles, after a bite of the big trotter, you need some sour pickles to refresh the pte. I feel like I''m going to turn into the shape of sour cream. After finishing, Wang Zhong handed the spoon back to Nelly, with a reminder: "The division''s train leaves at half-past ten, watch the time and don''t bete. You are my clerk." "Mhm." After Nelly spoke, she grabbed Wang Zhong who was about to leave. "Wait, you haven''t wiped the hand you used to scrape the sour cream, give it here!" Nelly then carefully wiped Wang Zhong''s hand clean with a napkin before letting him go. Wang Zhong: "You''re almost like my mom." Nelly, incensed, said: "I am not that old!" That''s what she takes offense to! Wang Zhong turned and left the room. No sooner had he descended the stairs than he saw a group of people wearing Labor Camp armbands streaming into the division headquarters'' yard. The newly assembled headquarters guard toon was blocking them, Grigori stood alertly at the door of the building where Wang Zhong stayed, cradling a submachine gun. The workers were fervent: "Let us see the General!" "Yes, let us see the General!" Wang Zhong: "What do you want with me?" The restless crowd paused, their gaze turning to him en masse. "It''s the General!" "That''s not right, isn''t the General supposed to be six meters tall?" What kind of gic specimen would that be? Wang Zhong: "I apologize for not being six meters tall and for disappointing you all. I''m just an ordinary person, but I''ve also killed two Prussian generals!" The crowd grew agitated again, specting about how the remaining five Prussian generals died. Wang Zhong couldn''t stand it anymore; at this rate, he was going to be Saint Andrew''s Champion Warrior. He interrupted their discussions: "What do you want? Did you juste to see what I look like?" The workers calmed down, and all eyes shifted in unison to an old worker. The old man stepped forward and said, "We are workers from the Shepetovka Textile Factory, we heard that your g was torn up in thest battle, so we worked overnight to make a new one! "Radilov, bring it here!" The crowd parted to make way, and a very robust worker carried a fiery red banner over to Wang Zhong, flicking it open fully in front of him with a twist of his arm. It was Wang Zhong''s red g, only a thousand times more exquisite, and at the base of the g, there was a line of gold lettering: Donated by the Workers of the Shepetovka Textile Factory. The old worker continued, "We used all night to perfect this red color. The young people at the factory, God knows where they heard it from, were saying that your g was dyed red with the blood of martyred heroes, and they wanted to use their own blood. But I thought that wouldn''t do, blood turns ck, so we used this blood red shade. What do you think?" Someone from the crowd shouted: "Bolutkin is our best dyer, General, please ept it!" Wang Zhong, looking at the red g, the sunlight filtering through the fabric and falling across his face, said; "Grigori!" he ordered, "Take the g, and you''ll be the g bearer. Where I go, you follow." The workers cheered. Argesukov, the Rokossovsky Estate. When Mikhail entered the duke''s bedroom, the duke wasparing clothes against himself. Mikhail hurried over and took the clothes: "Let me do it! We shouldn''t have let go of all the maids so quickly." "It''s nothing, I do have hands! You worry too much. Now tell me, what''s the situation?" "The Crown Prince is set to lead the troops out today; it''s your old unit." "Hmm," old Rokossov chuckled, "My old unit is the most resolute, and even Major General Skorobo knows this. This is just as well. What''s the direction of the attack?" Mikhail answered: "The attack is towards Shepetovka. First, it can dy the enemy armor from nking, and second, it can cover our forces escaping through the breach." Old Rokossov added: "Third, the Crown Prince might just break through if he''s lucky. Quite a gamble they''re taking. Where''s the nned deployment area?" "Kabusk Vige." ``` "Okay, we''ll head straight for Kabusk, we should make it in time. Choose a driver with no family ties to take me there." "Then it''s only me..." "No, you won''t do. You''re taking the ne out today." Mikhail thought for a moment and said, "Then let''s go with Stepan, two of his three sons are grown up, and the elderly in his house have passed away, which makes him suitable." "Hmm." Old Rokossov nodded. By this time, he had already put on his old military dress uniform and adorned himself with all his medals. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, the old man snorted, "Like a toy doll. My medals could almost be bulletproof, I wonder which Prussian bastard will benefit from them. No, it won''t do, I have to take the medals off. You take them to Alyosha, can''t let the Prussian devils have them!" So for the next twenty minutes, Mikhail, the old servant, helped the general take off all his medals. Rokossov looked at himself in the mirror and said, "The first time I put on this uniform, I was as young as Alyosha, knew nothing, and all I thought about was flirting with girls at balls." Mikhail: "The younger master is already capable of standing on his own." "Yes. Now it''s my turn as an old father to show him what a warrior''s resolve is." The old man suddenly smacked his lips, "My mouth is a bit dry, get me some sour cream, is there any sour cream left?" Mikhail: "Of course, there is, even if everything else was missing, we wouldn''t run out of that. I''ll go get it for you." "And bring some waffles, too, and walnut jam if there''s any." "Got it." After Mikhail left, the old Duke stood alone in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection. "Humph, not too shabby, could charm a girl at the bar." He lightly adjusted his beard and put on the old-fashioned military cap. After gazing at his reflection for a few seconds, he suddenly pped his thigh, "Ah, I forgot my saber! After the civil war ended, the troops did away with sabers, so I forgot! Mikhail! Where is my saber?" Argesukov, Krugen Street, No. 43. Mrs. Alexeyevna put a little pot of sour cream on the small tray in front of the wounded man, "Help yourself if you want to eat." The wounded man said, "Old mother, stop bothering with us, the Prussians will kill you too if they find out you''re hiding us!" The olddy pushed up her sses, nced around the cer and smiled faintly at the dozen or so seriously injured men hiding there, "Don''t worry. They don''t need a reason to kill an old woman like me. If one day I don''te down, you open the door over there." The olddy pointed to the end of the cer, "The pickled cabbage casks are already moved aside, even you should be able to open it easily. "It''s a tunnel prepared by the locals when they resisted Emperor Poli, there''s also argemunity of beggars underneath, and the Prussians couldn''t get rid of them all. "Just say you''re guests of Mrs. Alexeyevna, they''ll help you." The wounded men looked at each other while the olddy walked up the cer stairs and left. Mrs. Alexeyevna came up to the surface and carefully camouged the entrance to the cer before picking up the crutches and slowly moving towards the apartment door. She walked out the door and stood on the deste street of Argesukov. Not long before, the street was full of pedestrians, and there were queues at the church store not far away to get sausages. But now, the entire street was empty. Mrs. Alexeyevna stood for a moment, decided to go back inside, when a military unit approached from a distance. The soldiers marched in unison, singing military songs, their high spirits in sharp contrast to the deste surroundings. Mrs. Alexeyevna couldn''t help but stop, maintaining the gesture of holding the doorknob as she watched the troops. Her gaze was fixed on those young faces, like a mother looking at her children. An entire regiment marched past No. 43 Krugen Street, and then the only tank appeared. Mrs. Alexeyevna could not recognize the model of the tank, but she knew the huge g fluttering on the antenna behind the tank. A very young captain sat atop the tank turret, looking ahead with confidence. When he saw Mrs. Alexeyevna, the young captain suddenly patted the tank hatch, "Stop!" He shouted several times before the tank stopped, right in front of No. 43 Krugen Street. Mrs. Alexeyevna took a few steps forward and said to the young captain, "I think I''ve seen you before, Captain." The captainughed, "Impossible, it''s my father on the coin. Olddy, you better run, the enemy ising!" Mrs. Alexeyevnaughed, "I can''t leave, I still have things to do, I''ll wait for you toe back, child. May Saint Andrew bless you!" The captain was confused, "What else do you have to do? Shall I have someone do it for you? You should really leave!" Mrs. Alexeyevna shook her head repeatedly, "May Saint Andrew bless you!" She took a few steps back and drew a triangle in front of herself. The captain shrugged and ordered from within the tank, "Let''s go! No, forward! Is that how you give themand?" The person inside the tank replied, "That''s right, Your Highness. Maybe you shoulde inside, it''s windy out." "No, no, no, I get a headache just a few minutes after I''m in there!" the captain said, continuing to sit atop the tank turret. Mrs. Alexeyevna stood at the apartment door, watching the young man and his g recede into the distance. " Chapter 206: Chapter 57 May We Have a Safe Journey Kabusk Vige, near the predestined deployment line of the attacking forces. Ivan Nikyevich Andronov heard the distant cries of "Hurrah" from the front. Curious, he asked, "What''s happening?" However, no one answered him. The sound of the tanks was too loud, so Ivan reached into the hatch and tapped the tankmander''s shoulder, "What''s happening?" Themander turned around, "What?" It seemed that without an internal line, it was basically impossible to hear anything inside a tank. The Crown Prince waved his hand and sat up straight again, looking ahead. Finally, he saw clearly at whom the soldiers were yelling "Hurrah": a jeep was parked on the road, and an old man in an old military uniform was saying something. The tank pulled up next to the jeep and stopped. Ivan recognized that the old man was Duke Rocossov. "Your Grace!" Despite being the Crown Prince, Ivan used a respectful title, "What brings you here?" The old man smiled, "I''vee to serve as an infantrypanymander. I did the job for a good long time when I first joined the army; I''m quite familiar with it." Ivan asked curiously, "So, what was that Hurrah they yelled at you all about?" "Ah, it''s the young men on active duty showing respect to an old superior. Actually, most privates have never seen me; they don''t know why they should yell Hurrah, but they yelled anyway." The old Duke stopped and looked up at Ivan, "Hmm, apart from being a bit slender, you look like a soldier." For some reason, Ivan wanted to appear more soldier-like and jumped down from the tank, only to almost fall to his knees as he lost his footing. The old Duke grabbed him and pulled him up, "Be careful, Your Highness! If your knee hits the ground, I''ll have to go to the pce''s ceremonial hall for a protocol examination." Those around them who heard thisughed, then the old sergeant major chased the chucklers away, "Stopughing! The battle is unfolding! Do you want to stand still and take the enemy''s shelling?" Only then did the soldiers move forward, heading towards the deployment line. Old Rocossov pinched Ivan''s shoulder and asked, "How are you holding up, Your Highness?" "To tell you the truth, my legs started shaking the moment that sergeant major yelled. That normal, Your Grace?" Ivan revealed a wry smile. "Is this your first offensive?" The Duke asked in return. "If you don''t count the mock offensive drills in military school, yes." "Then it''s very normal. The night before my first battle, I couldn''t sleep a wink, tossing and turning, and whenever I shut my eyes, all sorts of nonsense would run through my mind. My heart thumped uncontrobly, and even the blood vessels in my neck and temples trembled." Ivan looked shocked, "Really? That''s exactly what happened to mest night!" "True. Everyone feels the same, but the differencees the second time. Brave people are still nervous the second time but can at least sleep a bit. Those bastards born for the battlefield sleep soundly the next time and even snore!" Ivanughed, "Really? Then I''m looking forward to my second time. I wonder how Alyosha is doing." "He''s probably like me; sleeps more soundly than a pig the second time around," said Duke Rocossov. Just then, a whistling sound came overhead, and Ivan instinctively wanted to hit the dirt but was caught by the Duke and couldn''t move. "It''s our own preparatory fire, no need to worry. It''s for sting the enemy." As soon as he finished speaking, explosions lit up the northern ins. Ivan looked into the distance, "Are the enemies that close?" "Not close, almost three kilometers away. It''s quite a walk. Of course, Your Highness, you''ll get there faster in a tank, whereas this old man here will advance with the infantry." "I''ll also advance with the infantry..." Ivan suddenly looked down, noticing his legs were shaking so much, it was visibly clear from the outside of his trousers, "Never mind, I''ll ride in the tank after all. I feel like my legs would give out halfway. Alyosha has already gone back and forth across the battlefield several times, while I''m just embarrassing." Duke Rocossov nced at Ivan''s legs, hesitated for a moment, but then said, "At least you didn''t wet yourself, which is quite brave." Ivan alsoughed, "I think that''s just a hateful rumor someone made up about Alyosha." "Who knows?" Duke Rocossov gazed at the distant enemy positions being bombarded. Silence briefly enveloped the two, with only the thunderous explosions in the distance and the continuous whistling of shells in the sky. Suddenly, Duke Rocossov said, "Originally, I wanted to change Alyosha''s name, because have you heard that song called Alyosha?" Ivan thought for a moment and said, "The song with the lyrics ''He can no longer bring flowers to the girl, it''s the girl who brings flowers to him''?" "Yes, it''s terribly inauspicious, isn''t it? But then I thought, the name Aleksei is that of a saint, chosen ording to the time he was born. It would probably anger some formidable force if I changed it randomly." "That idea is very un-Secr faction, isn''t it?" The Ante People''s custom was to choose names from a list of saints ording to the time of birth, which is why there were so manymon names. Ivanughed, "Indeed." "Now, all we can do is hope that Saint Aleksei blesses him to live until the end of the war." The general made a triangle with his fingers andughed. After the brief exchange, the two watched silently as the artillery pounded the enemy positions in the distance. Time passed unmeasured until a messenger ran up, dismounted in front of the Crown Prince, and saluted, "The divisionmander has instructed me to inform Your Highness that the assault formation is fully deployed." Ivan returned the salute, "Tell themander that I''m just a captain, no need to report to me, proceed with the attack at his pace. I''ll be at the very forefront of the troops." Chapter 207: Chapter 57 Blessings for a Safe Journey to Us_2 ``` "Yes!" the messenger saluted, mounted his horse, and galloped away. Ivan turned to Duke Rocossov and said, "Then I''m off." "Hmm, I''ll be right there," the Duke replied, taking a step back and saluting Ivan. Ivan turned to climb onto the tank but his legs were shaking so badly that he couldn''t get up. Old Duke Rocossov stepped forward, grabbed him by the armpit, and hoisted him up. The Crown Prince stood behind the tank gun, cing all his weight on the turret, before finally looking down at Duke Rocossov, "Thank you." "Don''t mention it." Ivan rapped on the tank turret hatch and shouted loudly, "Forward! To the very front of the formation!" The tank roared to life, thundering forward. Duke Rocossov watched the tank depart before getting into his own jeep: "Let''s go, to the front of the first line of infantry, and then, Stepan, you can run. Go wherever it is you need to go." Stepan nodded, "Understood." The car engine started up. Half an hourter, at the very front of the attack front. All the soldiers present could tell that the barrage had turned into Xu Jin''s barrage, signaling that the attack was about to begin. A toon leader ran up to Ivan''s tank: "Your Highness! Say something to us!" "Ah?" Ivan looked at the soldiers awaiting expectantly, "Uh, I... can''t! Whenever I had to speak before, someone else would write the script for me!" The toon leader said, "But you''ve got to say something, everyone''s waiting." Ivan scratched his head and began, "Alright. I''m the Crown Prince of the Ante Empire..." "We can''t hear you!" a heckler called out from below. Ivan raised his voice considerably, "I''m the Crown Prince of the Ante Empire, the close friend of that General Rokossovsky, the White Horse General! He has led his troops to many victories!" "I don''t know if I can lead you to victory like he does, but at the very leastI can charge with you on a tank, like he does! That''s all!" The toon leader, who had asked for a speech, blew the whistle to start the march, whether he was satisfied or not. Ivan patted the tank turret, "Move out! Forward!" The tank began moving, advancing towards the enemy''s position. Duke Rocossov was in front of the first skirmish line to the right of the Crown Prince''s tank. Seeing the Crown Prince''s tank advance, Rocossov shouted, "The Crown Prince takes the lead! Sons of Kazarlia, forward!" He drew his oldmand saberwhich despite its age, was so well-maintained it reflected light visible hundreds of meters away. Duke Rocossov ced his military cap on the point of the saber and held it high. "Follow me! Forward! Strike up the military song!" As soon as he finished speaking, the enemy''s counter-fire fell, exploding amongst the skirmish line. Duke Rocossov moved forward, fearless. The Prussian Army, 13th Attack Squadron''s Squadron Leader heard over his headset: "We''re under attack by enemy infantry, we''re under attack by enemy infantry." The Squadron Leader tilted his joystick and the aircraft leaned over, revealing the ins originally obscured by the wings. Then, the Squadron Leader noticed an interesting target: a tank, flying a huge g that lookedsomewhat like the Royal g of the Ante Empire. The Squadron Leader turned on the radio: "I''ve spotted a high-value target. Squadron maintain direction, number two follow me in the attack." After speaking, he pushed the joystick to the right and the aircraft rolled and dove into a dive. The Squadron Leader opened the airbrake, and the characteristic screech filled the air. As soon as Ivan heard the screech, his neck was covered with goosebumps. He vaguely remembered that this was the noise made by the enemy''s dive bombers, called "Death Scream!" He snatched the anti-aircraft gun mounted on the tank turret, looking up for the target. He spotted them, "ck birds" against the direction of the sun! Ivan swung the gun around, crouching down on the side of the turret to raise the gun as much as possible. He fired, tracer rounds soaring into the sky. However, Ivan, who had never received any air shooting training, had no idea about leading the target. Nor did he have a gunsight. There was no chance he could shoot down the enemy aircraft diving from several thousand meters up. The two enemy nes dropped their bombs at 700 meters altitude and then pulled up to leave. As the nes flew over Ivan''s head, two 500-kilogram bombs dropped, onending right beside the tank. Ivan turned just in time to hear the whirring of the bomb''s time-dy fuze. The next moment, light swallowed his consciousness. Ivan Nikyevich Andronov, Crown Prince of the Ante Empire, was killed in action. Duke Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky saw clearly as the Crown Prince''s tank was engulfed in the explosion. The Royal g, primarily white and blue, gently fell among the smoke and dust. The Duke closed his eyes and whispered, "Godspeed, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince." When he opened his eyes, more Death Screams came from the sky. Konstantin looked up, raising the sword that encapsted all his glory and military prowess, facing thetest advances in military technology. A step ahead, my son. Major General Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky was killed in action. The train of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division stopped at a small, quiet station. Pavlov: "They said it was for a train crossing, and it conveniently gives us a chance to take on water." Wang Zhong nodded, then jumped out of the door of the stuffy boxcar onto the tform. "Is this still within Kazarlian territory?" he asked Pavlov, looking back. ``` Chapter 208: Chapter 57 Blessings for a Safe Journey to Us_3 "Indeed," Pavlov nodded, "You can tell just by looking at the scenery, there''s no other ce with such beautiful grasnds, with such fertile ck soil." Wang Zhong nodded. For some reason, looking at the grasnds under the afternoon sun, Wang Zhong suddenly felt a sense of mncholy. Logically speaking, this was simply the homnd of Count Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, while Wang Zhong''s own homnd had no such vast grasnds, and the scenery waspletely different. Logically speaking, the outsider Wang Zhong should not feel mncholic for a mere ce name. At that moment, Ludm and Nelly came down from the second carriage and stood by Wang Zhong. Ludm: "As a child, you were only not such a rascal when riding a horse." "Eh?" Wang Zhong looked at his fiance, "Really?" "Yes, you would always let the reins go on horseback, letting the horse run on its own, then you''d spread your arms wide, feeling the wind like an idiot," she said. Wang Zhong recalled for no particr reason the sensation of riding Bucephalus and sitting atop turret number 422. Spreading your arms wide, embracing the wind like an idiotindeed, it seemed to be somewhat the case. Suddenly, Wang Zhong jolted and turned to ask Nelly, "Did I... also used to love eating sour cream?" Nelly affirmed with certainty, "Madly so, especially the one made by your deceased mother." At that instant, a huge wave of sorrow, like a flood that had been building for a long time, surged forward and took hold of Wang Zhong''s heart. Although he could remember nothing, neither racing across the fields nor the taste of his mother''s sour cream, the tide of grief that passed through was overwhelmingly real. Why this mncholy? Because I am Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, I was born here, I grew up here, and the milk of the ck earth nourished me. Even if the memories are gone, even if the soul has been reced by another, my body still remembers. It remembers the wind here, everything here. Struggling to keep his voice steady, Wang Zhong said, "Nelly, bring me a lunchbox." "A lunchbox?" "Or some other metal box, one with a lid that''s easy to carry." Although Nelly looked puzzled, she turned and ran off. Wang Zhong stepped forward, crossed the tform, jumped down, andnded on the ck soil. Nelly came running back with the lunchbox: "Here you go!" Wang Zhong grabbed the lunchbox, forcefully opened the lid, wedged it under his armpit, squatted down, and scooped up a handful of the ck soil. Nelly: "I''ll get a shovel." "No! No need," Wang Zhong stopped Nelly and continued plunging his hand into the fertile ck earth, carefully cing the soil from this second homnd into the metal box. On the third handful, a startled cricket sprang out and leaped into the grass not far away. Wang Zhong kept filling the lunchbox, handful after handful. Mud packed under his fingernails and filled the lines of his fingerprints. His hands looked like those of a child ying with mud, all dirty. But everyone watched him in silence. Ludm''s eyes even brimmed with hot tears. Grigori, carrying the red g, stood silently on the tform. Finally, Wang Zhong closed the lunchbox and pressed down hard. He squeezed out a smile for those around him: "Now, my homnd will always be with me." He looked up as if seeing the Kazarlianndscape for the first time. As if greedily wanting to imprint everything in his mind. He remembered countless faces: the unnamed elders of Karlinovka, the worker Loktov who rescued him from beneath the tank, the olddy Alexeyevna from number 43 Krugen Street... In the end, Wang Zhong saw Crown Prince Ivan and "Old Man" Konstantin standing in the light, seemingly saying something. They were saying "safe travels." At that moment, the train''s whistle startled Wang Zhong. He turned his head and saw the stifle cars full of young faces passing by on the opposite tform, heading in the direction Wang Zhong was leaving. Ignoring the mud on his hands, Wang Zhong cupped his hands to his mouth to make a megaphone and shouted to the young faces: "Safe travels!" The soldiers of the 151st Division shouted together: "Safe travels!" The red g, gifted by the workers of Shepetovka, fluttered in the wind. Chapter 209: Chapter 1 New Stage Shostka In August 914 of the Jules era, on the morning of the 9th, the headquarters special train of the 151st Division rolled onto the Duva River railway bridge. Wang Zhong stood in the open door of the stuffy tank car, looking at the dense bomb craters by the river. ordingly, the bridge bore numerous signs of repair, and through the steel structure, one could still see the scratches left by bombs on the piers. This type of bridge could be easily repaired as long as the piers were not destroyed; usually broken by day, it could be fixed to allow traffic by night. As for crushing the piersthat would be tricky, as even sticking explosives directly onto the concrete wouldn''t guarantee damage unless ced correctly. The piers in Ante were particrly well-stocked with materials. Indeed, any Ante construction that used reinforced concrete had more than enough material. No, in the country of Ante, any matter involving materials was bound to be generous, the epitome of crude and overbuilt. The train reached the east bank of the Duva River, where the anti-aircraft artillery positions came into Wang Zhong''s view. Pavlov also stood by Wang Zhong and rasped, "Well camouged." Wang Zhong said, "See those fresh patches of earth? They must have filled in the craters. This position has been bombed many times." Just then, a captain with a bandage tied around his head emerged from the bunker and stood by the railway, watching the train of the 151st Division, his gaze fixed on the red g flying from the carriage. At this moment, the train''s speed is quite slowafter all, a recently repaired railway bridge isn''t too sturdy, and speeding could be dangerous. Wang Zhong called, "Captain! Do you belong to the garrisonmand here?" "No, we are from an anti-aircraft artillery battalion of the Railway Troops. There''s no city defensemand in this town; all the defenses are on the west side," the captain replied. At that moment, Wang Zhong''s carriage passed in front of the captain. The captain asked, "Are you Aleksei Rokossov, General?" Wang Zhong waved, "I am." More anti-aircraft gunners emerged from the bunker, watching the train. Unfortunately, the train had already traveled too far for Wang Zhong to hear their discussions. Then the train''s whistle sounded from up ahead. Pavlov remarked, "We''re about to enter the station. If all goes well, Popov should be waiting for us at the station. I hope he has got the division headquarters ready." "Hmm," Wang Zhong paused before adding, "I''m more concerned about Argesukov''s situation, though." The division headquarters kept the radio operational aboard the train, but since they could not unfurl the antennas inside and the power supply was poor, the information they received was intermittent. Wang Zhong was only aware that the Southwestern Front Army had initiated a breakout and that Duke Meishikin was also making an effort to coordinate. As they spoke, the train slowly glided into Shostka railway station tform. Popov indeed was on the tform, standing with his hands on his hips, looking anxious. He had just locked eyes with Wang Zhong and immediately looked away. Wang Zhong had an ominous premonition. He was reminded of the illusion just before leaving Kazarlia yesterday. Now the train came to a stop, and Wang Zhong leaped onto the tform and strode up to Popov, "How are you, Bishop?" Popov saluted Wang Zhong, then hesitated to speak. Wang Zhong urged, "Go ahead, I''ve heard all kinds of bad news since the war started." Popov rubbed his nose, "Last night we received a telegram. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince died leading his troops in a breakout, alongside him was the founding War General... Duke Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky." Wang Zhong pursed his lips. In truth, he had only "met" these two figures upon arriving in Argesukov, and theoretically, he shouldn''t be overly heartbroken. Yet, he walked on along the tform, away from the division clerks and staff disembarking, away from tank no. 422 being unloaded from a t car, and away from Bucephalus, the restless horse ttering his hooves. Grigori, shouldering the red g, wanted to follow, but Popov signaled him to stop. So the sergeant major, holding the g, followed at a distance, merely maintaining a visual contact. At this moment, Ludm descended from the train. Popov and Pavlov called out together, "Ludm Vasilyevna!" Ludm ran over, puzzled, "What happened?" "Duke Rokossov and the Crown Prince have both died for the country. Gofort him..." Popov suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Because Ludm herself was on the verge of breaking down, covering her mouth, "Uncle Connie... is gone?" "Connie" was Konstantin''s nickname, and ording to Antean tradition, only a child who was especially beloved by an elder could use such an affectionate term. Ludm appeared to be struck by grief, her tears and snot running uncontrobly. Nelly handed her a handkerchief. Ludm, with the handkerchief in hand, said, "Go to Alyosha! He must be more heartbroken than I am." Nelly stuffed the handkerchief into Ludm''s hand and then ran forward along the tform, chasing the figure of Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. Wang Zhong continued to the very end of the tform, where the noise was less obtrusive, and only two railway workers stood by the switch, watching him. There were still workers checking the lotive, tapping each wheel with a hammer to listen to the sound and assess its condition. In the monotonous tapping, Wang Zhong stopped and looked up at the azure sky. Although he did not know exactly when his dear brothers and old father had passed away, he always felt it must have been the moment he saw the hallucinations. After all, in a world with Hymn Monks and prayer hands, it didn''t seem strange that a dying person could emit a "final ripple." Wang Zhong carefully examined his inner thoughts and found that aside from mncholy, regret was what he felt the most: I haven''t had enough time to get to know you all. It was then that he heard the pping sound and turned his head to see Grigori standing in the distance, holding the red g. Only then did Wang Zhong notice Nelly running over. Nelly didn''t seem overly sad, so Wang Zhong asked, "Do you know that my father and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have died for our country?" "Mm. Liu Da cried a lot. Are you going to cry too?" asked Nelly. Wang Zhong: "Aren''t you sad?" Nelly did not answer but only looked at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: "Let me teach you, next time this happens, you just say, ''I have a high threshold.''" Nelly: "I have a high threshold." Light-speed application, oh! Wang Zhong was amused by Nelly''s response and his expression rxed a bit. He looked at the railway stretching into the distance and said to himself, "I''m a little sadder than I thought I would be. I don''t even know why." Nelly: "I thought you would say ''Good riddance, now no one can boss me around anymore.''" Wang Zhong: "Am I such a bastard?" "I think so. But now I''m not sure," said Nelly. Wang Zhong thought about it and felt that many might have misunderstood the original host, who was actually quite sentimental; so much so that these emotions even transmitted to him, despite being unrted. Alyosha, Alyosha, how much more do people misunderstand you. At this time, Pavlov and Popov appeared together, but did not dare toe over, standing with Grigori. Wang Zhong: "Come over here, I''m all right." Popov and Pavlov exchanged nces, then walked over together. Both were big men, walking side by side like two bears. Popov: "There''s another piece of news, we''ve been transferred to the Reserve Army. We maintain our independence as a division. The Reserve Army has ordered us to construct fortifications on-site, in preparation forbat." Wang Zhong: "We''re familiar with that, no time like the present, let''s set off now to survey the terrain. Call up the mapping officer, that Arkadi fromst time, he''s good at drawing maps..." "His leg is broken. He''s probably been sent back to the medical center in T by now," Pavlov interjected, "I''ll call someone else, another good fellow who transferred from the forestry department, a former civilian." Wang Zhong: "Alright, and get Vasily to bring my captured Prosen radio! And Bucephalus, saddle him up!" Popov: "You have one day to survey the terrain." Wang Zhong, puzzled, asked, "One day? Why only one day?" "Because the neing to pick you up willnd at the airport next to the city tomorrow." "The airport next to the city!" Wang Zhong eximed in surprise, "So we''re finally going to have an Air Force?" "Just one fighter squadron, responsible for the protection of the bridge. But they often fail to deploy in time." Wang Zhong: "Put Brother Peter on it! Find a high tower, and set up a sound array for him!" Popov: "I''ll arrange it, don''t worry. Did you hear what I just said? There will be a ne tomorrow to take you to Yekaterinburg." Wang Zhong frowned, "Why would I go there? My post is here! Don''t you know that the better the fortifications we build, the fewer casualties we''ll have? The reason we managed to escape with so many fighters this time is because we built fortifications for nearly half a month, do you understand half a month?" "I understand," Popov replied, "haven''t you forgotten that it was I who organized thebor for the fortifications?" Wang Zhong: "Uh, sorry. Indeed you did. So you should know, the more familiar I am with this area, the more ingeniously I canmand the construction of the fortifications! And the more enemies we can kill." Popov: "I suggest you still take a trip to the capital. With the situation as it is, we may soon face thergest defeat since the beginning of the war. So..." Popov did not continue, but nced at the railway workers beside them. Wang Zhong: "I understand, you need me for propaganda, right? At the start of the major defeats, you used me to boost morale, and now you''re doing it again." Popov: "The defeat is inevitable, so now we need to manage the aftermath and inspire the morale of the entire army. Without morale, even an army of a million could copse in an instant. As Ante''s best War General, you understand this, right?" Wang Zhong understood, of course he did. He clenched his teeth and said to Nelly, "Get my dress uniform ready, spiff me up so I''m presentable by the end of the day, and Grigori! You''re my standard-bearer, clean yourself up too!" Grigori, who was standing far away, heard this and replied, "I''ll have Aksinya take care of it, don''t worry." Wang Zhong paused: "Who is Aksinya?" "A girl from theundry squad, I met herst night." Wang Zhong looked closely at his guard: "You... hooked up with someonest night? You''re that impressive?" Wait a moment, I seem to have been ''had'' on the train too. Is this some kind of Ante tradition? Chapter 210: Chapter 2 Ah, the Navy (25,000 monthly tickets plus update) Bucephalus, upon seeing Wang Zhong approaching, immediately broke free from the soldier leading him and galloped straight towards Wang Zhong, opening his mouth as if to nibble on his hair. But the horse abruptly came to a halt, snorted in front of Wang Zhong, and then began to nudge his shoulder with its nose. Wang Zhong patted the horse''s neck, "Don''t do that; you''re making me ufortable." The horse forcefully blew its nose. Five minutester, Wang Zhong set off with a dozen or so riders. On the map, Shostka appeared as a city spanning the Duva River, but in reality, the buildings on the west bank were concentrated around the railway bridge, and mainly, there was just the row of houses on the west side of the riverside street, and further west were fields. Apart from the railway tracks, the railway bridge had only a narrow path wide enough for one person at the edge, impossible for riding horses. To repair the bombed railway bridge, they had to deploy engineering vessels from the east bank docks. The docks on the east bank were quiterge, with a berth that housed an ind gunboat of the navy. The docks were guarded by a battalion of Naval Infantry, whose ck uniforms plus sailor''s shirts inexplicably gave Wang Zhong a sense of reassurance. He stopped in front of the entrance to the docks and asked a Naval Infantry lieutenant who was on guard, "Whom do you take orders from here?" The lieutenant saluted, then pointed to a four-story building by the dock shore, "General, that''s the headquarters of the Ind Fleet. The entire Duva River fleet is under itsmand, and so are we." Wang Zhong let out an "Oh" and turned back to ask Popov, "Did you establish a good rtionship with the Ind Fleet?" Popov, "I wrote a letter to themander of the Ind Fleet saying that General Rokossovsky''s 151st Division will be relocating here, that you would arrive today." "A letter?" Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows. "Yes, this is a more prudent approach. The navy and Naval Infantry generally take orders from the Front Army headquarters. It''s better for us at the division level to observe some formalities." Wang Zhong nodded, dismounted, and then tied the reins to a hitching post outside the entrance. Having done this, he turned to the sentry and said, "I''d like to pay a visit to themander of the Naval Ind Fleet, may I pass?" "Your identification, please," the lieutenant at the gate said. Wang Zhong took out his identification and handed it over. "Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, Major General... Is it that Major General Rokossovsky?" Wang Zhong, "Yes." The lieutenant immediately returned the identification to Wang Zhong and then shouted, "Attention all, salute!" The two Naval Infantrymen on guard snapped their rifles off their shoulders and switched to the rifle salute. The lieutenant saluted ceremoniously, "General, I salute you." Wang Zhong returned the salute, "The navy knows of my deeds too?" "Of course, General. Pleasee in." Wang Zhong nodded, walked into the docks on foot. As he headed to the headquarters, he noticed two sailors cleaning the deck on the gunboat and another painting the vessel anew. The armament of this ind gunboat reminded Wang Zhong of the famed "Yellow Water Battleship," but instead of the twin 57mm guns mounted on the Yellow Water Battleship, this gunboat was armed with an 85mm naval gun on the foredeck and two twin 37mm machine guns on the aft deck. With this firepower, seemed pretty good for fighting the Prussian tanks, didn''t it? Too bad there was only one of them. To go to the capital... maybe assemble a few more? If there wererger ind gunboats avable, they could also be brought over, but it was uncertain whether the Duva River''s navigation capacity could supportrger ships. As Wang Zhong contemted these matters, he arrived at the headquarters entrance and saw a navy colonel with several senior officersing out from inside. Wang Zhong thought they were heading out on business and intended to make way, but instead, they came straight to him and saluted. "I am Kozelsky,mander of the Ind Fleet. Major General Rokossovsky, the gatehouse called to say you have arrived. We thought you would go straight to the headquarters; we were nning to visit at an opportune time." Wang Zhong returned the salute, "I''m surveying the terrain, after all, the High Command has instructed me to build defensive works here." "We''ve been notified that your division will be establishing defenses here, and that we are to cooperate. Let me show you the defenses we''ve already built," offered Kozelsky. "That would be excellent," Wang Zhong smiled. Kozelsky gestured invitingly, then took the lead, exining as they walked, "Though it''s called the Ind Fleet, we actually have just one vessel, which you''ve seen. The Duva River''s navigational capability is weak; these small ships asionally run aground even during low water levels. "Apart from this ship, the main force at ourmand post is a Naval Infantry regiment. One battalion is stationed in the port area, and the other two battalions are positioned at the ferry crossings up front. We''ve built concrete fortifications at the crossings and have relocated the locals from the opposite bank, ttening the buildings to ensure a clear field of fire." As Kozelsky exined, Wang Zhong could see the ttened buildings on the opposite bank, greatly opening up the field of view. Wang Zhong turned to ask Popov, "Are there still locals on the other side? Move as many as possible over here, then tten the buildings to secure a clear field of fire." Popov, "I''ll ask around. We should be able to tten most of the buildings." "Most?" frowned Wang Zhong. Popov, "Some people just don''t like leaving their homes and are quite stubborn about it." Wang Zhong, "Even with Prosen''s troops bearing down on them?" "Right. However, I''ll have the parish priest do the work. You don''t need to worry too much; what if it all goes smoothly and everyone is persuaded?" Wang Zhong nodded. Having seen Wang Zhong finish speaking with Popov, Kozelsky joined the conversation, "Aside from having the Naval Infantry build fortifications, we''ve also had our dredging engineers deepen all the river channels, so the enemy tanks won''t be able to ford the river. "We''ve received many reports that when the enemy first started their attack, they used a new type of equipment that allowed tanks to cross the river from the bottom. Now, that situation will be eradicated." The method of river crossing that Kozelsky described is quitemon inter eras, as modern tanks are equipped with NBC protection systems that maintain positive pressure inside the tank to prevent the entry of poisonous gases and radioactive dust from nuclear explosions. The "bonus" thates with this NBC system is that tanks can enter water with a snorkel attached, and as long as the depth doesn''t exceed the limit, they can avoid water intake and drive to the opposite bank from the riverbed. Tanks from this era do not have such advanced equipment for maintaining positive pressure, and in order to cross underwater, they must seal all potential water entry points. The Earth''s Sturmtigers used this method to cross the Bug River. Clearly, the Prussians of this timeline adopted the same approach to cross the rivers on the Prussian-Ante border. Kozelsky: "We''ve pretty much done everything we can think of, do you have any additional instructions?" Wang Zhong: "I... Is it appropriate for an army officer to instruct the navy?" Shouldn''t there be an insurmountable barrier between the army and the navy? "The order we received is to assist you in defending Shostka," Kozelsky said. Wang Zhong: "Well then, we are delighted to have a battalion of Naval Infantry joining us." "And an ind gunboat," Kozelsky reminded. "Oh, yes, and an ind gunboat." At that time, the air raid alert sounded. The gunboat crew, who had just been painting the deck, immediately sprang into action, moving to the two 37 mm machine gun mounts on the aft deck and cranking the guns up to aim at the sky. Wang Zhong turned his head to Popov and said, "Replenish the Divine Arrow troops as quickly as possible, and join the air defense operations." As soon as the words fell, eight Lag 3 nes swept across the city skyline and flew westward. Kozelsky eximed, "The fighter squadronunched so quickly today." Wang Zhong, however, frowned, "Are all the local fighter squadrons equipped with Lag 3? Aren''t there any MiG-3s or Yak-3s?" Kozelsky asked in confusion, "I know about MiG-3, but isn''t Yaklyev just designing the Yak-1?" "Uh..." Wang Zhong was embarrassed, "I misspoke, Lag 3, MiG 3, and then I just blurted out Yak 3. I meant to say Yak-1, I mean the Yak-1 modification. Yak 3 isn''t so easy toe by." Kozelsky epted Wang Zhong''s exnation readily, "Yes, sometimes I misspeak too, calling the Il-2 the Il-3 or something like that." While speaking, Wang Zhong extended his hand, "Now I am clear about the situation of the ind fleet and the Naval Infantry. I need to inspect other ces, so I will take my leave." Kozelsky shook Wang Zhong''s hand, "Goodbye, General Rokossovsky." Just as Wang Zhong was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Apart from the ferry in the city, are there other crossings over the Duva River?" Kozelsky immediately answered, "If you go downstream thirty kilometers, there''s another crossing, but that has already left your defensive zone, and there should be other units stationed at that crossing, right?" Wang Zhong: "What about iron bridges? There can''t be just this one bridge, can there?" "There are three more bridges, all quite far from here. The Prussians would have to make a big detour to cross the river there," Kozelsky gestured, "I mean, if the enemy''s target is Yekaterinburg." He paused, seeking confirmation, "The enemy''s next move is to attack the capital, right? I mean, after taking out Argesukov''s troops." Even the navy was aware of Argesukov''s situation now. Wang Zhong nodded, "Yes. High Command estimates it will be mid-September, we still have a month to establish defenses." Kozelsky nodded, "Okay, I will have the Naval Infantry continue to reinforce the fortifications. Thankfully, there''s a cement factory in the city, so we can build more permanent cement pillboxes." Wang Zhong was surprised, "There''s a cement factory in the city?" Popov: "Yes, I also found out after arriving. The church is currently organizing workers to produce cement around the clock and has specifically dispatched transport teams to bring in raw materials from the surrounding areas." Wang Zhong: "That''s excellent news, we can finally proceed with building cement pillboxes freely." In Orachi, the enemy''s heavy artillery had made a profound impression on Wang Zhong; if they hadn''t managed to squeeze out enough cement for those strongholds, Orachi would likely have fallen. Wang Zhong muttered to himself while pping his palm with a riding crop, "Cement, good, cement is good." Popov: "I need to remind you, we only brought people with us, almost all technical equipment was lost. Cement alone is not enough." Wang Zhong: "Let Pavlov handle that." Popov: "I believe Pavlov will do his utmost. However, you could also try hard tomorrow when you go to the capital." At that moment, Colonel Kozelsky, who had already said his farewells, turned back and asked, "Your Excellency General, is it true that the princess is your lover?" Wang Zhong was shocked; what was this now? That''s not right. Hadn''t Ludm said that the princess was out of his reach and that he had struck out with her? It must be a rumor! Wang Zhong: "No, the princess and I merely have a nodding acquaintance." Chapter 223: Chapter 15 Rocossov Knows a Bit About Music (32,000 Monthly Tickets Plus) ``` As the conductor turned around, the maid had just brought Wang Zhong a new dish. Since it was time for dessert, it was a cheese curd sponge cake paired with sour cream. Wang Zhong, with a try-it-and-see attitude, cut a small piece of the sponge cake with his fork. To his surprise, the fork cut through as if slicing tofu, the coagted cheese curds seemingly breaking apart at the slightest touch. The taste was a perfect level of sourness, with the sour cream on top of the sponge cake creating an exquisitebination with the cheese curds inside. Immersed in the gourmet food, Wang Zhongpletely ignored the music, and it was only after he nearly finished his delightful meal that he took notice of what the band was ying. It was typical anthem music. You could say the piece wasn''t good, but that certainly wouldn''t be true; as an animation score, it would definitely enter the hall of fame. If paired with some memorable scenes, it could even be a ssic. Yes, animation score. That was the only way Wang Zhong could describe the piece. He stood up and shouted, "Enough! Stop!" Some musicians saw Wang Zhong''s gesture and stopped ying first. The bandleader, about to get angry at the musicians'' pause, suddenly realized something, looked back, and then quickly signaled the others to stop ying. Wang Zhong: "What is this? It has none of the temperament of this war! If you take this music out, people will think the war is merely a battle game for noble knights! No! I refuse to acknowledge that this could be my anthem!" The Ye Fort bandleader hesitated before responding, "If you have any specific requests, please mention them. I''ve tried my utmost to make the piece grand and powerful, but if you feel itcks vigor, that might be because we''re only a small ensemble now. It will be great when ourplete band performs for you, with the grand and powerful string section added." Grand and powerful strings? The kind that the clients would love? Wang Zhong: "No, that''s not it! You have the wrong understanding of this war! Are you the bestposer in Ye Fort?" The bandleader was hesitant, but admitted, "In terms of honors received, I suppose I am." Wang Zhong: "What is your name?" This question set off murmurs among the crowd; after all, a nobleman not knowing the name of the best musician in Ye Fort even if he was a debauchee, he should''ve known better, otherwise how would he have charmed nobledies at social gatherings? But Wang Zhong truly didn''t know; he wanted to confirm if this was one of the musicians he was familiar with by his name. The bandleader reported his name, but Wang Zhong had no memory of it. In a world where even a Tugenev had gone off to be a general, Tchaikovsky might well bemanding an army. Wang Zhong: "Your music ispletely wrong! The undertone of this war, at least now, is tragedy! The people endure great sorrow from the loss of rtives and friends, yet they still resolutely head to the front. The music should feel like that!" With that, Wang Zhong hummed a bit of "The Holy War." "Do you understand?" he asked. He thought after his humming, others would start showing their astonishment. However, after a few seconds of looking at each other, the bandleader and his musicians replied, "Oh, you want to incorporate this melody into the music? Sure, I''ll give it a try!" He then pulled out a pencil and started sketching on the sheet music in front of him,ter showing it to the others. After discussing for some time, they picked up their instruments again. Bandleader: "We''ve made the changes based on your suggestions, please listen!" The band started ying again, but it wasn''t at all the piece Wang Zhong had in mind. "No, no! Stop!" shouted Wang Zhong, interrupting the band once more, "What are you doing? Can''t you feel the emotion in this melody?" Not just the bandleader, but all of the musicians looked utterly lost. Wang Zhong gave up; he vaguely realized the problemit could be two things: first, as ayman, he surely hadn''t hummed the melody urately. Second, besides melody, conveying emotion in a song depended also on the arrangement. Perhaps just humming with the human voice wasn''t enough to convey it. All he could do was wave them off: "Just go, go! I don''t want to hear your pathetic music! Get out!" The bandleader led the musicians out, running for their lives. Wang Zhong slumped down, looked at the half-eaten cheese curd pastry on the table, and sighed, "I''m full, and I''m tired. I want to rest now." After saying this, he stood up and headed straight for the dining room door. Ludm hurriedly wiped her mouth and stood up, taking control of the situation: "Ladies and gentlemen, Alyosha has seen too much death on the battlefield. Please try to understand. Dinner will continue, and I will keep youpany until the end on his behalf." At 11 o''clock at night, Ludm finally saw off thest couple of guests and returned to Wang Zhong''s study. Wang Zhong sat on the windowsill, staring at the moon. Due to ckout regtions, there were no candles lit in the entire room, which was pitch-dark except for the moonlight shining through the window. When Wang Zhong heard Ludm''s footsteps, he said, "Why can''t these people feel it? I hummed it to Vasily, and he felt it." Ludm: "You hummed it to Vasily? The melody from the dining room just now?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, we had just arrived at Argesukov, and I had just delivered the letter from tank gun Gunner 422 to his mother. That night, thinking about the olddy''s reaction, I suddenly thought of this song and hummed it. "Vasily happened to hear it." Ludm sat on the same windowsill, her knees touching Wang Zhong''s: "Hum it again for me, maybe I can understand. After all, we''ve fought together." ``` Wang Zhong looked out the window, where Ye Forty under the moonlight without a single light, asleep in the shroud of night. Ludm, seeing he did not speak, said, "Remember when the war had just started? We were trapped in the basement, and the enemy''s tanks were passing on the road nearby." Wang Zhong nodded. How could he forget? That was where everything began. One day in the future, he must return to Ronied, to that basement, to see where the story started. Ludm: "From that day onwards, so many people left. Among them, there were actually quite a few I disliked, but now, looking back..." Ludm left her sentence unfinished. Wang Zhong reminisced about the sergeant whose name he had forgotten when he first time-traveled. The sergeant had dered he wouldn''t take orders from a ''pissing officer'' and then led his squad away, getting riddled with bullets shortly after. Then he thought of the female medic who had bandaged him, wondering if she had managed to escape from the encirclement. And then the family he saw dead in a dung pit after capturing an enemy supply station. ... Too many sacrifices shed through Wang Zhong''s mind, one by one. He began to hum subconsciously, a melody that was sorrowful yet resolute. Rise up, mighty nation, to fight a desperate struggle! Wang Zhong gazed out the window, focused entirely on humming the melody. Ludm, sitting opposite him, widened her eyes, staring at his face, seeming to forget even to breathe. In Shostka, Private Vasily of the 31st Guards Regiment was furiously scribbling on paper as hey sprawled on the table. His roommate, Filippov, returned from a shower and curiously asked, "What are you writing?" Vasily: "Aposition." "Didn''t you say you would never touchposition in your life? Because it would remind you of your father!" "No, no," Vasily shook his head, "I''m notposing. It''s a melody hummed by General Rokossovsky, Argesukov. I felt the general''s emotion was so intense then. But... anyway, this tune has been haunting me these days." Filippov leaned over and, by the candlelight, carefully examined the musical notation in the notebook, humming it softly. "The melody is good, but the mood..." Vasily: "Wait a second." He marked the tempo and key at the beginning of the notation. "Hum it again." Filippov hummed it again: "Hmm... I''m starting to feel it!" Vasily added a series of symbols to the notation, adjusting the entireposition. "Go on!" After Filippov hummed it for the third time, he eximed, "It carries a sense of tragic heroism, a resolute readiness to sacrifice. Good, very good." Vasily: "I tell you, I think the general is ayman in music. If I hadn''t seen the general''s expression while humming this song and felt his emotion, I probably wouldn''t have been able to appreciate this mood." Filippov: "Then aren''t you contradicting yourself? Isn''t thisposition written by the general?" "I don''t know. My fatherold man Tchaikovsky used to say that the tune is already there; theposer simply fishes it out from another world by chance. I guess it''s the same with the general." Filippov, frowning: "You''re nning to giarize the tune as your own?" "No, of course not. I''ll submit it to the journal that old man Tchaikovsky, my father, advises for, under General Rokossovsky''s name. But before that, I want to add lyrics to it. You think about it; you''re better at writing poetry than I am." Filippov: "Hmm... For the first line, I would write, ''Rise up, mighty nation! Fight to live!''" "Good, the first line is great," Vasily quickly parsed the lyrics and slotted them under the notation, "Uh, we need to adjust the phrasing. Change ''Fight to live'' to something else." Filippov hummed the melody again and, after a moment''s thought, suggested, "How about changing it to ''to engage in a desperate struggle''?" "Let me try it. Hmm, it looks pretty good! The second line,e on, Filippov, quick!" Filippov leaned against the window, looking at the moonlit Duva River, and after some contemtion, said, "We should state the objective of the struggle. The second line could be ''to annihte the Prosen invaders,'' how about that?" Vasily filled in the line, softly singing it over a few times, nodding, "Works. Keep it going." "Stop right there; this song is just the main melody repeating. You should write the chorus now." Vasily smacked his tongue: "The general didn''t hum any chorus! It''s just this part repeating." Filippov: "You''re the son of a music professor! Youe up with one! You''ve felt the general''s emotion; follow that sentiment and add a section." Vasily hummed the main melody over and over until, suddenly delighted, he added a chorus after it. "I''ve added an elevation, like charging at the enemy, like a tank gun firing rapidly. How about that?" Filippov, frowning: "It''s passable, far inferior to the general''s main melody, though." "No chatter; get to writing the lyrics!" Amidst the silence, the moon quietly watched the two men engrossed in their creation. Chapter 212: Chapter 4 August 10th at 4 PM ``` On August 10, at four in the afternoon, St. Ye Katerina Fortress, airport. As soon as Wang Zhong stepped out of the cabin, the music for "The Farewell of the v Women" began to yoh, incorrect, in this timeline it''s called "The Farewell of the Ante Women." Immediately afterward, Wang Zhong caught sight of his good brother''s sister. He was taken aback for a moment. Compared to the Crown Princess, my Liu Xia only wins with her silver hair! This is horrifying! As Wang Zhong reeled in shock, he suddenly heard Ludm''s voice: "Walk down, and remember to salute when you''re in front of the Crown Princess." He then descended the airne stairs and stood at attention, saluting before the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess scrutinized Wang Zhong carefully. Wang Zhong felt as if the Crown Princess''s gaze was like that of a cheetah assessing its preywhether that was just his imagination or not. It seems that during my time in St. Ye Katerina Fortress, I have to stick with Ludm every day, otherwise, who knows when I might make a mistake. Wang Zhong shelved these thoughts and put on a stern face, "Your Highness?" "Oh, ah, I have some words to say." The Crown Princess cleared her throat and put on an official tone, "Wee home victorious, brave White Horse General, Duke Rokossov." Wang Zhong: "I''m a Count, as far as I know my elder brother has now inherited the dukedom." "I haven''t made a mistake," said the Crown Princess with a smile, "We n to bestow upon you the title of Duke of Caron, and the rted procedures are already being prepared. We are nning to establish a crash course school in the Duke of Caron''s territory to specifically impart experience inbating the Prussian Army to our military officers." Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, his voice raising, "You n to transfer me away from the frontline? No, no, no, I (with my cheat) am worth five Army Groups!" The Crown Princess beamed with a smile, "Not right now, of course." "Maybe after the war is won." Suddenly, an elderly male voice came from behind the Crown Princess. Wang Zhong turned his head and first caught sight of the Marshal''s insignia. He immediately saluted the Marshal. "Rx a bit," the Marshal returned the salute, then extended his hand, "Semyon Konstantinovich." Wang Zhong took his hand, and before he could speak, the Marshal said, "Orachi was fought beautifully. The first two days could be considered perfect. On the third day, the enemy was simply too numerous, but managing to organize a breakout was already quite impressive." "The breakout on the third day was thanks to my chief of staff''s abilities," said Wang Zhong honestly. On the third night of the breakout, what he did was just "driving a small tank around in the front recklessly"; the real hero of the breakout was Pavlov. Marshal Semyon appraised Wang Zhong again: "Very modest, not stealing credit from subordinates, quite different from the Count Rokossov we''ve heard about." Because it''s not the same personWang Zhong suddenly stopped himself, unwilling to think that way at this moment. He had already felt all sorts of emotions from Rokossov. He was Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov. Wang Zhong: "People change, Your Excellency, especially in a war that seems like hell." At that moment, a General entered Wang Zhong''s field of vision: "Major General Rokossov, I''ve heard so much about you." Not recognizing the General, Wang Zhong saluted first. "Oh, there''s no need for that. War heroes always enjoy some special treatment. I am Tukhachev, the Chief of General Staff," said the General, extending his hand. Wang Zhong took his hand, "Pleased to meet you. Are you the one who dyed the retreat orders?" "No, no, we proposed a retreat n as early as August 4th, but His Majesty did not approve it." Tukhachev paused, then continued, "Now we are trying to rescue Argesukov''s Southwestern Front Army. Currently, Duke Meishikin is making progress, and troops from two divisions have already broken through." Wang Zhong was shocked; why did this man make it sound like two divisions were a lot? So he reminded him, "Argesukov still has about seven hundred thousand troops." "Yes, we are still endeavoring," said the Chief of General Staff, "The good news is that due to the Crown Prince''s heroic martyrdom, the troops surrounded are fighting with very strong will. Although the enemy''s encirclement is about to close, they are still continuing to fight." Wang Zhong: "How long the troops within the encirclement can fight depends not only on their will to fight but also on how much supplies they have!" "We have umted arge amount of food and ammunition for Argesukov; there''s no need to worry for now," said the Chief of General Staff. "We''ll talk about these matters at the experience sharing meeting tonight. Your Highness, over to you." Crown Princess Olga gave Wang Zhong a slight smile, took his hand, and said, "This way, please. I''ve arranged a reception feast at the Summer Pce." Wang Zhong: "There''s no need. As a soldier, I''m fine with eating the same as the front line. Let''s get straight to business then. Isn''t there a sharing session tonight? Let''s bring it forward to now; we can eat sausages and share at the same time." The Chief of General Staff and Marshal Semyon exchanged nces. But the Crown Princess said, "That''s a good idea. Then I''ll notify the officers attending tonight''s sharing session to gather at the High Command." Wang Zhong had a feeling that the Crown Princess''s appreciation for him had increased! He couldn''t help but look towards Ludm. It was as if the Crown Princess only just noticed Ludm, releasing Wang Zhong''s hand. Ludm saluted: "Greetings, Your Highness. I am Captain Ludm Vasilyevna Malyukhova, a prayer hand." "I know." Crown Princess Olga smiled. "You''re Duke Rokossov''s childhood friend, and you have not yet be engaged." Indeed, Ludm and he had not be engaged. After all, the Westerners have a veryplicated procedure for engagements, which takes a long time to prepare. Ludm: "But we''ve already decided to get married after the war ends." Crown Princess: "Oh, is that so? Then how about I serve as your bridesmaid?" ``` "Eh?" Ludm didn''t expect such a turn of events, "A bridesmaid?" "Yes," the Crown Princess shrugged her shoulders, "After all, I am a woman, I can''t be the best man." Wang Zhong then saw Nelly hiding and watching from a distance and said, "Nelly can be a bridesmaid." "Nelly?" the Crown Princess looked puzzled. Wang Zhong: "Ah, she is my orderly, the daughter of the nanny who has always taken care of me and Liu Xia. She has been with us since she was very little." The Crown Princess was shocked: "The daughter of a servant as a bridesmaid?" Wang Zhong: "What''s wrong with that?" Nelly could be a woman my mother approves of! The Crown Princess took two steps back, distancing herself from Wang Zhong and Ludm. It was then that Wang Zhong realized the expressions of Chief of Staff Tukhachev and Marshal Semyon were very serious. Right then, Wang Zhong realized that he might have said something a noble wouldn''t say. Nobles wouldn''t let a servant be a bridesmaid, would they? Ludm, however,ughed and said, "Nelly is great, I would be happy for Nelly to be the bridesmaid!" No sooner had she spoken than a deepugh echoed through the room. Wang Zhong had heard thisughter before. He turned his head and sure enough, saw the Grand Patriarch Belinsky approaching. On making eye contact, like an old acquaintance, the Grand Patriarch said, "Oh, Alyosha, I see you again! You''ve lost a lot of weight since thest time." Wang Zhong: "I shouldn''t have, our supplies are plentiful, we basically never starve." The Grand Patriarchughed heartily: "Then maybe I''m just seeing things." At this moment, Tukhachev and Semyon Marshal grew even more grim, especially after hearing the Grand Patriarch call him "Alyosha." As if oblivious to the other two men, the Grand Patriarch continued, "Your return this timees with a heavy task. We''re nning to have you give a speech during the memorial service, can you... manage that?" Wang Zhong: "Your Highness, don''t you know? I''m quite good at giving speeches to rally the soldiers." Belinsky: "I know that, the Tribunal has already reported the content of your speeches to me. Just... judges are good at interrogating and eliminating traitors, but they may not necessarily be able to discern the quality of a speech. When can you give me the speech for the memorial?" No way, I have to write a speech too? I hate this the most! "Hmm?" Belinsky raised an eyebrow, "Ah, I get it, you''re better at improvising on the spot!" Wang Zhongughed, but it wasn''t true; he just had ready-made temtes to copy. Without those, his speeches would turn toplete rubbish. Wang Zhong was reminded of thest time he had to give a speech and ended up cobbling together some parallelism, eventually resorting to copying the famous work "If We Do Not Go to War" from the field to get through. Damn, he broke into a sweat. He had copied Qiu Pang''s "We Will Never Surrender," and now he was wondering if he should copy it again? Belinsky seemed to understand everything and thumped Wang Zhong on the shoulder: "Very well, then I look forward to it." Could you not look forward to it! "By the way." The Grand Patriarch changed the subject, "I heard they''re nning to cancel the banquet and do war experience sharing while dining. Can I join in?" Wang Zhong thought to himself I have no say in this, so he looked at the Crown Princess, who turned to look at Chief of General Staff Tukhachev. The Chief of General Staff: "No problem, we would be honored to have Your Highness with us." Belinsky: "Then it''s settled." Wang Zhong was stunned by the luxury of the Summer Pce. Theoretically, as someone who had visited the Forbidden City Museum, mere luxury should not astound him anymore. Moreover, Wang Zhong had seen the Soviet version of "War and Peace" and witnessed their all-out effort to recreate a court ball, but now he realized that seeing it in a movie and actually sitting in the pce were two different things. While he looked around like an idiot, the military officers in attendance were all watching him. "That''s the man who killed eight Prussian generals with a horse and a sword." "Nonsense, I heard he ran over eight with a tank." "You''re all wrong, it was artillery that killed them." As the crowd buzzed with discussion, the Grand Patriarch Belinsky entered the room and quietly sat in a corner. At first, only a few officers noticed the Grand Patriarch, but as they sat up straight, more and more officers took notice until the entire room fell silent. Tukhachev stood up: "Today, we have all gathered here for a summary and sharing of experiences! You are all front-line officers who have survived the war, each with vast experience in fighting the Prussians. Today, we aim to..." Suddenly, the main door opened. An officer wearing a staff armband came up to Tukhachev and whispered in his ear. Tukhachev eximed in shock, "He''s back? How does he have the audacity to return? What about the other high-ranking officers?... This is madness!" Chapter 213: Chapter 5 Justice The Chief of General Staff finished cursing, nced at the curious onlookers, and then said to General Tugenev, "You organize the exchange meeting." General Tugenev asked, "What happened? Who''se back?" Chief of General Staff Tukhachev did not answer but followed the staff officer who hade to report the news, striding away briskly. Wang Zhong, observing the situation, was also moved and stood up to follow them out. The Chief of General Staff seemed to be in a hurry, not noticing Wang Zhong at all. He walked as if he were in the final sprint of an Olympic race walkingpetition. Even Wang Zhong, a young man, had to hasten his steps to catch up with the older man. At first, he was worried it might be too obvious, but then many others starteding out from neighboring rooms, heading in the same direction. When Marshal Xiemiao came out of the building, he saw Wang Zhong, but obviously thought Wang Zhong had been called by the Chief of General Staff and paid him no mind. He went straight to the Chief of General Staff and said, "He actually abandoned his troops and ran back! If he had died in the encirclement, we could still provide for his wife and children." Wang Zhong frowned slightly. Could it be that... that thing hase back? His anger surged up in an instant. In this way, the group barged into the drawing room. Olga Grand Duchess was already there in the drawing room; she stood in front of Major General Skorobogatov, her face red with anger, clearly having just erupted. When she saw the others enter, the Grand Duchess turned around, heading to the window to cool off. Tukhachev nced at the Grand Duchess''s retreating figure, and, ring at Major General Skorobogatov, eximed, "Why have youe back? Do you even have the face to return?" Sweating profusely, Major General Skorobogatov responded, "I thought someone needed to take responsibility for this military failure, so I..." Chief of General Staff Tukhachev interrupted, "You have excuses, do you? To take responsibility? Do you think that saying so will cover up the fact that you abandoned your troops and fled in panic? You coward!" Stung by the word "coward," Major General Skorobogatov protested, "I''m not a coward! I can lead an army of tanks to break the encirclement! I will die in battle just as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did!" Wang Zhong sneered, "Easy to say!" Everyone turned to look at him, and Tukhachev now noticed him for the first time, his face showing surprise. Wang Zhong walked directly up to Major General Skorobogatov, "Lead an army of tanks? Haven''t you sacrificed enough tank armies already? The Sixth and Eleventh Tank Armies, with all those T34s and KV1s - how many of the enemy did they actually destroy? How many? "When the enemy''s armored clusters reached my position, not even the paint was scratched off! The Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Tank Armiesmitted to the counterattack were squandered by you!" Furiously, Major General Skorobogatov shot back, "The extent of the enemy losses from the counterattack requires a detailed assessment, not just your personal impression, Major General Rokossov!" Wang Zhong retorted, "Then let nes sweep over the ins and check whether those tank wrecks have sloped armor or vertical armor! Let them count properly!" Major General Skorobogatov fell silent because aerial reconnaissance had already confirmed it: indeed, more Ante tanks were destroyed. At that moment, the Grand Patriarch and several Cardinals arrived with the junior officers who had participated in the earlier military exchange meeting. The originally spacious drawing room suddenly became half-filled. Wang Zhong, not even ncing at the doorway, continued to roar, "The reason for this oue is because some of ourmanders are simply not familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of our tanks, thinking that as long as we win in the armor-piercing shell confrontation, we can crush the enemy! "Somemanders don''t even realize how poor the situational awareness of the T34 tanks is due to the elimination of the tankmander''s role! They have no idea of the advantage the enemy gains through their use of radio!" Many tank soldiers among the officers brought by the Grand Patriarch nodded in agreement upon hearing Wang Zhong''s words. Major General Skorobogatov challenged, "You knew, did you tell?" "I did! I spent an entire night writing a summary report of my experiences! Did you read it? No, you didn''t, because it was thest one on the list! And in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you even said that just having T34s would be enough to send the Prussians packing!" With a trembling voice, Major General Skorobogatov contended, "But you also reported that the armor of T34s and KVs holds a tremendous advantage inbating enemy tanks..." Wang Zhong interrupted, "Yes, indeed they hold a tremendous advantage, which is why I was able to destroy so many enemy tanks at Orachi with just over thirty T34 tanks! Let the nes go see how many wrecks of enemy tanks litter the Orachi fields! "Even if the enemy''s repair crews have fixed quite a few by now, the in is still littered with wrecks! "Me, an Infantry Division, reinforced with a battalion''s worth of tanks, destroyed more enemy tanks than the entire Southwestern Front Army! More than the entire Southwestern Front Army! Those KVs and T34s of the Sixth and Eleventh Tank Armies could have wreaked immense havoc on the enemy! "But because of an ipetent pig, they are now just wreckage on the Kazarlian ins!" Tukhachev nced at Marshal Xiemiao. The marshal stepped forward, "All right, all this can be documented in a post-war summary. Major General Skorobogatov, you''ll face a military tribunal, be prepared..." Wang Zhong interrupted loudly, "No! I pointed out as early as July that the enemy might move south to outnk Argesukov. Major General Skorobogatov disparaged me, dismissed my suggestions, then deployed our most advanced tanks in a reckless attack that led to their annihtion. "If those tanks had been under mymand, set up defensively in the proper positions, the enemy wouldn''t have been able to push through at all. "Now, the entire Southwestern Front Army is encircled and he has fled. With such actions, I suspect" Wang Zhong took a deep breath. "I suspect he is a spy for Prosen! When I was breaking out of Ronied, I encountered Prosen spies disguised as our military bishops and judges. I suspect Prosen spies have already riddled us with holes." Tukhachev snorted coldly, "Ridiculous, I''ve known Skorobo since he was in military school." "Such a possibility cannot be ruled out," Belinsky suddenly joined the conversation. "General Skorobo led the tank troops in the Castilian Civil War, where there were plenty of opportunities toe into contact with the Prussian Army involved in the civil war." General Skorobo snapped, "This is nder!" Marshal Semyonov: "This is a very serious usation, Major General Rokossov." The Marshal purposefully did not mention the Grand Patriarch as if it were an usation by Wang Zhong alone. "Such usations need evidence." Said the Marshal. Wang Zhong pursed his lips, he indeed had no evidence, his earlier remarks had been made on the spur of the moment. General Skorobo snorted coldly: "Can''t you see? This is Major General Rokossov''s usual trick; he himself said he executed spies disguised as our military bishops and judges." "But who knows if they were spies? Perhaps those bishops and judges were only trying to prevent him from fleeing Ronied! Then he thought about the title of a spy and executed them! "Now, he probably thinks the same way and ns to pull out his pistol to execute me, because I ran away just like him! "Go on, pull out your gun, Rokossov! What is that at your waist, a toy? If you are convinced I am a spy, then draw your gun! And shoot here!" Skorobo pointed at his own forehead. Wang Zhong was also worked up; the anger he''d been brewing all along converged into a volcano, erupting violently. He drew his service pistol and aimed it at General Skorobo. Everyone was shocked. Marshal Semyonov roared, "What the hell do you think you''re doing? Drawing a gun in the Summer Pce?" As if he had won a personal victory, General Skoroboughed, "See! All the charges are groundless! He just wants to lynch me! Because in his eyes, it was me who caused the death of his father! "This is a personal vendetta! This guy talks all about Ante, with the pretense of worrying for the country and its people, but in reality, he just wants to avenge his father! "Princess Olga, remember his shameful behavior at this moment! He drew a gun in the sacred Summer Pce, disrespecting the dignity of royalty." Crown Princess Olga turned around, looked at Wang Zhong, and appeared very much like she wanted him to fire. General Skorobo continued to agitate: "Come on, shoot, Rokossov, shoot, and after you do, you will be a man who despises the royal family, and none of your honors will save you! Go ahead, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossov!" Wang Zhong fired. The first shot pierced General Skorobo''s chest, and then as the muzzle rose, the second shot hit Skorobo''s throat, and the third shot hit his forehead. After three shots, Wang Zhong''s pistol jammed, the brass casing stuck in the ejection port. General Skorobo knelt on the ground and then fell backward. Hearing the gunshots, the guards rushed in. Belinsky: "Calm down!" The guards stopped. Belinsky stepped forward, pushed down Wang Zhong''s gun-wielding hand, and smoothly removed the jammed pistol: "What I just said meant that this matter should be handed over to the tribunal. "You were too impulsive. The report says you executed enemy imposters as a bishop and judge, and the servants of Boye who were preventing your defenses... and now a general. It looks like in the future, you won''t be allowed to carry a gun in the Summer Pce." Wang Zhong: "He asked for it." Belinsky: "He asked because firing indeed worked in his favor. Lucky you killed him, otherwise there would be many more troublester." For some reason, Wang Zhong always felt that Belinsky was quite pleased. Finallying out of shock, Tukhachev shouted angrily: "This is a grave act of rebellion! A major general has openly executed his superior, a general! Major General Rokossov must face a military tribunal!" Belinsky: "He was just careless in his actions, but to execute a spy and traitor is not too much of an issue. It is an extraordinary time, after all." Tukhachev: "This..." The Grand Patriarch looked towards the Chief of General Staff: "Your eagerness to protect a traitor and your desire to bring to trial a meritorious officer suggests that the tribunal needs to review your family rtions and private life." Beading with sweat, Tukhachev''s poured down his face, literally. The Grand Patriarch continued: "By the decree issued by His Majesty the Tsar, all traitors are to be with their immediate family members held ountable. Cardinal Ravkid, you carry out the implementation." The bespectacled Cardinal bowed slightly: "By yourmand, Your Holiness." Finishing speaking, the Grand Patriarch retracted the slide of Wang Zhong''s pistol, expertly cleared the jam, then engaged the safety and returned the gun to Wang Zhong: "Remember next time, don''t be so impulsive, think more." Belinsky said and then lightly tapped his forehead. Chapter 214: Chapter 6: In Memory of Forgetting (Extra for 27,000 monthly votes) Wang Zhong finally realized what was happening. "Shit, I''ve caused trouble, haven''t I?" If the Grand Patriarch weren''t here, wouldn''t I be in deep trouble? He wanted to ask his own people, but then realized that there was not a single "own person" around him, not even Ludm. At this moment, Belinsky said, "Alright, everyone has witnessed the fate of this traitor. You can return and continue the experience sharing session. I look forward to you summarizing a set of effective methods to deal with the Prosen Army. Off you go. Where are the pce servants? Come clean the floor." Wang Zhong nced at the Grand Patriarch and felt again how happy he seemed to be. I really need to think this over carefully... Just as Wang Zhong was contemting, Crown Princess Olga arrived. She was wearing a court dress, the kind from the Victorian Era. One of the main characteristics of this court dress was: it was spacious and grand. But Wang Zhong, having seen much of the world, did not stare cluelessly like a virgin uncertain where toy his eyes. He boldly looked, and then raised his gaze to the princess''s face. Just at this moment, everyone else had left, leaving only the servants to rece the blood-stained carpet. The princess took Wang Zhong''s hand and dragged him to an outside terrace. Then Olga Nikevna Andronov whispered, "Did Belinsky ask you to do it?" "No, it was truly an ident," Wang Zhong replied. Olga asked again, "So, was this your deration of allegiance?" "What? Uh, no. I just got carried away and didn''t think it through," Wang Zhong answered truthfully. Olgaughed, "If it were someone else, they definitely wouldn''t believe you; they''d think it was a well-considered action, especially since you are Rocossov, the ''Imperial Iron Wall.'' What the hell? How did I be the Imperial Iron Wall? As Wang Zhong was puzzled by this title, Olga continued, "But I know you just got carried away. After all, you and my brother are so close." Uh... Olga: "My brother once said, if something happened in the future, and the church no longer needed the royal family, I should find you, and that you would definitely go to great lengths to protect me." Wang Zhong frowned slightly. Had the Crown Prince said that? That didn''t sound like something a profligate would say. So he asked, "When did Ivan tell you this?" Olga thought for a moment, "Hmm... I think he said it when I was ten years old." Wang Zhong nced at the princess''s chest: "That was quite a long time ago." Olga, as if reminiscing about the past, went off topic: "Yes, it was a long, long time ago. Back then, you and my brother were always taking me around the garden to y, and then we would all get scolded by the steward grandfather." There were such events? Olga: "Once, when you two climbed trees, my dress was not convenient, and I couldn''t climb. I sat under the tree crying, and then you found some scissors, intending to cut the hem of the dress, but the whalebones stumped you. "To deal with the whalebones, you and my brother even took out the gardener''s saw..." Wang Zhong could only force a dryugh, as he had no knowledge of these events. However... wasn''t it said that I ran into a dead end with the princess? How did I hit a dead end? Just then, Princess Olga took Wang Zhong''s arm, "Are you in a hurry to attend the experience-sharing session?" "Uh, not really, I haven''t eaten yet, and there''ll be dinner provided during the session," Wang Zhong said, trying to escape. With the princess looking like she wanted to reminisce about the past, he could spill the beans any minute! He even wished his stomach would make some noise to assert its presence. However, Princess Olga, as if she hadn''t heard Wang Zhong''s words, took his arm and started dragging him away. "Keep mepany for a while." Soon, they had passed through several rooms and arrived at a secluded corner of the Summer Pce. Wang Zhong felt he was going to be dumped; the girls here were too forward. And their strength was considerable; being dragged by the princess was almost like being pulled by a bear. Princess Olga banged open a massive door, and as Wang Zhong was dragged inside, he thought it was goodbye to Liu Xia. Ah Liu Xia, my Liu Xia. However, there was no bed behind the door. It was a game room, with severalrge tables in it, covered with chess sets, ying cards, and other tabletop games. On the inside of a bar on the left wall were countless bottles of what looked like very expensive liquor. In the corner stood a piano and a violin disyed in a ss cab. Starkly out of ce was a bookshelf filled withrge volumes of books. The time was approaching seven o''clock, and the setting sun cast ayer of warm, pale yellow hue over the room through the windows. Princess Olga released Wang Zhong''s arm, walked over to a chessboard, and looked at the game that was halfway done: "This is thest game that my brother yed with me before he went to the front. I was about to win, and he began to cheat, saying he wouldn''t y anymore, and that he would continue when he returned." Wang Zhong looked at Princess Olga''s back; her royal gown left her entire back exposed, appearing so white and slender, fragile it didn''t seem like she could wrestle with a bear. Olga: "He clearly said he would continue when he came back." Her shoulders started to tremble, her shoulder des protruding sharply as if they would tear through her skin. Wang Zhong wanted to go up and wrap his arms around her shoulders, but for some reason, he knew the next step after embracing her would be for the princess to throw herself into his arms. Why am I so practiced at this, how many times have I taken advantage of others in simr situations? Wang Zhong forced himself to turn away and started looking at the books on the shelf. He expected to see many novels, but instead, he found works rted to economics and philosophy. The most prominent ce held a book with the church''s insignia, and the author was Saint Andrew. These books all looked very old, their spines creased from frequent handling, and some books were obviously well-worn and had their spines reinforced with paste afterwards. Furthermore, all the books were haphazardly inserted on the shelves as if their owner could just pull out any book at random and start reading, so there was no concern for categorization at all. Ivan Nikyevich Andronov, you damn Crown Prince ying possum. Wang Zhong picked up a photo frame from the dresser beside the bookshelf and looked at the three people in the photograph. There were Ivan, Aleksei, and Olga. The princess sat between the two handsome young men, smiling as if she owned the entire world. Written on the photograph was the line: "Ekaterina the Great and the Twin Jewels of her Empire." What stuff are you talking about, idiot, her im to the throne is higher than yours. If she wants to be the Great Emperor, you would have to die first. Wang Zhong was initially ranting when his movements suddenly froze. "Brother once said, if something unexpected happens and the church no longer needs the royal blood, I should find you," he recalled Olga''s words. Wang Zhong looked at the photo frame again, as if he could see the expression on Ivan Nikyevich''s face when he wrote that line on the photo. He turned again, looking towards the bookcase, as if he could see Ivan gripping Saint Andrew''s work in front of the bookshelf with furrowed brows and a worried face. He turned again, gazing at the desk, as if he could see Ivan writing furiously at the desk before hysterically crossing out what he had written and then burying his head in his hands atop the desk. Wang Zhong scanned the entire room, and although he had never spent a moment in this room, he could almost see Ivan in every corner. Finally, his gaze returned to the line "Ekaterina the Great and the Twin Jewels of her Empire." The Crown Prince Ivan''s calligraphy was quite good; even Wang Zhong, who was not familiar with Cyrillic calligraphy, thought the writing was very attractive. The person who wrote it knew there would be no more Great Emperor Ekaterina. But he still wrote down this line. Because his sister wanted to be the Great Emperor Ekaterina. Wang Zhong put down the photo frame. He remembered the day he set out from Argesukov when Ivan hade to see him off. At that time, Ivan had said, "Take good care of Olga." Wang Zhong stared at the photograph. The Twin Jewels of Ekaterina''s Empire, now only I am left. No, that''s not right, none are left at all. Wang Zhong made up his mind, turned around, and walked toward Olga Nikyevna, who was still recounting memories of her brother. He embraced her shoulders firmly yet gently. The girl seemed startled, going rigid, but the next moment she turned around and threw herself into Wang Zhong''s arms, crying bitterly. The long-suppressed sorrow erupted, soaking Wang Zhong''s uniform with her tears. Wang Zhong gently patted the girl''s back. Compelled by some indescribable force, Wang Zhong nced toward the corner of the wall. He could see young Olga sitting at the piano, her fingers dancing across the keys. Ivan was ying the violin, apanying the melody of the piano. And Aleksei was holding a wine ss, standing to the side, seeminglyughing at something. The morning sun''s rays streamed through the window and fell on the three of them, warm andforting. Even though Wang Zhong couldn''t remember this scene at all, even though it was just two dandies entertaining their younger sister, his eyes were still slightly moist. He could even hear the sound of the piano and violin. He didn''t know what was being yed at the time; surely, it couldn''t have been a sad piece, as the three of them looked so happy. But the piece he heard was full of sadness and fiery like a ze. It was the background music from "The Invisible Guardian," also one of his favorite game soundtracks. This song called "Faraway," was most famously used in the game for the scene where everything settles down, and Xiao Tu reunites with Lu Wangshu after returning. Just like this very moment. Even though the Prussian enemy had not been defeated yet, the arduous great war had barely begun less than two months ago. Even though there would be many more sacrifices in the future, and Wang Zhong himself might fall on the road to victory. But the music just started ying. Perhaps, it was to bid farewell to their mutual loved ones. Crown Prince Ivan, born into a family destined to be thest of the royals, never stopped looking for a way out. He was like Don Quixote charging at windmills. He might not be a qualified Crown Prince, he might not be apetent officer, he might be a damn fool and a womanizer, maybe... But he was definitely a good brother. And he should be a goodrade. Wang Zhong gently stroked Olga''s hair as he bid farewell to a brother he had yet to be familiar with. Chapter 215: Chapter 7 Experience Sharing Meeting (Additional Chapter for 28,000 Monthly Votes) Olga suddenly pushed Wang Zhong away, not knowing how much time had passed. "Sorry, I lost control of myself a bit," she said, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, shouting as she did, "Natasha!" Upon hearing this name, Wang Zhong subconsciously thought he would see a hero unit with an AK and a red beret, but instead, an old maid entered. "Your Highness," the maid curtsied to Olga. Olga: "I need to wash my face, and bring General Rokossovsky a new military jacket. Please wash this one clean." The maid curtsied again, "This way, Your Highness. The jacket will be brought immediately." Although there were still tear stains on her face, Olga managed to squeeze out a smile for Wang Zhong, "Thank you... Oh, and bring some food, the general is hungry." After saying this, Olga smiled at Wang Zhong again before picking up her skirt and turning to leave. The old maid backed out and closed the door. Wang Zhong looked down at the tearand snotstains on his chest and clicked his tongue. Then the maid carrying the new uniform came in. As for why the Tsar''s bedroom was always stocked with a major''s uniform, he decided not to ask. After changing into a brand-new general''s uniform, Wang Zhong was led back to the original meeting location by the maid. Grand Patriarch Belinsky and a few guards stood at the door, as if waiting for him. "You''ve returned sooner than expected," the Grand Patriarch stepped forward and looked at Wang Zhong''s new uniform, "How''s Her Highness Nikolyevna?" "She vented a bit, now she''s emotionally stable," Wang Zhong replied. Belinsky: "Honestly, the death of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was unexpected for us. After all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was more self-aware. It''s unclear for the Grand Duchess." Wang Zhong: "She will have it." "That''s good," Belinsky patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder, "Right now, it seems that His Majesty the Tsar is too shocked to attend to matters, and themand authority has been given to the High Command. Although what you say will probably fall on deaf ears there, you must still speak." Wang Zhong: "What should I talk about?" "Experience sharing meeting. Just talk about your experience and give your assessment of the future situation at the end. After all, you urately predicted the enemy''s second armored group moving southward." Wang Zhong was about to reply when Ludm and Nelly came running out. "Alyosha!" Ludm called out loudly, but then she saw the Grand Patriarch and quickly braked,ing to a stop in front of him, and bowed in a church manner, "Your Reverence!" Belinsky: "I won''t disturb you. I''ll go in and give an opening remark to buy you some time." After that, Belinsky walked into the room with the guards. Wang Zhong looked toward Ludm, starting to ponder how to exin that he had just been hugging his friend''s sister. Ludm grabbed Wang Zhong: "Did you fire a gun in the pce?" ...Huh? Wang Zhong: "Oh, that. Yes, I did. I killed a traitor." Ludm: "They are saying you shot General Skorobo dead! Was the general a traitor?" "Yes," Wang Zhong pointed to the door of the meeting room, "It was decided by His Reverence Belinsky, and the Tribunal has started arresting General Skorobo''s family as well, because ording to the Tsar''s orders, all traitors'' families areplicit." Ludm stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds, "Really? You''re all right? You won''t face a military tribunal?" "No, no. Just might not be able to carry a gun in the Summer Pce anymore." Honestly, Wang Zhong had previously thought that after his glorious achievements elevated him to a marshal, he would earn the right to enter the pce armed. When that time came, he definitely wanted to ride Bucephalus right into the pce. Later, he would alsomission someone to write a song called "Skorobo''s Rainy Season." Now, it seemed, such developments would not be forting. Ludm looked puzzled at Wang Zhong, "Why do you look so regretful? Just because you can''t carry a gun into the pce? Today you don''t even need to see His Majesty, and normally you can''t carry a gun when you do." Wang Zhong: "Is that so. Anyway, it''s fine, don''t worry." Ludm nodded, "That''s good. So, how is Olga?" Here ites! Wang Zhong: "I consoled her and let her cry it out, and then she felt much better. She was suppressing herself too much." "That''s good then," Ludm seemedpletely relieved. Wang Zhong couldn''t help asking, "You... aren''t jealous?" "Huh? Why should I be? That''s Olga, you''d only hit a wall with her," Ludm spread her hands, "Or are you saying, you seeded this time?" I seededalthough he wanted to say that, Wang Zhong did not want toplicate matters and told the truth, "No, after she finished crying, she pushed me away and called in a maid to change my uniform. She said she was going to wash her face." Ludm: "I just knew it. To her, you''re like a big brother." Wang Zhong: "I don''t know who used to say I was like a little brother, who was it again? I can''t seem to recall." The girl gave him a punch, and then pushed him toward the door, "Go to your meeting, I''ll be waiting for you in the room assigned to us." Wang Zhong: "A room assigned to us? I have a room in the pce?" Nelly answered in ce of Ludm: "Because the Rokossovsky family''s house in the capital wasn''t ready, the butler Mikhail only arrived yesterday. Knowing this, General Tugenev asked the pce''s protocol office to make arrangements." General Tugenevording to Nelly''s exnation, seemed to be an ally of the Rokossovsky family? I''ll pay a visitter. Wang Zhong pushed the door open. The Grand Patriarch''s voice rang out, "The situation at the front is extremely grim, our soldiers have been massively annihted, the Prosen art of war is not to be underestimated. But all of you have survived! Some have even achieved incredible military feats! Such as General Kashuk!" Seeing Wang Zhong, Belinsky smoothly shifted the topic onto him, "And such as Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky! The purpose of our meeting today is twofold: to share experiences and to let everyone know that the Prussians can be annihted! And inrge numbers, too!" Wang Zhong entered the room directly and saluted everyone. The door closed behind him. Belinsky yielded the floor, "Come up here, General Rokossovsky. Share with everyone your experience in defensive operations." Wang Zhong nodded, strode confidently to the podium, and saluted once again. At that moment, he noticed Olga, dressed as a maid, sneaking in among those who were preparing the meal. No, what on earth is the princess doing? Did I hit a wall after all? Forget it, deciding to pretend he hadn''t noticed Princess Olga, Wang Zhong began: "The enemy is indeed formidable, but we also have advantages. First is our tanks, which currently seem to have superior performance in some aspectspared to the enemy''s. "As long as we master the methods of warfare, we can annihte the enemy in great numbers." Wang Zhong then detailed the methods for constructing tank shelters and allocating fire zones to "blind" tanks. "Through such methods, we can greatly mitigate the drawbacks of not having independent tankmanders and radios." Just then, Chief of General Staff Tukhachev spoke up, "Do you realize that eliminating one crew member allows us to have more tanks driven by the same number of tank operators?" Wang Zhong: "Even if we double the number of tanks, it does not offset the disadvantage brought about by theck of battlefield situational awareness. The additional tanks would only be trophies for the enemy''s ace tank operators!" Tukhachev turned to the tank operators and shouted, "Can you tolerate such words?" Tank operators of all ranks coolly stared at the Chief of General Staff. If you''ve been on the battlefield, you know how idiotic it is to have the gunner also perform the tankmander''s duties. Tukhachev, stared down by these battle-hardened tank operators with murderous intent in their eyes, obviously faltered: "This... it wasn''t me who wanted to eliminate the tankmander position. Go talk to the Armored Troops headquarters, or General Skorobo the defector, who also supports eliminating the tankmander!" Wow, alreadybeled a defector? That was a fast turnaround, Your Excellency the Chief of General Staff. Deciding to ignore this, Wang Zhong continued: "Furthermore, in defensive operations, I have two main pieces of experience. "First, one must thoroughly understand the terrain of the defense area, not just the terrain where the defensive positions are located, but also the terrain of the surrounding area for about 20 kilometers in front of the defense zone. One should think from the enemy''s perspective where they would ce their supply center, where they would sleep at night. "This way we could shell those locations, inflicting considerable casualties on the enemy, making their lives hell! "Second, one must cultivate a good rtionship with the local church. Thebor camps mobilized by the church can greatly elerate our fortification speed, the Guardian Army can fill the defensive gaps, and block unimportant directions to prevent the enemy from slipping through. "Additionally, the meat, eggs, and milk the church can provide, will significantly enhance our military''sbat capabilities. "Lastly, the masses can serve as our eyes, bringing us intelligence about the enemy." As Wang Zhong spoke about the second point, the Grand Patriarch looked extremely pleased. Meanwhile, the high-ranking officers of noble birth were exchanging nces. However, the lower and middle-ranking officers with military achievements all showed approving expressions, seeming to fully agree with Wang Zhong''s words. Next, Wang Zhong borately introduced how to conduct staggered defense, how to preset ambush positions to surprise the enemy, and how to protect one''s own artillery positions by neutralizing enemy reconnaissance aircraft, among other experiences. When he finished, Belinsky spoke up, "It sounds like, in addition to prayer warriors and Hymn Monks, our Sound Array Masters are also very important." Wang Zhong: "Yes. The Prussians use radar, and since we don''t have radar, we can use Sound Array Masters as a temporary substitute." "Very good, very good. Previously we only used them for anti-aircraft early warning; we underestimated them," said Belinsky. Wang Zhong thought a moment and realized that he had shared about all he could. Checking the time, he saw he had been speaking for nearly two hours, so he decided to yield the floor to others and listen to their experiences as well. "That''s about all for my sharing. Next..." Just then, Belinsky asked, "How do you assess the future situation? Especially... given the rather mediocre performance of our High Command. All the senior officers of the High Command had darkened faces. Wang Zhong looked at them and then at Princess Olga who was hiding among the maids. He said, "I believe that no matter how the High Command performs, ultimate victory will surely be ours." Chapter 216: Chapter 8 Prosen Shall Be Destroyed "Without a doubt," Wang Zhong paused, "Prosen is extremely powerful. To deny this fact would be to disrespect thoserades who have sacrificed themselves on the battlefield." Wang Zhong pointed at the map on the wall: "It''s precisely because they are strong that they now upy all of Europa except for Ante. But..." At this point, Wang Zhong suddenly felt thirsty and picked up a cup to drink some water, which caused someone below to protest: "Keep talking! You should be telling us about our advantages next, right? Let''s hear it!" Wang Zhong: "Don''t rush. However, we have a huge difference from the other countries conquered by Prosen. Look at the map. Prosen has been advancing mightily for a month and a half, but they have actually only upied a small part of our territory. "Moreover,pared with other European countries, our infrastructure is worse; our roads barely have any asphalt, most of them are dirt roads, and our railway system not only has a much lower density of tracks than industrialized countries, but the supporting facilities like lotive factories are also far less than other countries. "This sounds like self-deprecation, but it''s actually the truth. After entering our country, Prosen''s army of millions must be facing a terrible supply situation. When I escaped from Ronied, Imanded troops to attack an enemy supply depot. "There, we captured arge number of depot documents, which showed that Prosen''s logistical transport was severely congested." Wang Zhong''s words were partially true and partially false; indeed, the documents indicated congestion, but they could not prove that the problem was widespread. However, as a transmigrator, he had information from another time and space. The Earth''s Sturmtigers were initially hampered by the Soviet Union''s poor infrastructure at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, andter, under the walls of Moscow, they were hampered againof course, this was mainly due to General Mud and General Winter. Wang Zhong took up a pointer and indicated on the map: "We have observed the enemy stopping twice for repairs, once two weeks into the attack, and the second time before the second armored group moved south. The second repair periodsted a week. "As the enemy continues to prate deeper, their supply lines will be even more extended, and their consumption more difficult to replenish. "And as we move into October, the entire Ante will enter the rasputitsa (muddy season). All the roads will be swallowed by mud, Prosen''s trucks will struggle to move, and all the supply burden will fall on the railways. However, as just mentioned, our railwaywork''s condition will ensure that the railways alone will definitely not suffice for the enemy. "The enemy will be forced to crawl through the mud. At that time, all of their offensives will be extremely difficult." No sooner had Wang Zhong finished than a lieutenant general asked, "The rasputitsasts only a month; after that, the ground will freeze, bing harder and more passable than it is now. What then?" Wang Zhong smiled: "You are correct, Lieutenant General. However, I remind you, we haven''t seen any winter gear issued to Prosen''s troops on any front right now. "Prosen has been conducting ''lightning wars'' one after another, whether it was the Low Countries or the Carolingian regions, they surrendered quickly. They will form a path dependence, thinking that defeating us will take at most half a year. "They have not prepared winter gear. "Of course, with Prosen''s powerful industrial capacity, preparing winter gear for millions of troops could be done quickly. But... winter gear, cold protection equipment, heating fuel, etc., will consume transport capacity on top of the troops'' regr supplies." Wang Zhong swept his gaze across the entire room. "They won''t be able to bring it up in time; after all, before General Winteres, General Mud runs rampant. The enemy logistics will be in a state of semi-paralysis. This will ensure that the majority of Prosen''s troops won''t receive winter gear and heating equipment, nor fuel. "I boldly predict that this winter, we willunch arge-scale counteroffensive. No matter how much progress they make after September, we will restore the frontline to the state it was in before they started in September." Chief of General Staff Tukhachev frowned: "A counteroffensive that only restores the situation to pre-September status? What kind of counteroffensive is that?" Wang Zhong: "Prosen is extremely powerful! To think of defeating it quickly is impossible; a quick victory is not advisable! We must be prepared for a long and arduous war of three to four years with them! "I must remind you, Chief of General Staff, as we advance, Prosen''s supply line will keep shortening, and their logistical situation will improve rapidly. Currently, we have no way to defeat a well-supplied Prosen army!" Tukhachev angrily retorted: "You''re actually buoying the enemy''s morale and undermining our own prestige!" Wang Zhong: "War is not a contest of spirit; war requires practical measures!" Just then, Grand Patriarch Belinsky spoke up: "Major General Rocossovsky, so you think that the capital can be held?" "Yes," Wang Zhong stated firmly, "The enemy has turned south, and even though the situation for the Southwestern Front Army is very bad, they still have over six hundred thousand men, and the death of the Crown Prince has boosted their morale. I believe that if the enemyunches another attack on the capital, it will be around mid-September. "The rasputitsa ising, and as long as we hold them off for one to two weeks, the mud will force them to stop." Belinsky: "And then winter wille?" "Right, the enemy will be at the end of their tether, and the time for counterattack will arrive. Before that, we should umte as much force as possible." Belinsky nodded repeatedly: "Good, this is good. This is the best news of today, General Rocossovsky. The best news!" Wang Zhong: "That is my assessment of the war prospects. I have finished speaking." He stepped back and saluted everyone. Thunderous apuse erupted. Many people stood up and apuded for Wang Zhong. Clearly, the judgement Wang Zhong just made was supported by the capable young officers. The Major General who had just asked what to do when "General Winter" made the roads passable was pping especially hard, prompting Wang Zhong to give him several extra nces. At this point, Belinsky returned to the stage, seemingly assuming the role of host: "Next up, let''s have Major General Kashuk share his thoughts!" Then, the Major General who had posed the question waved his hand: "No, no, my experience is simr to that of General Rocossov. My suggestion is that General Rocossov could step back from the front line andpile these experiences into a pamphlet, which would be far more useful than his directmand of the troops." Wang Zhong thought to himself, no, my "cheat code" is awesome on the front line;piling pamphlets can wait until "General Winter" has pushed the enemy back. So, he answered, "The front line is under such strain right now thatpiling pamphlets is something we can put off forter. If my prediction is correct, there will be a calm period beginning next February,sting until the ground dries up again in June. By then, we''ll have plenty of time to produce all sorts of pamphlets and introduce the entire army to our experience." Someone among the senior officers muttered, "He really thinks he''s the modern-day Bonaparte." Wang Zhong frowned, and all the young officers turned to look in that direction. At that moment, Wang Zhong noticed that General Tugenev, who shared a name with the literary master, shook his head with a look of frustration. Sure enough, an acquaintance of my father''s, I should pay him a visitter. Then Belinsky called on another young officer: "Andrei Pupel, you speak about the experience with anti-aircraft field defense. Teach everyone how to deal with Stukaswithout the Divine Arrow. Thanks to Rocossov, everyone''s started using Divine Arrow to take out the enemy pilots." Andrei Pupel stood up: "Alright, I''ll talk!" ... The conference continued until 0300 on August 11. When it finally adjourned, Wang Zhong took the opportunity to catch up with General Tugenev: "General, hi. My maid mentioned you asked to prepare a room for me at the Summer Pce." Tugenev looked up at Wang Zhong, who was a head taller: "Hmm, up close you indeed look like a tough soldier. Connie will be pleased." Wang Zhong: "From the address, it seems you''re well acquainted with my father?" "Of course," General Tugenevughed, "Your father and I had debated whether to get involved in the civil war. That was over a decade ago." Just then, Olga, disguised as a maid, appeared: "It was General Tugenev who suggested I go to the church to contact you through the choir. When you asked for Air Force support, I turned to the General for help, and he managed to get the Air Force to support you. "Did those air forcese in handy?" Wang Zhong: "They were a huge help, especially the MiG-3 Fighter Regiment you sent. If they hadn''t shot down the enemy''s Dornier 217 carrying remote-controlled bombs, we probably couldn''t havested until the night breakout." Olga smiled: "d to hear they were helpful; that''s great." At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly picked up on a detail in Olga''s words and asked, "General, you canmand the Air Force?" General Tugenev: "No, I merely suggested possible targets for them to strike. What is it?" Wang Zhong: "From a colonel escorting me, I learned that keeping Yak-1 nes, which excel in low-altitude dogfights with the enemy, in the capital is a waste. "Because the enemy''s aircraft attacking the capital enter from high altitude. "But if you deploy Yak-1s to the front line, once the enemy Stukas have dropped their bombs, they will be at low altitude, which is the perfect height for Yak-1s. The Yak-1s could shoot down all the Stukas, eliminating a significant threat." The General stroked his chin beard: "Your suggestion sounds good. But why are you so familiar with the Air Force situation?" Because I''ve yed War Thunder a lot! But of course, he couldn''t say that, so Wang Zhong answered, "I learned it from chatting with the Air Force pilots." General Tugenev nodded: "Next time you talk to someone in the Air Force, tell them if they haveints to go directly to theirmander. Don''t beat around the bush." Good grief, Tugenev seemed to think Wang Zhong knew all this because the Air Force had deliberately leaked it. However, since he had already brought it up, Wang Zhong still requested, "At least get a Yak-1 Regiment for Shostka, where I''m stationed. Those nes are of no use in the capital!" Tugenev: "I''ll try. I''m a bit tired, so I''m going to rest. You should rest too. And Princess, now that you''re the Crown Princess, you can''t be wandering around in maid''s attire anymore." Olga clicked her tongue: "Oh." Chapter 217: Chapter 9 The Sun Also Rises On the morning of August 11th, Wang Zhong opened his eyes, stared nkly at the canopy above him for a few seconds, before he remembered that he had taken up a guest room in the Tsar''s Summer Pce to sleep in the day before. He reached to his side and, sure enough, Liu Xia had already been up for a while; the sheets were cool. Ah, having a fiance who''s too disciplined is not good either; wanting to cuddle for a bit in the morning is not even possible. Just then, still drowsy, Wang Zhong saw a maid approach the bed, probably Nelly, so he sat up and grabbed her to pull her closer. Nelly is sure to tolerate my babyish behavior with the heart of a mother! Wang Zhong buried his face in Nelly''s chest and then realized something was off. Nelly usually wouldn''t wear extra perfume, only smelling faintly ofvender. But the scent wafting into Wang Zhong''s nose right now was quite expensive. And this softness that rivaled Ludm''s, could it be that Nelly is a subus, capable of shifting her allure, and she throws dice every morning to change? Wang Zhong regarded her with suspicion and pulled back. The next moment he tumbled out of bed and snapped to attention with a thud, "Your Majesty no, I mean, Your Highness!" Princess Olga: "So this is how you treat your little maids every morning huh!" "No, not usually. It''s just the pce''s luxury that made me rx, and my head isn''t quite right," Wang Zhong replied seriously, while picking up his pants to hold in front of him. He felt he couldn''t give the initiative to the princess, so before she could respond, he said, "Your Highness, in these extraordinary times, you shouldn''t be entering guest rooms dressed as a maid at will. Another scandal in the Royal Family right now would make things even worse." Princess Olga: "I didn''t know you would do such a thing to a maid in the morning." "I wouldn''t do such a thing to a maid. It is it''s the environment that''s making me strange, thisvish environment," Wang Zhong asserted firmly. Just as Princess Olga opened her mouth to speak, the door opened and Ludm entered: "Alyosha, are you up... Ah, I see you are. I had Nelly bring over the breakfast cart; let''s eat here." Nelly pushed in a cart following Ludm. Princess Olga, with her back to the two who had just entered, seemed somewhat flustered. Ludm nced at the back of the princess: "Is this a pce maid? I did mention that no one shoulde in before we leave, didn''t I? I need toin to the head maid!" Wang Zhong: "No, this is Ol..." Olga immediately turned around, bowing to Ludm: "I am very sorry; the story about the general drawing his gun yesterday has already spread among the servants, saying the general shot a spy that infiltrated the pce and saved the Crown Princess. "Everyone admires the general, including me, so I sneaked in here! My deepest apologies!" Wang Zhong hesitated, not understanding what trickery the princess was up to and could only scratch his head in confusion. Ludm sighed: "I can understand, but don''t do it again. You may leave now." Olga raised her head, moving towards the servants'' door while expressing her thanks. "Wait a minute!" Ludm stopped her, then inhaled sharply, "The Crown Princess?" "No, I am" Wang Zhong: "She''s her body double! To prevent assassination attempts!" Ludm: "What are you talking about?! I''ve never heard of such a thing. Your Highness, what are you doing? With the current situation, you''re already the Crown Princess!" Olga: "Alright, I know I was wrong. It''s just... I don''t know what came over me;st night I dreamed that the Prussians captured me, and then they were going to marry me off to their fat pig-like Marshal of the Air Force, a Mayer! "And then at the wedding, Alyosha Duke Rocossov came to save me driving a train." Wang Zhong eximed, "Driving a train?" Where''s my tank then? Olga: "Liu Da, when I saw Rocossov, I felt relieved. You must understand!" Ludm: "I understand. So shall we let him apany you to sleep by your bed every night?" Wang Zhong: ? Olga smiled, "That would be nice; when I was little, brother would read me storybooks until I fell asleep." Looking back and forth between them, Wang Zhong decided it was best to put his pants on first and tidy himself up before anything else. Nelly quietly arranged the food on the table. Ludm: "How old were you when that happened?" "Around ten years old," replied Olga, "Brother doesn''t do that anymore, but whenever he stays overnight in the pce, hees to kiss my forehead and wish me goodnight." Ludm was a beat slow to respond; she probably didn''t know how to react either, seeing as the Crown Prince had died on the battlefield, and her sister''s small request didn''t seem too much to ask. By then, Wang Zhong had his pants on and was picking up his shirt when he saw his fiance was at a loss, so he took the initiative to say, "Your Highness the Crown Princess, with His Majesty the Tsar in such a state, you must be strong and can no longer act so spoiled." Ludm nced at Wang Zhong with a look of gratitude. Olga: "Your Excellency the General, as the war hero who will deliver a speech at the public memorial, you too must be strong and can no longer act spoiled with maids either." Nelly, who was arranging the utensils, looked up at Wang Zhong with a puzzled look upon hearing that. Ludm narrowed her eyes scornfully at Wang Zhong, her expression clearly saying, wait and exin this to meter. But it seemed that Olga had her fun, curtsying with courtly etiquette: "Then, I wish you both a pleasant meal and a good mood today." Then she slipped away. Ludm turned to Wang Zhong, "What''s with the coquetry towards the maid?" Wang Zhong, "Ah, I just had her help me wash my face. It''s not what you think." "Then how about you demonstrate it." Wang Zhong, "Alright,e over and I''ll show you." "No," Ludm, with her hands on her hips, "Nelly is here, isn''t she? Demonstrate how you coquettishly ask a maid for help." Wang Zhong nced at Nelly and thinking it better to get it over with quickly, he hugged Nelly around the waist and buried his face in her chest, "Just like this. Nelly, pat my head." Nelly looked at Wang Zhong with a disgusted face and reluctantly patted his head. Wang Zhong quickly stepped away from the steel te, "I''ve demonstrated. Are you satisfied now?" Ludm, "You actually do this sort of thing to Nelly?" Nelly, "No, today is the first time. Someone pretended not to notice anything was wrong upon seeing the princess and took the opportunity to take advantage. He''s a habitual offender." Ludm, "That''s true, he is indeed a habitual offender. He just took advantage of you just now." Wang Zhong, "Let''s not talk about this anymore, let''s eat, oh, are there any activities nned for today?" Ludm, "The Military Orders Department announced that we could have a free day today. And around five in the morning, Grandpa Mikhail called to say that the manor is ready for us to move into." Wang Zhong, "Got it. Free activities today, huh? Then, of course, I''m off to scrounge equipment from the logistics department. Where is the capital''s Ordnance Department?" Wang Zhong''s main aiming to the capital was to secure equipment and troops; the rest was just incidental. He put on his jacket, sat down at the table, and started stirring the oatmeal with a spoon, while talking, "We need to check and see if there are any noble son''s observation cars like number 422, get one or two more, and form a tank toon with crew chiefs and radios in every tank. "Then, there are the heavy artillery and Katyusha Rocket Launchers; we need to get some of those too. And some of those temporary, emergency SU76 self-propelled guns as well." Ludm narrowed her eyes, "You... don''t think that talking about this stuff is going to let you off the hook for this morning''s incident, do you?" Wang Zhong, "Can''t it? Besides, I didn''t do anything heinous. It was the princess who ambushed me, and I just wanted a hug. I was actually nning to ask you for it! You ran away, and left the bed cold!" At this, Wang Zhong felt aggrieved. Right, it''s all Liu Xia''s fault. If she''d given me a warm hug this morning, given me a good morning kiss, would this have happened? Certainly not! Ludm sighed and sat down at the table, pulling the oatmeal closer to herself. Nelly quickly poured hot milk into her cup. Ludm ate while speaking, "Then Nelly and I will go to the manor first, and Sergeant Major Grigori will apany you to the Ordnance Department." "Alright!" Wang Zhong gave a thumbs up. Grigori looked at Wang Zhong with a smile that was not quite a smile, saluted, and said, "General, good morning." Wang Zhong casually returned a sloppy salute and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" "It''s all around. They say you''re going to be a prince." Wang Zhong suddenly recalled seeing the real handiwork of an old friend in the game room yesterday. The Tsar''s family might have ended as tragically as they did on Earth, but now... perhaps they could live out their days in a secluded vi? And then be called back to serve as a court etiquette advisor when "War and Peace" is being filmed? Anyway, judging by how eagerly the pce servants discussed the prospective prince, at least they don''t seem too opposed to having a Tsar now. Grigori, "So, might I be an Imperial Guard then?" "What do you mean? Are you unhappy being my security guard?" Wang Zhong retorted. "No way. Because of your great poprity, I''ve be a hot ticket too. Last night was a st." If it weren''t for Wang Zhong''s eagerness to pick equipment, he would have liked Grigori to go into detail about just how fun it was. Wang Zhong climbed into the jeep, pped the driver''s seat backrest, and urged, "Come on, drive." Grigori got into the vehicle and started it smoothly. The pce guards seemed to all recognize Wang Zhong, giving him salutes without even checking his ID. Exiting the pce gates, Wang Zhong saw all the officers on the street and asked, "Why are there so many officers?" "This main street in front of the pce gates is now all officer''s quarters, housing not just the officers from the High Command but also residences for senior officers who''ve been called back temporarily. This street is now known as Officer''s Boulevard." Wang Zhong muttered "Oh" in response and suddenly, he spotted an acquaintance. "Stop up ahead! Right by the curb in front of that cavalry officer in the lieutenant colonel''s uniform!" Ante''s cavalry trousers had a very wide seam which was also brightly colored, so it was noticeable from a distance. Grigori skillfully stopped right in front of the officer. Wang Zhong stood up, "Colonel Kiriyenko!" The cavalry officer, initially startled by the sudden appearance of the jeep, looked up at Wang Zhong''s call, "Lieutenant Colonel Rocossov! You''re alive toooh no, I mean, the newspapers already told us that." Wang Zhong, "But there''s been no news of you in the papers! That''s great, you also survived!" He got out of the vehicle and hugged the colonel, who he had met briefly before, with a warmth like that of an old buddy of 30 years. Chapter 218: Chapter 10 Old Friends, New Friends (Additional update for 29,000 monthly votes) After the embrace, Wang Zhong said, "When we partedst time, saying ''see you in Plowsonia,'' I thought it wouldn''te true." "How could it not!"ughed Major General Kiriyenko, "Firstly, I was not surrounded, and secondly, I''m a cavalryman! If I were determined to leave my troops behind, I could break out even if the enemyid a trap in heaven and earth." Wang Zhong, hearing him mention his own troops, asked, "What about the Seventh Cavalry Army?" It was Kiriyenko''s Seventh Cavalry Army that, when Wang Zhong had lost much of Loktov, had engulfed the enemy, now at the end of their rope, like a tide, and rescued the beleaguered fight group of Rocossov. This unit was the savior of Wang Zhong''s life. Kiriyenko sighed, "The losses were heavy; they all retreated to the east side of St. Ye Katerina Fortress for reorganization. My boys are all cavalrymen; they are really not suited to meat grinding with Prussians within the city." Wang Zhong: "That''s too bad." "Don''t worry too much. I missed the sharing session yesterday, butst night I was drinking in the corridor and bumped into Major General Kashuk, who lives across from me. We talked about your method, using the mud and winter to drag down the enemyit''s a good idea. However, some people also said that your real intention is to level St. Ye Katerina Fortress." Wang Zhong couldn''t help but smile wryly: "Who said that? How could that be? Look around at the reinforced concrete structures; look at the factory buildings in the distant industrial areahow much explosive would it take to level that? No, no, we won''t leave St. Ye Katerina Fortress." "The enemy won''t be able to take it either. If the enemy enters the city, then we rely on the city''s reinforced concrete buildings to grind with themit''s not a small town like Loktov. It''s going to cost the Prussians their lives!" At that moment, a group of officers gathered around, noting close, just listening from a distance as if waiting for amuter bus. Then, Major General Kashuk, whom Wang Zhong had met the night before, came over eating a pastry: "Major General Rocossov, I heard that you''ll be assigned under mymand." Wang Zhong was very pleased to hear this: "Isn''t that a good thing? You spoke very well yesterday, much better than beingmanded by that foolthat traitorSkorobo." General Skorobo had already beenbeled a traitor. It was said that his wife was found to have a quarter Prussian bloodline; her grandmother was a noble from Bavaria and had correspondence with the family. One could only say that the Tribunal was swift. Kashuk frowned: "Aren''t you angry? I was originally a peasant." Wang Zhong: "What''s wrong with that? The wheat we eat is nted by peasants; the beef we eat is raised by peasants. If you hate peasants, then don''t eat!" Kashuk looked at Wang Zhong as if seeing him for the first time, sizing him up carefully: "You... you''re not like the rumors say. They say you''re a libertine and a womanizer." When ites down to being a womanizer, who do I know in the city? Just then, Kiriyenko said, "I guess High Command is trying to create conflict between you two." "Most of them are nobles from the old army who picked the right side. Their personal grievances matter more to them than winning battles." "If you were to be surrounded, letting the old officers lead troops to rescue yougiven their current hatred for youthe rescue troops might only advance one kilometer a day." Wang Zhong cursed, "How can we win battles with these vermin!" The surrounding officers didn''t express agreement explicitly, but from their expressions, it was clear they shared Wang Zhong''s sentiment. Kashuk: "It would be good if Gorky Konstantinovich coulde back. His father was a cobbler; he wouldn''t see eye to eye with those noble lords. It''s a pity he''s been exiled." Wang Zhong had long wanted to say that Chekhov, Tugenev, Gorkygood heavens, the whole Russian literary scene had time-traveled! But then Wang Zhong thought it over and felt that so many familiar names weren''t that strange after all, seeing as the Ante People named themselves after a list; if your name was on it, how could you tell someone else not to use it? Kiriyenko said, "I think we should band together, make it so those foolish old masters'' orders can''t be carried out, and we make adjustments on our own. Look, the three of us, two major generals, can bothmand an army group, and although you''re a brigadier general, with so many military achievements, bing a major general is just a matter of time. "All three of us together, that''s three army groups. If all were stationed in one ce, we could coordinate." Wang Zhong: "Isn''t your Seventh Army in tatters?" "Yes, that''s why it was handed over to my deputyhe''s been promoted to lead the army. Now that I''m back, I might take over an army group, and Kashuk probably will as well." Kashuk finished the pastry and took out a rolled cigarette: "Damn, they won''t let my staff move with me. I don''t know what kind of chief of staff they''ll assign meif it''s an old noble, that''ll be disgusting." Wang Zhong: "As long as the staff can organize the troops well, their impact isn''t all that big. If they can''t organize well, then change them. And among the old nobility, there are also decent ones; my chief of staff is an old noble, and aside from being somewhat perfectionist, everything else is fine." Both menughed as they looked at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: "What''s so funny?" Kashuk: "You''re also an old noble, brigadier general. There arepetent people among the old nobility; you can''t lump them all together." Just then, someone rode up on a horse, leading two more horses. Kiriyenko: "Well, my mount is here; time to get things done." Wang Zhong: "Getting things done?" "My wife and kids areing by train today, so I''m going to the station to wait," said Kiriyenko as he mounted his horse and waved to Wang Zhong, "See you in Plowsonia!" Wang Zhongughed and shouted back, "See you in Plowsonia!" As Kiriyenko disappeared into the distance, Kashuk asked, "Isn''t it a bit early to talk about Plowsonia?" Wang Zhong: "No, it''s not early. It''lle true one day." "I have no doubt about that." Just then another jeep drove up and Kashuk flicked his cigarette to the ground and crushed it, "Here''s my ride." He paused, then extended his hand and said, "Ploseniya greetings!" "Ploseniya greetings," Wang Zhong firmly grasped his hand. After the handshake, Major General Kashuk jumped into the jeep and drove east along the main street. Wang Zhong got into the car that had been waiting for a long time for Grigori, and headed straight for the Ordnance Department. After their departure, the gathered officers also said their goodbyes. "Ploseniya greetings!" "You too, Ploseniya greetings!" A tradition that had persisted throughout the entire war quietly began. The Ordnance Department building looked blockish, and out of cepared to the other buildings in the capital brimming with ssical charm. No sooner had Wang Zhong gotten out of the car than he heard several engineers emerging from inside, engaged in a heated discussion: "Now, they''re moving the factories eastward, while demanding that we maintain production, utterly preposterous!" "Exactly, exactly, the factories in Kazarlia have all moved out, some have just relocated, and some are still searching for sites, how are we supposed to produce anything. Thankfully, the factories along the Valdai Hills River are still operational, otherwise, I really don''t know where we''d conjure up so many T34s..." Wang Zhong became energized upon hearing T34, and immediately stopped the group: "Hello gentlemen, may I ask who you are?" "We''re from the Land Equipment Production Management Committee, do you need something, General?" asked the engineer who had just eximed "utterly preposterous." Wang Zhong: "I''m interested in knowing where I might go if I wish to acquire a T34 tank with an observation tower." The engineers looked at each other, then the ''utterly preposterous'' one replied, "That would be a special model, you could possibly find one at some of the clubs in the capital. I mean those posh guys'' card-ying clubs, not the professional technical clubs run by churches." Wang Zhong: "Ok, then where should I go if I want a regr T34 and a regr KV1?" The engineers all pointed to the Ordnance Department building behind them. Wang Zhong: "The Ordnance Department handles that?" "Of course, they manage the distribution of all equipment. Additionally, the logistics and supply headquarters of the Reserve Army are located here as well. If you''re a general from the Reserve Army, it would bepletely proper to inquire here, although you may need to fill out forms and get stamps first." Wang Zhongughed; he had indeede to the right ce! And he even knew where to find a T34 with an observation tower! He waved goodbye to the engineers: "Farewell, Ploseniya greetings!" "Goodbye. Ploseniya... huh?" The engineers were taken aback. Wang Zhong, along with Grigori, was already heading towards the entrance of the Ordnance Department. Upon entering the hall, Wang Zhong immediately saw the sign for the Reserve Army''s logistics headquarters. So, he strode confidently inside. The logistics headquarters of the Front Army were vast, filled with the sound of stamps being pressed, and someone shouted into the phone, "What did you say? Canned cucumbers? What''s the problem with canned cucumbers? You wanted shells?" Wang Zhong frowned, What the hell, that dialogue sounded way too familiar. Just then, he heard another civilian officer shouting, "Your form says sausages! What do you mean sausages are just a codename? Customary practice? Ah? I don''t care, if the form says sausages, I''ll deliver sausages. Next time, make sure to write the real name of the item!" Wang Zhong''s face fell, What kind of battlefield item is customarily codenamed ''sausage''? Howe I''ve never heard of this before? He made his way through the headquarters offices and barged straight into the logisticsmander''s office without knocking. And then he realized the guy on the phone looked somewhat familiar. "General Chekhov?" The general looked up, taken aback by Wang Zhong''s appearance, then said into the phone, "I have a real situation here! Yes, a real situation, I''m not using that as an excuse, General. So goodbye." After hanging up the phone, the general swore at the phone, "Suka!" Wang Zhong: "What''s the matter?" "Nothing much, someone wanted to use trucks to evacuate their estate. If you ask me, estates that aren''t along the railway lines shouldn''t be evacuated." Wang Zhong: "My estate didn''t take up much of the railway capacity, it was mainly for moving people to the rear." General Chekhov shrugged his shoulders, then extended his hand to Wang Zhong, "Long time no see, Rocossov... Your Grace." Wang Zhong: "Still Count, the investiture of Duke Charon hasn''t been issued yet." Chekhov nodded, "Are you here to see your brother? Ah, I knew that couldn''t be it. So, what do you want?" Chapter 231: Chapter 23: State Funeral (Additional update for 36,000 monthly votes) Five days passed in the blink of an eye. On the morning of August 18, Wang Zhong stood at the ceremony preparation area, looking at the grand scene outside. Suddenly, he found his mind was a nk and quickly pulled out his speech to nce over it. Seeing this, Ludm spoke in a soft, soothing voice, "Don''t worry, your speechst night was excellent. There won''t be any problems today." Wang Zhong: "Hmm, I''m just taking a look." Ludm: "Rx, there will be staff holding cue cards in front of you. That''s the whole point of you rehearsing the speech! Keep calm. Now, let''s head to the spectator stands." Ludm had not yet married Wang Zhong, so she was not yet a duchess and could not apany him at such events. Instead, she joined Nelly in heading to the nearby spectator stands, thanks to a special invitation from the Royal Family. Wang Zhong nodded and then watched the two as they made their way to the spectator stands. Now only his guard Grigori and the staff of the ceremony remained with him at the preparation area. The Royal Family''s grandstand was still empty, and Wang Zhong could hear generals and marshals in the distance gossiping: "Will His Majesty show up today?" "If he doesn''t, it will be troublesome. The Crown Princess seems to have grown close to the church because of her dealings with Rocossov, thereby growing closer to the church as well." "With the current situation, we can''t win without the support of the church. The Royal Family needs to rally... I can''t even bear to think about it." "On a brighter note, the Crown Prince''s sacrifice has actually boosted the Royal Family''s influence among the popce, and incidentally allowed Argesukov''s heavy forces to hold the line until now." "If only more troops could have been rescued. If we could have formed a fully structured group from those trapped, we could im victory." Wang Zhong originally focused on his speech, but the chatter of the generals caught his attention. Listening to their conversation, he subconsciously nced at the church''s main ceremony stand that appeared to be intentionally opposing the Royal Family''sit was situated right across Ye Fort''s widest avenue, facing the Royal Family''s grandstand. Argesukov''s logistics were almostpletely cut off now, with less than ten kilometers between the two armored clusters of the Prussians left fortified. The enemy had not attacked because both armored groups had run for hundreds of kilometers and needed to stop for repairs. And though ten kilometers seemed like a wide gap, it was actually sealed by the artillery and air force, making it impossible for troops to pass through. The enemy had effectivelypleted their encirclement; it was just a matter of when the Prosen Empire would dere victory. The confirmed troops within the encirclement ounted for eight hundred thousand by formation, but most had been fighting fiercely and suffered heavy losses. In reality, probably only five hundred thousand were fit forbat, many of them wounded. Even though the Southwest Front Army had dispersed their staff officers and destroyed codebooks, they were still broadcasting in clear text via radio, reporting the situation daily and proudly proiming, "The Southwest Front Army is still fighting." It was said that this clear text broadcasting prevented the Prosen Empire''s propaganda department from dering victory. Wang Zhong looked down at the speech in his hand. Ivan, did you predict from the start that your sacrifice would have this kind of impact? Wang Zhong didn''t know the Crown Prince very well, after all, he had only known him for such a short time. Probably for the rest of his life, he would keep recalling the Crown Prince''s smile, specting about what he had foreseen. If the persistently resistant Southwest Front Army could drag the enemy''s main force into the mud upon its arrival, then the pressure on the front would be greatly reduced. In that case, the enemy might be able to spend a well-supplied winter without too many freezing to death at the hands of General Winter, which would make the war next year even more brutal. But with the current situation, any chance to catch their breath was a good thing for Ante. Once the factories moved to the east were up and running again, and the newly conscripted soldiers hadpleted their training, the elite Prosen forces might find themselves facing a number of Ante Army multiple times their size. As Wang Zhong was thinking about all this, someone cleared their throat behind him. It was a crisp male voice. Assuming it was an official rted to the ceremony there to finalize details with him, he began to speak while turning around: "I have memorized the speech, just going over it a little..." Wang Zhong stopped because he saw a military uniformpletely different from those of Ante and Prosen. However, the rank was an oak leaf, and Wang Zhong happened to know of a country that used oak leaves for military ranks. In that country, a gold oak leaf was for a Major, a silver oak leaf for a Lieutenant Colonel, and a Colonel was represented by an eagle emblem. The young man should be a Lieutenant Colonel. Wang Zhong: "Who might you be?" "Military Attach John Vick from the Federation''s embassy, General Rokossovsky." The neer saluted Wang Zhong first before extending his hand. Wang Zhong shook his hand: "Hello, what can I do for you?" "I heard that you once made an assessment of the war situation at a young officers'' sharing session." Apologizing for his forthrightness, Lieutenant Colonel John wore a sincere expression as he said, "The Federation is deeply concerned about this matter; it rtes to a top-secret negotiation currently underway, and a bill under discussion in Congress." Wang Zhong: "The Lend-Lease Act, is that it?" Lieutenant Colonel John''s eyelid twitched: "You know of it..." Wang Zhong then realized he''d been too quick to speak, as theoretically, he shouldn''t be aware of the Lend-Lease Act at this point. So, he started blustering: "The United Kingdom is already aware of it, and if the United Kingdom knows, that''s as good as us knowing." Lieutenant Colonel Johnughed: "As long as Rabowell doesn''t know, it''s fine." While Wang Zhong heard the name Rabowell for the first time, he was well aware of the infamy of the Sturmtiger''s intelligence agency Abwehr from the other side of the Earth, notorious for its ipetence, having made an indelible contribution to the world''s anti-FXS cause. Chapter 220: Chapter 12: The Gap ``` When Wang Zhong came out of the major general''s office, Grigori squinted suspiciously, "Themander inside is a woman? Why do you look like you just came out of the red-light district, General?" "Hmph," Wang Zhong sneered, "That''s way more thrilling than the red-light district. Inside was General Chekhov, an old acquaintance of Argesukov. She approved a whole bunch of equipment for us." Grigori awkwardly reminded him, "I''m just a sergeant major; I don''t know so many big shots. You mention General Chekhov, and I''ve got no clue who that is." "A slick old fox who won''t stick to the pot but gets things done," Wang Zhongughed, "If it were peacetime, this kind of person could be the pir of a department." Actually, Wang Zhong didn''t have much social experience, but he had seen the likes of General Chekhov in a British TV show called "Yes, Prime Minister". Grigori: "As long as it''s a good result, that''s what matters. Where to next?" "To the church, for people. We need a lot of new recruits who can drive tractors to operate the machine gun tanks I just got." "You mean those BT1 things?" Grigori''s face fell, "What''s the use of those?" "To serve as ammunition transport vehicles." "...That could work." The two of them walked to the main gate, one after the other. By the time Wang Zhong reached the church entrance, he saw a familiar scene. A massive crowd of young people crammed at the recruitment station''s entrance, blocking the entire street. Grigori honked the horn like crazy to no avail; the crowd simply had no intention of making way. Wang Zhong stood up, looking towards the direction of the church. At that moment, some people around him recognized Wang Zhong: "Look quick, it''s a brigadier general." "So what if he''s a brigadier general? St. Ye Katerina Fortress has lots of them now." "I heard that even the great White Horse General came to St. Ye Katerina Fortress to marry Her Highness the Princess!" "She is now the Crown Princess." Wang Zhong thought to himself how fast this rumor had spread. There was no inte in this era, so how could it have spread so quickly? Last night''s event, and by this afternoon, the whole city knew about it. What he neglected at the time was thatst night, in order to have an exchange meeting, a bunch of junior and mid-level officers were at the Summer Pce. After getting pumped up at the meeting, most of them would go out drinking. People boast when they drink, and then the gents would take home what they heardst night, telling their wives, and by the time the market aunties chewed the fat early next morning, boom, the whole city was in the know. It''s just that quick. Wang Zhong sighed, cleared his throat, and shouted, "Lads andsses, make way! I need to recruit personnel for my troops!" Some bold youngster shouted back, "Brigadier General, which unit are you with?" Wang Zhong: "The 151st Temporary Infantry Division!" "Pff, a temporary unit, count me out!" "I might consider the Imperial Guard!" "Has your unit seenbat, Brigadier General?" "Need you even ask? A temporary unit, certainly hasn''t seen any action!" Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, thinking to himself that these youngsters should show some respect to a brigadier general. At that point, someone raised a newspaper high, "Hold on! The paper says the unitmanded by the White Horse General is the 151st Temporary Infantry Division!" "What?" "Really?" "Isn''t the White Horse General six meters tall?" Wang Zhong facepalmed. How had the rumor about a six-meter-tall general traveled from Shepetovka to the capital? That''s nearly 500 kilometers! Forget it, he thought, just corral the people first. He then bellowed, "Everyone! I am the White Horse General! Although I am not mounted on a white steed right now, I indeed am. I''m here to recruit reinforcements for my division. Can you please clear the way for me to reach the front of the church recruitment point?" Just as he finished speaking, a female voice replied, "No way! The church says we''re not old enough and won''t let us enlist!" Her statement instantly sparked a chorus of agreement: "Exactly, General! We''ve finished the 10th grade, we''re just not old enough!" "I''ve got plenty of strength, General, carrying a rifle''s no problem for me!" "I''ve never lost a fight in my vige, I can definitely give those Prosen devils a good thrashing!" Wang Zhong finally understood; these youngsters were not old enough, and that was why they were blocking the door, hoping the church would rx the recruitment age limit. Those of age had probably registered already, then been carted off to the new recruits training camp. Wang Zhong: "You think you can only fight the Prosen devils on the front lines? Support work is just as important. Without people to grow crops and herd, what are the soldiers on the front lines going to eat? "The soldiers'' clothes, the ammo they fire, all need to be produced by people. These support positions are equally vital! You should go home and contribute to the war effort throughbor! "And not waste time here! It''s already August, and the harvest is upon us. No one''s in the fields to gather the wheat! Without wheat, next year we face famine. The Prosen won''t have defeated us, but we''ll lose the war to hunger just because you''re wasting time here!" ``` The children looked at each other in bewilderment. Someone shouted, "The newspaper says the war can be won in half a year!" Wang Zhong was shocked, "What? Who said that? The church''s newspaper couldn''t possibly say that!" Because the Grand Patriarch clearly agreed with Wang Zhong''s opinion yesterday, thinking the war wouldst three to four years. "The Yekaterinburg Commentary newspaper said so!" Wang Zhong frowned, not knowing which faction this newspaper belonged to, but it was mostly likely not the church. "That is incorrect! Neither a quick victory nor a quick defeat is possible; the war will be a protracted contest of war potential." Wang Zhong tried to make his exnation simple and understandable so that the children could ept it, "If you are one or two years away from adulthood, you can first go home and work, and then join the army when you are of age. You won''t miss the war, I promise. Now, can you let me pass, children?" The young people looked at one another and eventually made way. Grigori started the car and slowly drove towards the recruitment desk, afraid of hitting anyone. When he reached the recruitment desk, Wang Zhong said to the priest in charge, "I need recruits who can drive tractors, and I need them right away." The priest said, "Understood, we will select suitable candidates from the new recruits who have joined these days. However, if you are not in a particr hurry, you could wait for our training ss students to graduate." Wang Zhong frowned, "Training sses?" "Yes, for training urgently needed drivers and other technical soldiers. Drivers should be the first to graduate, with the first session finishing at the beginning of September." Wang Zhong said, "I want both. Find me those who can drive tractors first, and then I also want the graduates in early September!" The priest looked troubled, "This... isn''t that being a little too greedy?" At that moment, a blue-hatted Judge ran over quickly and whispered something to the priest. The priest''s attitude changed 180 degrees immediately, "How many drivers do you need?" Wang Zhong said, "I need three thousand." In fact, Wang Zhong initially wanted to ask for five thousand, but upon reconsideration, he wondered if it would even be possible to equip his division with five thousand trucks. Three thousand would have to do, and if there weren''t enough trucks, machine gun tanks would suffice. In the history of Earth, both the Sturmtiger and the Soviet Army had used outdated machine gun tanks as ammunition transport vehicles and for other misceneous tasks. After all, the tanks had already been produced, and scrapping them in the factory would consume precious working hours, amodity every factory during wartime wished could be split in two. After the priest recorded Wang Zhong''s request, he said, "I will do my best to amodate it. Where should these drivers be sent?" Wang Zhong said, "Shostka, my troops are stationed in Shostka." "Alright." With that matter settled, Wang Zhong asked Grigori, "Do you know where there''s a club that noble young masters frequent in the city?" Grigori frowned and looked at Wang Zhong, "I am a Cossack, don''t you think this question is a bit out of my professional expertise, General?" Wang Zhong said, "Alright..." He scratched his cheek. Then a young man nearby said, "Are you looking to confront the hedonistic young nobles?" Wang Zhong said, "No, I want to find a Parade Tank and convert it into mymand vehicle." The young man said, "Then you should go to the Novgorod Mansion, there''s revelry there every night." Wang Zhong asked, "Do they have tanks there?" "I don''t know about that," the young man replied, spreading his hands, "But you can ask the young lords there where to find such Parade Tanks." Wang Zhong was delighted and patted Grigori on the shoulder, "Let''s go to the Novgorod Mansion." The mansion was on the eastern side of St. Ekaterina Fortress, close to the outskirts of the city. Grigori drove the car all the way to the iron gate of the mansion''s courtyard. An old servant opened a small door beside the iron gate and said, "Please go back, you can''t enter here in military uniform." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong grew furious, pulled out his pistol, and said, "I am Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, go and ask who I killed yesterday and where!" The old servant''s pupils dted, "Rokossovsky?? I will report this immediately..." "Nonsense, open the gate! Otherwise, I will suspect you are harboring spies! Don''t make me call the Judge!" The old servant shakily opened the gate. Grigori floored the elerator and the car drove in. Wang Zhong heard the old servant possibly using a telephone or something simr to inform those inside. By the time the car reached the mansion''s main entrance, a group of extravagantly dressed dandies had already gathered at the mansion''s gate. Like the dandies associated with Argesukov, these people were all in custom-made luxury military uniformsvery well, so real military uniforms were not allowed, but ornate fake ones were, right? "Alyosha!" The leading young master spread his arms wide; his insignia was even an imitation of a Marshal''s rankof course, just an imitation, "You''re finally back! We were justmemorating Ivan!" Wang Zhong frowned, "Commemorating?" "Yes, we''ve been recalling everything about him; severaldies even cried! Come and tell us, what was Ivan like in the end? Among us, you were thest to see him!" Wang Zhong nced at the group and not wanting to waste even a minute with them, said, "I am here to find a tank, a Parade Tank T34, to be precise. Do you have one here? If not, where can I find one?" Chapter 221: Chapter 13 The Production Task from the Royal Family Facing Wang Zhong''s question, the so-called "marshal" answered, "Wasn''t the only Parade Tank taken away by Her Highness the Princess?" Wang Zhong was stunned, "That was the one? There are no other Parade Tanks?" The "marshal" frowned, "Aside from you and Prince Ivan, nobody likes ying with that thing. It''s just you twomanding it to run around all day. It''s so loud when it''s running, and riding it is bumpy; one can bump their head at any moment. Nobody enjoys ying with it!" The words of the "marshal" immediately received everyone''s affirmation, "Right, that thing is very loud when it''s running." "I rode it once and ended up with a bump-filled head." Wang Zhong''s mood plummeted. He had thought that this was a popr sport among the young nobles in the capital, but it turned out only the Crown Prince and his buddies liked it. At that moment, amotion suddenly erupted outside. Then, several trucks appeared, all loaded with Judges wearing blue hats. Upon seeing the Judges, a nobledy started screaming, her shrill soprano numbing the top of Wang Zhong''s head. Wang Zhong was also confused. Why had the Church decided to take action so quickly? No, that doesn''t seem right. Based on the Grand Patriarch''s intentionsst night, it appeared as though he wanted to resolve the primary conflict first. The trucks stopped behind Wang Zhong, and the Judges disembarked one by one, spreading out to encircle the mansion. The leading Judge''s left hand was in a cast, bandaged up, and he used his remaining right hand to open the car door and got out from the passenger''s seat, walking towards Wang Zhong, "Yo, hello there, ''Returner from Hell''." Wang Zhong recognized him as an old acquaintance, the Judge who had taken him to the headquarters from Bogdanovka. "You escaped from Bogdanovka?" The Judge smiled, "Led a group of Judges and broke out." Wang Zhong, "What about the other one?" "He stayed in hell," the Judge replied. Wang Zhong, "My condolences." "No, we went to heaven to meet Saint Andrew; there''s nothing sad about it. The sad ones are these people." With that, the One-Armed Judge nodded at the cringing dandies huddled in terror and suddenly, heughed, "Yo, look, someone''s wet himself!" Wang Zhong, already experiencing stress symptoms, frowned upon hearing about wetting oneself. Following the One-Armed Judge''s gaze, he saw the dandy wearing the "marshal" uniform, who had arrogantly greeted Wang Zhong, had wet arge patch on his trousers. "What exactly are you here for?" he asked the Judge while meticulously examining therge "map," "Their parents were found to be spies?" As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, a chorus of crying broke out. The Judge shook his head, "No, we heard you were heading this way and followed. In case we arrived to find a field of corpses, we''d be able to quickly take care of the aftermath, after all, the main enemy now is the Prussians, and to resist the Prussians we must unite all the forces we can." Having said that, he looked at the ridiculous state of the crowd and shook his head, "Now it seems we''ve almost scared them to death. On the other hand, each of these guys has a guilty conscience." Wang Zhong, "What are you nning to do with the current situation?" "I just want to confirm, you''re not nning to open fire, right? There won''t be a bloodbath here, will there? The old servant at the door said something about youing in armed, just a small mishap, right?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, that old servant said those in military uniforms weren''t allowed inside." The One-Armed Judge frowned, "They were so brazen about it? Hey, you all! Is it a rule of this club that people in military attire are not allowed in?" Thetter was addressed to the dandies who were like frightened birds. Someone immediately shouted, "It was Panjelie who said it!" The "marshal" who had already mapped out his trousers screamed, "I! I was drunk and confused!" The One-Armed Judgemanded, "Take him away for a thorough examination!" Panjelie let out a scream like a pig being ughtered. Two Judges went over to grab Panjelie, one on each side, and dragged him off. The One-Armed Judge gave Wang Zhong a wry smile, "Since we''re here, don''t worry, they won''t be treated too harshly. So we''ll be on our way now. Remember, don''t draw your gun lightly; you''re in the eye of the storm right now." The Judges gathered as quickly as they had spread out, climbed into their vehicles and departed in a rush. Wang Zhong turned to look at the dandies and found all of them sitting directly on the ground. "You guys are such cowards," he mocked. "We''re not princes," someone answered. Wang Zhong, "Neither am I!" The Parade Tank couldn''t be found, which made him quite unhappy, but soon a new idea popped into his mind. After all, the tank couldn''t have been handcrafted by the Crown Prince and himself, and since a tank is such a fragile thing, there must be someone helping with maintenance. So he asked again, "Do you know who ordered that Parade Tank?" At this moment, the silent club steward answered, "It was ordered from the Ye Fort Joint Machinery Factory, which has always been responsible for producing various royal and inspection-specific vehicles. Now they are said to be producing the T34 tanks on the orders of the Ordnance Department." Wang Zhong was overjoyed, well, so the hen thatys the eggs is here! The steward continued, "You should look for the factory''s general manager, Morozov. The design drawings and such should still be in the factory." "We indeed still have the design drawings," replied Morozov, general manager of the Ye Fort Joint Machinery Factory, "but right now all the workshops are producing the T34, and the design of the Parade Tank is very different from the T34. If we were to produce it, we would have to stop the entire production line to adapt and retrofit, and it would affect our production progress." Wang Zhong: "How did you manage to make this one?" "At that time, our factory was not operating at full capacity, and our main job was producing various vehicles for the Royal Family. So we just pulled together the strength to make one." Wang Zhong: "I am now requesting to stop a production line and shift to this kind of Parade Tank because itsbat effectiveness is much higher than that of the ordinary T34!" Morozov frowned, "That''s impossible. We are under the leadership of the Ordnance Department, and you are just a major general. Although your military exploits are outstanding, I can''t stop the production line just because of a word from you." Morozov paused, then thought for a moment and said, "Well, we are, after all, a factory dedicated to serving the Royal Family. If you can issue a task on behalf of the Royal Family, I could cobble together somebor to start work. "We can think of something about the factory building. I believe the original warehouse could be modified to serve as a factory. Now with such heavy production tasks, materials are used up quickly as theye, so we don''t really need the warehouse anymore." Wang Zhong: "How can I issue a task in the name of the Royal Family?" Morozov looked puzzled: "Aren''t you a prince? Just have the Crown Princess say a word, and it''s done, right?" "I''m not a prince. But I can have the Crown Princess say a word. May I borrow your phone?" An hourter, Morozov looked at the dusty Crown Princess Olga Nikyevna Antonovna who arrived in a hurry, then looked suspiciously at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong was also embarrassed: "Olga, wouldn''t it have been enough to send a servant?" Princess Olga: "I''m the most idle person in the Summer Pce at the moment, so I came in person. Mr. Morozov, here is a production task issued by the pce. We need to order a hundred Parade Tanks for the National Day celebration activities this November." Morozov took the document that Olga handed over and scrutinized it closely: "Hmm, the format and procedures of the document are allplete, and I will start arranging production right away. Hm? The document also has a stamp from the Grand Patriarch''s office?" "Ah, yes, I mentioned this matter over the phone to the Grand Patriarch''s office, and they also strongly support the production of Parade Tanks. So, I got it stamped on my way here," Olga exined with a smile. "They even said that if we''re short on workers, the church can assist the factory." Wang Zhong listened to this conversation, linking it with what the One-Armed Judge had said earlier. Olga turned to Wang Zhong: "By the way, the major general is here, and he''s the most authoritative person regarding the tank''s battle performance. Why not let him offer some suggestions for improvement? Anyway, you need some time to organize the production line." Morozov nodded and looked at Wang Zhong: "We can make limited improvements." Wang Zhong: "Can we rece the sighting equipment? We''ve captured quite a few Prosen scopes, and their scopes have a ranging scale on the right edge for the main gun, which is very convenient to adjust and far more advanced than ours. Thanks to this set of scopes, the Prosen Tank Operators can achieve hits from a great distance. "On the other hand, we can only hit the enemy reliably within a distance of three hundred meters." Morozov: "Do you have captured Prosen scopes?" Wang Zhong: "I took quite a few from the remains of Prosen, but most were left in Orachi, and I only brought out a small amount." Morozov: "Then give them to me, and I''ll see if we can replicate them. Any other requests?" Wang Zhong: "The reliability of the engine is too low. After about two days of fighting, it breaks down and requires a full day of maintenance." "Low engine reliability." Morozov wrote this next to the design drawing, "Let''s see if we can address that. Anything else?" Wang Zhong: "The turret gets jammed by enemy fire too easily, and the enemy has now caught on to this, basically everyone is targeting the ''neck''. Also, the tracks are very fragile and often get broken by enemy fire." Morozov shook his head: "We can''t do much about the tracks being broken by enemy cannon fire, but maybe we can try to deflect the shells with additional obstacles to prevent jamming of the race ring." Wang Zhong continued: "Also, and most importantly, every vehicle must have a radio!" Morozov: "Of course, it''s drawn like that on the blueprints. Every vehicle will have a radio and a Parade seat. But are there really that many nobles willing to watch a parade in a tank?" Olga said: "I would very much like to, and I bet many youngdies would be willing as well because they all admire Duke Rocossov." "I see," said Morozov with a gaze at Wang Zhong that was difficult to put into words. Wang Zhong could only pretend to admire the scenery. Chapter 234: Chapter 25: Return to Shostka On August 20th, two days after the national funeral and public memorial, at the logistics headquarters of the Reserve Army. As soon as Wang Zhong entered the Ordnance Department building, he saw several people recing the signboard of the logistics headquarters of the Reserve Army. He stopped and watched them put up the new signboard: Western Front Army Logistics Headquarters. "This has been changed to the Western Front Army Logistics Headquarters, but where is the Reserve Army Headquarters?" Wang Zhong couldn''t help but ask. "It''s still here. The Reserve Army and the Western Front Army have merged, and all logistics are now coordinated by Major General Chekhov," replied the lieutenant, who was changing the signboards, before finally ncing at Wang Zhong and snapping to attention and saluting as if electrified, "General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong: "Alright, alright, don''t be nervous, and stop shouting ''Hurrah.'' I''ve had enough of people shouting ''Hurrah'' every time they see me." It was a fact; now it seemed like the whole city knew him, and they all became as excited as if they had taken a stimnt whenever they saw him. His speech at the national funeral seemed to have been broadcast directly throughout the world, and the old and young men of Ye Fort had all gathered under loudspeakers to listen to the entire speech. Now, Wang Zhong was Ye Fort''s top celebrity, the kind who could make headlines with just a sneezeof course, there were no such things as trending searches in this era, this is just a metaphor. The excited lieutenant asked, "Can I get your autograph?" Wang Zhong: "Alright, but you have to promise not to make a fuss and go around saying ''Rokossovsky is here,'' and then I''ll sign." "I promise." A few secondster, Wang Zhong handed the notebook with his signature back to the lieutenant and headed inside. But he had only taken a few steps when he heard someone sharply inhale and the sound of papers hitting the floor: "General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong sighed. Twenty minutester, Wang Zhong finally managed to push open the door of the logisticsmander''s office. Major General Chekhov nced at him and said, "Don''t look so disdainful, this is your duty, which is better than reminding everyone that there are still hundreds of thousands of troops surrounded by the enemy. By the way, there is also bad newsthe Northern Front Army has fallen back, and General Golikov''s St. Andrew Fort Army is now fully engaged with the enemy." Wang Zhong: "How are things looking?" "General Golikov is defending using theplex terrain, and for now, it seems the enemy''s advance has been halted. Damn it, I''m a logisticsmander, why am I discussing this with you? To understand the battlefield situation, go to the Military Command and look for General Tugenev. What are you here for now?" Wang Zhong: "You said you haven''t given me enough trucks and tractors." "Because it''s not enough. I''ve already done my best to allocate them to you." Wang Zhong: "I got 3,000 drivers from the church! Although many of them are still in training and have not graduated. It would be such a waste for them toe and then find there are no vehicles to drive." Major General Chekhov: "Not a waste, we are short of vehicles all along the front. The Ordnance Department is producing tanks at full capacity." Wang Zhong: "But there''s a shortage of infantry for the tank units..." "That''s not my department. I told you, I can only manage materials. If you tell me an infantry unit iscking machine guns, I can help with that, and I can send extra to whichever infantry unit you mention. For example, you said Kashuk''s 51st Army, guarding the downstream crossing point from you, wascking machine guns, so I sent them two hundred more. "But if you want me to provide infantry for the tank units, that''s something I can''t do. I don''t control that; you understand? You can only submit suggestions to the superiors and write up summaries of your experience. I do have a suggestion for you, thoughgive your experience summary to Grand Duchess Olga, and maybe one day it''ll filter down." Wang Zhong: "I''ve done so." Major General Chekhov spread his hands: "Then there''s nothing more to be done." Wang Zhong scratched his head: "If you can''t provide enough vehicles, then can you give me more mules and horses?" "No," Major General Chekhov refused bluntly. Wang Zhong: "A straight-up ''no''? Not going to teach me any clever tricks this time?" "You''re asking if it''s possibleno, it''s not, because your division is mechanized, and they shouldn''t have mules and horses; ording to the regtions, this could impede the mobility of the mechanized troops. As for a trick, well, there could be one. Think about who you are, and what your brother''s status is." At first, Wang Zhong didn''t follow, but he quickly caught on: "You mean, I could organize my own mule and horse transport teams to go to the front?" "I didn''t say that. But look, it''s quite normal for the big nobles to be so enthusiastic and organize support teams for the front." Wang Zhong pped his thigh; the Ante Empire used the double-headed eagle as its emblem, and by rounding up or down, it was also Roman, so as a member of the Roman nobility providing mules and horses for front-line support, it was perfectly justifiable! He immediately stood up, ready to leave the headquarters, when Major General Chekhov said, "By the way, could you give me an autograph? My son wants one." Wang Zhong was stunned: "You have a son?" "Doesn''t it look like it? Come on, give me the autograph." August 25th, Ye Fort train station. Wang Zhong was at the freight tform, watching the support troops he had recruited from the refugees boarding the train. Most of the mules and horses for this support unit were provided by his own ranch, while the refugees were mainly middle-aged women, inspired by Wang Zhong''s speech. They had handed their children over to childcare education institutions for centralized management and education, and came forward to offer support themselves. The childcare education institutions had been established at the request of Wang Zhong, and the children were taken care of by the elderly maids of the Rokossovsky family. Wang Zhong had managed to obtain for them the status of hired civilian workers from General Tugenev, with uniform clothing provided and a monthly allowance. This effectively solved the issue of insufficient logistics transport capabilities of the troops. Now, these civilian workers in uniform were herding the mules and horses onto the train. The train, apart from closed wagons and livestock cars for transporting the support troops, also had eight tbed cars. Three of them were used to transport T34 tanks that had been returned after repairs, one was used to carry a brand new Parade Tank, and the remaining four were all for transporting the freshly minted ZIS30 self-propelled anti-tank guns. The ZIS30 anti-tank gun looked like a big cannon had been forcibly mounted on top of a tractor. Just by looking at its shape, one could tell that it was a product made for emergency situations. But Wang Zhong didn''t disdain it at all; in fact, he wanted more. In the game War Thunder, he enjoyed driving this vehicle to mess around and massacre newbies. The only regret was that this vehicle wasn''t small enough; it couldn''tpare with the tiny M56 when it came to fooling around. As soon as he got to Shostka, Wang Zhong definitely intended to teach his troops how to have fun with this thing. Setting up ambush positions and then running awayhe couldn''t be happier with the n. He was overseeing the drivers summoned from the church as they loaded the vehicle onto a tcar when a man in a suit and another man with a camera hanging around his neck appeared. "Excuse me, are you General Rokossovsky?" the man in the suit asked, his Antenguage noticeably ented. "I am, and you are?" "I''m a journalist from the Federation''s Hungry Lagoon Daily, and we n to reprint your speech from the state funeral a week ago in its entirety. Additionally, we want to do an exclusive interview." Wang Zhong said, "Now? I''m about to return to the front line" At this point, the man with the camera spoke up, "Could you move a step to the left, please? That way I can use the tank and cannon as a backdrop." Wang Zhong had no objections to getting photographed, so he stepped to the left and even looked back to check: alright, he was perfectly blocking the gap between two railcars, with the smaller ZIS30 being transported on the front one, and a T34 on the back one. The journalist from the Federation squatted in front of Wang Zhong and adjusted his position slightly to find a good angle, "Please don''t smile." "Don''t smile?" "Right, keep a serious face. It harmonizes well with the tanks and cannons behind you." The next moment, the photographer pressed the trigger, the sh emitted a sharp ''pop'' sound, spewing white light and quite a bit of smoke simultaneously. shbulbs were like that in those days. The photojournalist said, "Perfect, I feel like I could win this year''s Pulitzer, Mike." The man named Mike, the text journalist, said, "You see... If you have enough fame in the Federation, some things might develop in a way that''s favorable for your mothend." Wang Zhong replied, "Okay, I will ept your interview. How about this: you get on the train and interview me there. This train will unload cargo when it gets to Shostka and then return on its own. You cane back afterward." The journalist responded, "That works too." At that moment, Ludm appeared, "This time, the train doesn''t have any freight cars; they''ve specifically attached a passenger car for us, and I''ve brought some fine tea and snacks from the estate." Before Mike could answer, the photographer requested, "Could you, madam, please take the general''s arm?" Ludm was taken aback, "Huh?" The photographer exined, "There are no female officers in the Federation at present and you are so beautiful; our readers will like it." Mike offered a wry smile, "They''ll certainly like it; a beautiful woman, a military officer with distinguished service, and the tanks in the backgroundoh, they absolutely love these. If madam could wear a sheath dress, they''d like it even more." Ludm said solemnly, "I ambat personnel, and like the male soldiers, I must wear cavalry trousers." A momentter, the second photo was taken, but the photojournalist didn''t mention the Pulitzer. Wang Zhong teased, "What, my Liu Xia can''t win the Pulitzer?" The photojournalist just smiled. Liu Xia said, "Let''s get on board, gentlemen, the car is over there." The "passenger car" allocated to Wang Zhong by the train station''s central scheduler was an extremely luxurious noble''s privatepartment. The desk in thepartment looked a hundred times more luxurious than the old duke''s desk in the Rokossovsky Estate. Behind the desk, there hung a shield decorated with the emblem of a Double-headed Eagle. Seeing thepartment, Wang Zhong was dumbfounded: "What is this, have they given me the carriage reserved for His Majesty the Tsar?" Before he could continue marveling, the photojournalist asked, "May I have you sit behind the desk, as if you''re signing documents?" Wang Zhong replied, "No, no, that might spark misunderstandings." "But our readers like this." Wang Zhong had no choice but to sit behind the desk and pose as if signing documents. At this juncture, Nelly came in from the direction of the dining car, pushing a trolley through the door. Seeing the two strangers, she frowned slightly but said nothing more. Mike eximed, "Your life on the front line seems quite rich and varied." "Nelly is my orderly," said Wang Zhong. As soon as Wang Zhong finished introducing her, the photographer crouched in front of Nelly and snapped a photo: "Oh, fantastic, this boat cap and maid outfit,bined with her petite figure, our readers will love it." What''s with your readers, seriously! Right then, the train''s departure whistle sounded from up ahead. Text journalist Mike opened his notebook again, "Shall we start the exclusive interview?" Chapter 223: Chapter 15 Rocossov Knows a Bit About Music (32,000 Monthly Tickets Plus) ``` As the conductor turned around, the maid had just brought Wang Zhong a new dish. Since it was time for dessert, it was a cheese curd sponge cake paired with sour cream. Wang Zhong, with a try-it-and-see attitude, cut a small piece of the sponge cake with his fork. To his surprise, the fork cut through as if slicing tofu, the coagted cheese curds seemingly breaking apart at the slightest touch. The taste was a perfect level of sourness, with the sour cream on top of the sponge cake creating an exquisitebination with the cheese curds inside. Immersed in the gourmet food, Wang Zhongpletely ignored the music, and it was only after he nearly finished his delightful meal that he took notice of what the band was ying. It was typical anthem music. You could say the piece wasn''t good, but that certainly wouldn''t be true; as an animation score, it would definitely enter the hall of fame. If paired with some memorable scenes, it could even be a ssic. Yes, animation score. That was the only way Wang Zhong could describe the piece. He stood up and shouted, "Enough! Stop!" Some musicians saw Wang Zhong''s gesture and stopped ying first. The bandleader, about to get angry at the musicians'' pause, suddenly realized something, looked back, and then quickly signaled the others to stop ying. Wang Zhong: "What is this? It has none of the temperament of this war! If you take this music out, people will think the war is merely a battle game for noble knights! No! I refuse to acknowledge that this could be my anthem!" The Ye Fort bandleader hesitated before responding, "If you have any specific requests, please mention them. I''ve tried my utmost to make the piece grand and powerful, but if you feel itcks vigor, that might be because we''re only a small ensemble now. It will be great when ourplete band performs for you, with the grand and powerful string section added." Grand and powerful strings? The kind that the clients would love? Wang Zhong: "No, that''s not it! You have the wrong understanding of this war! Are you the bestposer in Ye Fort?" The bandleader was hesitant, but admitted, "In terms of honors received, I suppose I am." Wang Zhong: "What is your name?" This question set off murmurs among the crowd; after all, a nobleman not knowing the name of the best musician in Ye Fort even if he was a debauchee, he should''ve known better, otherwise how would he have charmed nobledies at social gatherings? But Wang Zhong truly didn''t know; he wanted to confirm if this was one of the musicians he was familiar with by his name. The bandleader reported his name, but Wang Zhong had no memory of it. In a world where even a Tugenev had gone off to be a general, Tchaikovsky might well bemanding an army. Wang Zhong: "Your music ispletely wrong! The undertone of this war, at least now, is tragedy! The people endure great sorrow from the loss of rtives and friends, yet they still resolutely head to the front. The music should feel like that!" With that, Wang Zhong hummed a bit of "The Holy War." "Do you understand?" he asked. He thought after his humming, others would start showing their astonishment. However, after a few seconds of looking at each other, the bandleader and his musicians replied, "Oh, you want to incorporate this melody into the music? Sure, I''ll give it a try!" He then pulled out a pencil and started sketching on the sheet music in front of him,ter showing it to the others. After discussing for some time, they picked up their instruments again. Bandleader: "We''ve made the changes based on your suggestions, please listen!" The band started ying again, but it wasn''t at all the piece Wang Zhong had in mind. "No, no! Stop!" shouted Wang Zhong, interrupting the band once more, "What are you doing? Can''t you feel the emotion in this melody?" Not just the bandleader, but all of the musicians looked utterly lost. Wang Zhong gave up; he vaguely realized the problemit could be two things: first, as ayman, he surely hadn''t hummed the melody urately. Second, besides melody, conveying emotion in a song depended also on the arrangement. Perhaps just humming with the human voice wasn''t enough to convey it. All he could do was wave them off: "Just go, go! I don''t want to hear your pathetic music! Get out!" The bandleader led the musicians out, running for their lives. Wang Zhong slumped down, looked at the half-eaten cheese curd pastry on the table, and sighed, "I''m full, and I''m tired. I want to rest now." After saying this, he stood up and headed straight for the dining room door. Ludm hurriedly wiped her mouth and stood up, taking control of the situation: "Ladies and gentlemen, Alyosha has seen too much death on the battlefield. Please try to understand. Dinner will continue, and I will keep youpany until the end on his behalf." At 11 o''clock at night, Ludm finally saw off thest couple of guests and returned to Wang Zhong''s study. Wang Zhong sat on the windowsill, staring at the moon. Due to ckout regtions, there were no candles lit in the entire room, which was pitch-dark except for the moonlight shining through the window. When Wang Zhong heard Ludm''s footsteps, he said, "Why can''t these people feel it? I hummed it to Vasily, and he felt it." Ludm: "You hummed it to Vasily? The melody from the dining room just now?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, we had just arrived at Argesukov, and I had just delivered the letter from tank gun Gunner 422 to his mother. That night, thinking about the olddy''s reaction, I suddenly thought of this song and hummed it. "Vasily happened to hear it." Ludm sat on the same windowsill, her knees touching Wang Zhong''s: "Hum it again for me, maybe I can understand. After all, we''ve fought together." ``` Wang Zhong looked out the window, where Ye Forty under the moonlight without a single light, asleep in the shroud of night. Ludm, seeing he did not speak, said, "Remember when the war had just started? We were trapped in the basement, and the enemy''s tanks were passing on the road nearby." Wang Zhong nodded. How could he forget? That was where everything began. One day in the future, he must return to Ronied, to that basement, to see where the story started. Ludm: "From that day onwards, so many people left. Among them, there were actually quite a few I disliked, but now, looking back..." Ludm left her sentence unfinished. Wang Zhong reminisced about the sergeant whose name he had forgotten when he first time-traveled. The sergeant had dered he wouldn''t take orders from a ''pissing officer'' and then led his squad away, getting riddled with bullets shortly after. Then he thought of the female medic who had bandaged him, wondering if she had managed to escape from the encirclement. And then the family he saw dead in a dung pit after capturing an enemy supply station. ... Too many sacrifices shed through Wang Zhong''s mind, one by one. He began to hum subconsciously, a melody that was sorrowful yet resolute. Rise up, mighty nation, to fight a desperate struggle! Wang Zhong gazed out the window, focused entirely on humming the melody. Ludm, sitting opposite him, widened her eyes, staring at his face, seeming to forget even to breathe. In Shostka, Private Vasily of the 31st Guards Regiment was furiously scribbling on paper as hey sprawled on the table. His roommate, Filippov, returned from a shower and curiously asked, "What are you writing?" Vasily: "Aposition." "Didn''t you say you would never touchposition in your life? Because it would remind you of your father!" "No, no," Vasily shook his head, "I''m notposing. It''s a melody hummed by General Rokossovsky, Argesukov. I felt the general''s emotion was so intense then. But... anyway, this tune has been haunting me these days." Filippov leaned over and, by the candlelight, carefully examined the musical notation in the notebook, humming it softly. "The melody is good, but the mood..." Vasily: "Wait a second." He marked the tempo and key at the beginning of the notation. "Hum it again." Filippov hummed it again: "Hmm... I''m starting to feel it!" Vasily added a series of symbols to the notation, adjusting the entireposition. "Go on!" After Filippov hummed it for the third time, he eximed, "It carries a sense of tragic heroism, a resolute readiness to sacrifice. Good, very good." Vasily: "I tell you, I think the general is ayman in music. If I hadn''t seen the general''s expression while humming this song and felt his emotion, I probably wouldn''t have been able to appreciate this mood." Filippov: "Then aren''t you contradicting yourself? Isn''t thisposition written by the general?" "I don''t know. My fatherold man Tchaikovsky used to say that the tune is already there; theposer simply fishes it out from another world by chance. I guess it''s the same with the general." Filippov, frowning: "You''re nning to giarize the tune as your own?" "No, of course not. I''ll submit it to the journal that old man Tchaikovsky, my father, advises for, under General Rokossovsky''s name. But before that, I want to add lyrics to it. You think about it; you''re better at writing poetry than I am." Filippov: "Hmm... For the first line, I would write, ''Rise up, mighty nation! Fight to live!''" "Good, the first line is great," Vasily quickly parsed the lyrics and slotted them under the notation, "Uh, we need to adjust the phrasing. Change ''Fight to live'' to something else." Filippov hummed the melody again and, after a moment''s thought, suggested, "How about changing it to ''to engage in a desperate struggle''?" "Let me try it. Hmm, it looks pretty good! The second line,e on, Filippov, quick!" Filippov leaned against the window, looking at the moonlit Duva River, and after some contemtion, said, "We should state the objective of the struggle. The second line could be ''to annihte the Prosen invaders,'' how about that?" Vasily filled in the line, softly singing it over a few times, nodding, "Works. Keep it going." "Stop right there; this song is just the main melody repeating. You should write the chorus now." Vasily smacked his tongue: "The general didn''t hum any chorus! It''s just this part repeating." Filippov: "You''re the son of a music professor! Youe up with one! You''ve felt the general''s emotion; follow that sentiment and add a section." Vasily hummed the main melody over and over until, suddenly delighted, he added a chorus after it. "I''ve added an elevation, like charging at the enemy, like a tank gun firing rapidly. How about that?" Filippov, frowning: "It''s passable, far inferior to the general''s main melody, though." "No chatter; get to writing the lyrics!" Amidst the silence, the moon quietly watched the two men engrossed in their creation. Chapter 224: Chapter 16 Rocossov Receives a Hug Wang Zhong was immersed in his memories, humming a tune while he reminisced about his war journey until the corners of his eyes began to moisten. But as the saying goes, a man''s tears don''t fall lightly, so he abruptly stopped reminiscing. He turned his head to look at Ludm, only to find that the girl was already using a handkerchief to wipe her tears. Wang Zhong felt awkward, "Uh... don''t cry." Ludm: "I''m crying for you because I see you''re so emotional, yet you can''t let your tears out." "I''m fine, actually," Wang Zhong scratched his head. He tried to stand up from the windowsill but was pulled back by Ludm. The girl looked at him and said softly, "You can lean on me a little more. When I first arrived at Shostka, I immediately burst into tears when I heard the news of Uncle Connie''s death. Later, Nelly told me that you walked to the end of the tform, looking like you might cry at any moment." Wang Zhongughed: "Nelly saw me like that at the time? I really got looked down upon." However, Ludm gently stroked his face with her hand: "No, I don''t think Nelly looked down on you, because I felt the same. Alyosha, when it''s time to let it out, let it out. After I criedst time, I feltpletely different. "After I came here, I sorted through Uncle Connie''s study and found that he hid the drawings I made for him when I was a child on the bookshelf. Looking at that drawing, and then at Uncle Connie''s portrait, I didn''t cry again. It seems like the sadness had left with that crying, leaving only wonderful memories behind. "I think you should try it." Wang Zhong stared into Ludm''s eyes, reading concern and love from within them. He suddenly realized that the girl might feel guilty for not being able tofort him that day she received the bad news because she was too busy crying herself. So Wang Zhong said, "Okay, but you have to let me borrow you for a while, just sit like this." He pulled Ludm onto a stool to sit down, then knelt in front of her and buried his face in her embrace. Wang Zhong especially liked to have his character get a hug from the Sleepy Maiden when ying "Elden Ring." Actually, the benefits of a hug were negligible, but Wang Zhong just wanted a hug. Ludm was surprised at first, but soon she wrapped her arms around Wang Zhong''s head and gently stroked his hair. Wang Zhong felt ted, his long-held dream had finallye true. Then Ludm said, "So that''s how it is, you did this to the princess in the morning." ...You still remember? Ludm: "It''s my fault, from now on I''ll wait for you to wake up before I get up, okay?" Wang Zhong was silent for a few seconds, then answered: "Okay." Ludm: "You can cry now, I''ll ept everything, and tears and snot and all can be wiped on my clothes, no one will know." With Ludm having said that, Wang Zhong really wanted to give it a try, but ultimately the man''s pointless pride took over. Wang Zhong heard a heavenly king singing in his ear: Men cry not because they are wrong... But he just couldn''t cry. Wang Zhong heard Liu Xia giggling, not only giggling, but he could also feel her inhale through the chest as sheughed. "Alyosha," she said, her chest resonance making her voice wrap around Wang Zhong, "My Alyosha, so stubborn and strong." Wang Zhong raised his hand and wrapped it around Ludm''s waist. Despite the intimate movement, Wang Zhong didn''t have a single improper thought. He suddenly recalled a saying, if you''re holding a super beautiful and sexy girl and have no desire to X her, either you like men, or you''re in love. Wang Zhong seriously evaluated his feelings; he probably didn''t like men, so he must be in love. After who knows how long, he stood up: "Alright, alright, let''s sleep." Ludm looked up at him: "You scolded the bandmaster tonight, who knows what snide remarks they''ll write about you in the newspapers tomorrow." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows: "Surely not, isn''t the church watching? Aren''t they afraid of beingbeled as spies by the church?" Ludm shrugged. Wang Zhong threw off his clothes andy down in bed ready to sleep. Ludm stood beside him, smiling: "Aren''t you forgetting something?" Wang Zhong frowned: "Look at the mood, do we really have to... No, let''s sleep, sleep... What are you doing! Hey!" The next morning, as soon as Wang Zhong opened his eyes, he instinctively reached out beside him and this time he touched someone. "Awake?" Ludm''s voice came, "You''ve really enjoyed yourzy morning, I didn''t even have time to do my morning routine!" Wang Zhong: "Morning routine?" "Yes, a little secret to staying beautiful. Well, do you want a hug?" "Yes." Just then Nelly walked in through the door. She nced, quietly left, and closed the door behind her. Wang Zhong: "Nelly,e in, it''s alright, we''re done." Nelly entered the room and frowned at Wang Zhong: "Are you preparing hedgehog meat?" Wang Zhong: "Hedgehog meat? Why?" Then he realized, in the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, hedgehog meat is considered aphrodisiac, seeming to send some men into a nosebleed frenzy after consumption. Wang Zhong: "Don''t misunderstand! It''s not ''that'' kind of done we''re talking about!" Ludm chimed in to help: "Yes, he''s just fine. This morning was just about helping him bid farewell to his weaker self and be the unyielding admiral." "Major General, Major General," Wang Zhong corrected her, "Being a Major General is quite good." If he became themander of Ye Fort, he could even be the president. Nelly eximed "Ah," and went straight to the point: "This morning a cardinal from the church came by and brought a schedule, it''s for the state funeral and national mourning. It lists the parts you need to attend, Wang Zhong, with details on when and where to go. Also" Ludm suddenlyughed: "Nelly, when did you start doing the butler''s job? Where is Mikhail?" "He said he''s the butler of Duke Rokossov, not the butler of Duke Charon. Your dukedom decree arrived this morning, but His Majesty the Tsar is unable to attend to matters, so the ennoblement ceremony can''t take ce for now, and hence it has not officially taken effect." Nelly paused and then said: "You should find your own butler." Wang Zhong: "This is troublesome." Ludm: "Not only do you need your own butler, but you also need a housemistress who''s responsible for managing the female servants, and a housekeeper, among others..." Wang Zhong: "Can''t Nelly do it?" Nelly: "I''m not even a maid, the housekeeper of a duke should at least be of the rank of ady at court." Wang Zhong: "To hell with ranks, if I say you are, then you are, that''s settled. As for the butler... is Grigori an option?" Nelly and Ludm eximed in unison: "No, he cannot!" Wang Zhong, holding his head, felt too overwhelmed, unable to cope with all this old society''s bureaucracy. Ludm: "However, with the war ongoing, we can ignore these matters for now. Let''s have Nelly take on the role temporarily, that should be fine." Nelly: "Me?" Wang Zhong, seeing the expression on Nelly''s face and thinking it amusing, decided to tease her: "Yes, you. Tell me what else needs to be done today." Nelly: "There''s a medal ceremony, and since His Majesty the Tsar cannot attend to matters, the Grand Princess will be representing him. Also, there is an invitation for you to attend the music selection meeting for the state funeral." Wang Zhong''s eyebrows raised. Ludm also frowned deeply: "This invitation... perhaps you should decline. It seems they want to embarrass you, those musicians." Wang Zhong: "No, I want to see what they''re up to. The state funeral is for my good brother and my father, and the public memorial is for countless fallen soldiers, I can''t allow these scoundrels'' frivolous music to resonate at such an event! Not at all." August 12th, noon, "Ante Modern Music" magazine office. Oshanin, the editor-in-chief, was preparing for a noon rest, with ns to attend the public memorial music selection meeting in the afternoon. He stepped down from his office and upon reaching the reception, the old man there said, "Your Excellency Editor-in-Chief, there''s an express letter for you." Oshanin stopped, looking inside: "Express? A delivery at noon?" In Ante, mail was delivered only in the mornings and evenings; noon deliveries were virtually non-existent. "Take a look, Your Excellency. The sender is a celebrity! Especially famous! He might even be a prince! That''s why the postman was all flustered when he delivered it!" Oshanin was shocked: "General Rokossovsky? He just berated the conductor of Ye Fort Chamber Orchestrast night, and now he is writing to a music magazine?" The receptionist had already taken out the letter and ced it at the window. Editor-in-Chief Oshanin picked up the letter: "Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. Indeed, it''s him... Hmm? Military mail? The postmark is from this morning, from Shostka? What''s this about? Isn''t Rokossovsky in the capital? Last night he was cursing at the conductor, and the whole music world knows about it!" The receptionist shrugged helplessly. Editor-in-Chief Oshanin directly opened the letter. The old man was surprised: "You''re just going to open it like that? Without a letter opener?" "There''s no seal wax nor a family crest on it, it''s okay," Editor-in-Chief Oshanin pulled out the letter and unfolded it, "Ah, it''s a song. The conductorst night was really angry, although he wouldn''t dare speak ill of a celebrity, but he was very clear in his stance! Let''s see..." With professional skill, Editor-in-Chief Oshanin began to hum the song by reading the sheet music, though he had to bring the letter nearly to his face due to his poor eyesight He stopped. Receptionist old man: "What''s wrong?" "I''m not sure... let me look more closely." Editor-in-Chief Oshanin took out his sses from his briefcase, put them on, and assumed the standard reading posture to read again. The receptionist stretched his neck trying to see what the matter was. Having finished reading the letter, Editor-in-Chief Oshanin flipped it over, found no words on the back, and flipped it to the front again. Receptionist old man: "How is it?" Oshanin turned around and shouted to the upstairs editorial department: "Hey! Editors who can y an instrument, go to the music room. Is Marusin there? Get him to the music room too." Marusin stuck his head out from the second floor: "Editor-in-Chief, what''s going on? Another submission from some arrogant youngster?" "No, no, this is something fierce." Editor-in-Chief Oshanin looked at the song in his hand, "If you sing this song, you might make history." Chapter 225: Chapter 17 August 12th daytime, the situation of the Southwestern Front Army ``` On August 12 at 1300 hours, at Argesukov, the Southwestern Front Army Headquarters. The Front Army Chief of Staff and the Front Army Bishop sat in the map room of the significantly thinned-out headquarters staff, watching the staff officers burn documents. "This morning''s telegram, Skorobo seems to have been treated as a traitor, and his whole family was arrested," the Chief of Staff looked toward the Front Army Bishop. "Is there any different information on the church''s side?" The Bishop clicked his tongue, "There''s a rumor that Skorobo himself was shot dead by Rokossovskythe thin one." "In the Tribunal''s underground headquarters?" the Chief of Staff asked curiously. "No, at the Summer Pce, in front of the current Crown Princess and many senior officers of the High Command." The Chief of Staff''s eyes widened, "Really? The telegram didn''t mention it at all. Could he really get away with such a deed?" The Bishop spread his hands, "Not only has he gotten away with it, but he''s also scheduled to speak on behalf of all the soldiers at the state funeral and public memorial service on the 18th. It seems the Grand Patriarch ns to set up Rokossovsky as a brand-new role model to stand against the high-ranking generals and marshals of the High Command." The Chief of Staff actually smiled, "A sensible choice, an old noble, very close to the Royal Family, then ideologically in the same pants as the Secr faction, and can fight. The only Achilles heel of this choice now is Rokossovsky''s military ability. "There are many officers who canmand a brigade or a division, but when they start tomand an Army Group, they will obviously hit the ceiling, and when ites tomanding an army of the Front''s scale, it might turn mediocre. "The military education Rokossovsky received goes up tomanding an army at most. ording to the usual promotion path, he would need to study highermand courses at a military college for further promotion. "This situation probably won''t allow him to go back to the forge..." The Bishop took over, "Of course not, even if the church wanted him to go back, the High Command wouldn''t let him. The High Command is probably eager to see Rokossovsky disgrace himself, preferably losing several hundred thousand troops like General Skorobo." As the words fell, the Chief of Staff suddenlyughed, "Don''t be like this, we are not dead yet, don''t count yourself as dead first." The Front Army Bishop nced at the map and alsoughed, "Is there a difference from being dead now? Look at us, both discussing these beheading matters here." The twoughed heartily, drawing curious nces from the nearby staff officer burning documents. At this moment amunications officer came in and saluted, "We''ve received a telegram from Duke Meishikin, reporting that the force of three divisions arrived at his positions this morning." The Chief of Staff snapped his fingers, "Good, another three divisions have broken out, orderly!" His orderly appeared and stood at attention. The Chief of Staff said, "I have a bottle of vodka in my office that''s been cherished for a long time. There''s no reason to let the Prussian bastards have itbring it here!" Momentster, the vodka arrived on the table, along with the sses. The Chief of Staff took a ss from the orderly, waved his hand, and said, "Don''t need you to serve, you better change into civilian clothes and run. Orderlies aren''t really soldiers, the Prussians won''t treat you as a prisoner of war." The orderly hesitated, then bowed and left. The Chief of Staff ced the filled ss in front of the Front Army Bishop, "Come on, let''s drink." The Bishop picked up the ss and gulped it down. As the Chief of Staff poured another, he said, "If we had listened to Rokossovsky''s suggestion at the beginning..." "Don''t talk about it," the Front Army Bishop cut him off. "At that time, it was impossible to give up Argesukov and retreat under any circumstance." "I didn''t say retreat. I mean, following his suggestion to set up defenses in the north, to dig in like he did, waiting for the enemy to attack. Perhaps the situation would have been better than this, maybe we could have even held the line." The Bishop sighed, "It''s really hard to say. These days we''ve fought the Prussians across various terrains. They tend to gain a handsome exchange ratio most of the time. Even when we are the defenders. "This is not something that can be changed just by adding a few advanced weapons. With the quality of our soldiers, introducing new weapons might end up being used by the enemy as a bridal gown." The Chief of Staff said, "The Naval Infantry has achieved quite satisfactory results though." "Naval Infantry has high recruitment standards. Most of our soldiers have at most a tenth-grade education, while Naval Infantrymen are mostly high school graduates, plus their training time is also longer. We simply can''tpare," the Bishop shook his head. The Chief of Staff said, "Yet Rokossovsky has achieved a fairly good exchange ratio. If he survives, I really want to hear his experience sharing." The Front Army Bishopughed, "Let''s talk about getting out first." He drank the vodka in one gulp and pushed the ss forward, "However, by the time we begin the breakout, it might be a week from now." The Chief of Staff nodded, "About right. By then, the units that can run would have almost all run outor been crushed on the breakout road, and it would be time for us to lead thest of the troops out." At this moment, the staff officer burning documents came over to salute, "Reporting sir, all documents have been burned." The Chief of Staff said, "Very well. You will join the 41st Infantry Army as nned and start the breakout." "Yes!" The staff officer saluted, but didn''t leave immediately. "What''s wrong, not leaving?" the Bishop asked. The officer said, "I... just want to wish you luck." The Chief of Staff raised his ss, "Likewise, good luck to you as well." The Front Army Bishop said, "I heard that when Rokossovsky and Kiriyenko said goodbye, the former said they''d meet in Ploseni and actually had beef stew with potatoes before breaking out. Now both of them are at Ye Fort." The Chief of Staff said, "We probably can''t get beef stew with potatoes now, but we can still say ''See you in Ploseni!''" ``` He turned to the staff officers who were reluctant to leave and said, "Farewell to Prosenia!" The staff officers, deeply moved, echoed in unison, "Farewell to Prosenia!" The bishop raised his ss and dered, "Farewell to Prosenia!" Then, the two highest-ranking officers of the Front Army watched as the staff officers departed. "If it weren''t for that order from His Majesty the Tsar, we could have let these young men follow the nes," the chief of staff said. "Now, to prove they''re not deserting, they must charge out with the troops." The Front Army bishop said, "Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince fought bravely to the end. At least now we don''t have to worry about the troops'' morale." Chief of Staff: "Although morale can''t make up for the gap in tactics and skills. I wonder how long it will take to reim Argesukov." "It''s probably going to take a long time," said the bishop. "Arise, the great nation, for a battle of life and death!" In the music room on the second floor of "Ante Modern Music" magazine''s office, Marusin, the magazine''s featured male singer, sang with vigor. "To obliterate the Prosen forces, to annihte the vile band of criminals! "Let the noblest wrath, "Roll like waves!" The magazine''s makeshift orchestra yed an uplifting melody that was sad yetced with anger, evoking a sense of sanctity simr to a hymn. Just by listening to this song, one could envision countless Ante men, rushing to the battlefield without a second thought. Marusin held the lyrics in his hand. He had seen the lyrics for only half an hour and had heard the tune even less, but he was already able to sing it quite perfectly. This was not only because of his exceptional professional skills but also because the song resonated with him. As Marusin sang, he felt a fiery rage welling up inside him. Though he was not on the frontline, he felt as if he was there. Let the noblest wrath, Roll like waves! Carry on the people''s war, The Holy War! This chorus had apletely different rhythm and melody from the main tune, which quickened significantly, like the rapid firing of artillery. After finishing the song, an excited Marusin asked Oshanin, the editor-in-chief, "Are you really going to let me sing this? I just need to find a crowded ce, and after singing it, I''ll be remembered." Oshanin, the editor-in-chief, replied, "Are you not willing? No, you will be. The selection meeting for the music to be used in the national funeral and public memorial service is about to start. Go up and sing it, apanied by our little orchestra. The song itself is excellent enough that even we amateurs can bring out its power!" At that moment, someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" No sooner had Oshanin finished speaking than the door to the music room opened, and dimir Bradsky, a special consultant for "Ante Modern Music" magazine and a professor at the Department of Music at Ye Fort University, entered. "What was that music just now?" The professor, abandoning all decorum, called out, "Who wrote it?" Oshanin, surprised, asked, "You heard it?" "Arge crowd has already gathered downstairs, all drawn by the music. What was that music? A new piece from the church? After all, it has a hymnal feel to it." Oshanin replied, "No, it was written by Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky." The professor frowned, "Him? Ah, wait a moment. The main melody does seem familiar; it''s the same as the melody that orchestra conductor was making fun of yesterday at the Musicians'' Club." Oshanin frowned, "The melody that was made fun of?" "Yes, Rokossovsky scolded the orchestra conductor harshly yesterday, then hummed a melody. Irritated, the conductor returned to the club and told all of us who were ying bridge about it, and he hummed it too. "But I''ve only heard it once just now, I can''t be sure. Show me the sheet music." Oshanin immediately took out the original score they had just copied and handed it to Professor Bradsky. The professor scrutinized the music sheet and frowned, "Is this... Rokossovsky''s handwriting?" "No, I also found it strange. The general is in Ye Fort, but looking at the postmark on this letter, it was only sent from Shostka this morning." "Shostka?" The professor''s brow contorted even more, "That''s quite a coincidence." "What''s the matter?" asked Oshanin. "Nothing," the professor shook his head, "Hurry up and rehearse. I think this song should be presented at the uing selection meeting. The entire country should hear this song on the day of the public memorial. It will greatly boost our morale." Chapter 226: Chapter 18 "He Still Sides with You" (33,000 Monthly Votes Plus) Wang Zhong had originally nned to attend the award ceremony first, as scheduled. However, upon arrival, he was informed that the church had interfered with the award ceremony, pushing the event back to the morning of August 13th. The Tsar''s proxy at the ceremony, the Grand Duchess, had other matters to attend to and couldn''t be present for the time being. Having been stood up, Wang Zhong could only turn around and head to the music selection event. Ludm, on the other hand, was quite happy, "This is just like joyriding in Ye Fort, and although I know it''s not right to say this during a time of war, but... joyriding is so fun." Wang Zhongughed, "There''s nothing wrong with that. It''s like ying cards between two fights, nothing of consequence." "You were against the ball just yesterday!" Ludm protested, "I was all prepared, and it all went to waste!" Wang Zhong could only look to the side. At that moment, Grigori, the driver, mmed on the brakes and turned around to say, "We''ve arrived at the Grand Theater, the address on the invitation is here." Ludm asked with curiosity, "Grigori, howe you''re so familiar with the names of ces in Ye Fort?" Grigori replied, "Because of my height, I was first stationed in the Ye Fort Royal Guard. It wasn''t untilter that I was transferred to the Third Amur Group. I basically got to know theyout of Ye Fort while in the Guard." Wang Zhong remarked, "Then we can count on you if we ever have to fight street battles in Ye Fort." Ludm was shocked, "Will ite to street fighting in Ye Fort?" Wang Zhong stated, "I don''t know. Anything can happen on the battlefield. However, my basic judgment remains unchanged; mud and harsh winters will weaken the Prussians, and we''ll push the front back a bit during the winter. But the war will continue." As he said this, he got out of the car and quickly moved to Ludm''s side. Ludm had intended to get out of the car by herself, but seeing Wang Zhonging over, she smiled slightly and extended her hand, giving her fianc an opportunity. After helping her out of the car, Wang Zhong took her hand and they walked towards the theater, while Grigori handed the car over to an approaching valet and followed them with a submachine gun slung over his shoulder. The Grand Theater had a row of Romanesque columns that looked quite majestic up close, but all Wang Zhong could think about was where to set up a machine gun to lock down the entire staircase. He guessed this symptom wouldn''t go away until the war was over. Reaching the top of the steps and looking at the entrance of the Grand Theater, Wang Zhong surveyed the surroundings, "Why is there no one here to greet us?" "Ohe on, you gave them a hard timest night, so they''re giving you a hard time today. You''re not thinking of drawing your gun and charging in, are you? Don''t be like that. I suggested from the start that you should act as if this invitation didn''t exist. But since you insisted on reviewing the music, we''re here, so just bear with it," Ludm said, effectively extinguishing the impulse inside Wang Zhong. He smiled faintly at her and wrapped his arm around her as they walked in. As they approached the main door, a group of maidservants appeared, opened the doors, and bowed to Wang Zhong, "General Rokossovsky, wee to the Grand Theater." Wang Zhong was utterly baffled, "Are you here to wee me? Weren''t you supposed to give me a hard time? What''s the meaning of this?" Then Grand Duchess Olga emerged. Both Wang Zhong and Ludm were stunned. The Grand Duchess said, "The Court Chambein asked me to attend this selection event to show the Royal Family''s interest in this activity. Since the award ceremony was canceled, I came over here willingly." Ludm said, "You came over because the award ceremony was canceled? Your Highness, are all your activities today to meet with Alyosha?" "No, this is thest event where I''ll meet him. I won''t be able to attend your officers'' dinner tonight," the Grand Duchess replied with a slight smile. Wang Zhong abruptly changed the subject, "Why was the award ceremony canceled?" "The church said they needed to revise the battle g and title awarded to your troops, so they canceled the ceremony," Olga paused before switching topics, "I heard you scolded the orchestra conductorst night? You called the music heposed for you ''effeminate''? " "Yeah, did that reach the pce too?" "Because after that, the orchestra conductor went to a club frequented by musicians andined bitterly. They also mocked the melody youposed, calling it trash. What was the song? Could I please have a listen?" Just as Wang Zhong was about to answer, Ludm beat him to it, "There will be other opportunities, Your Highness. It''s not good for us to be blocking the entrance like this." "You''re right," Olga said with a slight smile, "Then let''s go in." She turned and walked down the grand corridor of the theater interior. Wang Zhong wanted to follow her, but Ludm pulled him back, waiting until all of the Grand Duchess''s maidservants had caught up before following behind them. "That''s more in keeping with protocol," Ludm murmured into Wang Zhong''s ear, "Not that I''m jealous." Wang Zhong replied, "I''d actually be happier if you were jealous, really." "Then I am," said Ludm, "Happy now?" Wang Zhong nodded affirmatively, "Yes!...No, no, not happy, I dare not be happy." As they entered the Grand Theater, they found the audience seats filled with Ye Fort''s socialitesor at least those who appeared to be. They were paying their respects to Grand Duchess Olga. Ludm was pulling Wang Zhong, discreetly moving to the side. An attendant came over to show the way, "General Rocossovsky, your seat is over here." The attendant led Wang Zhong and his group to the edge of the auditorium seats, "Since inviting you was ast-minute decision, you can only sit here." Wang Zhong said, "If I sit in this position, sometimes my voice won''t be able to reach the people on stage. If that happens, I may choose to fire a gun. Are you sure that''s all right?" The attendantughed, "Don''t worry, the acoustic design of the theater is very advanced. You just need to slightly lift your chin and speak towards that wall. Your voice will carry very clearly throughout the entire theater, just like now." At this moment, quite a few people were looking over here. But most of them had no intention ofing over to shake hands A well-dressed middle-aged gentleman, apanied by a 40-something old academic with a monocle, walked over together. The gentleman handed over a business card, "I am Oshanin, the editor-in-chief of Ante Modern Music magazine. This is Professor dimir Bradsky next to me." The professor took over, saying, "Professor at Ye Fort University''s department of music. I have a small question, Duke Rocossov, do you have a young man in your troop named Vasily dimirovich Bradsky?" Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow; he had forgotten Vasily''s full name, but since the person before him was a music professor and it matched up, he confirmed and asked, "Could it be that you and your son are not on good terms?" "I think he should be aposer, but he went off to enlist!" Well, that hit the mark. Wang Zhong said, "Vasily is indeed in my troop. Because he is fluent in Prussian, he interprets Prussian radiomunications. Would you like me to pass on a message from you?" "No, no, the editor with me received an express letter around noon, from Shostka. Do you have any idea what this could mean?" Wang Zhong frowned, wondering if Vasily had written a song and sent it over, and it was received by this editor Oshanin? But, he had only hummed a tune in front of Vasily. Had he unconsciously sung the lyrics? Wang Zhong said, "I hummed an off-tune melody in front of him, which might have inspired his musicposition." If "The Holy War" had truly beenposed by Vasily, Wang Zhong wouldn''t mind giving credit to Vasily. After all, he wasn''t the original creator of the piece; he was merely a transporter. Besides, he had just brought the tune over. If Vasily could turn it into a fullposition, that was his brilliance. It wouldn''t be excessive to credit him. And if he also happened to fill in the lyrics, then even more so it would be right to let him have the credit. However, the professor shook his head, "No, no, I know that child too well. If it''s his work, he would never let it go. If he lists you as theposer, then it is definitely you. The lyrics are written by Filippov. Do you know this Filippov?" Wang Zhong replied, "He''s a good brother Vasily met at the military academy. The two of them survived the brutal Loktov Defense and the Orachi Rearguard Battle." The professor hesitated for a moment, then said, "If they have such talent, can we get them transferred back to Ye Fort to focus solely on musicposition? Boosting morale is also an important job." Wang Zhong said, "You''d have to speak with Vasily about that yourself. Shostka is still safe, the enemy is about a hundred kilometers away, and you could go see him." The professor frowned, "No! I will not go see him! Unless hees to apologize to me!" Good heavens, this father and son pair do have simrities. At this moment, Ludm spoke, "Don''t let stubbornness turn into regret. You should go see him." The professor was clearly hesitant. Then the orchestra conductor called out from afar, "Mr. Oshanin, the auditions are about to begin. Please hurry over!" Oshanin called out loudly, "Alright. However, respected conductor, I request a change in the order of the auditions. We have a new program we just rehearsed to perform." The conductor''s face showed disagreement. At that moment, dimir Bradsky spoke, "I support changing the order of the auditions. This song is deserving!" Of course, it''s "The Holy War". But what Bradsky said next was, "After all, it''s aposition by war hero Rocossov, it''s real music from the battlefield!" With that statement, a buzz arose throughout the venue. It was true, the theater''s acoustic design was impressive, a whisper suddenly bing as loud as a marketce. The conductor frowned, "This... we have a procedure. To add an undered piece is already not in ordance with the regtions, to ce it before everyone else doesn''t seem right..." Just then, from the Royal Family''s box, Olga said, "I think it''s alright. If it''s just cutting in at the very beginning, there''s no need to change the rest of the procedure, it just pushes everything back a bit. Besides, conductor, if General Rocossov''s music is really so unbearable to listen to, wouldn''t it be better to show it to everyone first? That way, the general won''t have any reasons to raise objectionster, right?" The musicians looked at each other. Ludm then whispered into Wang Zhong''s ear, "She still supports you so much, Your Highness." Wang Zhong instantly broke out in a sweat. At that moment, the conductor sighed, "Since editor-in-chief Oshanin and Professor Bradsky hold it in such high regard, let''s listen to it first then, this music from the battlefield." Chapter 227: Chapter 19: Resounding Through Ekaterinburg Fortress (34,000 Monthly Votes Plus Update) ``` After everyone had taken their seats, Editor-in-chief Oshanin stepped onto the conductor''s podium. Within the music pit, there was only a small orchestra. Wang Zhong heard someone ridicule, "Isn''t the orchestra just made up of their magazine editors? I remember they''re all amateurs, aren''t they? Without a single professional musician, what can they possibly perform?" Another person responded, "I didn''t even hear about this n until yesterday. They might have had to hurriedly push ducks onto perches today." "Indeed, this could be to make a fool of the general!" "If it''s to make a fool of the general, then what was their intention when they came over to greet us just now?" Wang Zhong could hear these gossipers especially clearly, perhaps due to the unique acoustics of the concert hall. Ludm clutched his arm the whole time, truly looking as though she feared he would draw his gun and start shooting again. Wang Zhong couldn''t help but reassure her, "What do you take me for? I won''t draw a gun." "You say that! But you drew your gun yesterday when we went to the club! You might well have developed a habit, resolving problems subconsciously by drawing a gun." Wang Zhong was left speechless, but since Ludm was pressing his hand in such a delightful manner, he didn''t say anything else. Editor-in-chief Oshanin was already prepared on the conducting tform, and after exchanging a nce with the soloist, he lightly flicked the conductor''s baton. The music started. As soon as Wang Zhong recognized the melody, he rxed: it was just a rearranged version of "The Holy War," with a rhythm that felt like a heavy heartbeat at the beginningsomething he was all too familiar with. The previously chattering musicians all fell silent. The slightly plump male singer began to sing. The words seemed a bit different from the original, but the overall tone was correct. Wang Zhongpletely rxed, knowing the song would be a sessas long as those musicians didn''t act in bad faith, they had to admit it was an outstanding battle hymn. Suddenly, Ludm pinched Wang Zhong''s arm so hard it hurt, preventing him from focusing on the song; he had to turn and look at the source of the pain. Ludm''s eyes were wet, and while pinching Wang Zhong''s arm violently, she kept wiping her tears and runny nose with a handkerchief. Distracted by his fiance, Wang Zhong was unable to concentrate on the song and instead looked around, only to discover that most of the noblewomen were tight-faced, while the older gentlemen all appeared moved. Well, the noblewomen, who had never experienced war and didn''t care about it, remained unaffected. Had the gentlemen been naturally stirred by the song''s solemnity? But almost immediately, Wang Zhong spotted an exception: Crown Princess Olga had stood up in her box, pressing her hands against the railing. Such theatres are designed for optimal listening from seated positions; Olga''s behavior of standing up during the performance was actually impolite. But the Crown Princess probably didn''t care about that anymore. When the song ended, the entire theatre was eerily quiet. The next moment, led by the Crown Princess, pping started, and while pping, she shouted, "Brilliant! I could almost see my brother resolutely charging toward the enemy!" No, in fact, this has nothing to do with personal courage; it''s a song that glorifies the entire nation, glorifying the fighting people, Your Highness! Just as Wang Zhong was seriously considering whether or not to stand up and exin this to the princess, Professor dimir Bradsky stood up: "This does not only celebrate individual bravery! In my opinion, this song praises the countless ordinary people who rushed to the battlefield. "It glorifies the entire Ante nation! This song didn''t use any fanciful arrangement techniques. Had it been homework submitted in one of my music theory sses, I probably wouldn''t have given a high grade. However, as a war hymn, it is perfect!" No sooner had the professor finished speaking than someone objected, "But the lyrics of this song speak of ''the people''s war.'' Isn''t it inappropriate for use at the state funeral of the Crown Prince and Duke Rokossovsky?" "Exactly," another concurred. "It''s almost as if the song was tailor-made for the Church, especially with that hymn-like chorus." Olga spoke up again, "No! It''s very appropriate! My brother would have definitely loved this song! Definitely!" Wang Zhong suddenly remembered that he, too, was a rtive of someone enjoying a state funeral, so after the princess, he said, "When I was writing it, I also thought of my father''s face, and the smile of my dear friend Ivan! Are you questioning the depth of my rtionship with the two martyred heroes?" The critics fell silent immediately. Then the leader of the Ye Fort Orchestra spoke, "I have to admit the song is very impressive. Even though the melody is indeed what General Rokossovsky hummedst night, but the listening experience ispletely different from when the major hummed it yesterday. "May I ask, who arranged this piece? Surely General Rokossovsky didn''t do the arrangement himself? I doubt the general has such professional expertise..." Wang Zhong openly admitted, "That''s right, the arrangement wasn''t mine, and even the lyrics weren''t mine. I merely provided a melody; it was the arranger who expanded it into a musical piece." The orchestra leader immediately revealed a triumphant smile, "Then isn''t it somewhat inappropriate that only the major''s name is written as theposer?" Bradsky spoke up, "I know the person who transcribed the major''s music onto the score, and his character ensures he would never take credit for himself. Trust me, even if seven or eight parts of the song''s sess are his doing, as long as the original tune came from the major, theposer won''t sign their name, absolutely not." When the professor spoke, his tone was one of boasting about his own son, his air of pride akin to that of an angler who hadnded a ten-pound fish, wishing everyone would carry the fish around the world and brag with a megaphone. Then Crown Princess Olga said, "I think the music for the state and public funeral should follow this one. General Rokossovsky, can you write more?" Wang Zhong was terrified at the prospect of the princess calling out ''Alyosha'' in public. But she didn''t. Instead, she used "General Rokossovsky," which was much better. Last time she seemed to have called him ''Alyosha'' directly; possibly considering it was a public asion this time, she used a more formal appetion. Wang Zhong: "I apologize, Your Highness, but as you know, I''m actually not skilled in music. When we were children, you and Ivan Highness yed the piano and the violin, and I could only p my hands to the rhythm. I can''t even y the drums." ``` "I also heard this song in a dream, so I remembered it." What Wang Zhong meant was that the world before he transmigrated seemed like a dream to him. As soon as these words were spoken, everyone drew a sharp breath. Wang Zhong was stunned, what was going on? Ludm whispered in his ear, "Saint Andrew once said the same thing, that he heard melodies in a dream, and thus he wrote them down." ...Was Saint Andrew a predecessor? Or did he truly hear angels singing to him? After all, this world really does have mystic forces. Instead of thetter possibility, Wang Zhong rather hoped that Saint Andrew was a predecessor. At this moment, Professor Bradsky broke the silence, "Then let''s settle on this song as the first one! I think we should organize the orchestra to learn it right away and then perform at the train station!" "The youths from all over the country are gathering there to embark on their journey, heading to the front lines. They need this song to boost their morale!" Before the orchestra''s conductor could reply, another tall and thin gentleman stood up, "Agreed. Your Excellency, Conductor, I think the orchestra should start rehearsing this song immediately and strive to perform at the train station by tomorrow morning." Wang Zhong asked Ludm, "Who was that speaking?" "The vice-conductor of the orchestra, and he''s very close to the Church," Liu Xia answered. Wow, the Church has infiltrated every aspect, hasn''t it? The conductor stared at the vice-conductor for a while before saying, "You are correct, Aleksandrovich, go and organize the rehearsal." The vice-conductor immediately saluted and then strode up to the stage to ask Editor-in-Chief Oshanin for the score. As he came down with the score, he also saluted Wang Zhong. The conductor, looking deted like a withered radish, cleared his throat and said, "Then let''s continue with the procedure, start the selection..." "I would like to hear this song again," Olga, the Crown Princess, interrupted the conductor, "What is the name of this song?" Editor-in-Chief Oshanin on stage rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, "It''s called ''The Night of July 15th at Argesukov, a Serendipitous Composition.''" Wang Zhong wanted tough; Vasily took the time he hummed Heng as the title of the song. And he got the date wrong too, it was the night he met Aunt Alexeyevna. Oshanin turned to Wang Zhong, "Your Excellency, General, is this... the name of the song?" Wang Zhong shook his head, "No, the song is called ''The Holy War''." Olga, the Crown Princess, asked, "Did you also hear this one in a dream?" Wang Zhong nodded, "Yes, Saint Andrew told me." Having already unwittingly stepped on andmine, he might as well step down harder to scare this lot of vermin. Sure enough, his words again stirred up waves of shock. But the Crown Princess Olgaughed heartily, as though she took it all as a joke, "Major General Rokossov, you really have a sense of humor." Wang Zhong also smiled. A littleter, at the Eastern Holy Church''s Great Cathedral of Maria. The Grand Patriarch Belinsky took a sip of Triana wine and let out a satisfied sound. At that moment, a Judge came in with a report, "Your Eminence, this is a piece of music just sent to ''Ante Modern Music'' magazine by Major General Rokossov." "Oh? Major General Rokossov writes music as well? Didn''t I hearst night that he had offended the entire music world? What, is he now writing songs trying to win back favor? "This is not good; no one can excel in everything, there''s no need for him to save face in music too." As Belinsky spoke, he gestured for the Judge to bring the piece of music over. The Judge immediately handed the score to Belinsky. "Hmm," Belinsky didn''t understand the score, nced at it briefly, and then tossed aside the sheet asking, "What''s the reaction from the musicians?" "They''re extremely shocked, even Ye Fort''s conductor, who had a grudge against the Major General, thinks it''s a good piece." Belinsky was surprised: "Really?" He picked up the score again, "This... oh, there are lyrics, let''s see... ''Let noble fury boil over like waves! Fight the people''s fight, the sacred battle''..." The Grand Patriarch looked at the Judge, "Go and ask the Propaganda Department if they were the ones who fed these words to the General." "They weren''t," said the Judge with certainty, "Both the Propaganda Department and the Hymn Department say it has nothing to do with them." Belinsky raised his eyebrows, "Investigate this lyricist, Filippov. And confirm again if this was indeed written by the General." Chapter 228: Chapter 20 Another Father Wang Zhong had no idea that his song had already made its way to the church. He only knew that after Oshanin yed the song with some enthusiasts, his own speaking rights suddenly increased. He even felt that after every music piece ended, everyone was waiting for him to say a few words. The presence of Grand Duchess Olga only strengthened this feeling. At the end of every song, the host would anxiously watch Wang Zhong, checking if he intended to make a sharp critique. However, Wang Zhong himself was quite self-aware, so he only spoke up to scold the effeminate tunes when the performance of a song was obviously poor, to uphold the solemnity of his good brethren and his father''s funeral. By the time the two and a half hour audition finished, Wang Zhong''s legs had nearly gone numb. Ludm smiled, pulling him up, and said, "Are you really the fierce general who gallops across the battlefield?" Wang Zhong: "When I gallop across the battlefield, I mainly rely on my little tank." After saying this, Wang Zhong seemed to hear the neighing of horses and quickly added, "And my beloved horse." Ludm sighed, "Your answer reminds me that on the battlefield, you cared more about tanks and horses than me!" "That''s a misunderstanding!" Wang Zhong said seriously, "My concern for you is the same as that for my horse and tank!" Ludm looked at Wang Zhong with a teasing smile, while the surrounding young noblewomen already looked at her with sympathetic eyes. Only then did Wang Zhong realize something seemed off, so he corrected himself, "I care about you more than the horses and the tank!" "Hahaha, I don''t believe you." Ludm said after a dryugh. Just as Wang Zhong was about to make amends, she sighed deeply, "Oh well, it seems all men are the same. When Uncle Connie and my father gathered, they would be bursting with enthusiasm talking about what phase of the campaign, which general''s unit arrived where on what date You will probably be the same in the future." Wang Zhong looked aside because he also felt that he would be just like that. It was then that Professor dimir Bradsky approached with some trepidation and asked, "Er, General, do you... really think I should go to Shostka to see Vasily?" Wang Zhong: "Don''t hesitate, go quickly. Shostka is normal for now, even running a regr civilian passenger train each day. But it won''t be this rxed for much longer." Wang Zhong had intended to say that it wouldn''t be this rxed by mid-September, but at this time, it wasn''t appropriate to leak military judgments, so he could only say so much. Bradsky, holding his hat, rubbed it nervously, "There''s a great waring, right? Would it be taboo to visit my son in the army at such a time? "I''ve heard that the army is a very superstitious ce, where some people carry amulets into battle, believing that if they lose them, they''ll never returnstuff like that "So is there any superstition that if you see your family before a war, you''ll be doomed in the future?" Wang Zhong: "No, not at all. Rest assured. War doesn''t take such kind considerations, death arrives without warning and it doesn''t rte to your actions." Ludm quickly poked his waist, then smiled and said, "What the Lieutenant Colonel means is, just ease your mind and go. Bring whatever good food you should." The professor nodded repeatedly, ready to leave, then suddenly remembered something, and asked, "Does Vasily... hate me?" Wang Zhong: "He''s always grumbling that you forced him to be aposer, nothing else beyond that." The professor heaved a sigh: "I''m different from other parents. I saw his talent and steered him in that direction! As you can see, he really has the talent!" Wang Zhong had to admit that Vasily did indeed have the talent to make something of a song after hearing it just once, the father before him wasn''t wrong. So he said, "Maybe you should have a proper talk with him? Not as a father or an elder giving instructions, but as a friend, just a good, friendly chat?" The professor was shocked, "But I am his father and elder! How can I possibly be his friend? I''ve discovered his talent and shown him the best path! As a father, I have a clear conscience! Your Excellency, if you were a father, you could..." "I am not a father yet." Wang Zhong smiled slightly, "Though I look weathered, it''s the imprint of war, I''m actually not even 30 years old. I have no experience as a father, so I''m sorry, I can''t rte to you. All I can tell you is that Vasily hopes you can respect him, wanting to share a drink with you as a friend." Actually, here, Wang Zhong was expressing his own wish. Before he crossed over, he had hoped to have a drink with his father, to chat as friends. But now that was a wish that could never be fulfilled. Thinking this still brought a bit of sorrow. The empathetic Liu Xia looked at Wang Zhong tenderly. The professor sighed, "Alright, alright, I understand what you mean. I''ll bring a bottle of wine and have a good chat with him." Wang Zhong: "As friends." "I''ll try." The professor smiled, turned to leave, but then had another thought and asked, "Can I bring my wife along, too? Is there any taboo in that?" Wang Zhongughed, "No, rest assured." After saying this, Wang Zhong suddenly thought, if Vasily were to die this time, would the couple think it was because they had vited some taboo and caused his death? In such a case, it would be better to concoct a taboo for them to be mindful of at all times. Just as sailors shouldn''t flip fish over while eating, and other such superstitions. But before Wang Zhong could spin such a tale, the professor had already left, walking away while putting on his crumpled hat. Ludm said softly, "What a lovely father. You can tell he loves Vasily very, very much." "Yes." Wang Zhong nodded. It was at this moment that Grand Duchess Olga appeared: "Finally, it''s over. I heard that tonight you will be inviting young officers to a dance at the estate?" "A dinner party." Wang Zhong corrected. Ludm said jokingly, "Alyosha doesn''t want to entertain thedies; he only wants to entertain the young men." Wang Zhong didn''t deny it. Olga sighed, "That means you are definitely noting to the court ball tonight." "Definitely not," Wang Zhong answered. "Then the ball is going to be very boring," Olga pouted. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something that pleased her, she said, "Then I will have the orchestra y ''The Holy War'' during the interlude between two dances!" Wang Zhong was shocked. He could already imagine how someone was going to have high blood pressure tonight. Ludm changed the subject, "Is His Majesty the Tsar still the same?" "Still the same, locked in his room all day long; the good news is that he is eating." Wang Zhong nodded, trying hard to appear concerned for His Majesty the Tsar. The Grand Duchess Olga said, "Well then, I''m going back. I hope you have a good time tonight." That evening, in the outskirts of Ye Fort, at the Rokossovsky Estate. Arge number of young military officers gathered in the garden set up for an open-air banquet. Many were familiar faces from the previous experience sharing session, like Kashuk. There were also officers like Kiriyenko, who could hardly be considered young, but weren''t old either, mingling among them. If there was one thing that united all the officers gathered at the estate at that moment, it was that they had all personally faced off against the Prussians at the front. Due to ckout regtions, only the food area was illuminated by candlelight; the rest of the venue was bathed in moonlight. In these circumstances, if this had been a dance, many indecent things were likely to happen. But this was not a dance. The young officers were not discussing women but war. Wang Zhong discovered a smoked herring sd at the food station which smelled terrible, but after one bite, he fell in love with the taste. As he was enjoying the food, several Armored Troops officers arrived at the food station. It was so dark that they didn''t notice Wang Zhong and were chatting among themselves: "The content of the session the day before yesterday was very useful, but those who went up to share were all people who had won battles, or at least held their ground and then retreated in one piece, so they only introduced how they won, not how they lost." "Yeah, I think how they lost would be more valuable to share," one said. Wang Zhong, upon hearing this, was very interested and asked, "So how did they lose?" He intentionally blocked his own major general''s epaulettes and changed his voice to be somewhat different from "Rocossov." The Armored Troops officers nced at Wang Zhong, and, seeing that he was infantry, spoke openly: "How we lost? You infantry would definitely not understand, but we are all too familiar with it. "My unit, the First Tank Army, is the rich army of the entire Western Front Army. We have arge number of new tanks. Just KV-1s alone we have 40, and 20 KV-2s! Do you know the KV-2? We call it ''toilet bowl head,'' that thing is equipped with a 152mm heavy howitzer! "Our army also has 80 T-34s, you understand? 80! The moment there was armored contact, the Prussians were dumbfounded. They had never seen such terrifying tanks! And so many of them! "Guess how we got finished?" Wang Zhong thought of the fate of the Sixth Tank Army and said, "88 guns?" "No no no," the officer from the First Tank Army shook his hands repeatedly, "Guess again." Wang Zhong: "Stukas?" "Those indeed destroyed a few, but not many. Actually, the efficiency of Stuka attacks isn''t as high as the Prussians advertise. Guess again!" Wang Zhong: "I can''t guess. You tell me." The officer sighed deeply: "We lost because, other than tanks, wecked everything! How many support troops does a Prussian tank division have? Each armored battalion has three battalions, and some divisions even only two. The rest are all support troops. "Armored grenadiers, artillery, anti-air battalions, logistics regiments, maintenance battalions They have everything! An armored battalion can even be directly supported by a grenadier battalion, with half-tracks outnumbering tanks! "And us? It would be good if a toon could get a squad of infantry, sometimes a tank toon could only get an infantry squad. We may not have enough infantry, but that''s not allour equipment is also poor. Buddy, how many machine guns does your infantry battalion have?" Wang Zhong: "Depends on which battalion, but my Guard 31st Battalion has 114 light machine guns. Mainly because we captured a lot of enemy light machine guns." "See! 114! The entire Tank Army''s affiliated infantry only has 81 light machine guns. Our infantry''s firepower can''tpare with the enemy''s armored grenadiers; we get suppressed as soon as we engage and then we''re shattered. "Then the enemy''s infantry can deal with our tanks in closebat! The enemy also likes to throw smoke! As you know, with smoke everywhere and no infantry to apany, tanks are just sitting ducks! "We alsock tractors. My division, the entire division has only seven tractors, and they are all the artillery''s, used to tow cannons! If a tank gets stuck in a ditch, there isn''t a tractor to pull it out. "Many tanks were abandoned on the battlefield like this, without even fighting!" The divisionmander was speaking passionately when he suddenly stopped, "Wait a minute, what did you say about your unit just now?" Wang Zhong: "Guard 31st Battalion." The divisionmander: "Are you Major General Rocossov?" "Correct. I will reflect all your grievances to the Ordnance Department. We will also try to push for morebined arms units, to fill up other technical service branches for you." The divisionmander shook his head, "It''s no use, unless General Sergey, the head of the Ordnance Department, is reced, he will only continue to expand the tank forces, endlessly creating disabled tank armies thatck everything except for tanks, and then they will be farmed by the enemy as battle achievements." Chapter 229: Chapter 21 "Today We Reunite Like Family As soon as the tank brigademander had finished speaking, another colonel spoke up, "The infantrycks machine guns because they''re all mounted on tanks! There''s only so much production capacity for machine guns, and if they go to the tanks, there are fewer avable for the infantry!" "Moreover, the number of machine guns on tanks is unnecessarily high. Inbat, that machine gun on the back of the turret is utterly useless! Originally, the BT7 has a two-man turret; during battle, they''re too busy to death, who has the time to operate the machine gun at the back of the turret!" Wang Zhong couldn''t help but give a wry smile. He hadmanded a T28 himself, which had a machine gun at the back of the turret intended for themander to use, but Wang Zhongpletely forgot about the existence of that machine gun. Hrious, who has time to turn around and fire the rear machine gun when you can''t even keep up with the action in front? The BT7 also had a machine gun on the back of its turret. When Wang Zhong stood at the back of the BT7 turret tomand the tank, the only use of this machine gun was to asionally punch him in the stomach. By the way, at first Wang Zhong was still worried that this machine gun would misfire and kill him. Then themander of the BT7 assured him not to worry because the machine gun wasn''t even loaded with ammunition; the ammo had been moved to save space. Before he crossed over, Wang Zhong had read many memoirs of Soviet tankers. Either they forgot about the existence of this machine gun and never mentioned it, or theyined that it took up a lot of space in the turret and couldn''t be used. Yet this rear-facing machine gun persisted. It was present in most tanks at the beginning of the war, as well as the midte IS1, and thete-IS2, until it was finally removed in the IS3 that only made it to the victory parade. One couldn''t help but suspect that this machine gun at the back of the turret was a personal preference of some designer. By the way, many yearster there was a hugely humorous end to this story. In War Thunder, a war game made by Russians themselves, all the rear-facing machine guns were just rendered models and had no firing function whatsoever. This design, like the initial removal of the tankmander in the BT series, became theughingstock of Russian tank design. Before Wang Zhong crossed over, he thought the troops probably had no objections. Now it seems that the troops had a lot ofints; it''s unknown why the Ordnance Department didn''t adopt them. Even adding amander to the T3485 was only on the T3485 improvement model. The original version of the T3485 only added an observation tower for the gunner to enhance his vision when not operating the main gun. Just reading the text description already sends one''s blood pressure through the roof. Wang Zhong thought to himself that now he was here, he could take a gun, take out the stubborn designer who wouldn''t admit his mistakes, and rece him with a designer who would meet the demands of the troops. While thinking about this, the tankers continued to have a heated discussion: "To be honest, I can''t understand the use of having two coaxial machine guns in the turret. One machine gun canplete most of the tasks. Is having an extra machine gun going to make the Prussians die more thoroughly? The turret space is already small; adding another machine gun just makes it more cramped. It would be better to have space for more machine gun ammunition." Another said, "Yeah, removing the rear machine gun would allow us to carry a lot more ammo." "The maggots at the Ordnance Department don''t understand tanks at all! Even if they don''t understand, wouldn''t it be good to just copy the Prussian tanks? The Prussian tanks we''ve destroyed don''t have rear machine guns and havemanders, and their new models even have observation towers for them." It was then that a balding middle-aged man leaned in and spoke in a low voice, "Stop talking. The rear-firing machine gun and the elimination of the tankmander were the ideas of His Majesty the Tsar''s favorite, Valentin. He, just like General Skorobo, enjoys the Tsar''s deep trust, and even General Sergey doesn''t weigh as much in the Tsar''s presence as Valentin does. "He oversaw the design of the B4 howitzer and the T35 heavy tank, both of which are very much loved by the Tsar." All the tankmanders present furrowed their brows. Wang Zhong said, "It seems everyone is well aware of how terrible the T35 piece of junk is." "How could we not know? The tank school uses that piece of crap as a ssroom vehicle because it''s big enough to hold more people for a lecture." The brigademander who had just spoken said, frowning. Well, turns out there''s that connection. Wang Zhong patted his chest, "The erroneous path of the Ordnance Department will be corrected by me. I''ll try toe up with a new tank with amander and a radio based on my Parade T34 by next year." All the tank operators'' expressions brightened up, "Really?" "I''ve been to the repair factory to see your tank, number 422. It''s really good." Wang Zhong''s vehicle actually returned to Ye Fort earlier than the others. At that time, these vehicles didn''te off the train; they were sent directly to Ye Fort to return to the factory. Wang Zhong confidently patted his chest, "For real. In fact, as part of a royal special project, I had Ye Fort''s Combined Machinery Factory start on a hundred Parade Tanks. Officially, they''re for the National Founding Day parade, but in reality, they''re prepared to be sent to the front lines forbat. "My division only has one tank battalion; it definitely can''t handle all 100 tanks, so we can probably form two more battalions. Who gets the Parade Tanks is up to the royal family; I can pull some strings." In reality, it was Princess Olga who had the final say. Which basically meant that I, Wang Zhong, had the final say. The officers all had a knowing look. But clearly, their understanding might have a slight deviation from what Wang Zhong meant. At that moment, the brigademander who had spoken before suggested, "We finally heard some good news today. Let''s toast to celebrate!" He turned to those present and called out loudly, "Gentlemen! Just now the general promised us that there would be more and better tanks for the tankers and more machine guns for the infantry! Let us raise our sses to General Rokossovsky!" All the officers picked up their wine sses; those who didn''t have one quickly asked a waiter for one. Soon, everyone held up their drinks. Wang Zhong picked up a ss of red wine and looked at everyone, "Gentlemen! Today, it feels as if a big family has reunited. I''m so happy!" He raised his ss. "Hmm! Today I''m the happiest!" "I estimate it will take five years to achieve victory. Let''s drink to our sess five years from now, see you in Prosenia!" Having said that, he downed his drink in one gulp. The young, battle-experienced officers present all shouted in unison, "See you in Prosenia!" After finishing his drink, Wang Zhong noticed the band appearing near the fountain; it turned out that the dinner party was just beginning, and what had taken ce before was merely a time for idle chatter before everyone arrived. The band began to y, and to his surprise, it was "The Holy War," which Wang Zhong had only made public that daya melody that sounded like abination of a hymn and a march. The small choir of just six started singing, "Arise, great nation, to fight to the death!" The officers who had just finished their drinks all paused. Those who had been on the battlefield felt a deeper connection to the song than most. Everyone''s expression turned exceptionally solemn, perhaps recalling fallenrades on the battlefield, or rtives lost in the upied homnd whose fate they did not know. The band made some creative adaptations, such as the heart-beat-like rhythm, achieved by plucking the strings of the double basses, which made the sound even heavier. August 13, early morning. King''s Cross Station at St. Ye Katerina Fortress. A train filled with new recruits was about to depart, with girls bidding farewell to their beloved young men. The station band was ying "The Farewell of the Ante Women," and everything seemed no different than usual. That was until the musicians of the Ye Fort Philharmonic appeared with their "long guns and short cannons"their instruments were their weapons. All the musicians had dark circles under their eyes, clearly not having slept much the night before. The deputy conductor Aleksandrobov approached the station military band and said to the conductor, "Alright, stop now, it''s our turn." The military band conductor, who was Aleksandro''s student, was puzzled: "Eh? Teacher, what''s going on? Are we putting on a public performance at the station?" "No, not a performanceit''s to carry out your duty. Just listen." By then, all the Philharmonic musicians had taken their ces. Aleksandro himself moved a box, stood on it, nodded to the lead musician, then to the choir, andstly said to the announcer who was waiting, "Announce it!" Taking a deep breath, the announcer proimed loudly, "Next, please listen to the songposed by General Rokossovsky and written by Warrant Officer Filippov, ''The Holy War''!" Aleksandro raised his right hand and lightly flicked his baton. A profound and majestic melody filled the air. The male basses in the choir started first: "Arise, great nation, to fight to the death!" The young people who had just been whispering sweet nothings and kissing goodbye all stopped to watch the musicians. The civilians sending off their children also paused to listen quietly to the musicians'' singing. Even the railway workers at the station stopped to be part of the powerful music. A young driver said to the old one, "Everything''s almost ready; time to sound the whistle." "Shh, Alyosha. Let''s wait until the song''s over. There''ll be plenty of time for you to blow the whistle soon enough," chided the old driver, holding up his index finger. Just then, the station master came out of his office, listened for a few moments, then entered the broadcasting room next to his office and said to the technician, "Bring out the microphone. I want this song to be heard throughout the station immediately, and start recording now!" The technician replied, "Station master, if we start recording now, we''ll only get half of it. You should have them sing it again and record the whole thing." "Right, right, hurry up with the microphoneget it set up! I want it broadcast throughout the station!" A momentter, all the loudspeakers at the train station, including therge ones in front of the station, began ying "The Holy War." The throng of people in front of the station came to a standstill, looking up at the loudspeakers. "Let the most noble rage roll like waves! Fight the people''s war, the holy war!" The forceful lyrics, driven by the melody, ignited an endless fury and a continuous fighting spirit inside everyone. Once the song was over, the whole stationnot just the station, but the entire squareerupted in thunderous apuse. The overjoyed station master rushed over, taking Aleksandrobov''s hand, "Again! I want to record it and y it every day! They say ''La Marseiise'' is more powerful than an army corps; this song is the same! "Sing it once more, Mr. Musician!" Aleksandrobov replied, "Sure. Then bring the microphone here, get ready to record, and we''ll sing it again! No, we can sing it as many times as needed!" Chapter 230: Chapter 22: Medal Ceremony (35,000 monthly tickets plus update) "The Holy War" was fermenting, and Wang Zhong stood in formation on the parade ground of the Summer Pce with 450 officers poised to receivemendations. Wang Zhong was unsurprised to find that most were familiar faces from the dinner the night before. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, they all came to shake hands with him after saluting. ------------- General Tukhachev stood on the reviewing stand, observing the scene. His adjutant whispered in his ear, "It''s confirmed that Major General Rokossovsky has ced an order for 100 Parade Tanks on behalf of the Royal Family, Valentin is furious, iming that producing such ''toy cars'' is mocking his perfect design." Before General Tukhachev could respond, Marshal Semyon said, "The frontlines indeed have given a lot of feedback, there''s considerable opposition to removing the tankmander''s role, and some would rathermand a T28 tank with amander than operate a T34. As for the radios, there''s unanimous criticism for designs without radios and many makeshift solutions have been tried, including running telephone wires between tanks." "But Valentin''s design is much loved by His Majesty the Tsar," said Tukhachev. Marshal Semyon fell silent, but after a moment added, "The battlefield doesn''t change for personal preferences. Not even for His Majesty the Tsar. Now that His Majesty cannot attend to state affairs, we should take the opportunity to" At this moment, General Tugenev interjected, "No, no, the sudden drop in production due to the factory relocation is already an issue, a change in design now would only worsen the tank output. We should continue producing the wed designs first and then gradually increase the production of the designs that receive positive feedback from the battlefield." "That would also cate Valentin a bit, wouldn''t it?" Tukhachev and Marshal Semyon both fell silent. Just then, Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess appeared in a corner of the parade ground with a group of maids of honor and headed straight towards the reviewing stand. Tukhachev nced at the Grand Duchess, then followed her gaze to Major General Rokossovsky. "He''s almost like a prince himself," Tukhachev muttered, "Did you hear that the song he wrote stole the show at the selection meeting yesterday? His stature is almost like that of Saint Andrew reincarnated." Marshal Semyon said, "This is good for Ante, uniting the officers." Tukhachev remained silent. Then the Grand Duchess approached the reviewing stand and greeted Tukhachev and the others, "Hello, generals and marshals." "Good day, Your Imperial Highness," Tukhachev and the others saluted the Grand Duchess in kind. The Grand Duchess said, "For today''s ceremony, I''m only responsible for presenting the Gold Star Medals, right?" "There are also the gs for the new units being granted the title of Imperial Guard. You don''t have to actually carry the g; simply receive it from the color bearer and hand it to the unit''smanding officer. Themand officers will pass the gs to the sergeants standing by. It''s really just a formal part of the processthe gs and equipment willter be delivered to the respective units by the transport team," General Tugenev exined dutifully. The Grand Duchess inquired, "And what about the other honours? Surely not everyone is being awarded the title of Imperial Guard and the Gold Star Medal? With so many honours, I would begin to suspect that we have actually won, and the Prussians are nearly finished." "No," Marshal Semyon shook his head, "there are indeed many Gold Stars, but not many Imperial Guards. The title primarily requires that units retreat in formation. There are many units that would qualify for the honor based on their achievements but have not pulled back." The Grand Duchess looked sad, "Is that so. I understand. And the others?" "They are for various other medals, which we will be presenting. Your Imperial Highness, you will only handle the Imperial Guards and the Gold Stars," General Tugenev advised. The Grand Duchess nodded, "Very well! Let''s not dy any further, begin the ceremony." Suddenly, she paused, looking puzzled at the Guard g formation that had just marched into the area. Among the pristine white Imperial Guard gs, there was one red g interspersed. Tukhachev immediately turned to his adjutant, "What''s going on? Why is there a red g?" The adjutant replied, "There wasn''t supposed to be. The g allotted to Rokossovsky''s unit was a normal Imperial Guard g with a blessing from Grand Duchess Olga on it. "But the Church interfered with our decision. The dy in yesterday''s award ceremony was because of this. The red g was the Church''s demand, and they even insisted on adding an image of a falcon holding a spear to the g." Olga slightly tilted her head, "A falcon holding a spear? What is that?" Surprisingly, no one present could answer the Grand Duchess''s question. Seizing the opportunity to distinguish himself before the Grand Duchess, Tukhachev''s adjutant said, "It is a bird of prey from Kazarlia, typically found in the grasnds." Olga uttered a curious "eh," not even ncing at the adjutant, and turned back to look at General Rokossovsky, "The eagle of the grasnds, quite fitting for him." Tukhachev sighed, "We have no precedent for using red gs; the Church intends to destroy our traditions." "I''ve heard about that," the Grand Duchess Olga said with a smile, "The red symbolizes the blood of the fallen soldiers, a disy stained with their sacrifice. This interpretation has spread widely, don''t you know?" Tukhachev turned away. Grand Duchess Olga urged, "Let''s start the ceremony quickly!" ------------- The ceremony hadn''t yet begun, but Wang Zhong had already spotted the red Imperial Guard g, which would likely be presented to his own temporary 151st Infantry Division. The only uncertainty was what the new number would be. There couldn''t possibly be another 30 Imperial Guard divisions ahead of his, could there? But truth be told, among all the white-and-blue gs, a single red g was really eye-catching. Regardless of the number, that red g had already made Wang Zhong the most striking figure out there. The ceremony officially began, and the military band started ying the national anthem of the Ante Empire. When Wang Zhong heard the national anthem, his brow furrowed into a pretzel. He had assumed that for the Tsar, the anthem would be "God Bless the Tsar." If one wanted a bit of a retro feel, it would be the "Preobrazhensky Regiment March." If it were the era of a Female Tsar, then it would be "The Thunder of Victory," since the lyrics did include "Glory to you, Mother Ekaterina the Great Emperor." But now, upon hearing the tune, Wang Zhong nearly lost hisposure. He was all too familiar with this piece. Subconsciously, he turned his head to confirm the g, and indeed it was Ante''s white field zoned with the blue Saint Andrew''s cross and the Double-headed Eagle. At this moment, people around him started to sing along, and only then did Wang Zhong sigh in relief. The lyrics were wrong, these words were praising the Tsar. Wang Zhong hummed along with the person next to him, managing to get through the song at longst. The princess then stood at the forefront of the Parade Stand and began reciting her speech. The gist of it was to thank everyone for their valiant efforts h h h, in the end, it was still the same old glory to the monarchy spiel. The speech concluded, and General Tugenev, whom Wang had met several times before, came forward: "We shall now proceed with the award ceremony. First, we shall present the Imperial Guard gs. This time, a total of 11 units have been granted the title of Imperial Guard." Wang Zhong thought that to produce 11 Imperial Guard units in just over a month, given the retreat situation, indicated an enormous intensity ofbat. Tugenev called out the name of the first unit: "The 151st Temporary Infantry Division. This division faced enemy forces several times its number at Orachi, resisting stubbornly for three days, destroyed more than 200 enemy tanks, sessfullypleted its mission, and managed to break out." "For this valiant performance, the Military Command hereby awards the division the title of the First ''Red Banner'' Mechanized Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard! "Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky of the division, pleasee up to the stand to receive the g!" Wang Zhong strode out, letting his body''s muscle memory carry him with precise military steps up to the Parade Stand. The princess, with a stern face, handed the red g to Wang Zhong. Curious, Wang Zhong nced at the emblem on the g, only to discover it wasn''t a Double-headed Eagle, but an... Eagle? What did that mean? They cut off one head of the Double-headed Eagle to stew it? Or did they think the Double-headed Eagle wasn''t Roman enough, being a Byzantine emblem after all, and that to be truly Roman, they needed to adopt the original Roman eagle standard instead? But was there even a Rome in this world? As Wang Zhong puzzled over this, Olga whispered, "Quicklye down, O Eagle of the Steppe." That meant others were waiting to receive their gs. Wang Zhong turned his head and saw General Tugenev waiting; he couldn''t proceed until Wang left the stand. So, Wang Zhong handed the g to the ready attendant and descended from the Parade Stand withrge strides. The Imperial Guard gs were quickly distributed, and next up was the Gold Star Medal ceremony. Wang Zhong and the other recipients of the Gold Star made their way to the Parade Stand, looking to be about a hundred in number. Olga approached Wang Zhong once morestarting with him again since he was deemed the "first in merit." As she pinned the medal on Wang Zhong, Olga softly hummed "Katyusha." Well, what do you know, the Eagle of the Steppe is right here! There''s a line in "Katyusha" that goes "she''s singing of the eagle of the steppe," and the following line is "she''s singing of the one she loves." Could we not be so on the nose? But now it''s the era where women are direct, and men are elusive, watch me deflect this one. Wang Zhong intended to showcase his world-ss evasive maneuver skills, but Olga had moved on to award the next person. Wang Zhong, having no chance to evade! Nevermind, maybe I''m overthinking it? Perhaps she just felt like humming "Katyusha." Wang Zhong sessfully performed a mental sidestep. The ceremony continued for another half-hour, and Wang Zhong''s legs went numb from standing. Fortunately, he didn''t have to carry the g; it would be sent directly to Shostka. Just when everything was over, an air raid rm suddenly sounded nearby. Wang Zhong felt like the Prussians had timed it perfectly to bomb the capital right at the end of the ceremony. Under the guidance of the Royal Pce staff, Wang Zhong followed other officers into an air-raid shelter quickly, only to learn just after entering that the rm had been lifted. It turned out the Mig-3 units guarding the capital had repelled the enemy bombers on the outskirts. Wang Zhong breathed a huge sigh of relief. The award ceremony was over, and now he had onest thing left to do in the capital: attend the state funerals of his father and his good brother and deliver a speech. The thought alone gave Wang Zhong a headache, wondering from whom he should giarize the speech? Thest time he tried writing his own speech, the results wereckluster. He really needed to copy someone else''s. The good news was, the state funeral would be on the 18th, and today was only the 13th; he still had five days to stew in his worries. Chapter 231: Chapter 23: State Funeral (Additional update for 36,000 monthly votes) Five days passed in the blink of an eye. On the morning of August 18, Wang Zhong stood at the ceremony preparation area, looking at the grand scene outside. Suddenly, he found his mind was a nk and quickly pulled out his speech to nce over it. Seeing this, Ludm spoke in a soft, soothing voice, "Don''t worry, your speechst night was excellent. There won''t be any problems today." Wang Zhong: "Hmm, I''m just taking a look." Ludm: "Rx, there will be staff holding cue cards in front of you. That''s the whole point of you rehearsing the speech! Keep calm. Now, let''s head to the spectator stands." Ludm had not yet married Wang Zhong, so she was not yet a duchess and could not apany him at such events. Instead, she joined Nelly in heading to the nearby spectator stands, thanks to a special invitation from the Royal Family. Wang Zhong nodded and then watched the two as they made their way to the spectator stands. Now only his guard Grigori and the staff of the ceremony remained with him at the preparation area. The Royal Family''s grandstand was still empty, and Wang Zhong could hear generals and marshals in the distance gossiping: "Will His Majesty show up today?" "If he doesn''t, it will be troublesome. The Crown Princess seems to have grown close to the church because of her dealings with Rocossov, thereby growing closer to the church as well." "With the current situation, we can''t win without the support of the church. The Royal Family needs to rally... I can''t even bear to think about it." "On a brighter note, the Crown Prince''s sacrifice has actually boosted the Royal Family''s influence among the popce, and incidentally allowed Argesukov''s heavy forces to hold the line until now." "If only more troops could have been rescued. If we could have formed a fully structured group from those trapped, we could im victory." Wang Zhong originally focused on his speech, but the chatter of the generals caught his attention. Listening to their conversation, he subconsciously nced at the church''s main ceremony stand that appeared to be intentionally opposing the Royal Family''sit was situated right across Ye Fort''s widest avenue, facing the Royal Family''s grandstand. Argesukov''s logistics were almostpletely cut off now, with less than ten kilometers between the two armored clusters of the Prussians left fortified. The enemy had not attacked because both armored groups had run for hundreds of kilometers and needed to stop for repairs. And though ten kilometers seemed like a wide gap, it was actually sealed by the artillery and air force, making it impossible for troops to pass through. The enemy had effectivelypleted their encirclement; it was just a matter of when the Prosen Empire would dere victory. The confirmed troops within the encirclement ounted for eight hundred thousand by formation, but most had been fighting fiercely and suffered heavy losses. In reality, probably only five hundred thousand were fit forbat, many of them wounded. Even though the Southwest Front Army had dispersed their staff officers and destroyed codebooks, they were still broadcasting in clear text via radio, reporting the situation daily and proudly proiming, "The Southwest Front Army is still fighting." It was said that this clear text broadcasting prevented the Prosen Empire''s propaganda department from dering victory. Wang Zhong looked down at the speech in his hand. Ivan, did you predict from the start that your sacrifice would have this kind of impact? Wang Zhong didn''t know the Crown Prince very well, after all, he had only known him for such a short time. Probably for the rest of his life, he would keep recalling the Crown Prince''s smile, specting about what he had foreseen. If the persistently resistant Southwest Front Army could drag the enemy''s main force into the mud upon its arrival, then the pressure on the front would be greatly reduced. In that case, the enemy might be able to spend a well-supplied winter without too many freezing to death at the hands of General Winter, which would make the war next year even more brutal. But with the current situation, any chance to catch their breath was a good thing for Ante. Once the factories moved to the east were up and running again, and the newly conscripted soldiers hadpleted their training, the elite Prosen forces might find themselves facing a number of Ante Army multiple times their size. As Wang Zhong was thinking about all this, someone cleared their throat behind him. It was a crisp male voice. Assuming it was an official rted to the ceremony there to finalize details with him, he began to speak while turning around: "I have memorized the speech, just going over it a little..." Wang Zhong stopped because he saw a military uniformpletely different from those of Ante and Prosen. However, the rank was an oak leaf, and Wang Zhong happened to know of a country that used oak leaves for military ranks. In that country, a gold oak leaf was for a Major, a silver oak leaf for a Lieutenant Colonel, and a Colonel was represented by an eagle emblem. The young man should be a Lieutenant Colonel. Wang Zhong: "Who might you be?" "Military Attach John Vick from the Federation''s embassy, General Rokossovsky." The neer saluted Wang Zhong first before extending his hand. Wang Zhong shook his hand: "Hello, what can I do for you?" "I heard that you once made an assessment of the war situation at a young officers'' sharing session." Apologizing for his forthrightness, Lieutenant Colonel John wore a sincere expression as he said, "The Federation is deeply concerned about this matter; it rtes to a top-secret negotiation currently underway, and a bill under discussion in Congress." Wang Zhong: "The Lend-Lease Act, is that it?" Lieutenant Colonel John''s eyelid twitched: "You know of it..." Wang Zhong then realized he''d been too quick to speak, as theoretically, he shouldn''t be aware of the Lend-Lease Act at this point. So, he started blustering: "The United Kingdom is already aware of it, and if the United Kingdom knows, that''s as good as us knowing." Lieutenant Colonel Johnughed: "As long as Rabowell doesn''t know, it''s fine." While Wang Zhong heard the name Rabowell for the first time, he was well aware of the infamy of the Sturmtiger''s intelligence agency Abwehr from the other side of the Earth, notorious for its ipetence, having made an indelible contribution to the world''s anti-FXS cause. Chapter 232: Chapter 23: State Funeral (Additional update for 36,000 monthly votes)_2 Rabowell may be the alternate dimension counterpart of Abbeville, after all, the name differs by only one syble. Afterughing, Wang Zhong got straight to the point, "We will hold back the enemy." Major John: "What''s your basis for that statement?" Wang Zhong: "The basis is Ante''s vast territory, as well as the impending ''General Mud'' and General Winter. No, no country can conquer the expansivends of Antewell, maybe the Mongols could." Major John burst outughing, "You have a great sense of humor, indeed, the Mongols could. Aside from such timing and geographical advantages?" Wang Zhong countered, "With the timing and geographical advantages on our side, what more could you possibly demand?" "Combat willpower," said Major John. Wang Zhong: "Argesukov is still fighting, doesn''t that say anything? They''re already essentially surrounded, hundreds of thousands of troops must have run out of supplies, but they''re still inbat." Major John shrugged: "The sacrifice of the Crown Prince has inspired the fight in the Argesukov group, and the continued resistance has indeed boosted the morale of the parliamentarians supporting the lend-lease bill at home. However, the performance of His Majesty the Tsar has inspired the opposition. "Look at Carolingian, the soldiers of Carolingian still have the will to fight, but the higher-ups chose to surrender. Despite the fact that most of the country has not fallen, despite having a million troops, the vast African colonies, and both armored forces and the Air Force, the highmand chose to surrender." Wang Zhong: "As far as I know, General Dago is still fighting." "Ah, yes, General Dago and his Free Caroling are still fighting, but Carolingian has surrendered. If Ante were to surrender, you could continue the fight in the Federation." Wang Zhong: "I wouldn''t. My best friend, and my beloved father have both died on thisnd, their sacrifice is what allows me to stand here." "To preserve my strength, I have alreadyno, three times abandoned the people who trusted me. I can''t stop fighting, otherwise, even if I die and go to hell, they would not forgive me." Just as Major John was about to speak, Wang Zhong continued, "Moreover, I''m a smart man, this is a battle we are destined to win. As long as we hold on, victory will be ours in the end, and I will be a military strategist as renowned as Suvorov and Kutuzov. As a smart man, I would choose to keep fighting." Major John squinted his eyes, staring at Wang Zhong for a few seconds before revealing a look of admiration: "No wonder they call you the star of victory. I can feel your obsession with victory, and I''ll convey this confidence intact to the President." Wang Zhong: "It''s not an obsession, that sounds like a pathological paranoia, and I''m merely stating the facts to you." Major John just smiled, saluted Wang Zhonga salute that was obviously filled with more respect than the one at the start. The Federation major turned around and left with a brisk stride. Wang Zhong took a deep breath, at that moment he heard the surrounding chatter suddenly grow louder. Everyone turned to look at the Royal Family''s viewing stand. Wang Zhong also looked over, only to see a haggard His Majesty the Tsar appearing with the assistance of the Grand Duchess Olga, slowly making his way to the most luxurious chair to sit down. Suddenly, Wang Zhong noticed, across the street on the church viewing stand, His Eminence Belinsky also appeared holding his scepter. Both sides stood like this, viewing each other across the street, across the parade of people lined up. "The Holy War" began to y. His Majesty the Tsar appeared startled by "The Holy War," looking around nkly like a timid animal. Wang Zhong sighed; in this condition, His Majesty the Tsar might have been better off not appearing. With the "grand generals" from both sides present, the ceremony''s proceedings began to move forward. Wang Zhong didn''t think of anything else but kept observing the state of His Majesty the Tsar. He always felt that the Tsar now looked like some character from the movie "The Downfall." That tired yet maniacal look, the feeling of being on the brink of copse was almost identical. It was time for Wang Zhong to give his speech. The ceremonial MC signaled Wang Zhong to prepare. Just then, His Majesty the Tsar stood up. Everyone watched him. There was already a microphone at the Royal Family''s viewing stand, and the Tsar directly motioned for the microphone to be brought to him. "My son, Ivan Nikyevich Antonov, has died a heroic death!" The Tsar started, his voice tinged with madness: "We lost a hero! But does this mean defeat? No! This is only the beginning! "Our military strength now appears far inferior to that of the Prosen people. Despite expanding our army continuously, our forces are as fragile as castles built on sand! The enemy made a crazy advance of one hundred and seventy kilometers in the first two weeks of the war!" "And yet, my generals have the shamelessness to boast! They said we could counterattack into Prosen territory within a month! And what happened?" "They even want to push the responsibility for Argesukov''s failure onto me! No... huh?" Olga whispered a few words into His Majesty the Tsar''s ear. The Tsarughed heartily, "Exactly! That General Skorobo is a despicable traitor! A traitor to his country! He has deceived me and the Ante people!" "All that came before was a deception they concocted! An illusion!" "My son, my dear son Ivan, died precisely to awaken all of you from such na?ve illusions! Now, the war has just begun!" "Our military strength is gradually being restored; the Prosen Empire is no longer something to fear." "Your fathers and brothers, too, have perished in the Prosen massacre. We must never forget this sadness and anger! This is the revtion my Ivan gave to us with his death!" "We should now assemble this fury, annihte the Prosen army, and win our first true victory! This victory will be the greatest constion to those who have died in battle!" "Citizens, rise up! Turn your grief into strength, rise up, citizens! Ante needs your strength!" Wang Zhong was shocked; this speech sounded a bit familiar. At that moment, the master of ceremonies said to Wang Zhong, "The ceremonymand has changed the ceremony process, you don''t need to give a speech." Wang Zhong frowned, looked towards the stands where the generals were, and then noticed Tukhachev had just put down the phone. In the row behind him, General Tugenev shook his head gently, signaling to Wang Zhong with his eyes. Well, this group of people cut off my speech in the battle against the church! Wang Zhong looked at his own speech draft. Most of the content in this draft was indeed repeated in His Majesty the Tsar''s speech; it truly was no longer necessary to go up and talk about it again. But as things were going, it felt like the presence of the people was being diminishedeven though the Tsar had mentioned "your fathers and brothers," it seemed as if they were just essories to the Crown Prince. If this continued, The Holy War would be yet another nobility war between royal families. If that were the case, we might not necessarily win. After all, Prosen is outrageously strong. And it seemed to me that this was not in line with Ivan''s wishes. Wang Zhong suddenly remembered the scene when Argesukov was departing for the war; Ivan had said to him, "Take good care of Olga." He nced at the Crown Princess. Then he turned his attention to the church''s viewing tform. I always felt like Belinsky was nodding. Wang Zhong pushed past the master of ceremonies, rushed onto the tform, and walked up to the microphone. The person holding the sign in front of the microphone didn''t know what was happening, but still raised the sign with the contents of the speech script. Wang Zhong nced at the sign and thought that following the original script was useless now. He had to turn the whole tone around. So he loudly said, "Everyone!" The sound echoed over the entire state funeral venue. After capturing everyone''s attention, Wang Zhong raised the speech draft in his hand high and, with a swoosh, tore the draft to pieces and tossed it into the wind. Now everyone''s curiosity was piqued. Wang Zhong began his improvised speech. Chapter 233: Chapter 24 Victory Belongs to the Ante People Wang Zhong nced at the royal viewing tform, mainly to see Olga, but it seemed like she was just assisting her father and happened to catch a glimpse of the Tsar. Wang Zhong continued, "Some of you may already know that Ivan and I were like brothers in arms. At the military academy, we used to y pranks on the professors together, and we were the worst students; I was thest but one, and he was second tost. "The ridiculous things we did together would take days and nights to tell. I know my brother extremely well. His Majesty the Tsar, on the other hand, probably doesn''t understand him as much." As soon as he said this, the whole crowd was in an uproar. Wang Zhong, ignoring the reactions of others, went on: "My brother indeed was very brave, he died a hero for his country. When I was setting out from Argesukov to stop the enemy at Orachi, my brother came to see me off and asked me to take care of our sister, Princess Olga. "Thinking back, he already had the intention to die. But if you say his generous embrace of death was because he was the Crown Prince, because he was a noble among nobles, then I, as Ivan''s best friend, his most intimate brother, would be the first to disagree! "To say that is an insult to himto my brother! "Why? Are nobles necessarily brave? In Upper Peniye, the local nobles had run away without a trace, and what''s more, they even left a loyal dog behind to prevent us from entering his distillery to take spirits for Molotov cocktails! "In Loktov, the nobles likewise fled without a trace. If you have people around you who have returned from the battlefield for a leave, ask them, and you''ll hear loads of stories about nobles running away in the most disgraceful manner! "Are nobles necessarily brave? Bullshit! "The truly brave are the countless ordinary people. In Upper Peniye, the gunner in my tank crew gave me a letter when he was dying, to be delivered to his mother. "I delivered it, and the olddy calmly asked me which son had died. All three of her sons had gone to war, and each could have been killed; even the olddy herself now stays behind in Argesukov. "I believe she will fight the invaders in her own way until herst moment! "In Loktov, when I was trapped in a tight encirclement, all weapons were destroyed by vicious Prussians, and I could only crouch under a tank with a pistol, ready for a do-or-die battle! "At that moment, it was the countless ordinary people who rushed out, annihted the Prussians, and dragged me out from under the tank! "Could all of them be princes?" Echoes of his words drifted to and fro across the entire square. "No! They are textile factory workers, mechanics from the tractor factory, milkers from the ranch, tractor drivers, farmers, and fishermen! "If there''s onemon denominator to define their identity, it is that they are all part of the Ante people! "These ordinary folks realized one thing: if they don''t fight, their nation will perish. They recognized that if they don''t fight, the enemy will not only kill them but also trample over their bones and say: Look, these are ves! "And so, they erupted with incredible courage! "The brave Ante people have supported me, allowing me to fight until now! And my dear brother, as well as my father, were brave simply because they were part of the Ante people!" As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, he realized it was a bit far-fetched. Indeed, I''m not good at giving speeches. At such times, you just have to bluff your way through with momentum! Wang Zhong: "They are children of the Ante mother, grown on the food from the ck soil, they cannot ignore the atrocities of the Prosen invaders! "So, they died heroically for their country, along with the countless ordinary Ante people! "The names of those who died with them may not be passed down, as all the documents of the Southwestern Front Army have been destroyed! "But they still chose to march forward without hesitation! Fight! To not be ves! Not be ves!" Because of his excessive emotion, Wang Zhong''s voice even cracked. He paused to give his throat a brief rest. A few secondster, he began to speak again: "As the close friend of Ivan Nikyevich Antonov, no, as a brother, I am very sad. Simrly, as the son of Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, I am also deeply saddened. "These days, in the game room of the Summer Pce that Ivan used to frequent, and in the study of the Rokossovsky Estate, I can''t help but remember every little detail of the past and recall the faces and smiles of the departed. "But I know, I''m not the only one who is grieving. Tens of thousands have already perished, and in the future, hundreds of thousands or even millions more will. Grief will spread across all the mountains and rivers, forests andkes of Ante!" "But we must still fight! Not for those medals or those honors, but for the day when thisnd no longer mourns." Wang Zhong saw Olga desperately wiping her tears, while on the other side of the grandstand, Liu Xia was also sobbing uncontrobly. He calmed his emotions and continued, "Just now, Colonel John Wick, the military attach from the Federation, asked me how the war was going, and I said we would surely win." "I say this not because I''m an optimist. "I have three reasons. "First, we have the right timing and the geographical advantage. This is our homnd; no one knows its temperament better than us. We know when it will turn into a damn quagmire, we know when the snow will bury us up to our waists! "We are familiar with every swamp and every path. The enemy doesn''t understand any of this! As soon as they entered our country, their vehicles got stuck because they were not familiar with the road conditions! I could strike them hard at Peniye precisely because their heavy artillery got stuck behind and couldn''t make it to the front! "When I look at the Prussian tanks, I know they are not suitable for the mud because their tracks are too narrow. Look at our tanks'' wide tracks, like a girl''srge feet, they are made for running on this sloppy ground! "Second, we have the people. The Prussians are ughtering everywhere, but they will soon find that they can''t kill all the civilians in the upied areas because Ante is too vast. Solely relying on Prussia''s poption is not enough to fill Ante''s wilderness, and if they kill all the people, they won''t have workers left. "Eventually, their supplies will not get through, roads will have no one to repair them, railways no one to maintain and operate! No, they can''t possibly kill all the Ante People on Ante soil. "But as long as they don''t finish the job, the guerri fighters will appear in all the ces they upy! In the gazebos of Kazarlia, in the forests of Livonia, on the ice fields of Novgorod! "They will soon be in a state of paranoia, unable to sleep in peace as long as they are on Ante''snd! "And in front of them, our armies will continue to emerge endlessly! Even if they defeat three or four million of our forces, what then? Six or seven million will rise! "And as time goes on, we too will learn the art of war, we will be as skilled in warfare as they are! Then, their once-prideful exchange ratio will be mediocre! We will gradually annihte them and reim our lostnds! "Third! The Prussians are too arrogant, they have made too many enemies! The resistance in those countries they have conquered will never stop. "General Dago''s Free Caroling is fighting! The United Kingdom is fighting! Ante and the United Kingdombined are several times stronger than Prosen! Not to mention that across the sea, there lies a Federation watching and waiting! One day, they will join the fight too! "All the just forces of the world will stand with the brave citizens of Ante! "Of course, of the three reasons, the first two alone are enough to defeat the Prussians! One day, we will march into their proud capital Ploseni and ce the de of judgment on the neck of that haughty then Emperor! "Prosen will be destroyed! The brave Ante people will prevail! "Hurrah!" Wang Zhong raised his right fist high into the air. Everyone in the venue roared in unison, "Hurrah!" It seemed as if the entire city was shouting, "Hurrah!" Wave after wave of "Hurrahs" soared into the sky. The terrifying roar of countless voices shook the concrete itself, as if thousands upon thousands of troops were sweeping across thend. "Hurrah!" Grand Patriarch Belinsky stood up and joined in the chanting. The generals on the grandstand looked at each other. General Tugenev was the first to stand up, followed by the other generals and marshals, one by one. His Majesty the Tsar, helped to his feet by his daughter, looked at everything in front of him, the paranoia and madness fading from his face, reced by bewilderment and panic. Olga, however, watched all this with a surprise, as if she had discovered a new continent. Colonel John Wick, the military attach from the Federation, was bbergasted: "The star of victory... it seems it''s time to return to the Federation. I wonder if the divoktos to San Francis is still sailing." Chapter 234: Chapter 25: Return to Shostka On August 20th, two days after the national funeral and public memorial, at the logistics headquarters of the Reserve Army. As soon as Wang Zhong entered the Ordnance Department building, he saw several people recing the signboard of the logistics headquarters of the Reserve Army. He stopped and watched them put up the new signboard: Western Front Army Logistics Headquarters. "This has been changed to the Western Front Army Logistics Headquarters, but where is the Reserve Army Headquarters?" Wang Zhong couldn''t help but ask. "It''s still here. The Reserve Army and the Western Front Army have merged, and all logistics are now coordinated by Major General Chekhov," replied the lieutenant, who was changing the signboards, before finally ncing at Wang Zhong and snapping to attention and saluting as if electrified, "General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong: "Alright, alright, don''t be nervous, and stop shouting ''Hurrah.'' I''ve had enough of people shouting ''Hurrah'' every time they see me." It was a fact; now it seemed like the whole city knew him, and they all became as excited as if they had taken a stimnt whenever they saw him. His speech at the national funeral seemed to have been broadcast directly throughout the world, and the old and young men of Ye Fort had all gathered under loudspeakers to listen to the entire speech. Now, Wang Zhong was Ye Fort''s top celebrity, the kind who could make headlines with just a sneezeof course, there were no such things as trending searches in this era, this is just a metaphor. The excited lieutenant asked, "Can I get your autograph?" Wang Zhong: "Alright, but you have to promise not to make a fuss and go around saying ''Rokossovsky is here,'' and then I''ll sign." "I promise." A few secondster, Wang Zhong handed the notebook with his signature back to the lieutenant and headed inside. But he had only taken a few steps when he heard someone sharply inhale and the sound of papers hitting the floor: "General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong sighed. Twenty minutester, Wang Zhong finally managed to push open the door of the logisticsmander''s office. Major General Chekhov nced at him and said, "Don''t look so disdainful, this is your duty, which is better than reminding everyone that there are still hundreds of thousands of troops surrounded by the enemy. By the way, there is also bad newsthe Northern Front Army has fallen back, and General Golikov''s St. Andrew Fort Army is now fully engaged with the enemy." Wang Zhong: "How are things looking?" "General Golikov is defending using theplex terrain, and for now, it seems the enemy''s advance has been halted. Damn it, I''m a logisticsmander, why am I discussing this with you? To understand the battlefield situation, go to the Military Command and look for General Tugenev. What are you here for now?" Wang Zhong: "You said you haven''t given me enough trucks and tractors." "Because it''s not enough. I''ve already done my best to allocate them to you." Wang Zhong: "I got 3,000 drivers from the church! Although many of them are still in training and have not graduated. It would be such a waste for them toe and then find there are no vehicles to drive." Major General Chekhov: "Not a waste, we are short of vehicles all along the front. The Ordnance Department is producing tanks at full capacity." Wang Zhong: "But there''s a shortage of infantry for the tank units..." "That''s not my department. I told you, I can only manage materials. If you tell me an infantry unit iscking machine guns, I can help with that, and I can send extra to whichever infantry unit you mention. For example, you said Kashuk''s 51st Army, guarding the downstream crossing point from you, wascking machine guns, so I sent them two hundred more. "But if you want me to provide infantry for the tank units, that''s something I can''t do. I don''t control that; you understand? You can only submit suggestions to the superiors and write up summaries of your experience. I do have a suggestion for you, thoughgive your experience summary to Grand Duchess Olga, and maybe one day it''ll filter down." Wang Zhong: "I''ve done so." Major General Chekhov spread his hands: "Then there''s nothing more to be done." Wang Zhong scratched his head: "If you can''t provide enough vehicles, then can you give me more mules and horses?" "No," Major General Chekhov refused bluntly. Wang Zhong: "A straight-up ''no''? Not going to teach me any clever tricks this time?" "You''re asking if it''s possibleno, it''s not, because your division is mechanized, and they shouldn''t have mules and horses; ording to the regtions, this could impede the mobility of the mechanized troops. As for a trick, well, there could be one. Think about who you are, and what your brother''s status is." At first, Wang Zhong didn''t follow, but he quickly caught on: "You mean, I could organize my own mule and horse transport teams to go to the front?" "I didn''t say that. But look, it''s quite normal for the big nobles to be so enthusiastic and organize support teams for the front." Wang Zhong pped his thigh; the Ante Empire used the double-headed eagle as its emblem, and by rounding up or down, it was also Roman, so as a member of the Roman nobility providing mules and horses for front-line support, it was perfectly justifiable! He immediately stood up, ready to leave the headquarters, when Major General Chekhov said, "By the way, could you give me an autograph? My son wants one." Wang Zhong was stunned: "You have a son?" "Doesn''t it look like it? Come on, give me the autograph." August 25th, Ye Fort train station. Wang Zhong was at the freight tform, watching the support troops he had recruited from the refugees boarding the train. Most of the mules and horses for this support unit were provided by his own ranch, while the refugees were mainly middle-aged women, inspired by Wang Zhong''s speech. They had handed their children over to childcare education institutions for centralized management and education, and came forward to offer support themselves. The childcare education institutions had been established at the request of Wang Zhong, and the children were taken care of by the elderly maids of the Rokossovsky family. Wang Zhong had managed to obtain for them the status of hired civilian workers from General Tugenev, with uniform clothing provided and a monthly allowance. This effectively solved the issue of insufficient logistics transport capabilities of the troops. Now, these civilian workers in uniform were herding the mules and horses onto the train. The train, apart from closed wagons and livestock cars for transporting the support troops, also had eight tbed cars. Three of them were used to transport T34 tanks that had been returned after repairs, one was used to carry a brand new Parade Tank, and the remaining four were all for transporting the freshly minted ZIS30 self-propelled anti-tank guns. The ZIS30 anti-tank gun looked like a big cannon had been forcibly mounted on top of a tractor. Just by looking at its shape, one could tell that it was a product made for emergency situations. But Wang Zhong didn''t disdain it at all; in fact, he wanted more. In the game War Thunder, he enjoyed driving this vehicle to mess around and massacre newbies. The only regret was that this vehicle wasn''t small enough; it couldn''tpare with the tiny M56 when it came to fooling around. As soon as he got to Shostka, Wang Zhong definitely intended to teach his troops how to have fun with this thing. Setting up ambush positions and then running awayhe couldn''t be happier with the n. He was overseeing the drivers summoned from the church as they loaded the vehicle onto a tcar when a man in a suit and another man with a camera hanging around his neck appeared. "Excuse me, are you General Rokossovsky?" the man in the suit asked, his Antenguage noticeably ented. "I am, and you are?" "I''m a journalist from the Federation''s Hungry Lagoon Daily, and we n to reprint your speech from the state funeral a week ago in its entirety. Additionally, we want to do an exclusive interview." Wang Zhong said, "Now? I''m about to return to the front line" At this point, the man with the camera spoke up, "Could you move a step to the left, please? That way I can use the tank and cannon as a backdrop." Wang Zhong had no objections to getting photographed, so he stepped to the left and even looked back to check: alright, he was perfectly blocking the gap between two railcars, with the smaller ZIS30 being transported on the front one, and a T34 on the back one. The journalist from the Federation squatted in front of Wang Zhong and adjusted his position slightly to find a good angle, "Please don''t smile." "Don''t smile?" "Right, keep a serious face. It harmonizes well with the tanks and cannons behind you." The next moment, the photographer pressed the trigger, the sh emitted a sharp ''pop'' sound, spewing white light and quite a bit of smoke simultaneously. shbulbs were like that in those days. The photojournalist said, "Perfect, I feel like I could win this year''s Pulitzer, Mike." The man named Mike, the text journalist, said, "You see... If you have enough fame in the Federation, some things might develop in a way that''s favorable for your mothend." Wang Zhong replied, "Okay, I will ept your interview. How about this: you get on the train and interview me there. This train will unload cargo when it gets to Shostka and then return on its own. You cane back afterward." The journalist responded, "That works too." At that moment, Ludm appeared, "This time, the train doesn''t have any freight cars; they''ve specifically attached a passenger car for us, and I''ve brought some fine tea and snacks from the estate." Before Mike could answer, the photographer requested, "Could you, madam, please take the general''s arm?" Ludm was taken aback, "Huh?" The photographer exined, "There are no female officers in the Federation at present and you are so beautiful; our readers will like it." Mike offered a wry smile, "They''ll certainly like it; a beautiful woman, a military officer with distinguished service, and the tanks in the backgroundoh, they absolutely love these. If madam could wear a sheath dress, they''d like it even more." Ludm said solemnly, "I ambat personnel, and like the male soldiers, I must wear cavalry trousers." A momentter, the second photo was taken, but the photojournalist didn''t mention the Pulitzer. Wang Zhong teased, "What, my Liu Xia can''t win the Pulitzer?" The photojournalist just smiled. Liu Xia said, "Let''s get on board, gentlemen, the car is over there." The "passenger car" allocated to Wang Zhong by the train station''s central scheduler was an extremely luxurious noble''s privatepartment. The desk in thepartment looked a hundred times more luxurious than the old duke''s desk in the Rokossovsky Estate. Behind the desk, there hung a shield decorated with the emblem of a Double-headed Eagle. Seeing thepartment, Wang Zhong was dumbfounded: "What is this, have they given me the carriage reserved for His Majesty the Tsar?" Before he could continue marveling, the photojournalist asked, "May I have you sit behind the desk, as if you''re signing documents?" Wang Zhong replied, "No, no, that might spark misunderstandings." "But our readers like this." Wang Zhong had no choice but to sit behind the desk and pose as if signing documents. At this juncture, Nelly came in from the direction of the dining car, pushing a trolley through the door. Seeing the two strangers, she frowned slightly but said nothing more. Mike eximed, "Your life on the front line seems quite rich and varied." "Nelly is my orderly," said Wang Zhong. As soon as Wang Zhong finished introducing her, the photographer crouched in front of Nelly and snapped a photo: "Oh, fantastic, this boat cap and maid outfit,bined with her petite figure, our readers will love it." What''s with your readers, seriously! Right then, the train''s departure whistle sounded from up ahead. Text journalist Mike opened his notebook again, "Shall we start the exclusive interview?" Chapter 252: Chapter 43 Plain and Simple - But Useless (Extra 1/33) Popov heard that the enemy was approaching and immediately went to the observation window to look outside. Five minutester, he put down his binocrs and said to Wang Zhong, "Smoke, Xu Jin Barrage, tank assault, still the same old tricks? Were yesterday''s casualties not enough, so they''re trying again today?" Wang Zhong, listening to the sound of our mortars and heavy artillery interception fire, shrugged his shoulders, "Why don''t you ask the enemymander?" At this point, Pavlov had already finished issuing orders to the artillery, so he too joined the conversation, "If the enemy hasn''t changed their tactics, we''ll just deal with them using yesterday''s methods. This makes my job easier, the orders to the artillery can just be ''the same as yesterday''." Vasily said, "No, no, there is something different, haven''t you all noticed?" Everyone looked at Vasily, indulging his desire to perform, until he finally said with an air of mystery, "There are no nes today. Yesterday with both the Yak-1 and the Divine Arrow, we can conservatively estimate the enemy lost thirty to forty pilots in one day, and today they didn''t show up! Not even for high-altitude level bombing!" As everyone in the bunker exchanged nces, Wang Zhong suddenly pped his thigh, "Aren''t the pilots just sitting idle then? How can it be like this? Can the Yak-1 carry bombs?" Wang Zhong had flown the Yak-1 beforein a game. But he had only used the Yak-1 for airbat, so he only knew that the Yak-1 couldn''t carry auxiliary fuel tanks and gun pods. He had no memory of it carrying bombs. Pavlov looked at him with frustration, "You''re always finding more work for me to do!" After saying this, he picked up the receiver, "Switchboard, connect me to the fighter squadron. Hello, is this Hamov? No? Well, you''ll do. Can your Yak-1s carry bombs? Can they carry two 100-kilo bombs? Alright, got it. Hold on to the phone for a minute, I need to check with the general." Pavlov looked over without bothering to repeat the conversation, since everyone had heard it anyway. Wang Zhong said, "Carrying two 100-kilo bombs would affect the flight performance too much, and pilots are still very precious. Let''s go with two 50-kilo bombs instead." Vasily was puzzled, "Why not just hang one bomb?" Wang Zhong exined, "What do you know? Two bombs are hung under the wings, one on each side, to bnce. They are dropped simultaneously. If you drop from one side and the other side fails and doesn''t drop, it could be disastrous." Vasily remarked, "So that''s how it is." After their conversation ended, Pavlov asked, "So the order is for them to carry two 50-kg bombs each?" "Dispatch a squadron, the rest will be on standby for air defense. Tell them, uracy is not demanded; just dropping the bombs near the enemy is fine, but the key is to return alive. I need their reconnaissance reports, especially any area with antennas." Actually, Wang Zhong didn''t think the pilots could spot the enemy''s antennas from the air, knowing from personal experience how difficult it is to see ground targets with camouge from above. In the game, if the enemy put some grass in front of their tanks or parked under a tree, Wang Zhong would be virtually blind to it. That was just a game, but reality has a thousand times more ground details to obscure the view, and even upon returning with pictures, it would take professionals a long time to identify them. There was an example from history where a Sturmtiger''s No. 4 tank had its track broken, was reported by Soviet infantry, and the Soviet Air Force dispatched 40 Il-2 aircraft to bomb it, only for the closest bomb tond dozens of meters from the tank. It wasn''t that the Soviet Air Force''s bombing technique was poor, but because the No. 4 tank was on the battlefield surrounded byplex situations, and the pilots could not distinguish the target. Of course, the bombing technique of the Soviet Air Force was indeed poor,cking adequate training time. Wang Zhong''s orders were passed on unaltered by Pavlov to the fighter squadron. The chief of staff put down the receiver and said to Wang Zhong, "Fighters going on a bombing run, isn''t that like a dog catching micenone of its business?" So Ante people also have this proverb... Wang Zhong replied, "What''s wrong with that? It''s just that our engine technology is inferior, and we don''t have enough power, so we can only carry two ''little sweet potatoes''." Vasily interjected, "A 50-kilogram bomb is no small potato, it''s a big watermelon, no, I don''t even know if there''s a watermelon that heavy. It''s scarier than heavy artillery." Wang Zhong said, "Just you wait, once we bring in fighters from the Federation, we''ll show you what mixing business with pleasure really means." At this moment, the only one in the bunker still at his post, a staff officer, shouted, "I hear machine gun fire, Ye Fort has engaged the enemy." Pavlov took up the receiver. Shortly after, the sound of heavy artillery shells whooshed over everyone''s heads. Wang Zhong could see through the smoke, so he clearly saw that around Ye Fort twopanies had unfolded. After breaking through the barrage of the mortar fire, their formation had thinned out, but because Ye Fort was a single point, the sparse formation was forced to clump together again. And then they were covered by heavy artillery fire. Wang Zhong couldn''t help but mutter, "Is the enemymander''s head made of iron? This kind of offensive just won''t do. Our infantry can''t umtebat experience like this." Popov replied, "What are you talking about? Do you really think we send greenhorns across the river just to gain experience? No, it''s to build their courage. Fighting skills, that''s something the old soldiers will teach them when we pull back for rest and reorganization." Just then, the phone rang and Pavlov picked up the receiver, "Division headquarters. What''s the matter? Understood." He put down the receiver and immediately picked it up again to issue the order to cease firing to the artillery. Wang Zhong asked, "The enemy is retreating?" In fact, Wang Zhong saw the enemy retreating but had to pretend a bit, since, after all, the division headquarters bunkerno, the entire east bank was shrouded in smoke and nothing could be seen. Pavlov: "The enemy didn''t even try to cross the river. What''s going on here?" Just as Wang Zhong was about to answer, he saw a squadron of Yak-1s carrying bombs fly over the river. The sound of the nes'' engines became the only noise on the battlefield at that moment. As Wang Zhong prayed for them to find the "big fish," the phone rang. Pavlov picked it up: "Headquarters, go ahead. Hmm? Okay, I''ll get him now." After he finished speaking, he handed the receiver to Wang Zhong: "Army Group Commander." Wang Zhong took the receiver: "Hello, Kiriyenko, this is Rocossov. What''s the situation?" Major General Kiriyenko: "How are things on your end? Kashuk is under fierce attack, but the concrete you sent him has been very effective. And there are no bridges on his side, so the enemy has to advance through water." Wang Zhong: "I have bridges here, but the bridgehead is actually an anvil I designed for the enemy. My sledgehammer has already smashed them to pieces. I''ve evaporated four enemy toons, four toons!" Yesterday alone, the enemy left behind more than four hundred bodies; I''m afraid a single assault today has cost them nearly three hundred. Major General Kiriyenko: "Are you sure you don''t need reinforcements?" Wang Zhong: "I haven''t even used my reserves." In fact, the reserves had suffered the second highest casualties yesterday, after the logistics personnel, due to being attacked by infiltrating enemy elite troops. Hearing Wang Zhong''s confidence, Major General Kiriyenko said: "That''s great, but let me know immediately if you can''t hold on. I''ve already prepared troops to relieve you. You now represent more symbolic than actualbat significance. Although I doubt anyone can defend as well as you, what I mean is... if you need to retreat, retreat, don''t feel burdened." Wang Zhong: "Don''t worry. Once my troop''s casualties reach 40%, I''ll withdraw." After a moment of silence on Kiriyenko''s end, he said: "Alright, I understand. We''ll leave it at that." Then he hung up the phone. At the Army Group headquarters, Major General Kiriyenko put down the phone and looked at the Army Group Chief of Staff and the Military Bishop: "This Rocossov, he''s assured me with such confidence that he will request a retreat once his casualties reach 40%." The Chief of Staff twisted his eyebrows into knots: "Even Argesukov''s troops, inspired by the Crown Prince, didn''t fight that resolutely, did they? They fell apart when their losses reached 30%. Are his troops made of iron or what?" And the Military Bishop very firmly said: "It''s possible for Major General Rocossov''s words toe true. At Orachi, his troops managed to organize a breakout after suffering 50% casualties, although those losses were tallied after they had broken out." Kiriyenko approached the map, looking at the overall situation: "Right now, it seems possible that we canpletely stop the enemy''s offensive in the south. The question is how long we can hold in the north. The north doesn''t have any rivers to defend, and the only fortified areas are around Ye Fort, which is precisely the kind of battlefield suitable for enemy armored forces." Chief of Staff: "On the bright side, if we can save a lot of troops here, the Western Front Army can shift forces to the north." Major General Kiriyenko nodded: "Let''s hope so." At the Prosen Army side, headquarters of the First Army of the Asgard Knights. Giles frowned: "We''ve suffered such heavy losses without even exchanging fire with the enemy''s anti-tank guns. It seems we can''t keep charging in blindly. Change strategy, switch the operation to trench warfare, and request engineering troops from the Central Army Group." All the staff officers looked at each other then the Chief of Staff spoke on everyone''s behalf: "Your Majesty has high hopes for us..." Giles: "Which is why we can''t continue to throw our lives away. How is this different from Carolingian officers forcing their soldiers to their deaths with military execution squads? Trench warfare offers better resistance against heavy artillery. Even under heavy bombardment, we can continue to advance. "This will render their current biggest threat to us useless! I''ve thoroughly reviewed the White Horse General''s battle records. The greatest crisis in his lines of defense at Orachi came when reconnaissance aircraft were overhead, and his heavy artillery dared not act. "While our reports like to portray the White Horse General as a tankmander, his true strength lies in the use of artillery fire! "So we must take a targeted approach." At that moment, Aide-de-camp Feliz approached: "How long will it take for trench warfare to get close to the enemy?" Giles: "I ordered an engineering assessment yesterday, and the detailed report should be done today. ording to my experience, we might need fifteen days to get close enough tounch an attack." Feliz: "But His Majesty hopes that our pincer movement will bepleted by mid-October. To capture Ye Fort by November." Giles: "Don''t worry, if weunch the attack on the fifth of October, and break through around the tenth, we can stillplete the pincer movement by the twentieth. The key that His Majesty expects is to prate what the enemy has propagated as the ''Imperial Iron Wall'' defense of the White Horse General." Feliz: "But..." Giles: "I will exin this personally to His Majesty. You needn''t worry, call off the attack, and let the artillery continue bombarding the enemy''s defenses." Feliz hesitated for a moment but still replied: "Yes." Chapter 236: Chapter 27: The situation on August 26th (Extra for 38,000 monthly votes) Hamov entered the room and saluted Wang Zhong first, "Greetings to you, General Rokossovsky." Wang Zhong, "How are you adjusting? After all, there are no capital soires or girls here. I know about you pilots, always quickly hooking up with girls whenever you''re on the ground." "That''s a prejudice, General. We would rather dance in the sky with the enemy than with the girls on the ground." Wang Zhong, "And how did that dance go?" "Shot down three," Hamov said with a smile, "and all of them were Stukas we caught at low altitude, just like you suggested. They often use their high speed after diving to escape, but we cruise at 3,000 meters to gather speed. Once we spot an enemy ne diving, we are faster, and a simple crossing can secure a victory." Wang Zhong, "Didn''t their 109s engage with you?" "I didn''t encounter any, but my squad mate Semyon said he took them down with a slight maneuver." Wang Zhong chuckled. The performance of the Yak-1 was far inferior to the Yak-3, but it wasn''t a problem to take on the current 109s at low altitude. The key was low altitude. Hamov, "General, how are you so familiar with airbat?" Because I y War Thunderbut sadly I can''t say that, so Wang Zhong casually said, "Vasily told me." Vasily was shocked, "Me?" Wang Zhong, "Uh, another Vasily. He''s in the flying club." Vasily, "Did he also pick dung?" Wang Zhong was embarrassingly off-topic, forcibly changing the subject, "Where are the photos? The aerial reconnaissance photos?" Hamov took out an envelope marked "Top Secret", "Here. After submitting it to the intelligence agencies of the Church and the Front Army, the Church said they could give you a copy. This is the first time I''ve encountered such a situation." Wang Zhong, "Because I''m quite familiar with his excellency the Grand Patriarch." Wang Zhong wasn''t lying; he really was familiar. The Grand Patriarch even toasted to me. But everyone else clearly took it as a joke andughed heartily. Pavlov took the envelope and passed it to Popov, "You open it. If something goes wrong, you''re less likely to crash and burn." Without hesitation, Popov tore open the envelope and dumped the photos onto the map table. Wang Zhong picked up a photo and then confirmed his cheat was of no use with photos. His cheat could only highlight enemies within his own field of view, and it had been like this from the start. So Wang Zhong gave up on deciphering those very blurry photos and directly asked Hamov, "Is there anything notable?" Instantly, Hamov picked out several photos by their numbers, "These are enemy supply depots discovered by reconnaissance, located at these ces." Hamov took a pencil and marked on the map the corresponding photo numbers. Wang Zhong, "Can our artillery reach them?" Pavlov picked up a pair ofpasses and measured on the map, "No, it''s beyond max range." Hamov continued, "Judging by the supplies the enemy is stockpiling at these depots, there are two main directions for their next attack: the first is here, and the second is the ford defended by General Kashuk''s troops downstream." Pavlov, "We have a bridge here, but the water is rtively deep. Even if the enemy uses technology to attack from the riverbed, it''s difficult to pass here. But General Kashuk''s position is shallower due to the dry season. They''re likely under more pressure than we are." Wang Zhong nodded, then asked Hamov, "What about the enemy''s troop deployment? Are there enemy defenses on the roads to these depots?" "Yes." Hamov quickly pulled out new photos, "Look, these are trenches; clearly, there are already enemy forces in front of us. And this vige, see here." Heid a photo in front of Wang Zhong, pointing at a courtyard, "This is the enemy''s truck, and here. It''s clear that the enemy has upied this vige." Wang Zhong, "Can our artillery hit it?" Pavlov picked up thepasses, but upon realizing Hamov hadn''t marked the map yet, he looked up at the Air Force lieutenant colonel. Hamov wrote the photo number on the map. "Tuhaka..." Pavlov muttered the name on the map and measured with thepasses, "We can hit it. We''ve actually scouted the area; there''s a slight discrepancy with the map coordinates, but it doesn''t affect targeting." Wang Zhong, "You''ve actually scouted it?" "We scouted ahead before the enemy got here as you suggested when you summarized your experiences. Naturally, we took over when you were away." Wang Zhong, "Good, fire away. Wait, have we resupplied our artillery?" Popov, "A portion has arrived; now, we have 18 operational 152mm heavy artillery. We''ve also received one and a half base loads of shells." Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, "Then open fire!" Pavlov immediately picked up the phone, "Connect to the Artillery Corps." In the barracks of the Artillery Corps, the sudden assembly whistle sounded. The transferred artillery operator, Dmitri, eximed, "I knew it! As soon as the general returns, we''d be firing the cannons! And in the middle of the night, no less!" The curious recruit asked, "What are we blowing up?" "The enemy," was the reply. "The enemy is here?" the recruit was shocked, "I didn''t see them!" "Fool, we''re hitting the enemy miles away, aiming to send them to heaven in their sleep. Hurry up, hurry up, get moving!" Pavlov hung up, "The Artillery Corps needs time to assemble, after all, they are not in a pre-battle state. And it''s sote now, many of the recruits have probably gone to sleep." Wang Zhong said, "Get them used to it as soon as possible. Any other intelligence?" Hamov reported, "Currently, our front seems to be facing enemy infantry units. We didn''t see any armored units, that''s all." It seemed that the efficiency of aerial reconnaissance at this time could only go so far. Wang Zhong pondered when he could take a ne ride himself and light up all the enemy positions. Looking at the map, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "With enemy infantry on our front, is the railway to Shepetovka cut off? How will they manage their supplies?" Pavlov answered, "Currently, the route to Bolsk is maintaining supply lines. And it looks like they will retreat in that direction, joining the Bolsk Front Army. Currently, the duke is trying to break the encirclement, but with little sess. The enemy has reinforced the front with infantry, and in the current state, it''s unassable." Everyone on site, except for the Air Force, knew just how powerful the Prosen infantry''sbat strength was. Wang Zhong inquired, "Do we have contact with the enemy on our front?" "Our patrols have made contact with the enemy," Pavlov marked two crosses on the map, "Neither side gained the upper hand in the exchange of fire. Just yesterday afternoon, we also spotted a small motorized unit within sight of our bridgehead." The entire western bank was controlled by just one Guard Division in a bridgehead. Wang Zhong asked further, "How''s the construction of the bridgehead fortifications?" "They are permanent fortifications cast with concrete. However, the concrete needs time to harden, and if the enemy attacks right now, 152mm artillery could easily breach the bridgehead," Pavlov clicked his tongue, "Luckily, the enemy won''t attack right away." Wang Zhong deduced, "The enemy''s armored units should havepleted their mission; they are currently resting and reorganizing. I wonder how long they need to recuperate." "We expect the rest and reorganization tost until mid-September," Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch of the Second Armored Cluster told then Emperor Reinhard, "We have two divisions that suffered heavy losses, withbat-ready tank numbers falling to less than five percent. This is all thanks to the notorious General Rokossovsky''s doing." Von Mauch saw his majesty frown and immediately added, "Fortunately, after driving Rokossovsky''s forces out of Orachi, our battlefield repair units have fixed some of the tanks. We expect to restore more tanks in the next 30 days. "The two heavily hit divisions''bat-ready tank numbers will recover to 50%, plus they have some redundant tank operators, just awaiting tank reinforcement; those divisions could fully regain their strength." Having finished, Field Marshal Von Bock immediately supplemented, "The enemy abandoned many tanks on the battlefield, which can be brought back into service with minor repairs. This shows the enemy''s logistics support is very poor; they have practically no repair capabilities. "We can utilize these tanks, turning their weapons against them!" Von Mauch nodded, "Yes. The troops have already received some of the enemy''s tanks, and they hold a high opinion of the heavy tanks, in addition to the T34 tanks, which are quite good. However, they find it ufortable to use them without amander and radio. "They only want to use the toon leader''s tanks from among those. Additionally, the poor aiming devices and uracy of the Ante People''s cannons have been widely criticized." The then Emperor shook his head, "If these tanks are so deficient, how did they achieve such brilliant victories? Especially the heavy tanks; I''ve read many reports of them destroyingrge numbers of our tanks, which were ultimately taken down by infantry." Von Mauch answered, "That must refer to the KV-type tanks. At present, the troops'' evaluation of these tanks is quite good, with no bad feedback except for serious mechanical failures. I''ve already sent a KV tank back to the Imperial Tank Research Center. "To counter the enemy''s armor advantage, we urgently need a type of heavy tank equipped with an 88mm cannon, and with armorparable to the enemy''s." The then Emperor stood up, shaking his head, "No, no, gentlemen. You are overly concerned. Although it took us longer than expected to eliminate Argesukov''s forces, we have already, heavily battered the Ante People! "The elite Ante troops have been encircled and wiped out by us! Since the beginning of the war, we have destroyed three million enemies, and our army has exhibited surprising efficiency! "Ante is now like an old house, merely needing a kick to copse!" At this point, Siegfried, the Grand Commander of the Asgard Knights, who had been silent, spoke up, "Your Majesty, the enemy has just rallied the nation''s morale with a national funeral; perhaps making such an optimistic assessment is not very wise?" Reinhard waved his hand dismissively, "That''s just a sh in the pan! One kick is all it takes to bring down this old, backward country, and its fertilends will be the granary of Prosen. "The blockades by the United Kingdom and Federation will fall apart on their own; we will gain everything weck, oil, rubber, all kinds of minerals! In the end, we will emerge victorious, we will have the whole world!" Chapter 237: Chapter 28 Typhoon Siegfried touched his own red hair, "Let''s be cautious, Your Majesty. Ante is vast and has great war potential." Reinhard stopped, "Yes, they do have great war potential, I know. That''s why from the beginning my goal has been to destroy their will to fight. "The morale boosted by the death of the Crown Prince is only temporary; without a new leading figure to support it, this morale will quickly dissipate. "Unfortunately for them, a new leading figure has emerged, but they have not ced this person at the center as a symbol of spirit. "This is our chance, Siegfried. ording to reliable intelligence, General Rokossovsky is currently at Shostka on the Duva River, which is where we''ll strike next. "We willunch a pincer attack from both the south and north with 1.8 million men and 2,000 tanks, with Shostka right in front of the southern pincers! To eliminate him, I will reinforce the main force in the south, the Second Armored Group, with two more Knight''s Army divisions!" Von Maqi immediately raised his head, "Thank you very much, I will surely not disappoint Your Majesty." Reinhard, "You let Rokossovsky escape in the previous battle. But at the time you did not know he would be an important figure stirring the morale of Ante, and you also had the mission of advancing southward. "Now, you can make up for that mistake! To help you aplish your mission, I will also give you Ottos Krantz''s Brandenburg forces! This is a special force that yed an important role in the initial stages of our invasion, capturing many key bridges. "You should make full use of these troops topletely eliminate Rokossovsky!" Von Maqi stood at attention, his head held high as he answered, "Yes! After 20 days of replenishment, my group will start the offensive. I will finally fulfill my long-standing wish to lead the troops into Ekaterinburg Fortress! "My revered Majesty, I request that this operation be named ''November Festival,'' to celebrate our total annihtion of the Ante road roller that has always threatened Europa." Reinhard shook his head, "No, that would be too kind for an inferior race like Ante! No, we can''t use such a weak name. This operation will be calledTyphoon! We will eradicate Ante as easily as a typhoon, ending the war before winter arrives! "This December, we will sign the surrender document with the enemy at Ekaterinburg Fortress, just as we didst May in Carolingian!" Marshal Von Bock and other officers stood up one after another, shouting, "Long live Prosen! Long live the Emperor!" Wang Zhong raised his head upon hearing the sound of artillery fire outside and approached the window. Unfortunately, he could not see the shells being fired in the darkness. Even when he switched to a bird''s-eye view, he still saw nothing. In this view, the entire western bank was pitch-ck, meaning there were no enemy units. Wang Zhong, "I wonder how long this calm willst." Vasily, "The enemy won''t be calm. By tomorrow morning, they''ll be digging graves for theirrades who died in their sleep." Wang Zhong, "We would do the same if the enemy artillery advanced. The good news is we have ready-made reinforced concrete buildings for bomb shelters. How is the reinforcement of the buildings on the east bank progressing?" Pavlov, "It hasn''t started yet, the main priority right now is pouring concrete bunkers to get them to peak hardness sooner. However, we have reinforced some key buildings with steel." Wang Zhong nodded, "Good. Also, we''ve brought a brand new type of artillery and a new type of self-propelled artillery. Gather the anti-tank artillery units tomorrow, and get them familiar with these two weapons as quickly as possible before the enemy attacks. "Especially the self-propelled anti-tank artillery, we need to prepare specific positions and routes for their relocation." Popov frowned, "You mean that unimpressive-looking tractor? That thing just looks like a stick tied on top of a tractor. And although I''m not familiar with artillery, that artillery piece looks different from all the ones we have. "It looks more slender than the 76 gun, but the barrel is very long! It''s like an embroidery needle!" Wang Zhong, "Yes, an embroidery needle, and one that consumed a lot of production hours to create. The time it takes to make one of these guns could be used to make several 76 guns. But correspondingly, this gun has astonishing power and terrifying uracy." Vasilyughed, "Sounds good. Our anti-tank artillery troops have only pulled out the gunner. General, where did you get this gun from?" Wang Zhong, "No one else wanted it, theyined it wasn''t tested." Everyone else was stunned. Vasilyughed, "General, you''re teasing us again! You blew all this smoke without it being tested?" Wang Zhong thought to himself that he bragged because the gun had been tested inbat on Earth. He looked at Vasily, "Tomorrow, we will test this gun." Vasily''s smile froze. Wang Zhong, "You have to understand that our armaments are very scarce right now because most of the factories are being relocated to the east and even after the relocation isplete, it will take time to restore production efficiency. "Because of that, we can only continue producing the wed T34 to replenish our forces and slowly expand the production of the highly praised Parade Tank." Hamov, being from the Air Force, was puzzled when he heard ''Parade Tank,'' "Parade Tank?" Wang Zhong: "In order for a foot soldier like me with no tank training tomand from a tank, my vehicle, number 422, was modified from a Parade Tank. But it turned out to show excellentbat performance." Hamov blinked, "Did you just say ''a foot soldier with no tank trainingmanding a tank in battle''?" Wang Zhong: "I''m a foot soldier." Hamov gasped, "What? I thought you were from the Armored Troops! After all... didn''t you kill eight Prosen generals with a tank?" "Two, two Prosen generals," Wang Zhong was almost tired of correcting this statement again and again, "and one of them was actually killed by artillery." "I see. But it''s strange, war is really strange. One of the most formidable tankmanders from Prosen actually wrote ''Infantry Attack.'' Hamov shook his head. "Maybe one day you, a foot soldier, could be a Marshal of the Air Force." Wang Zhongughed heartily, but thought to himself, not to hide it from you, I''m a super pilot in War Thunder with over a thousand enemy nes shot down! If my physique could handle it, I would definitely show you what an ace pilot is. But the nes now don''t have ejection seats, and the rate at which pilots are shot down and die is too high, so it''s better to honestly be a general on the ground. Though being on the ground isn''t necessarily much safer than being in the air. At this moment, Nelly pushed the door open and came in with a cart: "Snack time! Today''s snack is yogurt cheese and pancakes brought over from Ye Fort." Hamov''s eyes widened when he saw Nelly: "Why is there such a young girl here? She looks about the same age as my daughter, who should be in fifth grade!" Nelly looked disdainfully at the pilot: "I graduated from tenth grade a long time ago." "Eh? Is that so?" Colonel Hamov was surprised. Vasily asked, "You have a daughter?" "Of course, I carry a photo of them both as an amulet. Look!" Hamov took out a locket and opened it to show the photo inside to everyone. It was clearly a family photo folded to show only the daughter and wife. Pavlov was amazed at the photo: "You''re a lucky man." Wang Zhong: "Chief of Staff, don''t you also have a wedding ring?" "Yes, I do. But my wife... let''s not mention her," the bear-like Chief of Staff shook his head, "she''s strong enough to go bear hunting in the mountains now." Wang Zhong joked, "Isn''t that normal? Ante women are eventually going to fight bears in the mountains." Nelly frowned, looking at Wang Zhong. Hamov looked at the photo of his wife and shook his head: "She probably couldn''t beat a bear. She''s a middle school teacher, quite delicate. She would get a sore back and back pains just from chopping wood outside in winter. "After that, the church installed coal stoves for the city''s intellectual families, and she has been thankful to the church for many years now. When she sits outside making coal balls in winter, she always tells my daughter about the past when they could only burn wood for warmth." Wang Zhong: "Isn''t heating in winter now all done with fuel from Kubar?" Hamov shook his head, "We can''t transport it over there; it''s better to use coal from nearby mines. Coal production was low before, but after the church took it over, production increased and now everyone can afford coal." Wang Zhong: "I see." Hamov continued, "We were nning to move to Kazarlia, but now Kazarlia has fallen." Wang Zhong earnestly replied, "It hasn''t fallen. I still carry a box of it with me. As long as I''m alive, Kazarlia will always havend that hasn''t fallen, and thatnd is right beside me." Hamov paused for a moment, then apologized, "I''m sorry, General, I..." "And now, the Bolsk Front Army is still fighting; that is also Kazarlian territory. So to say Kazarlia has fallen is not urate," Wang Zhong corrected seriously. "I''m sorry," Hamov apologized sincerely. But Pavlov said, "The situation for the Bolsk Front Army isn''t great either, but if the enemy focuses mainly on attacking Ye Fort for the rest of this year, they might get a chance to breathe. If the enemy wants to get the oil from Kubar, they will eventually have to attack Bolsk." Wang Zhong: "No matter how much territory we lose, we will recapture all of it in the end. Definitely." Everyone else in the room unanimously said, "Of course." Nelly: "Do you want sour cream with your pancakes?" Wang Zhong: "Yes!" Chapter 238: Chapter 29 Rocossov and Reconnaissance in Front of the Enemy August 26, zero five hundred hours, Shostka. With the help of Ludm and Nelly, Wang Zhong dressed himself and, after taking a satisfactory look at his own reflection in the dressing mirror, nodded approvingly. Ludm: "Today, I''m heading back to the unit." Wang Zhong: "Ah? What about my hugs every morning?" "You can find Nelly for that." As soon as Ludm finished speaking, Nelly took a step back, her displeasure evident on her face. Pointing at Nelly, Wang Zhong said, "Look! You''ve scared Nelly now!" Ludmughed and gently ruffled Wang Zhong''s hair. "Alyosha, haven''t you always slept on your own before?" "It''s hard to go from luxury to frugality, you know?" "Alyosha." Ludm simply called Wang Zhong''s name, then gazed at him. Wang Zhong sighed. "I''m just showing how hard it is for me to part with you. Shoot down a few more enemy nes, okay?" With those words, he embraced Ludm, allowing the girl to rest on his chest while he gently stroked her hair. After several dozen seconds, Wang Zhong reluctantly pulled away and said to Nelly, "See Ludm off." "Mhm." Nelly nodded. Wang Zhong turned and left the dormitory, speaking to Grigori outside, "Saddle Bucephalus and gather apetent squad, all armed with submachine guns." "A reconnaissance mission?" Grigori, flicking the cigarette he was holding to the ground and stamping it out, replied, "I''ll assemble the troops right away." Ludm chased after him. "Alyosha, as themander of the entire division, why are you going on the reconnaissance yourself?" "It''s precisely because I am themander of the whole division that I must go on a reconnaissance mission," Wang Zhong patted his fiance''s shoulder, "Don''t worry, I have a pair of eyes that can spot the enemy from two kilometers away." This was true. Ludm: "But what if you don''t spot the enemy? What if you get surrounded? Would you really be willing to hand over the troops you''ve trained so hard to someone else''smand?" At that moment, Grigori quietly slipped away, clearly not wanting to get involved in the couple''s quarrel. Pavlov emerged from the division headquarters building, peeking over this way, and was promptly seized by Ludm. "Chief of Staff, talk to him. He wants to go on the reconnaissance himself!" Pavlov: "He pulled the same stunt at Orachi, but when the enemy''s motorized troops turned up near us, I wouldn''t let him go. But now, our patrol units are still patrolling the western bank as usual, so it''s fine if he wants to have a look." Ludm was shocked. "You support him going?" "If themander personally scouts the enemy, it will greatly boost troop morale. That''s what the military academy taught us, right? It has been like this since the days of Suvorov," Pavlov shrugged. Ludm: "But he is thest in our ss!" Before the words fell, Wang Zhong picked up Ludm and gave her a nibble. Nelly couldn''t help butment, "It''s like gnawing on a pork knuckle." Wang Zhong stopped only when Ludm pushed against his chest with both hands, and, as his fiance gasped for air, he smacked his lips. Nelly: "Salty?" Wang Zhong looked at Nelly. "You''re quite humorous." "You tter me," Nelly replied modestly. Wang Zhong looked back at the now-recovered Ludm and said, "Ante women won''t stop their men from fulfilling their duties, will they?" Ludm sighed. "Yes, I''m just discussing the necessity with you!" "It''s necessary, trust me." Wang Zhong looked her straight in the eyes. "All right, go on then." Wang Zhong turned and hurriedly ran downstairs. Then Bucephalus appeared, snorting through the bit in his mouth, unable to nibble on Wang Zhong''s head and instead blowing air around his face. Gently stroking the horse''s neck, Wang Zhong asked with a smile, "Miss me?" The horse whinnied and pranced its hooves. At this moment, Grigori and the assembled guard unit appeared. Mounting his horse, Wang Zhong nodded to a worried-looking Ludm and was about to turn the horse around when Vasily appeared, carrying a captured field radio. "I''m going too, otherwise if something happens, you all won''t be able to contact division headquarters." Wang Zhong: "That''s fine. But why bring the captured one?" Vasily: "Its battery is reliable; I just charged it this morning. Our batteries aren''t trustworthy, and we''d have to carry a hand-cranked generator. Get me a horse." Grigori told a soldier, "Go pick another one from the stables, this one is for the lieutenant." The soldier immediately dismounted and handed the reins over to Vasily. A few minutester, the small unit was ready. Wang Zhong waved to Ludm and led the unit out of the division headquarterspound. Bucephalus, cheerful, sprinted particrly fast and soon galloped along the road to the riverbank. He then rushed toward the riverbed and started drinking at the water''s edge. Wang Zhong: "Hey! You''re too free-spirited, you know!" Just then, the Naval Infantry patrolling under the bridge spoke to Wang Zhong, "General, although it''s the dry season, the middle can still be over a person''s head! Crossing by swimming requires caution." Wang Zhong: "Are all the river sections we defend impassable by swimming?" "I only said to be cautious. We can swim across, armed with light weapons and grenades. I just don''t know if the Prosen infantry has as good water skills as we do," said the Naval Infantry, tugging at his dark uniform to show a bit more of the sailor shirt underneath his cor. Wang Zhong thought for a moment, then asked, "What if we were to spray the river with oil and set it on fire, would that stop the enemy from crossing?" "Certainly, it could. But think of the amount of gasoline that would require, plus it''s a one-time thing. It''s better to set up a few more machine guns." Wang Zhong, "For use in a critical moment. I mean, when the machine guns aren''t quick enough to block off the river." "Then it''s your decision," the Naval Infantry said. "Really, there''s no need to worry too much. With the river being so wide, the enemy would likely consider crossing over the bridge first. If not, they might use engineering troops to build a pontoon." Wang Zhong nodded. At that moment, Bucephalus finished drinking, neighed softly, and then started to run on its own, quickly reaching the stairs next to the river, then onto the riverside avenue, and finally turned onto therge bridge. The main body of the bridge was a railway bridge, consisting only of tracks without a floor, but there was a small path with wooden nksid down next to it. Bucephalus ran along the path all the way to the bridgehead fort. The troops guarding the bridgehead fort saluted Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong stopped to look over the bridge surface, muttering, "If the enemy sets up machine guns next to it to seal off the bridge, the troops on the west bank would be isted." The soldier standing guard next to the bunkerughed, "Then the enemy''s machine guns would have to withstand our artillery fire first. Look around, where is there any cover for the enemy to use? You might as well worry about the wooden nks on the bridge being lifted by the enemy." Wang Zhong turned his head and nodded, "True, we''ll rece them with iron tes and secure them with bolts." "Then on behalf of everyone, thank you, Your Excellency," the soldier said. Wang Zhong then asked, "Are our supplies of food and ammunition sufficient?" "Enough tost about a week or so. You can rest assured." Wang Zhong nodded again, spurred Bucephalus once more, and the horse began to gallop. ------------- It was half an hourter when they encountered the enemy. And it wasn''t the enemy''s reconnaissance troops, but Prussian Infantry stationed on the high ground. From a great distance, Wang Zhong had his troops dismount, leaving a few men in the woods to watch the horses, and took the rest to a spot a few hundred meters from the enemy position. Unlike the endless Kazarlian ins, this area had many trees, which made it possible to conceal their approach and engage the enemy. Wang Zhong switched to an overhead view to observe the enemy on the high ground. There was a toon of enemy troops, and they were not in a state ofbat readiness. Wang Zhong turned his head to ask Grigori, "If we call for artillery fire, can you take the high ground with our current forces after the shelling? There might be a toon up there." Grigori, "My suggestion is to not use artillery fire, so as not to startle the enemy by hitting the grass. We can crawl over andunch a surprise attack. Those who followed are all veterans, and they''re all equipped with submachine gunswe have the advantage in close-quartersbat." Wang Zhong, "Okay. Go ahead." Just as Grigori was about to crawl forward, he suddenly remembered something, turned back to a sergeant and said, "You stay behind with Lavrov to protect the general." The sergeant frowned, "Doesn''t the general have Vasily with him?" Grigori, "Follow orders. You must not let the general die, even if you do, understand?" "Leave it to me," the sergeant saluted. Then Grigori led the men out of the hidden bushes. The sergeant left behind looked at Vasily, "The sergeant major doesn''t trust you, musician." Wang Zhong, "Musician?" "Ever since my dad went on a drinking rage, that''s what they''ve called me," Vasily said with a bitter face. Wang Zhong, "It''s not a bad nickname. You are indeed a great musician." Vasily, "Stop making fun of me." "I''m not making fun of you," Wang Zhong said, then turned his attention back to the high ground. With the naked eye, it was almost impossible to see where Grigori and his men were, but switching to the overhead view showed they had advanced to a spot separated from the enemy by only a row of hedges; Grigori was assigning tasks to his soldiers, inaudible in the overhead perspective. In any case, they spread out quickly, advancing towards the high ground in pairs. Grigori crawled to the vicinity of the enemy''s machine gun position, and when the enemy turned away, he dashed out and quickly eliminated the two men at the machine gun with his knife. The other groups also began their movements, and in the blink of an eye, several sentries on the outpost were silently taken out. However, one of the sentries managed to fire off a shot before dying, alerting the enemy. Several Prussians immediately rushed out from Grigori''s cover, only to be mown down by his submachine gunfire. A corporal following him threw a grenade into an opening, and the next moment, the st wave surged out of the entrance. The others seized key positions and opened fire, the sound of submachine guns and grenades incessant. Grigori charged to the front of the enemymand post, sweeping two guards with a burst of gunfire. He then ordered the corporal to set up the gun as he held a grenade. Wang Zhong thought despairingly, don''t do it, capture an officer! However, Grigori had already thrown his grenade. Inside themand post, several were stunned, about to be obliterated, when the enemymander''s adjutant tackled themander to the ground. Wang Zhong, "Good!" Vasily, "?!". After the explosion, Grigori charged in first. The enemymander drew his pistol, only to be kicked flying by Grigori. Facing the barrel of the submachine gun, the enemy had no choice but to surrender obediently. Chapter 256: Chapter 47: Giless War (Additional Update 3/33) Within the territory of the Prosen Empire, Eagle''s Nest, the headquarters of Emperor Reinhard. At the airport near Eagle''s Nest, a Junkers Ju 52 tri-motor airne elegantlynded. After the ne came to a stop, a jeep followed by a medium-sized truck carrying a squad of soldiers drove up to the aircraft. Giles stepped out of the airne and nced at the deserted airport, his brow slightly furrowed. The weing major said at that moment, "Your Majesty is waiting for you at Eagle''s Nest. Due to the urgency of military affairs, no one else has been arranged to receive you besides the guards." "Understood," Giles descended the gangway and got into the jeep. His aide-de-camp Feliz took the seat of the co-driver directly. Seeing this, the weing major stood directly on the step outside the truck''s door, holding onto the door, and then made a gesture, "Let''s go." The jeep driver pressed the gas pedal, and the motorcade left the airport, heading for Eagle''s Nest along the winding mountain road. On the way, they passed by a ruin, and Giles, curious, asked, "What''s the story with the ruin?" Then he realized that due to his aide-de-camp''s actions, the avable person to answer this question had taken the guard''s vehicle. Giles could only close his mouth. A momentter, the car drove into a tunnel on the mountainside and continued to the deepest part, entering arge electric elevator. Apanied by the sound of the electric motor, the elevator began to ascend. This elevator seemed to have been built solely to boast of the Prosen Empire''s achievements in mechanics and electrical power; it could lift the weight of a jeep and a truck, plus seventeen adults all at once. When the elevator stopped, the weing major made a gesture, "If you please." The elevator doors opened, and Giles stepped into the passageway of Eagle''s Nest, making his way to the Emperor''s office with ease. At the entrance to the office, Giles was just about to hand over his sidearm to the secretary, but the secretary said, "His Majesty said you may carry your sidearm into the office." Giles hesitated for a moment, then took off his sidearm with the holster anyway, "I can carry my sidearm in, but it''s not required, is it?" The secretary bowed, "Then I shall keep it for you." After taking the sidearm, the secretary pressed a button on the desk, and the doors to the office automatically opened. This fortress, seemingly to boast of Prosen''s technological prowess, had automated doors driven by machinery everywhere. Prosen Emperor Reinhard stood in front of a massive sand table, staring at the entire battlefield as if he were a colossal god in control of everything. Hearing the door open, Reinhard, without turning his head, directly questioned, "I hear you stopped the attack and began digging works?" "Yes, I discovered that our armored forces are not suited for such an offensive." Reinhard: "Nonsense! In Carolingian, our armored forces broke through the fortified regions! Back then, our forces still had many Type 1 and Type 2 tanks!" "Now our forces also have many Type 1 and Type 2 tanks. In Carolingian, we indeed achieved a glorious victory, but here, after attacking for a day, I achieved nothing but the loss of several hundred casualties and seventy tanks!" Giles, neither servile nor overbearing, continued, "Your Majesty! I understand that destroying the symbol of the enemy''s will to resist has decisive significance, and war indeed is an extension of politics, but in the end, war is not politics! "I know you pursue the gains of having the Asgard Knights, which symbolize your ideals, destroy the enemy''s imperial iron wall, but the fact that our Armored Division is not suited for attacking fortified regions is irond! "In Carolingian, our Armored Division was mainly responsible for encircling the enemy and cutting off their logistics. To present the Armored Division in front of the enemy entrenched along the river is a bad idea!" Faced with Giles''s forceful statement, Reinhard looked at the sky: "You... make sense. That iron wall of Ante''s, is it really that formidable? It made Zigfried, whose name is celebrated alongside our ancient heroes, give up in just one day?" Giles: "I''m named alongside heroes because my father named me after a hero. It''s not a coincidence, nor is it any ''Divine Power'' bestowed. It''s my father''s heartfelt wish." "But under the propaganda, it''s no longer the case. Zig, you must defeat your enemy!" Reinhard stepped forward three paces, grabbing Giles''s shoulder, "Understand?" "That''s why I''vee to earnestly exin the pros and cons to you! We need the engineering corps for earthworks, to cope with the enemy who excels at using artillery! As long as we render the arcs drawn by their artillery in the sky ineffective, we can approach the river. Then, crossing it in smoke or using concealed 88 guns to destroy the enemy''s armored trains will be as easy as flipping one''s hand!" said Giles. The Emperor released Giles''s shoulder and walked up to the map: "What about the armored forces, then? The armored forces can''t just travel to the front through tunnels, can they?" Giles: "We could move the armored forces to the north to join the offensive there. Organization-wise, both the southern and northern pincers are troops of the Central Army Group, so such a move wouldn''t be particrly troublesome." "But what about the distance?" Reinhard looked at his ssmate from military academy, "Ante is not Carolingian. In Carolingian, such a move would be easy, just a matter of transporting them by train. But in Ante... without railroad transportation, by the time they reach the north, most of the Armored Division will have broken down, with no more than thirty tanks able to move." The Emperor returned to the map: "As for using the railroad, look at Ante''s railroad lines. All of them are radial, designed precisely for his troops to be continuously sent from the rear to the front. From the perspective of transporting reserve troops to the front line, their railways are extremely efficient!" Giles: "Not to worry. Once our infantry and engineers break through the defenses and capture Shostka, the armored forces will still have a chance to gallop across the ins. Beyond the Duva River, it will all be opennd to Ye Fort." Reinhard, looking at the map in silence for a while, asked, "How long do you estimate it will take to break through the Duva River and capture Shostka?" "Twenty days. That''s a conservative estimate. In fact, before I took off, the engineers''test report stated that the digging work would almost reach the riverbank in about ten days, after which we can consider building a pontoon bridge under smoke cover." Reinhard nced at the calendar: "Hmm, eptable. A breakthrough in 20 days is manageable." The Emperor came in front of Giles: "I ask you, can we publicly im that you will break through the enemy''sst hope of a defense line within 20 days?" Giles nodded: "No problem at all. And then, my armored army will gallop across Ante''s fields." The Emperor nodded: "Good! Then let''s do it as you say. Break through the Duva River and capture Shostka on October 12th!" In the year 914 of Jules, on September 23rd, Shostka. Early in the morning, Wang Zhong arrived at the division''s bunker headquarters and found only a few staff members on duty; the night shift''s Popov was nowhere to be seen. "What''s going on? Where''s the Bishop?" "He had bad luck this morning and got diarrhea," a staff member said. Wang Zhong sighed, knowing that nobody could me a person for having diarrhea, and it certainly couldn''t be allowed in the division''s bunkerthe smell would have been too much of a test. He went to the observation post and picked up the binocrs to take a look at the opposite riverbank, but as expected, he couldn''t see anything. Then, he casually changed his viewing angle. This time he actually spotted the enemy! All day yesterday, the enemy didn''t appear within the range he could highlight; he almost suspected they had suddenly "gone offline." Now, they finally appeared! Wang Zhong quickly checked what the enemy was doing and discovered they were digging trenches! Trench digging??? Because in various World War II games, depictions of trench digging are rare, and most of the time it''s soldier against soldier, tank against tank, locked in battle. Thest time he sawrge-scale trench digging was in the movie "The Great Battle," where our forces, with inferior equipment, used trench digging to approach enemy positions with superior firepower. The movie even included a ssic scene shot from a first-person perspective that simted moving through trenches. He remembered the dialogue in the movie: "The trenches must be dug to within 50 meters of the enemy''s position!" Could the enemy be thinking of using this same tactic? So, you''re not using your tanks anymore? Wang Zhong suddenly realized that seeing the enemy meant he couldn''t just ignore them. Regardless of what the enemy was doing, the thing to do was to start bombing. So he said to the staff member on duty, "Get in touch with the artillery battalion! The enemy is engaged in trench digging, implement fire n one, open fire!" Five minutester, artillery shells fell. Hearing the sound of the artillery, Pavlov and Popov both hurried to the divisionmand post. Pavlov: "What happened?" Wang Zhong: "The enemy was advancing their trench digging, I spotted it, so I ordered a round of bombardment." Pavlov and Popov quickly grabbed binocrs and ran to the observation post to look out. "There really is trench digging, and that mound of earth looks obviously like it was dug out. I''m quite sure that wasn''t there yesterday," Pavlov put down the binocrs. "I suggest we get Colonel Eugene to take a look at it, hees from a mining background, and has basically overseen the construction of all our fortifications." Colonel Eugene observed solemnly for half an hour before he put down the binocrs and said to Wang Zhong, "It''s definitely trench digging." Wang Zhong thought to himself, I used a cheat to see that, tell me something I don''t know. Eugene continued, "The bombardment this morning doesn''t seem to have done much, mainly because our artillery can''t ensure the shells fall into the trenches. Plus, trenches are generally W-shaped, so even if a shell falls into one, it can only kill the people in that section of the trench." Wang Zhong: "So the bombardment is useless?" "It has some use, the enemy can''t work when we''re bombarding. As long as we have enough artillery to keep bombarding, the enemy can''t possibly advance." Wang Zhong''s face crumpled. Eugene understood immediately, "We can''t keep bombarding, can we?" "Correct," Wang Zhong nodded, it was time to think of a strategy. He started pacing in the bunker. Popov even tried to console him, "It''s not like the moment they break through that we''re inevitably going to fall. Our n also ounts for the possibility that the enemy sessfully crosses the river and then we battle them on the beachhead." Wang Zhong pursed his lips. Suddenly, he asked Colonel Eugene, "How long do you estimate it will take the enemy to dig through?" Eugene: "When we were building the fortifications on the opposite bridgehead, I tested the soil on the western bank. I estimate it will take fifteen days." Wang Zhong turned to ask Pavlov, "The airfield has a meteorological unit, right? What''s thetest weather forecast? How soon will it rain?" Pavlov: "ording to the forecast, it will be another 20 days." Wang Zhong pped his thigh, "We should inform themander on the other side of this situation! Let him know he''s running out of time!" Chapter 257: Chapter 48 Friendly Advice Wang Zhong finished speaking, and the others in the room were slow to catch on. Vasily: "Wait a minute, so General, are you saying you want to talk to the enemy? Call out to them using radio?" Wang Zhong shook his head: "No, that would seem too informal, and it would only let our immediate enemies hear us. After all, even with the best radio equipment we have, themunication range is only so far. "We need to make sure that all the enemies facing us get this friendly reminder, so let''s use a radio broadcast in in code to openly tell them." Pavlov frowned, looking at Popov: "If this doesn''t vite military discipline..." Popov scratched his head, which was already quite bare: "Sending messages in in code to our own troops and leaking military information would definitely be treason. But sending messages in in code to the enemy, and talking about the weather, that should not count as treason. "I think it should be treated like having a casual chat over the radio during nonbat times, which means being confined to barracks." Vasily was shocked: "Won''t they do something more severe?" Popov: "Usually not. So, we can make the telegrapher who sends the message take the me and confine him to barracks for a week." Wang Zhong: "That works, let''s send the message in in code then." Pavlov, still clearly wishing to prevent this unconventional tactic, said: "The enemy''s meteorological department should know about this, right? No, their observation equipment is better than ours. Are we meddling unnecessarily?" Wang Zhong: "Since the enemy''s meteorological department also knows, then there''s even less of a problem with us sending this telegram. Go ahead and send it." Prussian Army, Asgard Knights First Army Headquarters. Giles was meeting with themander of a newly joined engineer brigade when suddenly amunications staff officer entered, stood at attention, saluted, and said loudly: "Report! We''ve received an unsigned telegram in in code, sent using the International Civil Aviation Organization''s standard code. Judging from the tone of the telegram, it seems to be from the enemy." Giles frowned: "International Civil Aviation Organization''s standard code?" Themunications staff officer immediately exined: "Even when sending telegrams in in code without encryption, the codes for differentnguages vary. The International Civil Aviation Organization''s standard code is a set of international codes adopted to solve this problem, based on the Anglonguage of the United Kingdom." "I see. So, what does the telegram say?" Giles asked curiously. The staff officer picked up the telegram paper and read from it: "''To the respectedmander of the Prussian Army, having observed your forces carrying out earthworks, we kindly remind you that in half a month, the autumn rain season will begin, and conditions will be unsuitable for offensive operations.'' Giles''s eyebrows knitted together: "What does that mean? Why would the autumn rain make it unsuitable for an offensive?" The adjutant, Feliz, reminded: "In the situation reports issued by the High Command about Ante, it was mentioned that transport in Ante would be somewhat affected during the rainy season." As soon as he finished speaking, the chief of staff confidently said: "That''s why we nned for a 20 percent redundancy in our supply ns. Even if it rains, it won''t affect our offensive." Giles thought for a moment and said: "Let''s still consult the meteorological department. And call over the Air Forcemander too. After we push the trenches to the western bank of the Duva River, we''ll need their cooperation." The Prussian Army originally had its own meteorological department, but Duke Meyer, believing that meteorology also fell under the jurisdiction of the Air Force, protested to the emperor for many days. The emperor, with the intention of weakening the traditional officer corps, transferred the meteorological responsibilities to the Air Force. Therefore, even though Giles was favored by the emperor, he still had to invite the Air Forcemander and the meteorological department personnel together. Thirty minutester, an Air Force Major General, apanied by a colonel and several aides, arrived at the headquarters of the First Army. Giles: "Did you receive that in code telegram?" "Of course, we did. We even conducted triangtion to confirm that the telegram came from thatWhite Horse General." The Air Force Major General deliberately paused before mentioning the nickname of the White Horse General. Rocossov would surely have an interesting expression if he knew he''d been given a "space" before his title, but sadly he would never know. Giles: "So, are we really entering the rainy season?" The Air Force Major General stepped to the side, yielding the floor to the colonel he brought with him. The colonel''s sleeve bore the insignia of the meteorological troops. With the Major General''s permission, he immediately opened his briefcase, took out the documents, and ced them on the map table: "We''ve been discreetly recording the meteorological information from all over Ante since the year 910. Our intelligence department promised to steal Ante''s own meteorological records, but so far, they have not fulfilled that promise." Upon hearing this, someone among Giles''s subordinatesughed: "Isn''t it normal for Rabowell to fail?" The colonel ignored the jab at the intelligence department and continued: "ording to our records, Ante really will enter the rainy season in the middle of next month. The timing of the first rain each year is quite consistent; in the year 910 it was on October 11, in 911 on October 9, and the following year on the 14th. "We believe this year will also see rain around the 10th." Giles: "Is the impact of the rain significant?" Colonel: "It will cause a certain level of traffic congestion." Giles: "Will it lead to difficulty in military operations?" "No, in fact, during the civil war within the Ante Empire, they often operated during the rainy season," the Colonel took out another record. "Before I came here, I specificallypiled the war history of the Ante Empire''s civil war. There were many military operations during the rainy seasons over three years, like the First Cavalry Army''s famous raid." Giles frowned deeply: "Cavalry isn''t quite the same as our mechanized units, is it?" Feliz: "General, could the hooves of a horse possibly have better terrain adaptability than our tracks?" Colonel: "Still, it''s best to prepare for the worst and to assume a redundancy of about thirty percent would be appropriate." Giles still frowned deeply and, after pondering for a while, said, "Get a local, ask about the situation... You haven''t killed them all, have you?" Feliz immediately said, "Don''t worry, when we upied Argesukov in August, the Emperor had already issued an order. Considering that the upied area is toorge, it''s necessary to retain a sufficientbor force. Therefore, systematic cleansing has already ended." "I''ll have them bring a few locals over now." Giles: "Go ahead." After the adjutant left, the Air Force Major General said, "Why did the White General send this telegram?" Giles wore a pensive expression, clearly he hadn''t figured it out either. But the Chief of Staff of the First Army spoke up: "Because earthwork is his Achilles'' heel, his most adept artillery fire has no ce to be used. He''s in a hurry now." "I see," the Air Force Major General nodded and continued, "This White General is a bit strange. Yesterday when the pilots from JG17 (the Prosen Air Force''s unit number) were hunting down their artillery spotters, they heard shouts in Antenguage." "Shouts in Antenguage?" Giles lifted his head. Major General: "There are quite a few yboys among the pilots, and many of them know Ante and Carolingiannguages. So someone heard, they were shouting ''Break S, drill into the blind spot under the belly, the 109''s roll is bad during the dive." Giles: "And the actual situation?" "I''ve flown the 109E3 that our troops are currently equipped with, and indeed, the control stick is very heavy during a dive. Actually, it''s not because of the dive, but because of the speed," the Air Force Major General gestured with his hands. "The 109 can never exceed 600 kilometers per hour in level flight, in fact, we rarely fly to the maximum speed of 536 kilometers per hour listed on paper during operations. But the speed might reach 700 kilometers per hour during a dive." Giles: "You mean, the White General is very knowledgeable about our fighters?" "Right." Giles: "And the ''Break S''? Is that a term?" "Yes. It''s the exact opposite maneuver of the Immelman Turn. The motion is roughly like this." The Major General snapped his fingers, and his adjutant immediately stepped forward with a box. Opening it, there were two intricate fighter ne models inside. Then the Major General picked up one of the models and began to demonstrate. While demonstrating, he also exined: "You can use the Break S during level flight. If an enemy is on your tail, you can use a better roll to enter a Break S, which can instantly make the enemy lose sight of the target. "And when the attacking aircraft is diving from a higher altitude, because of the attacker''s high speed and decreased maneuverability, the Break S often allows slipping into the attacker''s blind spot. However, this maneuver doesn''t give the defender an advantage. As long as the attacker doesn''t forcibly follow but instead pulls up to regain altitude using their speed, the next engagement will still be in their advantage." Giles: "What if the attacker does follow?" The Major General shrugged, "First, you have to control the speed, throttle back while adjusting the pitch of the propeller, using the resistance of the propeller and the like. Fighters don''t have airbrakes like dive bombers,cking means to quickly reduce speed under such circumstances. "Even if the speed is controlled, you''ve needlessly lost lots of energy. It''s foolish. So, experienced pilots who encounter a Break S from the enemy will give up the attack and recover altitude to seek another opportunity to battle. "But most of the time, there''s no chance for another battle. Our pilots like mboyant liveries, a pride inherited from the Red Baron, but enemy pilots prefer camouge. Once they dive close to the ground, they blend in with it and are difficult to detect. "Yesterday''s battle was the same; ourds shot down one, the rest of the enemy nes all flew low and escaped. "Ourds are proud Eagles, while the enemy is just a bunch of sparrows." Giles: "You didn''t have to go into such detail, I understand that Break S is a practical aerialbat maneuver. But how would the White General know about this? Isn''t he from an infantry background?" Everyone looked at each other before the Chief of Staff finally said, "Maybe the Crown Prince of Ante is quite versatile? Many noble young masters like flying." Giles nodded, seemingly epting this exnation. At this moment, Feliz entered: "We''ve caught some locals." "Bring them in," Giles paused then corrected himself, "Please bring them in." Chapter 241: Chapter 32 Launching ``` Jules 914, September 19th, Shostka, headquarters of the First Guards Mechanized Division, 2200 hours. A captive was brought into the division headquarters by a forward scouting squad. The headquarters staff collectively sized up the captive. Pavlov: "This uniform doesn''t it look a lot like the ones we encountered in Orachi... that kind of opulent division? The one with especially abundant equipment, where even the Mark II tanks are scarce, and they''re all equipped with Mark IIIs and IVs?" Wang Zhong: "The Asgard Knights Division, the then Emperor formed it to strengthen his political base, independent of the military department''s control." "Ah, right, that''s the name." Pavlov nodded, "But is it just my mistaken impression? Last time we engaged them, it seemed pretty easy." Popov: "The first two days were easy because the pressure of the enemy attack was on the forces of Duke Meishikin. On the third day, we encountered the enemy''s main force, and we were immediately routed." Wang Zhong: "Your words are not urate, what do you mean routed, we maintained our formation and got out. But let''s talk about the matter at hand. Vasily!" Vasily stepped forward briskly and punched the captive in the face, causing the captive''s nose to bleed. "Oh," Vasily put on an expression of a simpleton, "You mean you want me to trante, right?" Damn it, you just wanted to throw that punch! Stop pretending already! Popov frowned, "It''s not eptable to beat a captive without authorization, Vasily." "Doesn''t the Judge also hit them?" Vasily retorted sarcastically. Popov: "When the Judge does it, it''s part of the job, but if you hit him, you''ll be assigned to dung duty." Vasily: "Worth it." After speaking, he punched the captive again and then turned to ask Wang Zhong, "What do you want me to ask?" Wang Zhong: "Ask which unit he belongs to and who hismander is." No sooner had Vasily tranted than the captive began to prattle, simultaneously exhibiting a look of pride while speaking. Vasily: "He says, ''Your Ante army is being wiped out like pigs, and millions of troops can''t even fight as well as wild boars.'' I didn''t add fuel to the fire, that''s what he said." The enemy looked at Wang Zhong with a provocative gaze and continued to babble. Vasily: "He says he recognizes you; all the troops have been given your photo. Capturing you, dead or alive, would grant anyone the title of a count." Wang Zhong frowned, "Am I that famous? Tell him to show me the photo of me." Vasily spoke a few words to the enemy. At this moment, the escort said, "Here, we found it when we searched him, for you." While speaking, the escort held up an image for everyone to see. It was taken by a Federation journalist, clearly removed from a Federation newspaper, hence the image was somewhat degraded, but Wang Zhong''s face was still recognizable. Wang Zhong was standing in front of a ZiS-30 and a T-34 tank, with a stern look on his face. "They actually made me look quite handsome." Wang Zhong was astonished, reaching out for the photo, "Come on, give it to me, I need to unt it in front of Liu Xia." Pavlov took the photo from the scout, checked it, and passed it to Wang Zhong: "It does have quite an imposing presence." Wang Zhong looked at it and remarked, "No wonder the photographer boasted they could win a Pulitzer." "What''s a Pulitzer?" Vasily asked. Wang Zhong: "An award established by a big con artist." At this point, seeing that he was being ignored, the captive rattled on more. Vasily: "He says his only regret is that he won''t have the chance to capture you. But it doesn''t matter, hisrades will capture you and kill you Can I hit him now?" Wang Zhong spread his hands, "Since you''ve applied, of course, I have to say you can''t hit him." No sooner had he spoken than Nelly pushed the door open, click-cked her way to the captive, andnded a kick to the captive''s groin. The captive let out a scream like a pig being ughtered. After all, he was kicked by the very hard toe of a maid''s shoe, and his eggs might have been scrambled for good. Everyone else hadn''t reacted yet, staring nkly at Nelly. Pavlov was the first to react, turning his head to ask Popov, "What do we do about this?" Popov: "Servicemen are considered employees of the unit, the same asundry workersin essence, we can only criticize and educate, at most confine them to barracks." Just as Wang Zhong was about to give his exclusiveundry worker a piece of his mind, he heard the captive ranting in fury. Vasily: "He says youor uswill die tomorrow. The Prosen Empire''s new weapons will crush you, and there will be paratroopers coordinating the attack, the empire''srgest scale assault operation." Vasily hadn''t finished tranting when the captive broke into hystericalughter, then made a throat-slitting gesture and rattled off more. ``` Vasily: "He said that our death is imminent and the entire Ante will be finished before this year''s National Day. Then every person involved in the conquest will receive a huge manor." Wang Zhong and the others exchanged nces. Popov: "A feint?" Pavlov shook his head, "No, our reconnaissance does indeed indicate that the enemy is about to attack, and as for timing, they must attack now. If they dy any longer, it will start to rain." There are two muddy seasons in Ante every year. One is in spring when the snow starts melting, and the ground bes exceptionally muddy,sting from March to June. The second, which is shorter, is thete autumn rainy season, when thend bes exceptionally muddy, and rivers enter a brief period of high water levels. Pavlov: "After it rains, the water level of the Duva River will rise to at least the third mark on the hydrological pir by the bank, making it difficult to cross the river. And after the high water season, the naval gunboats can move upriver. Are they really nning to have tanks and gunboats exchange fire?" Wang Zhong: "So what he said is true. They''ll attack us tomorrow, and there are also paratroopers. Get Major General Kiriyenko on the phone at the rear." Pavlov immediately picked up the receiver: "Connecting to Major General Kiriyenkoit''s the Army Group headquarters! Hello? I am Pavlov, Chief of Staff of the Guards 1st Division. We just received new information; please have Major General Kiriyenko take the phone." Momentster, Pavlov handed the receiver to Wang Zhong: "The general is on the line." Wang Zhong took the receiver: "Major General Kiriyenko, I have some new information here. We captured a prisoner who said that the enemy willunch an attack tomorrow, with paratroopersnding behind our division." Kiriyenko: "What scale of paratroopers? Behind you is the position of the 331st Division; they are tasked with protecting the railway lines." Wang Zhong pressed the receiver, turned to Vasily, and said, "Use reverse psychology on him, try to get him to reveal the scale of the airborne troops." Vasily: "(In Prosennguage) You won''t seed. Our rear forces are strong and can easily crush your airborne troops! Those paratroopers will achieve nothing but provide us with morebat achievements!" The captiveughed loudly and spouted a bunch of words. Vasily: "He said it, the 100th Paratrooper Hunter Division, and everyone speaks of another special force unit." Wang Zhong: "Kiriyenko, the enemy is probably one paratrooper hunter division and a special force unit of unknown size. I estimate the special forces will be wearing our uniforms, speaking Ante." Thest sentence was added by Wang Zhong, based on Earth''s war history. Kiriyenko clicked his tongue: "The same old deceit and infiltration tricks, huh? Okay, I have an Inquisitor-led internal guard division here, I''ll send them; they''re professionals." Wang Zhong: "There are also tank units. The enemy light infantry has no anti-tank weapons in the ins; tank units can eliminate them." "I''ll have the tank units on standby as reserves ready to move out. Have you contacted the Air Force yet?" "Just about to, but I only have the Yak-1 Fighter Regiment here, and they probably can''t intercept the enemy''s airdrop nes at high altitude. We need MiG-3s." "I''ll handle that notification. Kiriyenko out," and with that, he hung up. Wang Zhong gave the receiver back to Pavlov: "Call Kashuk again, the attack can''t only be targeting us. The 51st Army will also be attacked. And call the airfield; tell them to prepare for emergency takeoff tomorrow morning, we might face enemy air raids. I need Yak-1s to protect our heads." The ZIS-30 is particrly vulnerable to the Air Force because it''spletely unprotected. Even if the aircraft doesn''t drop bombs, just strafing could kill the gunner operating the big gun. If a Stuka was to drop a 500 kg bomb,nding it within 50 meters of the ZIS-30, it could knock it out of action. Apart from the 500 kg bomb, the "little potato" from the 50 attack is also formidable; that''s the price of an open-topped vehicle. Of course, the ZIS-30s under Wang Zhong''smand may not be that afraid of enemy air raids because these days, Wang Zhong has ordered his troops to construct many shelters for ZIS-30s along the riverbanks. They opened holes in the side of buildings facing away from the river, allowing the ZIS-30 to go in. From there, the windows facing the river became natural firing ports. And as long as they don''t stick the barrel out, firing from inside the building, the enemy might not even spot them. Despite these preparations, having Air Force cover is still better than none. If the Stuka can precisely drop a 500 kg bomb, it will inevitably cause massive casualties on the ground. After making several calls, Pavlov finally ryed all the orders, then looking at the phone and then at Wang Zhong, he suggested, "I suggest you go and get some sleep now, so you''ll be ready tomand us when the battle starts." Wang Zhong looked towards the prisoner and said to Vasily, "Find a way to make him tell us the time of attack tomorrow." Vasily immediately used his reverse psychology technique. The prisoner revealed a contemptuous smile and said a bunch of things. Vasily: "He says that even if we know, we can''t do anything about it. The attack will begin at 4:30 in the morning." Wang Zhong and Pavlov exchanged a look. In fact, if it weren''t for such urrences in Earth''s history, Wang Zhong would definitely suspect this man was a spy. In Earth''s war history, the Sturmtiger prisoners, because of their overconfidence,pletely divulged their ns, thus giving the Soviet army time to prepare. Wang Zhong: "Then at four o''clock, we''llunch counter-bombardment preparations on the enemy assembly area, trying to dy the enemy''s attack time to nine in the morning. That way, they won''t be able to coordinate with their airborne troops." Pavlov nodded: "That can be done. You better hurry and get some sleep. Have Nelly wake you up at three." Chapter 242: Chapter 33 Start of the War In September of 914, at 0330 hours, Wang Zhong arrived early at the division headquarters bunker. Clutching arge steel cup, Pavlov saw Wang Zhong enter and asked, "Fancy some tea? Today is likely to be a long day." Wang Zhong, "No, I''ll pass on your tea. Nelly, make me some tea." Popov, "Me too!" Nelly promptly left. Wang Zhong picked up the binocrs and went to the bunker''s observation window to look outside. The field of view from this observation window was much worse than the one from the windows of the division headquarters'' map room, but Wang Zhong had a cheat; a simple switch of perspective granted him a clear field of vision. In the dim morning light, the west bank was silent. Even with Wang Zhong''s cheat perspective, there were no highlighted units. Wang Zhong, "Is the enemypletely foregoing reconnaissance?" Pavlov answered, "After you went to sleepst night, there were enemy reconnaissance squads. Didn''t you hear the machine-gun fire?" Wang Zhong shook his head, then realized something, "You didn''t sleep?" Pavlov, "I did for a bit, about two hours. Don''t worry, it won''t affect my ability to perform my duties. I''m the chief of staff; much of my work is mechanical, and sometimes it''s sufficient to leave it to the staff officers." Wang Zhong involuntarily switched back to using his own eyes to look at Pavlov''s dark circles, "This is really worrying." At that moment, Nelly came in with arge tter not only containing teapots and cups but also some pastries. She ced everything on the map table. Wang Zhong, "Um, don''t put it on top of the detailed fortification map, put it on this one. We won''t be using the overall front line map today." Nelly shifted the tter and then poured Wang Zhong a full cup of hot tea. Popov handed over his own teacup, "More for me." Nelly poured all the tea from the pot into his cup, then walked away with the empty pot. Vasily, "Well now, there''s none left for the rest of us." Wang Zhongughed and continued to observe the west bank. Suddenly, in his bird''s-eye view, enemy reconnaissance troops appeared on the west bank. Wang Zhong, "Here theye!" Vasily hurried to a nearby gunner''s scope, "Where? I don''t see anything." Wang Zhong, "Phone, connect to the Anti-tank Battalion." Pavlov immediately picked up the receiver and shouted "Anti-tank Battalion," then handed the receiver to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong took it, just as he heard a voice from the other side, "Anti-tank Battalion, go ahead." "Enemy reconnaissance troops have appeared on the opposite bank. I''ll have the bridgehead fire illumination rounds; you load up the howitzers. Don''t use towed guns, let ZIS30 fire and then relocate after engaging." "Understood, ZIS30 to fire and relocate after engaging." Having said that, Pavlov had already used another phone to reach the bridgehead, "Fire the illumination rounds, take care not to expose the MG positions, engage with individual weapons." 10 secondster, an illumination round soared up from the bridgehead, illuminating the enemy scouts crawling forward on the opposite bank. The ZIS30s, deployed in position number 7 on the riverbank, opened fire immediately, and high-explosive shells burst open upon the t terrain of the west bank. Subsequently, gunfire burst out like popping beans, all from rifles. Unfortunately, the light was poor, and the distance to the enemy was too far, limiting the uracy. The second round of high-explosive shells arrived. After the first wave''s adjustments, this roundnded directly in the center of the enemy, sending them tumbling to the ground. Then they began to retreat. Popov had also arrived at the bunker''s observation port and was watching the other side with binocrs, "They''re only conducting reconnaissance now, isn''t that a bitte? Could the enemy be falling into a state ofcency? Think about the behavior of the prisoner we captured yesterday." Wang Zhong, "Isn''t that a good thing? Arrogance leads to defeat; let''s leave them strewn across the battlefield today." Pavlov joined the conversation, "I''m more concerned about the bridgehead. If you ask me, we might as well pull our men back and blow the bridge." Wang Zhong, "Then the enemy would disperse along the riverbank, and it would be harder for us to eliminate them efficiently. Our purpose in leaving this bridge intact is to draw the enemy''s attention and inflict maximum casualties, and the bridgehead is the bait we''veid out." After speaking, Wang Zhong took a sip of tea then reached for a pastry, only to find that they were slices of cucumber. Wang Zhong, "Where are the pickles?" Vasily, "We opened all of them a few days ago to use the lids as fakendmines. We discovered something: real mines would detonate upon being hit by enemy artillery, but the lids of pickle cans don''t, so we buried them shallowly. After an artillery attack blows away the soil on top, the enemy engineers have toe and deal with the mines." Wang Zhong looked at Vasily, "Not bad, musician. This clever use is pretty good." Vasily, on hearing the nickname "musician," showed a face as if he had eaten a Vasily: "Sure, anything as long as I don''t have to write music." At this moment, the rm clock on the table went off. Nelly had just carried in a new tray of tea when she was startled by the rm clock. Pavlov stopped the rm clock: "Is it time to start the counter-fire preparation?" Wang Zhong looked at the time: "Let''s start." Pavlov picked up the phone receiver: "Connect to the artillery corps. Artillery corps, begin firing." Major General Siegfried Gis had just arrived at his own forwardmand post when he heard a sound like rolling thunder in the distance. He frowned and asked his adjutant, "What''s going on?" The adjutant replied, "I''ll find out right away." The adjutant, who was much older than Siegfried, turned and left. Within the Asgard Knights, it wasmon to seemanders younger than their subordinates, reflecting Emperor Reinhard''s will: to rece the old Junker officer corps rapidly with new, younger officers more familiar with thetest military technology. Ironically, without these Junker officers, the massive military machine would grind to a halt. Even in the Asgard Knights, which aimed to employ as many officers of civilian background as possible internally, this was true. In Reinhard''s n, the whole "blood transfusion" process was tost ten years. By the time the blood transfusion waspleted, Prosen would have set foot on Federationnd, bing the true world hegemon. The adjutant returned quickly: "The enemy is shelling our assembly areas and supply centers." Siegfried: "Is it the usual shelling?" "Unlikely, the timing is wrong. Plus, the enemy didn''t shellst night, resulting in many people not sleeping well." Siegfried frowned deeply: "Has our attack n been exposed?" "Possibly, the soldiers have been openly talking about quickly annihting Ante and spending New Year''s Day in Ye Fort. It''s possible that the enemy captured some prisoners who ryed this information." Siegfried: "Can our artillery suppress the enemy''s?" "Yes, aerial reconnaissance has located the enemy''s artillery positions." Siegfried: "Then open fire." Pavlov was the first to look up: "This whistling sound is wrong." Wang Zhong looked puzzled. Since the beginning, all he had heard was the whistling of their own artillery shells flying over, and he was unable to distinguish which was wrong. However, the sound of explosions came from behind them, and Wang Zhong quickly shifted his perspective, seeing the enemy''s shells continuously falling. They were falling on the fake artillery positions made of wood and camouges. Did you not expect that? Not shooting down your scout nes was so you could see the fake positions! This is called deception in warfare. You Prussians have much to learn! Sun Wu of Ceres is way ahead of you! Without any cheats, Pavlov could only make phone calls to confirm where the enemy was bombing. It took him three calls to get urate information, which he reported to Wang Zhong: "The enemy is bombing our fake artillery positions." Wang Zhong: "Add a meal for the deception troops today. Have them quickly set up new fake positions after dark." Vasily muttered, "Fake artillery positions, fakendmines, Rocossov''s warfare is all about fakes." Wang Zhong: "This is called deception in warfare! The enemy is stronger than us, so we have to use our brains to fight them, understand?" After speaking, Wang Zhong realized, damn it, the fakendmines weren''t even my doing! Before he could exin to Vasily, the phone rang again. Pavlov, as usual, picked it up: "Headquarters. How many nes? Has the Air Force been notified? Good, understood." After hanging up, the bear-like chief of staff told Wang Zhong, "Brother Peter heard a lot of three-engined transport nes, probably paratroopers. The Air Force has been informed and is taking off to intercept." Wang Zhong: "Three-engined transport nes, Junkers 52, right?" Vasily eximed, "General, you really know your Prosen weaponry." Wang Zhong thought to himself that of course he did, most military enthusiasts were initially drawn in by German military wear, and over time they gradually shifted to other types of military hobbies. Hence, most enthusiasts were quite familiar with Sturmtiger''s equipment. Wang Zhong: "I''ve long been aware that we would inevitably sh with Prosen, so I''ve made it my business to covertly learn about them!" The others at headquarters exchanged nces, tacitly not mentioning the least favorite topic. Even Nelly didn''t bring it up. Just then the phone rang again. After Pavlov answered, he reported to Wang Zhong, "The anti-aircraft observation post has spotted enemy nes flying in this direction." As he spoke, he drew several lines on the map with a pencil. Wang Zhong: "It looks like the drop zone is between Karlinka and Seneca. Call Army Group headquarters, notify Kiriyenko." As Pavlov made the call, Popov said, "The Tribunal''s internal security forces will take care of them. They are better equipped than the regr infantry and are all soldiers of steadfast faith. Plus, they now have tank support." Wang Zhong: "I trust Kiriyenko. I had a heart-to-heart with him at Ye Fort; he''s amander you can rely on." Popov stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds: "Is that so." Just then, the enemy''s preparatory artillery fire against the defenses officially began. The heavy artillery shells sent dust drifting sparsely from the bunker''s ceiling, which had been well-built for just over twenty days. Chapter 243: Chapter 34 Meeting the Enemy (Add more for 41000 monthly votes) The enemy''s artillery preparation continued until seven o''clock in the morning. Unlike the previous artillery preparations, this time Wang Zhong and the others sat on chairs and endured the barrage. After all, the bunker was well-constructed, posing little danger unless it was directly hit by heavy artillery. A direct hit might also be harmless, considering the bunker was topped by an entire building reinforced with steel and concrete, having been converted from an original basement. Wang Zhong looked out from the observation post. By now, the sun had risen, offering an unobstructed view of the entire west bank, where no figures could be spotted, with or without the help of cheats. Vasily monopolized the artillery periscope and after a long watchmented, "It''s so quiet, I can''t hear any enemy tank engines at all." Even Brother Peter had not heard the engine sounds, which meant the enemy was likely confounded by the counter-artillery preparation. Just then, the telephone rang. Wang Zhong said, "It''s probably Brother Peter. He must have heard the tank engines and is calling to notify us." Pavlov picked up the phone: "Division headquarters, what''s the situation? Alright, keep monitoring." After hanging up, he turned to Wang Zhong and said, "The reserve force standing by at the rear reports gunfire to the east, but it''s not particrly intense." Wang Zhong said, "It''s the enemy paratroopers. Tell them to stay alert. And remember to call Kiriyenko at noon and ask about the progress in clearing out the paratroopers." No sooner had he finished speaking than the phone rang again. Pavlov picked up the receiver: "Division headquarters. Okay, got it." After putting down the receiver, the chief of staff looked up at Wang Zhong and announced, "Here theye, the sounds of engines." Wang Zhong ordered, "Follow the original n. Artillery battalion, begin firing." Pavlov picked up the receiver he had just put down again. Suddenly, Nelly whispered, "The chief of staff looks like a bear eating fish." Wang Zhong, who had wanted to peek through the observation window, turned his head upon hearing Nelly''sment and burst intoughter, seeing that Pavlov indeed resembled her description, with the receiver as the fish, being gnawed at by Pavlov single-handedly. Unaware of Nelly''s murmur, the chief of staff gave a loudmand: "Artillery battalion, execute fire mission,mence interdiction fire!" Instantly, Wang Zhong heard the sound of artillery shells flying overhead, but unlikest time, he could also hear their explosions on impact. The sound rolled in like thunder from the horizon. Pavlov was about to leave the phone and join Wang Zhong at the observation post when the phone rang again. After answering, Pavlov said, "The lookout has spotted dust clouds. Enemy tanks are approaching." Wang Zhong hurried to the observation window to take a look outside. However, given the low position of the division headquarters'' bunker, he couldn''t see anything, neither the dust clouds nor the explosions from the interdiction fire. Even when Wang Zhong changed angles, he saw nothing. He withdrew his gaze and then noticed Nelly trying to peek outside eagerly, tiptoeing in an effort, but even at her most stretched, her eyes barely reached the lower edge of the observation window. Wang Zhong pulled over an ammunition box and lifted Nelly up onto it. Vasilyughed, "This reminds me of a British novel I read as a child, where a dwarf warrior couldn''t see outside during a siege because of his short stature..." Nelly frowned, stepped down from the ammunition box, and picked up therge tray loaded with tea and refreshments, ready to leave. Wang Zhong said, "Wait a minute, just leave that there. Stay in the division headquarters'' bunker during the battle, it''s unsafe elsewhere." Only then did Nelly set down the tray and dashed to a corner to stand, her hands folded in front of her, pressing down her skirt. Wang Zhong continued to look outside. Just then, the telephone rang again, and after a few seconds, Pavlov reported, "Brother Peter hears the sound of dive bombers, escorted by fighter nes." Wang Zhong asked, "The enemy finally brought escorts. Have our nes taken off yet?" Pavlov replied, "They''ve justnded to refuel and rearm, now they''re taking off again." "Vasily, bring over that Prussian radio! Broaden the reception frequency, let''s listen to the situation in the skies." Vasily promptly brought out a seized Prussian radio and while adjusting it, praised, "Prussian stuff is definitely better than ours. Charged in the morning and after four hours, it''s still powered." At that moment, sounds came from the radio, in the Prussiannguage. Vasily tranted, "''Ready forbat, drop the auxiliary fuel tanks.'' Wang Zhong frowned slightly. In War Thunder, when he flew the early models of the 109, he had never used auxiliary fuel tanks. But then again, it wasn''t the same time and space; the Fritz X had already been in operation two months into Barbarossa, so he shouldn''t sweat the small stuff. The radio crackled again as someone urgently shouted something in Prussian, and Wang Zhong recognized the word "Achtung." Vasily tranted faithfully, "''Enemy fighters spotted at two o''clock, also below us.'' Then, an older Prussian voice came on the radio, sounding more steady. Vasily conveyed, "''Dive to engage the enemy, protect the bombers. If the enemy pursues, disengage, do not enter a turning dogfight.'' Wang Zhong added, "Actually, the early 109s can engage in a bit of a dogfight, but themander''s right, you shouldn''t tangle with Yaks at low altitude, even if it''s just a Yak-1. Just drive the Yaks away to allow the bombers to drop their payload." The others exchanged knowing nces in silence. And then, atst, the radio broadcast something Wang Zhong could understand, "Enemy fighter nes! Semyon, take the second squadron and tie up with the enemy, I''ll go hunting the bombers." "Hamov, you''re after bomber kills again! But no worries, let''s see how many fighters I can take down. That way, I''ll be the ace with the most merit!" Immediately after, the airwaves became tumultuous. With twonguages intermingling, Vasily couldn''t keep up with the trantions. "Misha! The enemy is behind you!" "Alois, rate of climb zero!" "Where did he go? I can''t see him!" "Turn left, all turn left! Any not turning left are enemy nes!" Wang Zhong frowned as he approached the observation window and switched his view to watch the aerial dogfight. Both sides had fighters being shot down, trailing long mes and thick smoke as they plunged toward the ground. At this moment, Wang Zhong spotted thirty dive bombers approaching from the north side of his field of visionit looked like they had circled around to evade interception by the Air Force. The bombers began their dive! Then, six Divine Arrows shot up from the ground. The next moment, the dive bombers scattered like birds and beasts. But their altitude was too high, and one of the bombers was hit before it could escape the reach of the "praying hands." The bombs dropped from too high an altitude, with half of them missing the water''s surface, erupting in rows of ten-meter-high water columns. A second wave of Divine Arrows wasunched, but this time most missed their targets. Only one relentlessly pursued a Stuka that had entered low flight to escape. Then, the Yak-1s, which hadn''t joined the fray in the air, appeared. The Stuka pilots formed a dense diamond formation, creating a of fire with their rear-mounted machine guns. Wang Zhong saw a Yak swoop below an enemy ne, then pull up, preparing to attack from belowthus evading the enemy''s rear machine guns'' firing arc. Then it disappeared from view. Wang Zhong cursed, "Suka," and grabbed Vasily''s radio microphone, "Hamov, respond!" Hamov: "Who''s calling me?" Then Wang Zhong switched views, only to realize he couldn''t see through Hamov''s eyes. Because the Air Force was not under hismand. Still no result was seen! Wang Zhong put down the microphone, not wanting to disturb others inbat. At that moment, a staff officer who had been on guard at the western bank shouted, "Tanks!" Because the enemy nes were overhead, the artillery had ceased firing. With the anti-infiltration fire gone, the enemy tank troops finally entered the division headquarters'' view. Wang Zhong hurried to the observation window. The enemy''s tanks were in a standard attack formation, but there were some "gaps" in the formation, obviously caused by the recent anti-infiltration fire. Some of the gaps were quiterge, suggesting that a toon of tanks had been lost. It was unclear whether they had been destroyed or if the tanks had been damaged and temporarily abandoned. Nheless, the enemy''s numbers still looked incredibly vast. Wang Zhong estimated that there were two hundred tanks arrayed in front of the whole division. Behind the tanks, the number of apanying infantry was rmingly high, as if all of today''s shelling had done no damage to the enemy. Of course, the shelling would have caused casualties; the only possibility was that the enemy was too numerous for the losses to matter. Wang Zhong: "Tell the mortars to fire ording to the pre-arranged firepower n!" As a defender, all of Wang Zhong''s artillery units had prepared multiple fire ns. As long as they fired ording to n, they could ensure the shellsnded roughly on the enemy''s lines, blocking their advance. Now, with enemy nes in the sky, the heavy artillery dared not reveal their positions, leaving mortar fire as the best option for blockade. After Pavlov issued themand, the first volley of shells fell, plumes of small mushroom clouds blossoming among the enemy''s lines. ording to the firepower n, each gun''s responsible sections were clearly defined, evenly distributing the shells across the entire enemy line, immediately causing the skirmishers to go pronenot because so many were killed in an instant but because the instinctive reaction to nearby shellndings was to duck. Even the experienced Prussian veterans did the same. After all, no one wanted to gamble against shrapnel seeking them out. Just then, the new staff officer, also observing the western bank,mented, "Why aren''t the enemies deploying smoke?" Wang Zhong: "Based on our previous engagements with the enemy, Prosenmanders don''t deploy smoke when they believe they have a superior direct-fire capability." Vasily added, "Especially since the enemy knows the general likes to use Divine Arrows for air defense, they''re even less likely to deploy it." The new staff officer acknowledged this with an "Oh." Wang Zhong was about to continue when he noticed Nelly had climbed back onto the ammunition box to look out. Do girls also get curious about the battlefield? Vasily: "Enemy tanks have passed the 1500-meter mark!" No sooner had he spoken than the enemy stopped and began their first round of firing. Explosions thundered overhead. Pavlov looked up at the sky, "They''re targeting the windows..." Wang Zhong: "Just like in Peniye, first they target the windows, probably to suppress the Divine Arrows." Pavlov: "All our Divine Arrows are in the back. Isn''t that just a waste of firepower?" Wang Zhong: "If I were the enemymander, I would still shoot, just in case, right?" At that point, the enemy tanks proceeded with their second volley of fire. Phones in the bunker started ringing. Pavlov answered, "Division headquarters. Don''t fire! What''s the rush? Wait until they''re within a thousand meters." After he hung up, he said to Wang Zhong, "The rookies in the anti-tank artillery battalion are getting antsy." Wang Zhong smiled, "They''ll have their chance to fire today." Chapter 244: Chapter 35: The First Wave (Bonus for 42,000 monthly votes) The enemy conducted several more rounds of salvo fire before they started to advance. Pavlov picked up the phone and then reported to Wang Zhong, "In addition to attacking the windows on the second and third floors, the enemy also targeted the shelters we used this morning to fire upon their scouting teamof course, those shelters are now empty. "Three machine gun teams were caught by the enemy. We managed to salvage one machine gun, but lost ten men with more than ten wounded." Wang Zhong, "That''s eptable, we''ll make the enemy pay in blood." Vasily, "Would our losses be greater if the enemy stayed put and shot at all our windows one by one?" Wang Zhong, "The Panzer IV''s short 75 at this distance is not that urate. Haven''t you noticed that their main forces are mostly using the short 50 guns? The high-explosive shells from those aren''t that powerful. "If the enemy keeps firing from this distance, I''ll have the Anti-tank Artillery Battalion open fire. Do you think their short 50s canpare to our newly-acquired 57mm guns?" Caliber is basically equivalent to power, and the high-explosive shells from the short 50 guns, which we experienced in Upper Peniye, are more like hand grenades. To expect them to take out sheltered anti-tank guns is wishful thinking. And the newly-acquired 57mm guns, while they can''t prate Tiger or Panther tanks at a distance of 1500 meters, that''s not what the enemy is driving. They have early models of the Panzer III and IV. Who''s afraid of whom. The newly-appointed staff officer who was observing called out, "The enemy has passed the one-kilometer mark!" Wang Zhong quickly prostrated himself at the observation window. And right then, the anti-tank guns opened fire. The new 57mm gun shells were incredibly fast. With a whoosh, the shell flew out of sight, barely visible. Immediately, seven or eight tanks in the enemy formation came to a halt. One caught fire, and its Tank Operator scrambled out of the tank like a flying escapee. Before he got far, the tank exploded, and the turret was flung into the sky. A few more tanks showed no external damage, but their crews still ran out and took cover behind their vehicles. As for the tanks with no visible damage and no crew fleeing, from Wang Zhong''s perspective, they looked as though everyone inside was already dead. One shot prated, and the entire crew was sent to heaven. Like my 57mm shells, do you, Prosen bastards? Wang Zhong knew this, but the Gunner did not, so during the second wave of attacks, several shots were ''double taps'' aimed at the seemingly unresponsive targets. At this point, the enemy had pinpointed the rough location of the anti-tank guns and began swiftly firing back. Wang Zhong hurried to assess the situation on his side and found that the enemy had detected the ZIS-30 postsafter all, these vehicles are quite noticeable due to their size and the higher firing position which made them hard to conceal. But the first salvonded on the shelters, with only one of the ZIS-30 Gunners injured by shrapnel. The enemy did not spot the towed 57mm gun positions at all. Ironically, because the towed 57mm gun crews were numerous and fired rapidly, with twelve guns sounding off, it was almost like a string of firecrackers. The entire battlefield was now filled with roaring gunfire and the thunder of tank enginesa livelymotion indeed. However, the absence of machine gun fire felt strange to Wang Zhong. Mainly because enemy infantry were held back by mortar fire, leaving the machine guns without targetsfiring blindly was inefficient and would attract direct return fire from enemy tanks, so it was better not to fire at all. Now it was a pure artillery battle, the main force being the gun regiment that had been replenished on the basis of the original Anti-tank Artillery Battalion by the Guards First Division. It now seemed that the attack on this side of the crossing point would be rapidly defused. At that moment Vasily said, "Enemy tanks are nearing the bridgehead!" Wang Zhong immediately looked in the direction of the bridge and indeed, the enemy tanks were approaching the bridgehead. No sooner said than done, the T-34 on this side of the bridge fired. The T-34 couldn''t shoot as far as the new 57mm guns, but there was no problem supporting the bridgehead at close range. Plus, the T-34s had armor, unlike the naked ZIS-30, so they could push to the river''s edge, taking cover and engaging the enemy in close-range firefights. While the Panzer IVs were initially focused on suppressing the bridgehead, they swiveled their guns to fire at the T-34s. Caught off guard by the sudden barrage from the T-34s, the enemy didn''t even manage to switch to Armor-Piercing Shellshigh-explosive shells simply hit the T-34s'' positions. After several exchanges of fire, the remaining Panzer IVs deployed smoke and began to retreat. Seeing the troops attacking the bridgehead deploying smoke, the other units also started using traditional Skills toy down smoke screens until the entire west bank was enveloped in white smoke. Wang Zhong, "Machine guns, open fire. Form a fire zone." As the enemy had deployed smoke, and they couldn''t see our machine gun positions through the smoke, it was time for the machine guns to fire freely. The sounds of machine guns erupted like popping beans, weaving into a dense web of fire that stopped the enemy infantry who tried to advance amid the confusion. Suddenly, Wang Zhong saw a Panzer IV at full power heading toward the bridgehead, with three half-tracks loaded with infantry behind it! The Panzer IV crashed into the bridgehead, diverting all the attention of the defenders to itself, and then the three half-tracks raced to the side of the bridgehead. Elite Prosen grenadiers jumped out, throwing grenades and shouting, "Charge!" Then, within the bridgehead,bat engineers d in battle armor appeared. Surprise, I stationedbat engineers here! The Prosen grenadiers, armed for closebat with submachine guns which fired pistol rounds, could not prate the brand newbat armor. Wang Zhong equipped thebat engineers with Papashas that had drum magazines predecessors to the more modern versions, capable of being used as blunt weapons when the bullets ran out. Wang Zhong watched contentedly as thebat engineers brutally killed the Prussian soldiers in closebat. At that moment, Vasily suddenly shouted, "Quick, look over there!" It was then that Wang Zhong snapped out of his spectator mode and reverted to his naked eye, following the direction Vasily pointed. He saw the Naval Infantry boarding speedboats and crossing the Duva River. What did this mean? Had the Naval Infantry assessed that the bridgehead was in danger and thus took the initiative to strike? The Naval Infantry didn''t fall under Wang Zhong''smand, although they epted his orders, they weren''t his troops. Therefore, from his bird''s-eye view, he could only see a massive Naval Infantry insignia amid the smoke and not the individual soldiers. Nevertheless, he watched the insignia throw a left hook, wiping out the Prosen infantry that had used the smoke to approach and even burned a short-barreled Panzer IV that was supporting the Prussians in the smoke. Meanwhile, the Naval Infantry''s ind gunboat also sailed out, anchored on the river, and started bombarding, the automated guns sweeping through the smoke. Good lord, just now when the visibility was clear, they feared that a single ship might not be able to defeat the tank group. Once the smoke arose, they began to take advantage of the automatic guns, right? The quality and initiative of these Naval troops! As Wang Zhong was reflecting, the telephone rang. The phone was right beside him this time, so he picked it up directly, "This is Rocossov." "This is the bridgehead, we have repelled the enemy, the machine guns can cease fire now, General." "Alright," Wang Zhong hung up the phone and said to Pavlov, "Cease the machine gun fire, no need to maintain the fire anymore." Pavlov immediately picked up the phone. After he had ryed the orders, he said, "Should we consider setting up a directmandmunication system? I''m getting tired of making calls all the time. At least some simplemands could be conveyed via broadcast or something." Wang Zhong: "That''s worth considering." Popov, by the observation window, said, "Has the enemy''s first wave of attack been repulsed?" Wang Zhong nced over and saw that the enemy hadn''t fully left his field of vision but had stopped at the edge of it and started engineering work. Wang Zhong used his bird''s-eye view to confirm there were no enemy aircraft in the sky but he was still uneasy and said to Pavlov, "Call Brother Peter to confirm we have no enemies overhead." Pavlov immediately carried out the order, and 30 secondster, he put down the receiver, "Brother Peter says there are no enemy nes anymore." Wang Zhong: "Order the artillery to fire to prevent the enemy from approaching and starting their engineering work." Again, Pavlov picked up the receiver. Momentster, the sound of artillery shells tearing through the air echoed overhead. Through the bird''s-eye view, Wang Zhong could clearly see shells falling near the enemy engineering troops. Watching the enemy being sted and knocked off their feet, Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief: "The first wave has been repelled." Vasily clicked his tongue in amazement, "Howe the enemy infantry had no hesitation and just charged at us, rendering our fakendmines utterly useless?" Wang Zhong: "Perhaps the enemy wasn''t as sharp-witted as you, thinking that after our artillery bombardment there wouldn''t be any mines left, and even upon seeing the exposed fake mines, they didn''t consider that possibility." Vasily frowned, "I don''t know whether to praise them or mock them for being so rigid. I didn''t expect my clever idea to be frustrated like this." At this moment, Popov interrupted Vasily''s casual talk, "What do you think the enemy''s next wave of attack will look like?" Wang Zhong: "I think they will use smoke to obscure our view, and then with the support of direct fire, they will mount a strong attack on the bridgehead." Popov: "Then do we proceed with the defense ording to the original n?" "Correct, I haven''t seen anything unexpected so far." Wang Zhong returned to the city defense map, making gestures over it: "With a fortress like the bridgehead, the enemy can at most deploy twopanies for the attack, and those twopanies can''t attack simultaneously. "You see, onepany here, onepany there. ording to our prepared fire n, the mortars canpletely cover the enemy''s attack formation. "We aim to cripple two of the enemy''spanies in one go. When eveninges, we''ll switch defenses under the cover of night, recing the garrison troops with fresh forces. We''ll keep bleeding the enemy infantry this way." Pavlov: "Once we''ve bled them enough, we''ll pull back, blow the bridge. The enemy won''t be able to repair it under our fire." Wang Zhong: "Exactly, this time we have the terrain, the manpower, the firepower, and the support of brother units. We will hold out here until it rains." Popov: "I actually hate the rainy season; my legs start to hurt as if I''ve got gout whenever it rains. Wang Zhong: "Are you sure you don''t actually have gout?" "Of course not, I haven''t eaten anything that would cause gout, I''m a Priest, understand, a Priest," Popov gestured over the holy emblem on himself, "But now, I am hoping for the rain toe sooner." At that moment, a staff officer came in: "Reporting, the reserve troops have captured a Prussian pilot who has been brought to the door." Wang Zhong: "What unit''s pilot? A fighter?" "It''s a bomber unit," the staff officer replied. Wang Zhong: "Bring him in." Soon, a pilot wearing a flight jacket was brought in. Chapter 245: Chapter 36 "Gifts of Nature The enemy pilot started speaking volubly as soon as he saw Wang Zhong''s military rank, with saliva flying everywhere. Wang Zhong: "Vasily!" Vasily silenced the enemy with a heavy punch. Then Vasily said something in Prussian, and the enemy curled up. Wang Zhong asked, "What did you just say?" "I told him he''s going to be handed over to the Tribunal anyway, so I thought I''d acquaint him with it in advance," Vasily exined as he rubbed his fist. Wang Zhong: "Okay. So what was he saying? I mean, when he first came in." "He said that using our ''sphemous'' weapons for air defense is a war crime," Vasily answered. Popov: "He said that? Then you don''t need to add time scooping manure for that punch. That punch showed the will of Saint Andrew." Coming from an atheist environment, Wang Zhong took a second to catch on: "Ah, he said using Divine Arrow for air defense is a war crime?" "Yes," said Vasily. Wang Zhong: "Why? Just for religious reasons?" Vasily tranted. The Prussian pilot became agitated again and rattled off a bunch. Wang Zhong looked at Vasily. Vasily: "He says Divine Arrow attacks are hard to dodge in the air, especially during a dive. It''s not fair." Wang Zhong: "You attacked us without dering war, a surprise attack, and you tore up the non-aggression pact we had. Is that fair?" After Vasily tranted, the Prussian hung his head. Wang Zhong was surprised: "He actually hung his head?" The Prussian pilot spoke up, and though Wang Zhong couldn''t understand him, he could feel the other''s remorse. Vasily: "He says he''s sorry about that. He also says that if they really believe they are the superior race, they shouldn''t have resorted to surprise attacks and should have defeated their opponents fair and square." Wang Zhong shook his head: "No, no, no, even if they had used a surprise attack, we would still win. We will surely win." After Vasily tranted this, the other side got agitated again and said a lot. Vasily: "Uh, to summarize, he basically said that the Prussian military has superior technology andbat experience, and they''ve already inflicted heavy casualties on us, wiping out millions of our troops." Wang Zhong stood up, walked to the observation window, looked outside, and saw that the wind was strong today; the smokeid by the enemy had dispersed, allowing a clear view of the wreckage on the battlefield and the corpses of Prosen soldiers. "Bring him over." Vasily: "Kam!" The Prussian pilot came over, trembling. Wang Zhong handed him his binocrs: "Look for yourself. Look at the wreckage and corpses on the west bank." This time, the pilot understood without needing Vasily''s trantionthe majority of humanmunication after all is conveyed through actions and facial expressions. The Prussian pilot picked up the binocrs and surveyed the battlefield. His expression grew more solemn. Wang Zhong: "Ask him if he needs me to tell him about our losses." After Vasily tranted, the pilot put down the binocrs and shook his head. Wang Zhong: "Then tell him, scenes like this will happen over and over. I personally have fought the Prussians multiple times, each time achieving a very eye-catching kill ratio. There will be more and more generals like me, and our troops will be more and more elite. "You may currently have a huge advantage in the kill ratio along the entire front, but one day, it will fall back to one-to-one. "Ante has vastnds, brave people, and you are doomed to not win this war." With a proud tone, Vasily tranted everything Wang Zhong had said to the Prussian pilot. The pilot put down his binocrs and muttered a word: "Nyey!" Wang Zhong understood this wordit meant "no," because before his transmigration he had seen an actor use it impressively in a movie, saying: "Nanna nanna!" Wang Zhong: "He doesn''t believe? It doesn''t matter, whether he believes or not, things will develop this way. Prosen''s defeat is inevitable." After Vasily tranted, the Prussian pilot turned, stared at Wang Zhong, and babbled a string of words, among which Wang Zhong faintly heard his own name. Vasily: "He''s asking if you are the defense expert, the White Knight General Rokossovsky?" Wang Zhong: "I am. What about it?" After Vasily had tranted, the pilot stepped back to look Wang Zhong up and down. Curiously, Wang Zhong asked: "Shouldn''t you have been given my photo? Howe you haven''t seen me?" Vasily had only tranted half of it when the other began to speak at length. Vasily: "He says the Air Force didn''t distribute photos." At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly had a thought, turned and asked the soldier who had brought the pilot: "Where''s his map case? Pilots always carry maps with positions of both enemies and allies, helpful for making an emergencynding in an area controlled by their side if they''re shot down." The soldier was shocked: "There''s such a thing?" The others were also astonished; Pavlov said, "That''s new! But on second thought, it makes sense." Wang Zhong thought it obviously made sense; that''s how it was always done in the movies! Red-tailed aircraft, seen it? The beauty of Memphis, watched it? And The Great Escape! Wang Zhong: "The map won''t just have the positions of friend and foe; it also will have the locations of where their own men parachuted and where enemy nes went down. Have apany from the reserves spread out and search the ce where he crashed." Wang Zhong paused and asked, "Did he try to escape when you captured him?" The soldier replied, "He did." Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, "That''s right. He wanted to run, so it''s impossible that he would have set fire to the map. That would be too obvious and would reveal his location. I guess he hid it in a tree hollow or buried it somewhere!" At this moment, Popov stopped the staff officer who was about to deliver a message and said, "Have you forgotten about the Judges?" A fully staffed regr division always has a contingent of Judges, who are responsible for overseeing the use of codebooks and internal counter-espionage operations. Of course, they also interrogate prisoners of war. Wang Zhong replied, "You''re right. Let''s have the Judge ask him kindly. He might just lead us to the map." Vasily was so engrossed in the conversation that he didn''t trante. The Prosen pilot looked back and forth at everyone. Popov said, "Then I''ll go call the Judge." Wang Zhong said, "Wait a moment, first ask him; what if he''s willing to talk? Vasily, ask him where the map is hidden." Vasily asked, and the reply came immediately, "He said that when he parachuted, the bag with the map got torn, and he doesn''t know where it fell." Wang Zhong said, "Is that so? Then tell him that we are about to hand him over to the Judges of the Eastern Holy Church." Vasily conveyed the message. The other party shook his head repeatedly. Vasily said, "He says it''s no use who you hand him to; he really doesn''t know where it fell." Wang Zhong said, "Then tell him a story. There was once a historian who discovered a mummy." Vasily was shocked, "A mummy? Isn''t that something from Iggy Country? Does Ante even have such things?" Wang Zhong replied, "Just trante, why bother with so many questions? The archaeologist tried every method and couldn''t determine the age of the mummy, so he handed it over to the Tribunal. A dayter, the Tribunal told the archaeologist that the mummy was five hundred years old. "The archaeologist was shocked and asked the Tribunal how they knew. The Judge answered, ''He confessed.''" Vasily struggled to contain hisughter and tranted the story to the pilot. The pilot looked utterly terrified but still shook his head. Just then, two Judges entered the room. Wang Zhong gestured for them to proceed. An hourter, a map case was ced in front of Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong asked, "Where was it found?" The Judge replied, "In the woods, hidden under a cluster of fungi, damaging the mycelium so that no new mushrooms will grow there even after it rains." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? Isn''t this nature''s generous gift?" With that, he tossed the map case to Vasily, "See what''s inside, musician." Vasily, with a gloomy face, opened the map case and unfolded the map. Everyone in the bunker crowded around to see the contents of the map. Vasily said, "The Prosen are quite meticulous; they''ve marked the positions of their troops very well. We have two units in front... let me see, Asgard Knights divisions, the kind we''ve encountered before! "There are also two divisions in the rear, and there''s the emblem of a grenadier division! My God, the enemy has prepared such a thick force on our front!" Wang Zhong cursed, "What are you panicking about? No matter how many troops he has, he''s still got toe at us in waves!" No sooner had his words fallen, the howl of artillery shells came from the sky. The explosions soon followed from nearby. The heavy artillery firepower of the army level mercilessly rained down upon Shostka city. While the earth shook and the mountains trembled, Vasily, as if nothing was amiss, pulled out other documents from the map case and spread them out on the table. Wang Zhong thought about going over to ask him what he had found, but the chandelier in the bunker suddenly fell and hit him on the head. He shoved the chandelier aside and felt the lump that had formed. "Suka!" The shaking continued for almost half an hour before ceasing. Wang Zhong, leaning against the wall, rose to his feet, dusting off his clothes while looking outside. The enemy''s second wave of attacks had begun. "They''re not using smoke bombs?" Wang Zhong was surprised when suddenly, smoke bombsnded on the former anti-tank gun positions. But the anti-tank guns had already been relocated. Especially the ZIS30; as soon as the enemy retreated, these were swiftly moved. Pavlov also came to the observation window and observed the enemy''s advancing formation, "It looks like they''re applying pressure from two directions again, the ford and the bridgehead? Are theypletely disregarding the other side of the river?" The ford was to the north of the bridge, and to the south of the bridge, the river was wide and deep, suggesting the enemy had no intention of crossing there. As another round of smoke was deployed, covering the east side of the bridge, the former position of the T34s. Pavlov said, "Just as you''ve said." Wang Zhong smiled, "Isn''t it so." At that moment, Vasily spoke up, "I think I know what the enemymander in front of us is called now. His name is on this document, Siegfried Gis. Then on this map, there''s the initials of his name, right here." Vasily showed the map to Wang Zhong, pointing at a spot, "Look, in this empty ce, an initial. Don''t you find that strange?" Chapter 246: Chapter 37: The Tin Soldiers War In the year 914 of the Jules calendar, September 20th at 1230 hours, themand headquarters of the Asgard Knights'' First Army of the Prussian Army. Siegfried Gis awaited reports on the second wave of the attack. However, the first news to arrive was the reorganization report for the forces involved in the first round of attacks. A captain staff officer, holding the report, entered the division''s map room, assembled from several armoredmand vehicles, and saluted Gis, "Lieutenant General, the troops from the first attack round have been reformed." Gis said, "Read it." The captain immediately lifted the clipboard to his chest and began to recite, "This morning, our forcesmitted four armored battalions with a total of 160 Panzer IIIs and 65 Panzer IVs ready forbat; now we have 121 Panzer IIIs and 27 Panzer IVs inbat readiness." Gis did not speak; instead, the chief of staff was the first to exim in shock, "We lost over 70 tanks just in one morning?" The captain said, "They''re not allpletely destroyed. ording to reports from the crews that withdrew, a considerable number are presumed repairable. Additionally, fifteen were able to retreat but cannot be redeployed due to mechanical failure." The chief of staff sighed with relief and remarked, "Thank goodness our logistics aren''t as bad as those of the Ante People; we can repair our lost tanks." The tanks of the Ante People would be discarded by the roadside at the slightest malfunction. It was unclear whether their tactical manuals prescribed such actions or if it merely reflected low morale and the tendency to abandon their posts when their tanks broke down. Gis asked, "What about the tank crew casualties?" "Aside from the crews that withdrew with the tanks, thirty-seven iplete crews managed to get back. The infantry checked the tanks with no escaping crew before the retreat, but found no survivors." Gis frowned, "Have there been this manyplete losses of crews before? Even against the enemy''s 76mm antitank guns, usually, some crew members survive, right?" The captain replied, "We need a detailed investigation on this matter. However, the troops have reported that the enemy''s fire is extremely precise, and their positions are well-concealed, making them hard to detect. It''s likely that exchange fire with the enemy is not a good idea." After the captain finished speaking, the chief of staff waved his hand, "That''s why on the second wave, we resorted to the conventional use of smoke cover to advance; we should achieve excellent results." Gis, however, asked, "What about the infantry casualties?" The captain reported, "The first wave assault infantry reported 471 missing, but an ongoing count of those who have returned is underway. urate casualty numbers will only be avable after a detailed tally tonight or after we have upied and cleared the battle zone." The chaos inherent in a failed retreat,pounded by the enemy''s artillery fire, often leads to troops bing scattered or lost in the process. Casualty counting is aplex science. The most direct approach is actually to count the bodies after clearing the battlefield. This is why armies maintain so many staff- and clerks; without them, the casualty figures would be unmanageable. Gis sighed, "Such heavy casualties in the first round of attack, and without gaining anything. The White Horse General is indeed a formidable opponent." Gis''s adjutant took a step forward, "Facing such impregnable defenses from the enemy, we should avoid direct confrontation and instead outnk them. We, the Asgard Knights, are His Majesty''s elite personal guards. It''s not appropriate to sustain such losses here in a frontal assault. "Moreover, I have reservations about the decision to airdrop hunters so forcefully behind enemy lines at such a heavily defended river; paratroopers should be used where our forces can break through quickly. Otherwise, they will be isted behind enemy lines, vulnerable to annihtion by the enemy''s secondary or even tertiary forces." Siegfried Gis nodded, "You are correct. Such robust defenses should not be attacked head-on. "But our current battle is primarily considered from a strategic standpoint. His Majesty the Emperor instructed us to shatter the enemy''s heroes. This White Horse General is known as the Empire''s Iron Wall, so we are to breach it frontally and shatter this Iron Wall. "As for the deployment of paratroopers, I suspect it''s more about cating Duke Meyer. The Duke''s heritage isplex; his biological father is not of the Junker Nobility, so His Majesty hopes to use him to bnce the old officer corps." The chief of staff looked ufortable, "Should I be hearing this?" Siegfried smiled at the chief of staff, "Your position as chief of staff means that you have the Emperor''s trust." He then turned to his adjutant, "In any case, the Asgard Knights must shatter this White Horse General and his myth here, no matter the cost. This is to ensure we shed less blood in the future. "If we can''t force Ante to surrender quickly, the war will be a war of attrition. His Majesty originally hoped to negotiate for a ceasefire with the United Kingdom following Carolingian''s surrender, but the war-time Prime Minister is not the one we favored initially, and so the United Kingdom continues to fight. "Adding Ante to the mix would be even worse." Gis looked towards the map on the wall. "If we don''t quickly destroy Ante''s will to resist, as we did with Carolingian, the entirety of Prussia''s blood might be drained." Just as he finished speaking, a crisp sound came from the floor. Siegfried Gis looked down to find the lower half of a toy tin soldier at his feet. Feliz frowned, " Feliz: "Leave it to me, these tin soldiers are easy to fix. At worst, if they''repletely melted, we can just recast them using a mold." Giles shook his head, "Now isn''t the time to worry about that. Tens of thousands of soldiers are charging towards the enemy''s heavily fortified lines. As a Senior Commander, there isn''t much I can do for them at the moment, but" The sound of artillery shells tearing through the sky could be heard. Wang Zhong frowned as he looked at the initials on the map. At that moment, the observing staff officer shouted, "Enemy tanks passing the 1,000-meter marker!" Wang Zhong switched to a bird''s-eye view, saw the anti-tank guns that hadpleted their relocation fire away, quickly decimating the enemy tanks just like the first wave. Then he turned his attention back to the map. Vasily: "Should we bombard them?" Wang Zhong: "How? Look at the size of this initial on the map. Considering the scale of the map, think how much artillery we''d be wasting to cover the whole area marked by that initial?" Vasily: "Then, just hit the central point, leave the rest to chance... and the enemy''s diligence. Bet that the geometric center of this initial is marked exactly on top of the enemy headquarters." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "Alright, let''s fire three roundstwo barrages, save on some ammunition." Popov: "Since it''s all down to chance, why not just make it one round? That way, we might even seem more pious, and who knows, we might actually hit the target." Wang Zhong: "That works. Make another call to have the Divine Arrow unit''s prayer warriors pray for the rounds to hit." Popov was shocked, "Is that necessary?" Wang Zhong: "The girls are free right now anyway. Might as well offer a prayer." Popov sighed while his bearlikepanion, Pavlov, considerately picked up the handset, "Here." Wang Zhong then turned his attention back to the battle situation. The enemy indeed discovered the ZIS-30''s hiding ce, then the Panzer IV hit the position with a smoke bomb from its short-barreled howitzer. No sooner had the position been covered than the ZIS-30 was retreating. On the eastern shore, there was a row of houses just in time, and the big street behind them couldn''t be seen from the opposite side, perfect for the ZIS-30''s small frame to move quickly and change positions. However, before the ZIS-30 could maneuver to a new location, the enemy began nketing the east bank''s buildings with direct fire under a smoke cover. If they couldn''t shoot over it, they decided to nket itpletely. With the firepower on the eastern bank suppressed, the enemy tanks made for the crossing. The Naval Infantry''s boats were still on the shore. Seeing the situation, the boats headed back first, while the Naval Infantry dressed in ck naval shirts hid along the shore. On the western shore, the wave breakers were mostly exposed, forming just enough cover for a person to hide. The Naval Infantryy t like dried salted fish, waiting for the enemy tanks toe closer. Wang Zhong watched the battle situation tensely. That''s when Pavlov reported, "The artillery has fired." "Good, got it." Wang Zhong waved his hand, "Get our machine gun firepower ready. When the Naval Infantry goes up to attack the tanks, we need to use covering fire to block enemy infantry." Pavlov picked up the handset again. Headquarters of the First Army of the Prussian Army''s Asgard Knights. Giles pushed Feliz away, "Alright, the bombardment is over. Get up." Feliz raised his head, "It''s over after only one round?" Giles straightened his red hair, picked up his hat from the ground, put it on, then retrieved the toy tin soldier that had been thrown on the floor, gripping it in his left hand, before opening the door of the armoredmand vehicle and stepping outside. Whoever had provided the intelligence to the enemy didn''t get it quite rightmore than thirty heavy artillery rounds were all off target, uniformlynding in the woods beside the headquarters. Of course, it wasn''t entirely off target. The guard battalion''s mess hall had been destroyed, and a mess truck hadnded not far from the headquartersthe stewed potatoes scattered everywhere, and the coffee pot had a hole in it, leaking mud-colored coffee like a broken tap. Besides that, a tank toon assigned to headquarters had also been hit by the heavy artillery. Of the tanks parked side by side, two were burningit seemed the shell hadnded right between them. Giles looked down at the toy tin soldier in the palm of his hand. Feliz also came out, looked at the devastation, and eximed angrily, "It must be a spy! The Imperial Household Ministry needs to thoroughly investigate!" Chapter 247: Chapter 38 Stalemate (Additional Chapter for 43,000 Monthly Votes) Wang Zhong had no idea that he had blown up the military department''s cauldron, causing a huge psychological shock to the enemy. He was focused on the imminent closebat happening across the river with the naval forces. The navy''s ind gunboat, seeing so many tanks approaching, promptly retreated back to the harbor for cover. The machine gun positions on the eastern bank opened fire, with tracer bullets flying over the enemy tanks and falling beyond them. The enemy infantry was already hindered by the mortar fire, and now encountering the overhead shooting, they werepletely obscured. Yet the naval infantry didn''t rush forward buty prone on the breakwater, waiting for the tanks toe closer. When the enemy tanks advanced to within less than ten meters from the riverbank, the first group of naval infantry jumped up, lunging forward to a distance where they could throw Molotov cocktails. The new model of Molotov cocktails Wang Zhong procured from the capital did not need to be ignited first; they wouldbust as soon as the cap was pulled off. In critical situations, these devices could even be thrown directly, as the white phosphorus inside would ignite upon shattering. The glow of the white phosphorus was like will-o''-the-wisps, tossing patches of ghostly fire onto the enemy tanks, breaking into areas of zing inferno. The tanks caught on fire and came to a halt; as soon as the tank operators popped their heads out, they were mowed down by the naval infantry''s submachine guns. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight tanks were ame, and those further from the riverbank stopped, using their machine guns in an attempt to push back the naval infantry. Just then, an enemy tank from the direction of the crossing charged down the riverbank, half of its tracks submerged in the water. He pivoted the tank gun and began to strafe along the riverbank with the coaxial machine gun. Immediately, several naval infantry were brought down, and the remaining men were pinned to the ground. Wang Zhong grabbed the Ante-produced wireless radio next to him and called out loudly, "422! 422!" Vasily: "Better use the captured one; I''ve set the frequency. Here." Wang Zhong took the microphone: "422!" "General!" The response came immediately; it was Alexander Yefimovich filling in for Wang Zhong''s position for now. "Take out that Panzer IV in the river!" Then Wang Zhong saw tank 422 make its way to the end of the bridge approach, aiming from an elevated position. Alexander''s gunnery was as reliable as ever, with the first shot hitting its mark! The Panzer IV''s turret hatch burst into mes, sending a jet of fire over a meter high. Its crew all scrambled out, each one aze. But since the tank was in the water, diving in quickly extinguished the mes. However, the suppressed naval infantry did not let them escape; a hail of bullets from submachine guns swept over them, creating ripples in the water. The enemy tank operators soon vanished from sightlikely pulled under by their gear. Only the spreading red in the water marked their fate. The enemy tanks began to turn their barrels, exchanging fire with 422. Unfortunately, at this distance, the enemy couldn''t prate the T34''s angled front armor. At that moment, Vasily eximed, "The bridgehead fortifications!" Wang Zhong swiftly shifted his focus and indeed saw the enemy infantry closing in on the bridgehead fortifications. "Cover them with fire! st them, don''t let them enter the bunker!" As soon as Wang Zhong shouted out, Pavlov said, "I''ve already given the order." The sound of whistling shells followed his words. That''s the advantage of the defender; all parameters had been calcted, and firing for coverage meant heavy artillery shells could evennd a hundred meters in front of the position. The telephone suddenly rang, and Pavlov answered: "Division headquarters. I understand, no need to call for this." Pavlov hung up the receiver and seeing Wang Zhong was watching him, he said, "The bridgehead fortifications, they said the shelling was good." Wang Zhong: "Themander of the bridgehead fortifications is...?" "Some of the new arrivals." This time, the 1st Guards Division was almost fully replenished with personnel, and because of Wang Zhong''s great reputation, many officers were eager to transfer into the 1st Guards Division. Wang Zhong: "New arrivals, huh? That''s understandable." Popov approached the observation window, peering outside: "Strange, the enemy has covered our fire points with smoke, and then their tanks charged to the riverbank. What are they nning? They can''t cross the river either." No sooner had he spoken than a strange-looking tank appeared. It looked like a Panzer IV with a tall hat on. Wang Zhong: "Submersible tanks, those are submersible tanks! They''re nning to force their way through at the crossing point!" Popov squinted: "Are those the tanks reported at the start of the war, appearing from the water? Can that thing reallye across?" Wang Zhong: "It''s the dry season now, and although the navy said they dug the channel deeper, who knows. Tell the infantry on the eastern bank to prepare for closebat. Also, it''s time to bring out our ''secret weapon''." Pavlov: "Are you sure you want to use that thing?" Wang Zhong: "I''m sure, let them roll out. And, give me the radio." He took the microphone from Vasily''s hand: "422, clear the tracks, clear the tracks. Our ''Maidens of the Earth'' are about to be revealed." "That thing ising into y? Alright, we''ll clear the tracks." Wang Zhong watched as tank 422 withdrew from the bridge approach, making way on the rail tracks. Pavlov put down the receiver: "It''sing." The next moment, three tcars rolled onto the railway bridge, each carrying a KV1 tank. These were the only three KV1s Wang Zhong had left! They were moved using a lotive, avoiding the limitations of the KV''s poor mobility and frequent mechanical failures. ``` The tcars themselves were very sturdy and had a simple structure, which made them hard to damage. The vulnerable lotive was ced behind the tcars, and it was reversed; coal cars followed the three tcars, and then came the reversed lotive. The tcars backed onto the bridge. In this way, the most vulnerable partthe lotive boilerwas protected at the very back and even obscured by buildings, making it impossible to hit. The KVs fired. Wang Zhong, watching the fully engaged three KVs, thought to himself that if these were KV2s, it wouldn''t be possible to y this way. With their poor bncing, firing sideways might just flip both the tank and the tcar into the river. Vasilyined, "This dame is blocking all our vision. We can''t see the situation at the ford." Wang Zhong switched to a top-down perspective and thought smugly: How about that, Vasily, you see the disadvantage of not having cheats? At that moment, the Prussian tank crews, with nothing left to lose, charged headlong towards the ford. The apanying infantry released smoke bombs for cover. The first wave of tanks entered the water! Wang Zhong could no longer see them with his own eyes, and as a result, he lost the highlight. But relying on the vision of his deployed troops, he could see the snorkels making progress under the water. Wang Zhong: "Order the artillery" The phone rang, interrupting Wang Zhong''s order. After answering the call, Pavlov reported, "Brother Peter heard the reconnaissance ne; it''s an old acquaintance of ours, up high." Wang Zhong sighed. They could no longer use heavy artillery to bomb the submerged tanks. They could only hope for the infantry meat grinder now. Popov: "Shall we call in the mortars?" Wang Zhong: "No, the mortars don''t have dy fuses. They''ll explode upon hitting the water surface. Leave it to the infantry. Let our boys teach the enemy a lesson and tell them that without apanying tanks, they are easy prey to the infantry." No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw the snorkel at the forefront disappear with a ''plop''. Hmm? This was followed by the second and third snorkels, while the fourth sank halfway and then stopped, stuck and immovable. Then the enemy tank operators emerged from the water, gasping for air, and turned to swim towards the western bank. More and more tank operators surfaced. Wang Zhong was stunned. The others couldn''t see the situation in the river and were all fretting. So Wang Zhong''s expression stood in stark contrast to theirs. Vasily noticed this contrast. He looked back and forth between Wang Zhong and Popov. Then Vasily fell into thought. It was at this moment that Wang Zhong finally figured out what had happened to the enemy: The Naval Infantry had dredged the riverbed, but with the water level low now, it was not washing away the silt, so the banks were gradually silting up again, but the middle was still deep. The Prussians had fallen into a trench halfway across. If that was the case, Wang Zhong thought, it was truly amusing. By now, the smoke on the eastern bank had dissipated quite a bit, and the infantry units on this bank, seeing the situation, immediately began sweeping fire. The enemy tank units, originally positioned on the western bank for fire support, were now stunned by the three KVs and had no time to deal with the exposed machine gun fire points. By the time the enemy mortar units, set up to cover the assault, had their smokepletely cleared, the blocked-off 57mm anti-tank guns began firing. The enemy tanks scattered smokenot to cover an assault this time, but to cover their retreat. Wang Zhong put down his binocrs: "The enemy''s been driven back... Vasily, why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?" Vasily: "Nothing, I just think you look very handsomemanding the battle." Nelly was shocked, looking at Vasily. Wang Zhong also took a step back from him: "What do you mean by that?" Vasily: "Just stating a fact." Popov: "So how exactly were those submerged tanks destroyed in the end?" Wang Zhong then realized Popov couldn''t see. "Uh," he pondered a moment, then said, "It might be because the Naval Infantry dredged the riverbed, deeper than their submerging depth." Prussian Army, Asgard Knights First Army Headquarters. "The hydrographic data was wrong!" the submerged tank unitmander said to Giles, "Theoretically, our submerging depth was more than sufficient, but once we got to the middle, the water went over the snorkels causing the engines to cut out. Many loyal soldiers drowned like that!" Giles: "The enemy might have dredged the riverbed. That White Horse General made ample preparations; it''s impossible he didn''t anticipate our submersion. He''s considered everything, a formidable opponent indeed." Feliz, the adjutant, shook his head: "Using tcars and heavy tanks as an armored train, what a terrible idea, itcks any aesthetic sense." "But it''s effective," Giles said, toying with a toy tin soldier with one hand, "All of the enemy''s actions are in and effective. And they''ve posed us a significant challengethe river surface can''t be blocked with smoke, as smoke bombs lose their effectiveness quickly when they fall into the water. As long as the armored train is on the bridge, we cannot cross." Feliz frowned deeply: "It might be better to bypass this bridgehead instead of forcing a crossing." Giles: "Contact General Walter Mendel of the Ninth Army Group and ask if he''s made any headway downstream." ``` Chapter 265: Chapter 55 Rocossovs Divine Military Strategy (Supplementary Update 6/33) On September 24 at 16:00, Wang Zhong was opening a can of Prosen canned food in the headquarters bunker. After opening the lid of the can, he stared at the contents for a long time and said, "Is this a pig''s trotter?" Vasily picked up the can and looked at the text on it: "This is pickled pig''s knuckle, it seems to be a famous Prosen dish." Wang Zhong: "What a pity, no noodles, otherwise I could make a bowl of pig''s trotter noodle soup. How do you eat this thing?" Vasily: "Cut it up and eat? I''m not too sure, my Prosen is pretty fluent, but that''s all because that old man forced me to learn, I haven''t really had much contact with Prosen things." Wang Zhong decided to cut a piece to try it out. He poured the pig''s knuckle from the can onto a te and picked up a knife and fork. The skin of the trotter was hard, and it took Wang Zhong a long time to cut off a piece with the help of the fork, and when he chewed it, he immediately frowned. This pig''s trotter is too salty! How can it be so salty! No wonder it''s called a pickled pig''s knuckle! He reached out and grabbed Nelly''s arm: "Water!" Nelly quickly brought him a cup of water from the side. Wang Zhong took a big gulp before letting out a long sigh of relief. "What kind of dish would need such a salty pig''s trotter?" Wang Zhong asked Vasily, puzzled. Vasily: "I don''t know, I told you I don''t have experience living in Prosen. That old man might know, he studied music there." Wang Zhong then turned his head to ask Nelly: "Do you know?" Nelly: "I only know how to cook Ante dishes. But I heard the cook say that Prosen dishes are famously unptable, even the United Kingdom makes fun of them." If the United Kingdom was making fun of them, it must be quite bad indeed. But before he crossed over, Wang Zhong and his dorm mates had been to a ce called either "Scheidter" or perhaps "Fnfter" - for roasted pig''s knuckle and dark beer, which was quite delicious. There were also German sausages, which weren''t bad either. What''s up with this pickled pig''s knuckle? Wang Zhong picked up the can and stared at the text, disying an expression as if he was pondering a philosophical question. Pavlov then mixed the cut pig''s knuckle and pickles and put it in his mouth: "Not bad. Just as well we opened so many cans of pickles for fake mines." Vasily clicked his tongue: "I always feel it''s going to be ineffective, after all, theyunched the attackst time stepping on the lids." Finally, Wang Zhong put down the can and looked again at the pig''s trotter on the te with a corner cut off. Nelly: "Shall I make some sausage and cucumber soup? Maybe that''ll go well with it." Wang Zhong: "Yes, yes!" Vasily: "Wait a minute, this seems to be a soup can, let me open it." He took the can opener, inserted it into the edge of the can, and then kept turning the knob of the can opener, using mechanical force to cut a circle around the can, just enough to cut open the lid. Then the can opener had a special structure that mped the lid, so when you pull the can opener out, it would bring the lid with it. Vasily ced the opened can on the table. Inside was a mush that seemed like a mix of green and yellow paint. Wang Zhong looked at the contents and shared his impression: "Indian mush? We''re opening Prosen cans, not those of the United Kingdom, right?" Vasily stirred in the can with a spoon, and the substance underneath came up. Green peas, red carrots, possibly onions and meat, as well as a lot of yellow mush. Wang Zhong: "What''s that yellow stuff?" Vasily picked up the can, looked at the ingredients list: "Should be potatoes. The ingredients are peas, potatoes, onions, bacon, carrots, and cabbage." After reading, he looked into the can: "I guess this green should be the stewed cabbage, and the yellow is the potatoes." Wang Zhong stared at the mush in the can, which, due to the presence of green, didn''t quite look like human waste; conversely, without this hint of healthy green, it would resemble something from a person with digestive issues... Vasily tasted a spoonful: "Hey, it''s quite tasty." Wang Zhong looked at Vasily: "You... have you developed a resistance from picking through dung?" Vasily: "It really tastes good! Although I hate the Prosen education my dad that old man gave me, this is actually not bad." Wang Zhong, somewhat skeptical, picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful into his mouth. Indeed, it tasted all right. But speaking of vor, it was entirely that of potatoes stewed with meat. Wang Zhong: "I''d rather have potatoes stewed with beef." Just then, an explosion came from across the river. Wang Zhong stood up, came to the observation window, and looked at the positions being bombed on the opposite bank, muttering, "Don''t they send someone over to scout before they bomb? We all pulled out." Vasily: "If they don''t bomb, they would encounter our buried mines; they probably n to st away the mines with artillery, then send in the infantry." "Makes sense." At that moment, Popov entered the bunker, "The captured Enigma machine seems to be usable, but the Judge tried decoding the transmissions afterward, and none of it made any sense. It must be that the enemy''smunication soldier scrambled the settings of the machine before being captured." Wang Zhong, "Have we received any garbled enemy telegrams?" "We have been receiving them continuously, but we simply can''t decode them." Popov spread his hands, "Now the Judge is trying to get themunication soldier to recall the machine''s settings before he scrambled them." Wang Zhong, "I hope he can remember. If we can find out what orders the enemy transmitted this morning, it might be somewhat beneficial to the war effort. "The question is, when will he be able to recall." Vasily, "Do you think this guy will be tough to crack?" Wang Zhong, "No, I think he might genuinely have forgotten this morning''s settings. After all, once the Enigma Machine is set, it can be used continuously until the other side changes the settings. Cryptographers have no need to remember the initial positions." Popov cursed, "The enemy has indeede up with something troublesome." Wang Zhong, "Don''t worry, as long as we gather enough mathematicians, we will always be able to break the code." He changed the subject and asked, "How many prisoners of war have we captured in total?" "One thousand one hundred," answered Popov, "but the word on the streets is that we''ve captured eleven thousand prisoners. It''s also being said that you killed yet another general." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "I''m already used to it. I suspect it won''t be long before even more ridiculous stories emerge. So, these one thousand one-hundred prisoners are now at the depot awaiting transport? Have enough guards been assigned?" "Of course." Popov patted his chest, "I had the Judge set up machine guns on the tform at the depot, guaranteeing no one dares to make a move. However, speaking of which... these Prussian prisoners of war are very disciplined; they even maintain formation during escort." Wang Zhong, "This indicates that their confidence has not been crushed. They firmly believe the Empire will win and will be able to retrieve them so that they may return home in triumph. Don''t worry, their confidence won''tst much longer." As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, the sound of artillery fire outside changed, clearly beginning to extend shooting. Vasily looked outside with the artillery periscope and said, "They must be preparing to attack now. Let''s see if the altered can lids and our modified mines will be effective." At that moment, the extending shooting reached the bunker and then gradually moved to the east bank, exploding into sprays of water. Wang Zhong also observed from in front of the window, watching the barrage move toward their position and then past them. The enemy''s intended "front line" was two kilometers away, totally outside Wang Zhong''s range of visibility, so he could only push Vasily aside and use the artillery periscope to look across the riverbank. Through the artillery periscope, Wang Zhong saw the enemy''s tanks and infantry carefully approaching the position in mixed formations. Then, to his surprise, they began firing machine guns and high-explosive shells at the deserted position! Wang Zhong watched the enemy''s performance with relief. Vasilyined at his side, "You''ve taken my spot; I can''t see anything!" Wang Zhong, "Step aside, I''m enjoying the view!" Just then, Wang Zhong saw someone step on a fake mine and then stop with a grim expression. Unfortunately, even with the artillery periscope, he couldn''t get a close view, and could only see a rough outline. He saw the Prussians scatter, and then someone who might be an officer came over, crouched beside the person who stepped on the mine, and took out a multipurpose knife. At the same time, the enemy''s infantry line came to a halt, possibly having received the message that the mine did not explode. Then the officer, with the multipurpose knife, dug out the mine, checked the firing mechanism, and cautiously extracted it Then both the person who had stepped on the mine and the officer trying to remove it flew into the air. Wang Zhong patted Vasily''s shoulder, "Your trick mine got someone." Vasily, "Really? Are you justforting me?" Wang Zhong let him use the artillery periscope, "See for yourself." Vasily''s eyes lit up as he glued them to the periscope, "Oh, it looks like chaos. Hang on, are the enemies preparing to clear mines? This is just too funny. They never even noticed my fake minesst time, and just walked on by!" Wang Zhong, "Bring the captured radio over! I want to broadcast a clear message! Tell them to watch out for the mines!" Pavlov, "Isn''t that... a bit childish?" Wang Zhong, "If it doesn''t work, I''ll stop doing it, but if it does, of course, I''ll do it more!" "A broadcast message?" Giles frowned, "What did he say?" The signal officer, "He said he''s nted a lot of ingeniously designed trick mines and hopes we''ll enjoy them." Giles'' frown deepened, and his aide, Feliz, started cursing, "What the hell! It''s like stepping on someone''s toes during a childish fight, utterly despicable and amateurish!" Giles turned to the Chief of Staff, "Any reports of trick mines from our troops?" "Yes," the Chief of Staff answered gravely, "Over a dozen soldiers have already been killed by trick mines. They have deployed a new type of mine that isn''t triggered by pressure; it explodes when we attempt to disarm them." Giles, "How is that possible! Our military Science Academy tried to develop mines that wouldn''t detonate with pressure and all attempts failed! How did they manage it? The Ante Empire shouldn''t have such technology!" At that very moment, nobody at the First Army Headquarters considered the fact that those pressure-insensitive minespletelycked fuses; they wouldn''t explode even if you hit them with a hammer. The Chief of Staff, "That''s just the report from the front line, which also states that the mines are mixed in with arge number of metal discs, making it very difficult to clear them." Giles, "Send in the engineers; they''ll handle it." The staff officers in the room exchanged nces. In the end, all eyes fell on Feliz. Feliz, "General, the majority of the engineers... have been captured by the enemy." Chapter 249: Chapter 40 Moth to the Flame The report came swiftly. "Colonel Eugene said they found a squad of the Tribunal''s internal guard troops. The sentry reported to the division headquarters, refused to let them pass, and a fight broke out," Pavlov put down the receiver, "Could this be a case of ''a flood breaking the Dragon God''s temple''? After all, Major General Kiriyenko did dispatch a special force of the internal guard to sweep the enemy." Wang Zhong: "Contact Kiriyenko and ask him how far his internal guard troops have advanced." Pavlov immediately picked up the receiver: "Connect to the Army Group. What? Check the lines immediately!" After he spoke, he put down the receiver and looked solemnly at Wang Zhong: "The phone lines to the Army Group have been cut. Things are getting more suspicious." Wang Zhong: "Send a telegram to the Army Group to confirm the situation. Also, update Kashuk''s army on the situation. The enemy may be targeting more than just us." Pavlov turned and hollered for themunications staff officer. Wang Zhong turned to gaze at the western bank, nowpletely enveloped in night. Because it was the 20th, the moonlight was decent enough to clearly see the enemy tanks in the fields. The Ante Army''s repair capabilities were too poor; otherwise, they might have been able to fix a good number of these tanks. Wang Zhong thought for a moment, then said, "I''ll go personally to see if these really are enemies." "No way," Popov and Pavlov objected in unison. Then, the two exchanged nces and with a gesture of courtesy from Pavlov, Popov said, "It''s night now, and the situation is veryplicated. Even if you ride in a tank, there could be danger. What if, apart from those disguised as the internal guard, there are also forces masquerading as others?" Wang Zhong thought to himself that as long as he could confirm they were enemies, he could highlight them. This wasn''t like General Skorobo, who had been forced to betray his country. If it were a special enemy force, his cheat would light the people up. He tried to persuade Popov: "Look, during Orachi''s breakout, I was the first to charge on a tank." Popov: "During Orachi''s breakout, any of us could have died in the next second, it didn''t make much difference where you were. It''s different now C if you''re in the division headquarters, you won''t die. So stay put in the division headquarters, don''t go anywhere, and let the troops handle the problem." Wang Zhong: "Trust me, I handle things faster!" Popov turned to Pavlov, seemingly suggesting "If I can''t persuade him, you try." Pavlov immediately picked up the phone: "Connect to the divisionmander''s wife''s position." Wang Zhong: "Alright, fine, I won''t go!" However, he had already heard Liu Xia''s voice from the receiver: "Hello? Who is it?" Pavlov: "Division headquarters here. Themander intends to personally investigate the firefight in the rear. What is your opinion?" Ludm: "He is not allowed to go. Tell him to trust his subordinates a little more!" Pavlov: "You are not allowed to go; you need to trust your subordinates a little more." Wang Zhong: "I freaking heard that! Fine, fine, I won''t go. And your tone just now was disgusting!" Pavlov shrugged his shoulders and said to the other end of the phone: "Thank you, Ludm Vasilyevna." He deliberately used her full name and patronymic as a form of respect. After he spoke, he hung up the phone. Wang Zhong: "We need to strengthen the security of the division headquarters as well. Grigori!" The sergeant major pushed open the door of the bunker and snapped his heels together with a loud click. "Go inspect the sentries; thoroughly check for any suspicious individuals." The sergeant major nodded and left. Then Wang Zhong pulled out a pistol blessed by the Grand Patriarch and pped it onto the map table. Nelly: "Would you like some tea?" Wang Zhong gestured with his empty cup towards Nelly. Holding the teapot, Nelly filled his cup to the brim. Touching the teacup, Wang Zhong yelped from the heat: "Aow!" Half an hourter, two soldiers escorted a blood-covered internal guard officer into the bunker. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, the officer shouted: "You are in rebellion! How dare you fire upon the internal guard! We are on a secret mission from the Tribunal!" Wang Zhong switched his view and found the man had a red name, but couldn''t understand the name of the unit. It seemed he really needed to learn Prosen Speech; otherwise, even if these things were highlighted, he wouldn''t understand them. Now reassured, Wang Zhong said, "We have already sent a telegram to confirm this matter. If you do have a secret mission, we will help you toplete it, Mr. Judge." Judge: "You''ve already alerted the target! The mission has failed! You''ll all be brought before the Tribunal! Just you wait!" Wang Zhong: "If that''s the case, we''ll ept the Tribunal''s judgment. We are devout followers of the Secr faction, and we trust the Tribunal to make a fair ruling. Instead of worrying about that, shouldn''t we be considering how to remedy the situation now?" At that moment, several real Judges entered the room, with a Major leading them nodding at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong pointed to the Judge Major: "Meet your colleagues." The captive turned around and, upon seeing his "colleagues," was unfazed: "We are..." The Major interrupted him: "You better pray first. Hymn Monk, if you please." Sufang Batu Wendusu entered the room. Nelly''s shoulders immediately tensed up. Sufang smiled at Wang Zhong, "Hi." Wang Zhong said, "I didn''t know the Hymn Monk had this function?" Sufang said, "If it''s a sincere prayer, I can feel it. The more devout, the more obvious it is. But actually, many people are not very devout when they pray." "But the Judge is definitely devout, even somewhat fanatical," said the Major Judge who had called Sufang in. The captive''s face had turned red, and he suddenly lunged towards Wang Zhong! Nelly threw the teapot in her hand, spraying the man''s face with scalding tea. The captive let out a scream like a ughtered pig, and his charge came to an abrupt halt. Popov lunged forward, pinning him to the ground with the force of a mountain. As he hit the ground, Wang Zhong clearly heard a sound like an egg cracking against the edge of a chopping board, Wang Zhong stood still, never having moved, because the captive was actually quite far from him. Grigori put down the submachine gun whose safety he had already disengagedjust now, he had been in the perfect position to fire without hitting anyone else outside the target. Vasily moved in front of Popov and snatched the knife from the captive''s hand, "How did this knife remain on him? Your search wasn''t thorough enough." Grigori said, "I didn''t do the search. It should have been me. Mine." Pavlov also came over, took the knife from Vasily''s hands, "It looks poisoned, best hand it over to the Tribunal''s poison expert." Wang Zhong said, "Vasily, ask him in Prosenian what unit he''s from and what his mission is." Vasily immediately tranted. Though pinned down by Popov, who was bear-like, the captive still managed tough, "You... will be annihted! Prosen will ultimately triumph." Wang Zhong said, "Alright, I''ve grown tired of matching wits with Prosenian captives. Leave him to the gentlemen of the Tribunal." "Thank you for supporting our work," said the Major Judge with a smile, stepping forward to rece Popov in holding the man down, while another Judge brought out handcuffs and chains, securely binding the captive. The Major then said to Wang Zhong, "If you''re tired, go to sleep. I estimate we''ll have the results by tomorrow night." Wang Zhong, "That long? The pilot spilled the beans in less than an hour." The Majorughed, "I sense a familiar scent on this man. They''ve been trained to resist interrogation; it won''t be easy to make them confess. If we''re unlucky, it might take days; they might have to be sent to a rear Tribunal base equipped with aplete interrogation facility." Wang Zhong nodded, "It''s in your hands now." The Major then escorted the captive away. Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov, "Confirm our casualties." "Already confirmed. The reserve troops had thirty-two dead and fifteen injured. Those sons of bitches fought fiercely," Pavlov cursed. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "These men died in battle against the enemy, apply for pensions in the event of death in action. No, they protected the key units of the division; we should apply for medals. You handle it." Pavlov nodded, "Don''t worry, my level-six clerk will take care of it." Wang Zhong nodded, then looked at the time, "It''s time for the artillery barrage. Did we capture any prisoners? Did they reveal where their division and regiment headquarters are?" Pavlov pointed at the map, "It''s marked here. But today we didn''t capture any officers above the rank of lieutenant, so it might not be urate." Wang Zhong, "Never mind, bombard." An hour and a half after the artillery shelling, the Major Judge entered the bunker, "He confessed." Wang Zhong was surprised, "Huh? So, is it the 21st already?" "No, the enemy isn''t as formidable as we imagined," shrugged the Major Judge, "He belongs to the Brandenburg unit, an enemy force specialized in disguise and infiltration. They parachuted down today with the 100th Airborne Ranger Division. They have three other squads: one in charge of sabotaging ourmunication lines, one tasked with surveying our artillery positions and airfields, and another whose mission he did not know." Wang Zhong asked, "What about the mission of their unit?" "To assassinate you," the Major said seriously. Wang Zhong frowned, "To assassinate me, they dispatched an elite unit to kill a brigadier general?" "Yes. ording to the confession, Prosen seems to believe that you are one of the spiritual pirs of Ante''s ongoing resistance. Killing you would rapidly dismantle the entire Ante Army''s will to resist." Wang Zhongughed dryly, "How could I be so important? Even without me, the Grand Patriarch would lead the Ante to continue the resistance." The Major said, "You don''t have to downy your importance in front of us. We also consider you one of the spiritual pirs of the resistance." Wang Zhong shrugged, "Okay, I know the general situation now..." The Major interrupted Wang Zhong, "We think it''s necessary to strengthen your guard, so a real Inner Guard battalion is currently on their way here." Wang Zhong said, "Thank you for your concern. Let me rify in advance, if the situation bes critical, I willmit the Inner Guard battalion tobat as a fighting force." "Please do so," the Major Judge stated, "We excel in dealing with any form of the enemy. Any form." Chapter 267: Chapter 57 "The First Appearance of the Prussian Army on the Streets of Ye Fort September 25th, this day can only be described as boring with the time remaining. The Prussian bombardment was punctual as always, but it had no effect because everyone hid before the appointed time. And the Prussian Air Force seemed to have forgotten about the city of Shostka, not even conducting a level bombing with their heavy bombers. Wang Zhong, in the division headquarters bunker, yawned mightily while listening to the taunting broadcasts from the loudspeakers set up by Vasily outside. Pavlov: "If you''re tired, go to sleep. Once the real fighting starts, you''ll probably have to stay in the division headquarters bunker all day." Wang Zhong: "I''m starting to wonder if a real battle could even happen? We caught so many officers yesterday, all with engineer insignia, and seized so many of their tools. Enemy engineering advancement capabilities must be severelypromised. "Maybe if we just sit here quietly until it starts raining, we can retreat." Pavlov frowned, "Do we still have to retreat even if we hold out until it rains?" Wang Zhong: "Right now, the enemy''s supply line isn''t long enough. Although the rain will lead to chaos, I believe we still need to retreat to stretch out their supply line." Saying this, he walked up to the frontline map. "Besides, look at the enemy''s northern offensive. Even though it''s slower than we anticipated, it is still progressing. The day before yesterday, they advanced 25 kilometers; yesterday, 28 kilometers. It''s slow, but they are indeed moving forward. "From the start of their offensive on the 20th, the enemy has advanced 110 kilometers in five days." Pavlov, looking at the map: "What on earth is the northern line doing? Since we''re not under much pressure here, the Western Front Army has moved all its troops to the north. Why has the enemy been able to advance 110 kilometers in five days?" Wang Zhong: "Regarding this, I also heard some things when I was interacting with the officers at Ye Fort. Mainly, blind expansion of the military has led to a severe shortage of equipment. "Tank divisionsck everything except tanks and infantry divisions evenck tanks. "Prussian infantry are equipped with machine guns down to the squad level, while our infantry divisions only have two to three machine guns perpany, and Papashas are sometimes even rarer than machine guns, with only toon leaders each having one." Pavlov: "Thinking about it, aren''t we an incredibly wealthy division? We captured so many machine guns. When we retreated to Loktov, everyone had submachine guns." Wang Zhong: "You only realize this now? Look at our artillery, 36 heavy guns. Which other division has such artillery configuration? I met an officer at Ye Fort whose division had a total of four 122 mm guns, four! And only four 76 mm regimental guns." Pavlov, looking at the map: "When you think about it, the equipment of our Third Rear Amur Group is also very poor. Only divisions have regimental guns." Wang Zhong: "Right, Prussian infantry groups have a bunch of 75 mm infantry guns, and divisions are well supplied with 105 mm and 150 mm guns. Even if the enemy onlyunches infantry attacks, the artillery fire density alone could break through our lines. "Our problem, in a nutshell, is one phrase: insufficient firepower!" Popov chimed in at this point: "I thought it was a shortage of tanks." Wang Zhong: "Having tanks alone is useless; you need abined arms approach. Look at the enemy, a tank division has everything C sufficient artillery, strong infantry, apanying engineers and anti-aircraft artillery battalions, as well as motorized reconnaissance battalions. "Look how many motorcycles and trucks we captured yesterday." As Wang Zhong said this, he also remembered the sailor who sped past on a motorcycle yesterday, with hisrgepels and streaming ribbons. At this moment, the telephone rang. Pavlov picked it up: "Division headquarters. Who''s this? I''ll put him on right away." Passing the receiver to Wang Zhong, Pavlov said: "It''s a call from Ekaterinburg Fortress." Wang Zhong took the receiver: "This is Rocossov." A grave and steady voice came through from the other side: "Rocossov, you''ve done very well!" Wang Zhong couldn''t immediately remember who the voice belonged to and was about to ask "Who the hell are you" when he suddenly realized, with a jolt, that the person likely to speak like this was probably Belinsky, the Grand Patriarch. He quickly said, "Your Excellency, the Grand Patriarch, hello." The other side burst intoughter, clearly very pleased. As soon as Popov heard it was the Grand Patriarch, he immediately stood up. The voice on the phone said, "We have already received the ''gift'' you sent!" Wang Zhong: "You received the Enigma machine, then. Get the mathematicians on it for decoding right away." The Grand Patriarch paused for a moment: "Hold on." Then, presumably, he moved the receiver away from his ear, but Wang Zhong could still hear the Patriarch''s voice: "The Enigma machine sent by Rocossov? Did the High Command intelligence service''s cryptography department receive it? Why wasn''t I told? Alright, I understand." The Grand Patriarch''s voice came through clearly again, obviously with the receiver back to his ear: "There''s been a bit of an issue. It seems that the High Command thinks decoding ciphers is within their jurisdiction. But the cryptographer is currently with the Judge, after being rescued we''ll make him talk." Wang Zhong: "Actually, the key is mathematics. We should organize the mathematicians, let them focus on studying the patterns of the enemy''s telegraphs to establish a mathematical model. The Enigma machine itself doesn''t enable us to decode the cipher, we need to know the key, which is the initial position of the rotors." Belinsky: "Thank you for your suggestion. We will gather the best mathematicians we have here in Ekaterinburg Fortress. What we''re discussing is another gift." Wang Zhong immediately understood: "You mean the prisoners?" "Yes, there have always been rumors saying that despite proiming various great victories, not a single prisoner has been seen. Now we have prisoners. If you hadn''t sent the prisoners, we would have had to dress people up in Prussian uniforms. "We already had their uniforms half-made. "Such imposture certainly carries risks. If word got out, the consequences would be unimaginable. Now that we have actual prisoners, everything bes much easier." Wang Zhong: "That''s great to hear. By the way, make sure that Federation''s Reporter Mike and his photographer partnere to see them and write a good report!" "Of course," Belinsky paused, "can that reporter be trusted?" "He should be," Wang Zhong answered. "Is there something wrong with the news he sent back to the Federation?" "No, that''s not it. But I haven''t had contact with that reporter, so I''m ultimately unclear on the details. Since you think he can be trusted and he has produced authentic reports, then let''s arrange for him to have a good visit." St. Ye Katerina Fortress, September 25th, 914 A.D. in the afternoon. Reporter Mike from the Federation and his partner, the photojournalist Robert Capa, were taken to Ye Fort Street by several judges after receiving a phone call. Mike looked around with confusion; the pedestrians on the streets of Ye Fort were far fewer than a few weeks ago. One could seebor camp workers piling sandbags by the street, and in the distant park in the center of the street, one could spot an 85mm heavy antiaircraft gun hidden inside. Robert, however, was happily taking photos, especially fixated on ady making a purchase, snapping away incessantly. Then the judge spoke in the Anglonguage of the Federation, "You might want to save your film." Robert: "I can speak Ante. Save my film? Why?" The judge smiled slightly, "You''ll see something exciting in a moment." Suddenly, a woman''s scream came from afar. Mike and Robert turned their heads and saw severaldies at the far corner dropping their things and running as if insane, fleeing away from the intersection. Thedy who had just passed by Robert looked on in bewilderment, staring nkly toward the distance, unsure whether to keep going forwardshe was originally heading in that direction. Then, the Prussian Army turned the corner! Thedy still observing let out a scream, dropped her things and turned to run but was grabbed by a judge: "Don''t worry, ma''am, look closely, those are prisoners!" The woman turned her head, gazing at the Prussians. Robert: "They are tied up with ropes! They are prisoners!" He hurried towards the marching column of prisoners. Mike nced at the judge, and seeing a gesture to proceed, he started walking to catch up with his partner. Robert was already rapidly going through his film rolls, the smoke from the shbulbs drifting into Mike''s nostrils. Mike closely observed these prisoners and noticed that half of them wore the patches of engineers while the rest were d in uniforms darker than the standard Prussian uniform, with different cor patches. He suddenly pulled his partner: "Focus on their cor patches! That''s where the real news value lies!" Robert: "Cor patches?" Mike: "See, the Zeus with the lightning, these people are the Asgard Knights, the elite of the elite! Prussian propaganda says this unit is invincible!" Robert: "I don''t remember that, but if you say so, then it must be. Plus, this patch... it really does catch the eye!" Saying this, he took his camera, got close to the infantrymen with patches, and pressed the shutter. The shpowder''s smoke spewed out of the shbulb. Mike: "Take several shots!" After instructing his partner, he switched to Prussian and loudly asked: "Are you the Asgard Knights? Who defeated you?" All the prisoners red at Mike with resentment. And Robert, as if having found treasure, frantically photographed these people''s expressions. At that moment, the Ante people began to react, starting to curse at the prisoners and hurling various objects from all directions at the column of prisoners. Mike still repeated: "Are you the Asgard Knights? Who defeated you? Who captured you? I''m a reporter from the Federation! Who can give me an interview?" Just then, a man who looked like an officer suddenly raised his head: "Ob''s strmt oder schneit, Ob die Sonne unscht!" Mike understood Prussian, knowing it meant "Whether it storms or snows, or if the sun smiles at us." This was the anthem of the Prussian Armored Troops. The next moment, the previously disheartened prisoners puffed out their chests and raised their heads, singing loudly in unison. Like the roaring of an engine, as swift as lightning, we confront the enemy, under the cover of tanks. In front of ourrades, we charge, we fight alone, and thus we deeply pierce into the enemy''s lines. The Ante people increased their efforts in hurling objects, but this did not stop the Prussians. No, it seemed that in defiance of the Ante people''s outrage, they sang even louder. If Lady Fortune abandons us again, if we can no longer return to our homnd, if bullets target us, ending our fate and halting our lives, at least our loyal tanks will grant us a steel tomb. Mike, watching the Prussians'' defiant attitude, had already thought of the first sentence for his report. "These prisoners, as if they were not prisoners at all but rather here to upy the city. This is the first group of Prussian soldiers to enter Ye Fort." Chapter 251: Chapter 42: Old Friend Takes a Tumble Again Time moved a little backward, to one hour before dawn. At the headquarters of the Prosen Asgard Knight Order''s Ampler Division, Kluge, an old acquaintance of Rokossov and the actingmander of the Ampler Division, was addressing his troops. No, that''s not right, for after the courageous performance in the offensive actions following the crossing of Orachi, Commander Kluge had officially be a "Division Commander," promoted to the rank of Major General, just like the White Horse General, Rokossov. At this moment, Kluge was lecturing the newly supplemented staff at the division headquarters, "I''m very familiar with the White Horse General, especially familiar. He''s a cunning man, the master of trifles! But if you''re not careful, you''ll fall right into his trap! "Yesterday, he bombed our deployment area, flipping over our troops that were setting up for the attack, forcing us to dy our offensive for over two hours! "I believe he will try again today. However, there will be a slight change in the bombing positions! He''ll bet that we''re deploying further back, trying to dodge the bombardment with a small sacrifice." The reason troops need to deploy just before they encounter the enemy is that maintaining the formation after deploying for an attack is extremely difficult. The formation used while marching is favored because it''s manageable. Attack formation, on the other hand, cannot be managed. It''s manageable to march in attack formation for three kilometers, but any longer distances will lead to all sorts of problems. Looking proudly at the map where he''d drawn the deployment location, Kluge said, "That''s why we should do the opposite: we deploy in the same position as yesterday, which will cause the bombardment to fall behind us, allowing us to initiate the attack on time!" Then, the newly appointed Chief of Staffmented, "But I''ve looked through my division''sbat logs against General Rokossovsky, and his nightly artillery barrages have been hitting fixed targets, without any variation. Even when our troops had moved far from the viges and camped in the open, he bombarded the viges. "Could he bomb the original locations this time as well?" Kluge frowned, "Impossible! I have a basis for my prediction! Last night, Commander Giles'' headquarters was bombed, but the shells fell off target, only flipping over the military police battalion that was having dinner! "Clearly, Rokossov had our intelligence, perhaps a military map. But think about it, how could our own map be off? It''s our army''s map! The location of the headquarters must be clearly marked, not a single coordinate wrong! "That must be Rokossov ying clever, that''s why it was off! He''ll continue to act smart today!" After a few seconds of thought, the new Chief of Staff nodded, "That makes sense!" Kluge dered, "Then it''s settled. Let us mock Rokossov''s cleverness!" An hourter, the artillery staff suddenly entered to report, "The enemy has begun to bombard our deployment area!" Klugeughed, "Where did they hit? Is it our rear?" Staff, "No it''s our troops that are currently deploying." Kluge''s face changed, and he hurriedly strode out of the headquarters'' armoredmand vehiclethe Prussian Army now dared not stay in buildings when facing the White Horse General, instead residing in armoredmand vehicles in open fields. Looking at the shells continuously falling less than two kilometers away, Kluge nearly lost his footing, but the new Chief of Staff came to support him. He shouted with all his soul towards the bombing area, "My newly replenished troops!" Under the heavy barrage, all lives are equal; no matter if they''re veterans or not, if a shellnds nearby, those who should die will die. At that moment, themunication staff came out of themunication vehicle and saluted Kluge, "Major General, we just received a telegram from the Emperor''s Personal Guards Division, who were also bombarded but suffered minor losses due to their assembly point being moved back a kilometer. Only stray shells fell on the troops that were deploying." The new Chief of Staff looked at Kluge, wisely choosing not to speak. Kluge sighed, "Tell the Emperor''s Personal Guards that my division can''tunch the attack as scheduled. Ask them to also postpone their attack time, or they might be nked by the enemy." The staff saluted and then ran toward themunication vehicle. At 0800 hours on September 21, near the headquarters bunker of the Guards Mechanized Infantry Division in Shostka, Wang Zhong looked outside, then at his watch, "Even if we hit them this morning, shouldn''t they haveunched the attack by now?" Pavlov joked, "Maybe you killed their divisionmander again, leading tomand chaos." Wang Zhong shook his head, "Impossible. Prussianmanders like toe to the front to see the situation first-hand. In Peniye, theirbat groupmander was staring eye to eye with me the whole time; I was prone on the water tower, and he was standing on the high ground, with the weeping Kazarlia between us. "Back then, I didn''t have a T34; if I did, I would have charged at him. "And yesterday, guess what, I saw a battalionmander!" After speaking, Wang Zhong realized he had said too much and hurriedly corrected himself, "I mean, I spotted a tank that seemed to be a battalionmand tank, then I called in heavy artillery cover." In reality, Wang Zhong had already noticed this ring w in himself, only being able to illuminate enemies within his eyesight. Now inmand of a division, with such a broad front, staying in the division headquarters bunker only allowed him to illuminate a sector of the enemy in front. In order to make efficient use of this cheat, Wang Zhong had to treat tank number 422 as a Parade Tanksitting on it and doing nothing, just patrolling along the position. Light up an enemymander, and boom, gone. Of course, there was a downside to this. The gunner of tank 422 was a tank instructor, so he shot more urately than anyone else. He was also well acquainted with the tank''s quirks, so if he switched to another gun, he couldn''t achieve the same level of precision. This problem was easily solvable. After all, the Parade Tanks ordered in the name of the Royal Family by Olga had already been produced in the dozens, all of which were in Wang Zhong''s unit. It was simply a matter of switching to another tank. However, Pavlov would get upset if Wang Zhong left the headquarters to hop into a smaller tank. At the time, Pavlov had persuaded Wang Zhong with these words, "The front line is still stable now. There''s no need for you to run around everywhere. You are most effective when you hold themand post. If the defense line is full of holes in the future, then wait to run around as a firefighter." Pavlov''s words were logical and in line with militarymon sense. Moreover, the Prussian troops were well-organized. In Loktov, when the enemymander at the front was killed, the division only descended into chaos for an hour, after which theyunched a fierce infantry assault that nearly prated Wang Zhong''s "Imperial Iron Wall." It seemed that killing the enemy''s battalionmander wouldn''t have an immediate and significant effect. Just yesterday, when Wang Zhong blew up that battalionmander, the enemy''s attacking troops didn''t stop at all. It appeared that to the Prussians, a battalionmander''s rank wasn''t enough. Only by killing a divisionmander could they stop the enemy''s attack for more than an hour. But where was the enemy divisionmander? In Loktov, the enemy''s divisionmander was less than four kilometers from the front lineWang Zhong could find him just by charging with a small tank! The longer the war dragged on, the farther the enemy divisionmanders stayed from the frontline. Could it be that they were scared off by me? I''m thinking, I haven''t blown up many divisionmanders. While Wang Zhong pondered, a new staff officer operating the artillery mirror asked Vasily, "Musician, why is there ayer of on the artillery mirror?" With pride, Vasily replied, "Don''t understand, do you? They didn''t teach this at the military academy, right? This is General Rokossovsky''s invention! With the over it, due to the imaging principle of the artillery mirror, we can''t see the, but we can see the enemybecause the imaging position of the isn''t on the eyepiece!" Staff officer: "I understand the principle, but what''s the point of it?" "To prevent reflections. The bunker now faces west, and in the afternoon, sunlight coulde in and potentially reflect light, exposing our position. Learn this; it might save your life one day!" The new staff officer looked convincingly impressed, although his rank was much higher than Vasily''sVasily''s military academy trained junior officers, while the staff officer had attended the same academy as Wang Zhong. The staff officer leaned closer to the eyepiece of the artillery mirror: "Indeed, I can''t see the, but the amount of light entering is obviously affected. I feel that aside from preventing reflections, it could also maintain a good field of vision in the afternoon against the setting sun." Vasily was momentarily stunned, then quickly recovered: "Right! Exactly! The general has said so already." Wang Zhong thought to himself that this was nonsense; he had never said such a thinghow could he know this if it wasn''t depicted in the movies? But he just smiled slightly, "Of course." Then he added to the story: "This technique was actually developed during sniperpetitions between the Crown Prince and me. Back then, our game involved both of us entering the Royal Hunting Grounds from different directions, fully equipped..." New staff officer: "In the Royal Hunting Grounds of Oryol?" Wang Zhong: "...Right! After entering, we would move forward and hunt for our daily food, silently advancing until one of us discovered the other. "Whoever fired first and the bulletnded within a two-meter radius of the other person would be considered the victor. "Of course, it''s hard to determine the winner in such a game, so in the end, it came down to who admitted defeat." The new staff officerughed, "The Crown Prince must have won all the games." Wang Zhong kept smiling, not because he agreed with the answer, but because he suddenly realized that he had oversold his story. If some nosy personter went to the Royal Hunting Grounds to inquire and was told that nothing of the sort ever happened, wouldn''t that blow his cover? He could only hope that everyone wouldply in silent ord. It was a bit like the time before his traversal, riding on the slow green-skinned train, where out of sheer boredom, passengers resorted to chatting to pass the time. Everyone would ramble on about all sorts of topics, knowing full well that the stories were made up but never calling each other out, treating them like stories. The situation on the green-skinned train was simr to the current one; everyone inside themand post had to stay confined in this small space, bored stiff, killing time as best as they could. Unable to y poker, they could only resort to harmless boasting. No sooner had Wang Zhong finished embellishing, than yer Vasily began, "Filippov and I didn''t have such extravagant hobbies. Our entertainment was..." New staff officer: "Enemy iing! The attack has begun!" Chapter 252: Chapter 43 Plain and Simple - But Useless (Extra 1/33) Popov heard that the enemy was approaching and immediately went to the observation window to look outside. Five minutester, he put down his binocrs and said to Wang Zhong, "Smoke, Xu Jin Barrage, tank assault, still the same old tricks? Were yesterday''s casualties not enough, so they''re trying again today?" Wang Zhong, listening to the sound of our mortars and heavy artillery interception fire, shrugged his shoulders, "Why don''t you ask the enemymander?" At this point, Pavlov had already finished issuing orders to the artillery, so he too joined the conversation, "If the enemy hasn''t changed their tactics, we''ll just deal with them using yesterday''s methods. This makes my job easier, the orders to the artillery can just be ''the same as yesterday''." Vasily said, "No, no, there is something different, haven''t you all noticed?" Everyone looked at Vasily, indulging his desire to perform, until he finally said with an air of mystery, "There are no nes today. Yesterday with both the Yak-1 and the Divine Arrow, we can conservatively estimate the enemy lost thirty to forty pilots in one day, and today they didn''t show up! Not even for high-altitude level bombing!" As everyone in the bunker exchanged nces, Wang Zhong suddenly pped his thigh, "Aren''t the pilots just sitting idle then? How can it be like this? Can the Yak-1 carry bombs?" Wang Zhong had flown the Yak-1 beforein a game. But he had only used the Yak-1 for airbat, so he only knew that the Yak-1 couldn''t carry auxiliary fuel tanks and gun pods. He had no memory of it carrying bombs. Pavlov looked at him with frustration, "You''re always finding more work for me to do!" After saying this, he picked up the receiver, "Switchboard, connect me to the fighter squadron. Hello, is this Hamov? No? Well, you''ll do. Can your Yak-1s carry bombs? Can they carry two 100-kilo bombs? Alright, got it. Hold on to the phone for a minute, I need to check with the general." Pavlov looked over without bothering to repeat the conversation, since everyone had heard it anyway. Wang Zhong said, "Carrying two 100-kilo bombs would affect the flight performance too much, and pilots are still very precious. Let''s go with two 50-kilo bombs instead." Vasily was puzzled, "Why not just hang one bomb?" Wang Zhong exined, "What do you know? Two bombs are hung under the wings, one on each side, to bnce. They are dropped simultaneously. If you drop from one side and the other side fails and doesn''t drop, it could be disastrous." Vasily remarked, "So that''s how it is." After their conversation ended, Pavlov asked, "So the order is for them to carry two 50-kg bombs each?" "Dispatch a squadron, the rest will be on standby for air defense. Tell them, uracy is not demanded; just dropping the bombs near the enemy is fine, but the key is to return alive. I need their reconnaissance reports, especially any area with antennas." Actually, Wang Zhong didn''t think the pilots could spot the enemy''s antennas from the air, knowing from personal experience how difficult it is to see ground targets with camouge from above. In the game, if the enemy put some grass in front of their tanks or parked under a tree, Wang Zhong would be virtually blind to it. That was just a game, but reality has a thousand times more ground details to obscure the view, and even upon returning with pictures, it would take professionals a long time to identify them. There was an example from history where a Sturmtiger''s No. 4 tank had its track broken, was reported by Soviet infantry, and the Soviet Air Force dispatched 40 Il-2 aircraft to bomb it, only for the closest bomb tond dozens of meters from the tank. It wasn''t that the Soviet Air Force''s bombing technique was poor, but because the No. 4 tank was on the battlefield surrounded byplex situations, and the pilots could not distinguish the target. Of course, the bombing technique of the Soviet Air Force was indeed poor,cking adequate training time. Wang Zhong''s orders were passed on unaltered by Pavlov to the fighter squadron. The chief of staff put down the receiver and said to Wang Zhong, "Fighters going on a bombing run, isn''t that like a dog catching micenone of its business?" So Ante people also have this proverb... Wang Zhong replied, "What''s wrong with that? It''s just that our engine technology is inferior, and we don''t have enough power, so we can only carry two ''little sweet potatoes''." Vasily interjected, "A 50-kilogram bomb is no small potato, it''s a big watermelon, no, I don''t even know if there''s a watermelon that heavy. It''s scarier than heavy artillery." Wang Zhong said, "Just you wait, once we bring in fighters from the Federation, we''ll show you what mixing business with pleasure really means." At this moment, the only one in the bunker still at his post, a staff officer, shouted, "I hear machine gun fire, Ye Fort has engaged the enemy." Pavlov took up the receiver. Shortly after, the sound of heavy artillery shells whooshed over everyone''s heads. Wang Zhong could see through the smoke, so he clearly saw that around Ye Fort twopanies had unfolded. After breaking through the barrage of the mortar fire, their formation had thinned out, but because Ye Fort was a single point, the sparse formation was forced to clump together again. And then they were covered by heavy artillery fire. Wang Zhong couldn''t help but mutter, "Is the enemymander''s head made of iron? This kind of offensive just won''t do. Our infantry can''t umtebat experience like this." Popov replied, "What are you talking about? Do you really think we send greenhorns across the river just to gain experience? No, it''s to build their courage. Fighting skills, that''s something the old soldiers will teach them when we pull back for rest and reorganization." Just then, the phone rang and Pavlov picked up the receiver, "Division headquarters. What''s the matter? Understood." He put down the receiver and immediately picked it up again to issue the order to cease firing to the artillery. Wang Zhong asked, "The enemy is retreating?" In fact, Wang Zhong saw the enemy retreating but had to pretend a bit, since, after all, the division headquarters bunkerno, the entire east bank was shrouded in smoke and nothing could be seen. Pavlov: "The enemy didn''t even try to cross the river. What''s going on here?" Just as Wang Zhong was about to answer, he saw a squadron of Yak-1s carrying bombs fly over the river. The sound of the nes'' engines became the only noise on the battlefield at that moment. As Wang Zhong prayed for them to find the "big fish," the phone rang. Pavlov picked it up: "Headquarters, go ahead. Hmm? Okay, I''ll get him now." After he finished speaking, he handed the receiver to Wang Zhong: "Army Group Commander." Wang Zhong took the receiver: "Hello, Kiriyenko, this is Rocossov. What''s the situation?" Major General Kiriyenko: "How are things on your end? Kashuk is under fierce attack, but the concrete you sent him has been very effective. And there are no bridges on his side, so the enemy has to advance through water." Wang Zhong: "I have bridges here, but the bridgehead is actually an anvil I designed for the enemy. My sledgehammer has already smashed them to pieces. I''ve evaporated four enemy toons, four toons!" Yesterday alone, the enemy left behind more than four hundred bodies; I''m afraid a single assault today has cost them nearly three hundred. Major General Kiriyenko: "Are you sure you don''t need reinforcements?" Wang Zhong: "I haven''t even used my reserves." In fact, the reserves had suffered the second highest casualties yesterday, after the logistics personnel, due to being attacked by infiltrating enemy elite troops. Hearing Wang Zhong''s confidence, Major General Kiriyenko said: "That''s great, but let me know immediately if you can''t hold on. I''ve already prepared troops to relieve you. You now represent more symbolic than actualbat significance. Although I doubt anyone can defend as well as you, what I mean is... if you need to retreat, retreat, don''t feel burdened." Wang Zhong: "Don''t worry. Once my troop''s casualties reach 40%, I''ll withdraw." After a moment of silence on Kiriyenko''s end, he said: "Alright, I understand. We''ll leave it at that." Then he hung up the phone. At the Army Group headquarters, Major General Kiriyenko put down the phone and looked at the Army Group Chief of Staff and the Military Bishop: "This Rocossov, he''s assured me with such confidence that he will request a retreat once his casualties reach 40%." The Chief of Staff twisted his eyebrows into knots: "Even Argesukov''s troops, inspired by the Crown Prince, didn''t fight that resolutely, did they? They fell apart when their losses reached 30%. Are his troops made of iron or what?" And the Military Bishop very firmly said: "It''s possible for Major General Rocossov''s words toe true. At Orachi, his troops managed to organize a breakout after suffering 50% casualties, although those losses were tallied after they had broken out." Kiriyenko approached the map, looking at the overall situation: "Right now, it seems possible that we canpletely stop the enemy''s offensive in the south. The question is how long we can hold in the north. The north doesn''t have any rivers to defend, and the only fortified areas are around Ye Fort, which is precisely the kind of battlefield suitable for enemy armored forces." Chief of Staff: "On the bright side, if we can save a lot of troops here, the Western Front Army can shift forces to the north." Major General Kiriyenko nodded: "Let''s hope so." At the Prosen Army side, headquarters of the First Army of the Asgard Knights. Giles frowned: "We''ve suffered such heavy losses without even exchanging fire with the enemy''s anti-tank guns. It seems we can''t keep charging in blindly. Change strategy, switch the operation to trench warfare, and request engineering troops from the Central Army Group." All the staff officers looked at each other then the Chief of Staff spoke on everyone''s behalf: "Your Majesty has high hopes for us..." Giles: "Which is why we can''t continue to throw our lives away. How is this different from Carolingian officers forcing their soldiers to their deaths with military execution squads? Trench warfare offers better resistance against heavy artillery. Even under heavy bombardment, we can continue to advance. "This will render their current biggest threat to us useless! I''ve thoroughly reviewed the White Horse General''s battle records. The greatest crisis in his lines of defense at Orachi came when reconnaissance aircraft were overhead, and his heavy artillery dared not act. "While our reports like to portray the White Horse General as a tankmander, his true strength lies in the use of artillery fire! "So we must take a targeted approach." At that moment, Aide-de-camp Feliz approached: "How long will it take for trench warfare to get close to the enemy?" Giles: "I ordered an engineering assessment yesterday, and the detailed report should be done today. ording to my experience, we might need fifteen days to get close enough tounch an attack." Feliz: "But His Majesty hopes that our pincer movement will bepleted by mid-October. To capture Ye Fort by November." Giles: "Don''t worry, if weunch the attack on the fifth of October, and break through around the tenth, we can stillplete the pincer movement by the twentieth. The key that His Majesty expects is to prate what the enemy has propagated as the ''Imperial Iron Wall'' defense of the White Horse General." Feliz: "But..." Giles: "I will exin this personally to His Majesty. You needn''t worry, call off the attack, and let the artillery continue bombarding the enemy''s defenses." Feliz hesitated for a moment but still replied: "Yes." Chapter 253: Chapter 44: Some things, its good to have just the first time. At this moment, in the skies. Hamov personally led a squadron to execute this unprecedented bombing mission. Before that, the fighter regiment pilots didn''t even know their Yak-1s were capable of carrying bombs. The main Ant Air Force particrly emphasized specialization, with each ne designed for a specific mission, striving to perfect it for that purpose. They even considered removing the rear machine gun from the Il-2, to save those two or three hundred kilograms of weight. Under this design philosophy, why the Yak-1 could carry bombs was no longer a question. Pilots simply didn''t understand why a field mainly housing fighters would have both 100kg and 50kg bombs avable. The pilots were even excitedly discussing the possibility that a female pilot who flew the Po-2 bomber was going to transfer inhow else could the presence of these bombs be exined? Until today, when they strapped on bombs and took off. It was anticipated to be an easy job since most Prussians hadn''t been air-raided before, and those who had only experienced night raids by the Po-2. Most Prosen soldiers had never seen a daytime air raid by the Il-2. They hadn''t even bothered to camouge; some Prussians waved at the passing Yak-1s, probably mistaking Hamov''s squadron for friendly forces. Over the radio, the number three of Hamov''s squadron, the lead ne of the second pair formationCaptain Semyonasked, "What should we bomb? It looks like there are targets everywhere." Hamov, "We should bomb high-value targets, like adding another general to our respected Major General''s list of aplishments." Hamov always spoke of the "respected Major General" without a hint of sarcasm, but with an adjective to describe his admiration for Rokossov. Captain Semyon grumbled, "Let''s not even talk about whether we can find the ''antennaden'' house we''re imagining. Even if we do, and we spot a Prosen national gpole outside with hundreds of people being awardedEven if we find such a target, our bombs might not hit the mark. "I''ve only received airbat training. At the aviation school, I did learn ground-attack, but that was in an Il-2. "After joining the unit, I haven''t had any ground attack training. Since the war started, all I''ve done is strafe ground troops." Hamov, "Stopining, everyone''s in the same boat. Let''s just focus on finding a target. Even if the bombs aren''t urate, we can still strafe." At that moment, the number four of the squadron said, "I see arge house on our right, it may be Lord Boye''s estate. I bet there''s a division headquarters in there, at least one." Hamov looked to the right and caught sight of the distant estate, which seemed to be slowly retreating because of the distance. "Let''s circle around," he said, "Break formation and operate in pairs. Semyon, maintain visual contact with me." Formation changes in a four-aircraft squadron were veryplex, so pilots usually entered air battles in pairs, which made it much simpler to change formation. Moreover, Hamov couldn''t see Semyon''s ne during the formation change, so he had to remind him to keep visual contact. to ensure the pair didn''t get separated. It was very easy to lose sight of targets in the skywhether enemies or alliesand quitemon to realize you can''t see your wingman anymore while flying. So each pilot had their own map case to ensure they could navigate back to base usingndmarks on the map if they were left alone with no contact with their squadron. The map case also ensured that in case of an emergencynding, they could aim for areas controlled by friendly forces. Afterpleting the formation change, Hamov called out on the radio, "Semyon! Do you see me?" "I see you, don''t worry boss. Let''s go take a look at Boye''s estate. It''s definitely a division headquarters." A few minutester, with his ne tilted, Hamov circled the estate and cursed, "Who was it who said this was a division headquarters?" The estate was empty, and the series of substantial craters visible in the yard told the pilots why there was no enemy division headquarters there. Captain Semyon, "If you think about it, none of the Prosen Army we''ve flown past have been housed in buildings. So, what do we do now?" Hamov sighed, "Look for enemy tanks. Hitting a tank unit would also count as striking a high-value target." At that moment, the pilot of ne number two said, "Isn''t there any obvious target? I mean, don''t the enemy''s artillery fire? Hitting their artillery would count as a great achievement, right? Besides, artillery firing makes such amotion, we should be able to see it from afar, right?" You generally can''t see distant targets on the ground, due to the curvature of the earth. But now as the Yak-1s flew low, around five hundred meters, their field of vision greatly expanded. The pilots'' vision was well-screened, with the sharpest "hawk eyes" in Hamov''s fighter regiment capable of spotting twin-engine bombers ten kilometers away. However, there were too many varied ground targets, and even pilots usually couldn''t spot them from several kilometers away, which was why Hamov chose to fly at a low altitude of five hundred meters. But if the target was an actively firing artillery position, climbing to three thousand meters was also feasible, which would allow them to filter targets, as only heavy artillery fire would be visible from such a height. So Hamov said, "You''re right, let''s climb to three thousand meters and see if we can spot any enemy firing." After he said this, he nced at the fuel gauge and muttered, "Fuel consumption is higher than usual..." He started to pull back on the joystick, climbing steadily at a 15-degree angle while still vigntly surveying his surroundings. Unfortunately, the early versions of the Yak-1 had a hump behind the cockpit that blocked the rear view, so Hamov could only rely on his rearview mirrors to watch his back, even though that was the most dangerous direction. Suddenly, Captain Semyon shouted, "Look at the ground! They''re firing!" Hamov, "Where?" "At 11 o''clock!" Hamov rolled the ne upside down so that with the ss cockpit rushing downwards, he could get the best view below. He saw the artillery position that was firing. "Everyone, drop bombs with me." Captain Semyon, "Damn it, I feel like I can only bet my life on faith now." "Who isn''t? Drop the bombs and pray to Saint Andrew at the same time!" Hamov directly went into a dive towards the ground, heading straight for the firing artillery position. The Yak-1 was not a dedicated ground attack aircraft and had no ground-targeting sights. So Hamov simply aligned the gun sight''s crosshairs with a cannon. The Yak-1''s sighting system worked like this: if an enemy aircraft with a length of ten meters and a wingspan of ten meters was locked by the crosshairs of the sight, then the enemy aircraft filling the first aiming ring indicated a distance of 500 meters, and filling three aiming rings meant the range was around one hundred meters. ording to Hamov''s experience, firing when the enemy aircraft filled three rings had a high probability of hitting the target. Now Hamov was treating the enemy''s artillery position as an enemy aircraft, with the crosshairs set on it. He fired a burst with his machine gun when the artillery position filled the first ring to observe the fall of shot. The machine gun roundsnded ten meters "behind" the enemy''s artillery position, exploding on the ground, while a nearby Coachman sping his chest fell over. But the horse was fine! Hamov suddenly realized he didn''t have time to correct his aim, as he was diving at the enemy and the machine gun rounds hit the ground even closer than before. In that instant, he simply pulled the trigger, spraying about ten rounds from his machine gun and cannon, then pressed the bomb release button and pulled up. As he pulled up, he saw where his ammunitionndedthe aircraft''s ammunition belt was mixed with tracer rounds, so he could precisely see the impact points. This strafe mostly hit the artillery position, and the gunners who were focused on firing didn''t have time to take cover, several were knocked down instantly. Hamov couldn''t see exactly how many were hit, as he was pulling up and the aircraft''s wings blocked his viewwhether it was a Yak-1 or another aircraft, the downward and rearward visibility of the aircraft of that era was terrible, he couldn''t see anything. That''s why they needed to watch each other''s blind spots. Hamov couldn''t see where the bombs hadnded, he could only hear the explosions behind him, and he could see the sh of the explosion when he looked back, but he didn''t know where they had hit. All he could do was ask over the radio, "Did anyone see where my bombs hit?" "Can''t see, we''ve also dropped bombs and pulled up, we just can''t see the results," someone responded over the radio. "Then let''s turn left, everyone turn left and confirm the results." Hamov''s squadron all entered a left turn, and by this time their formation waspletely scattered, but the wingmen managed to barely keep up with the lead aircraft. From above, they clearly saw eight columns of dust, two of which were apanied by mes. The entire artillery position had stopped firing. Butat least from the air, the damage to the cannons seemed minimal. Captain Semyon suggested over the radio, "Let''s call for an artillery strike!" Hamov, "Easier said than done, do you know where we are?" Heavy bombers had specialized navigators who would estimate a flight path based on various instruments and the aircraft''s heading, which would give them an approximate idea of their position and guide the bombers back to base. Therefore, heavy bombers could fly thousands of kilometers to hit a target. But a fighter like the Yak-1 only had one pilot, and during the flight, they were entirely focused on surveince, without time to plot their course on a map. Fighter pilots generally usedndmark navigation to determine their position based on distinctive features on the ground. Therefore, even if the pilot saw the target, they could only remember the direction of the target rtive to a certainndmark. The Prosen Air Force''s reconnaissance aircraft could direct artillery fire because they had specialized observers who could determine the approximately location of the aircraft and then the coordinates of the targets they discovered. But the Yak-1 had no such capability and couldn''t directly guide artillery fire in practice. Unlessthey got in contact with someone who had an "external plug-in." Just then, Hamov heard the voice of General Rokossov over his headset, "Hamov, I heard you''ve found the target. Hamov, report your position!" Chapter 254: Chapter 45: Airplanes, Radio, and the God of War Thirty minutes ago, in the bunker of the Guards Mechanized Infantry Division headquarters. Wang Zhong had actually been using a captured Prussian radio to follow the situation in the air. However, due to the poor performance of the Ante-produced Yak-1 radio, he couldn''t make out many details. So while he was listening, he asked Pavlov, "How many radios did the team manage to dismantle from the enemy tanks yesterday?" Pavlov shook his head, "The enemy tanks are veryplex, and the radios are delicate. Our technicians dismantled two radios, but both were damaged. This morning I reported the situation to Commander Kozelsky of the Ind Navy Fleet; they will send technicians from the ships tonight to dismantle, with Naval Infantry providing cover. "The technicians from the ships have university education, they should be capable." Wang Zhong, "Don''t just let them dismantle, see if they can patch one together from the two broken ones." Pavlov nodded, reached for the handset, thought for a moment, turned around and wrote a note, then handed it to a messenger, "Take this to Ind Navy Fleet headquarters." After the messenger ran off, Pavlov noticed Wang Zhong looking at him and exined, "If it''s not too urgent, we send a note; maybe they need the phone line for more urgent matters." Popov pointed to the peaceful battlefield outside the observation window, "Are you suggesting that there might be urgent matters in this kind of situation?" Wang Zhong also looked outside, "Why aren''t the enemy attacking? It''s been two hours since thest wave. Shall we hit their assembly area to prod them a bit?" Nelly''s eyes widened, "Although I shouldn''t interfere in militarymand, but... why do you talk as if you and the enemymander are good friends?" Wang Zhong, "The enemy gives me promotions and bargaining chips with their lives, of course they are my good friends." At that moment, the voice of a pilot came through the radio, " artillery open fire bigmotion far away can see" Wang Zhong''s brows twisted into knots, what''s with so much noise and so little substance? Can''t Ante produce some reliable radios? Vasily checked the captured Prussian gear and looked up at Wang Zhong saying, "It''s not our problem, the situation over there is just too bad. They''re flying low, which is affected by the curvature of the ground." Wang Zhong, "It seems they found artillery; was that word just now ''artillery''? They also mentioned a ''bigmotion''. Keep listening." After waiting a few more minutes, a clearer voice came through, "Look at the ground! They''re firing!" "Where?" Vasily squeezed in with ament, "They might have flown higher, so..." Wang Zhong pped him and mouthed, "Shut up." The radio continued to transmit, "Eleven o''clock direction!" "Fellows, follow my lead in bombing." Immediately after, themunication became fuzzy again, the only clear word being "turn left." Wang Zhong frowned, why is there always ''turn left'' in themunication? Is it because the barrage on the port side is thinner? Then a pilot suggested, "Let''s call in artillery fire!" It seemed the attack wasn''t effective. But this suggestion was immediately rejected: "Easy for you to say, do you know where we are?" Wang Zhong picked up the radio handset and pressed the button, "Rocossov calling Hamov! Rocossov calling Hamov!" Wang Zhong released the button and waited for a response. For some reason, he suddenly felt tired from standing, so he ran to the table near the observation port, pushed aside the record books and other items, and sat down, leaning against the wall with the handset in his hand resting on the observation port. Vasily said, "You look like a dandy in a caf whistling at girls." Wang Zhong, "Is it possible I am one of those dandies? I just happen to be good at fighting." Vasily pped his forehead, "I forgot." There was still no response. Wang Zhong pressed the handset''s button again, "Rocossov calling Hamov! Rocossov calling Hamov." This time the response came immediately, "General, please speak!" Wang Zhong, while maintaining his position looking outside, switched to an overhead view. Then he realized there was only the squadron symbol for Hamov''s forces and not its field of vision. Damn, do I not count in Air Forcemand unless I''m promoted to General? Even if I can order them to load up and strike, are they not considered my forces? But it was still fixable; after all, the position of that flight squadron was already in sight. Wang Zhong pointed at the map on the table and kicked Vasily. At the same time he loudly asked, "You''ve spotted the enemy artillery units, have you?" "Yes, we''ve carried out an attack. We didn''t destroy a single cannon, nor did we see any ammunition explode. The effect was not good. We are preparing to continue strafing." "What direction are they from you? Speak in terms of east, west, north, south!" Wang Zhong asked. Mainly because his view was too high, he couldn''t tell the exact direction of the nose of the nes; watching the movement direction of the squadron symbols was misleading since the squadron consisted of several airnes, and it was not good to assume the direction of movement as the nose direction. So Wang Zhong specifically emphasized using east, west, north, south. At this time Vasily had moved the whole map table over, probably not knowing which map Wang Zhong wanted. Wang Zhong picked up the small map stacked on top - these types of maps are printed formanders to freely draw on - and then marked an X on the map with his fingernail. Vasily pushed a pencil towards Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong took the pencil and drew a cross on the map. This was the position of Hamov''s squadron. Although it kept changing, as long as Hamov said hurry, it should be fine. Hamov: "We''re to the northeast! About a distance of..." Wang Zhong, "No need to say the distance." He drew a line towards the northeast and then, ording to the map scale, marked a point on the line. Wang Zhong: "Fly higher,munication will improve if you fly higher. Climb to three thousand meters, repeat, climb to three thousand meters." "Understood, climbing to three thousand meters. What are you nning to do?" "I''m going to fire a shot over there, and you''ll correct it." "Alright, but how can you guarantee that the shot will fall within our field of view?" Hamov was clearly confused. Wang Zhong: "You don''t have to worry about that." After Wang Zhong released the button on the microphone, he said to Vasily, "Tell the artillery to fire on this spot, just one round." Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the First Army of the Asgard Knights from the Prussian Army. Senior officers dressed in the Knights'' ck military uniform were gathered around a field telephone. They had also been listening to the conversation between Rocossov and the Air Force a moment ago. Giles''s adjutant, Feliz, said, "We shouldmend themunications personnel who found this conversation." Giles nodded, "Yes. We''ll deal with thatter, but he only has one direction, how can he determine the location of our artillery positions?" Everyone looked at each other, puzzled. Feliz said, "It could be radar. He just had the aircraft fly higher, essentially to let the radar see it." All the other Prussian senior officers gasped in shock. Giles: "The United Kingdom has already transported radar here, and it''s been installed? How did they transport it? From the north of the Bs teau and then across the Ind Sea?" Feliz walked over to the world map: "The timeline works, leaving from the United Kingdom''s colony in Bha, heading across the Bs teau, and then shipping across the Ind Sea." At this point, amunications officer came to report, "Artillery Regiment 511 reports being bombed by enemy aircraft and that the enemy''s artillery is test firing, requesting repositioning of our forces." Giles: "Initiate emergency evacuation." Emergency evacuation is a more urgentmand than repositioning, essentially meaning that the artillery must abandon all equipment and evacuate the position, while the ammunition vehicles, driven by the daredevil squad, move in the opposite direction of the personnel evacuation. Wang Zhong, hearing Hamov''s radio report, "Adjust aim coordinates 100 meters to the north." Before Wang Zhong could pass on the message, Pavlov, who had been maintaining his position holding the receiver, gave the order, "Shift 100 meters north." What followed was a long wait. The time it took for a howitzer shell to travel ten-plus kilometers was astonishingly long. Finally, Hamov reported, "Shift 200 meters east." Wang Zhong didn''t even need to pass on the message, he just maintained his yboy posture, observing the scenery outside the observation port. Hamov: "Suspect indirect fire, requesting three rounds to verify." As Pavlov ryed the message, Popov murmured, "Isn''t that a naval term? This pilot is quite knowledgeable." Wang Zhong spread his hands. An Air Force pilot, guiding the Army''s artillery fire using naval terminology, in some countries, this would have resulted in an uproar. Vasily: "The General is also very familiar with aircraft." At that moment, Hamov reported, "Indirect fire sessful! Ready to fire!" Pavlov: "Confirm target area coverage, artillery regiment to fire three rapid rounds." The sound of the artillery battery firing in unison soon followed. Popov asked Wang Zhong, "Do you think the target is divisional artillery, or corps artillery?" Wang Zhong: "Don''t know, whether it''s corps or division, hitting them is a win. Didn''t you notice that the iing fire started decreasing just now?" Vasily: "Indeed." At that moment, Hamov''s voice came over the radio, "Direct hit, repeat, direct hit." Just then, a scream cut into the calm of the radiomunication, "Enemy aircraft, diving from above!" Wang Zhong''s first reaction to hearing this was "enemy aircraft climbing steeply, diving quickly," a syndrome that afflicts military enthusiasts, where various strange memes can be triggered at any time. He pressed the microphone button and yelled, "Break into S! Everyone break into S! Dive into the blind spot under the enemy''s belly. The 109''s roll is poor during a dive!" Roll performance worsens during a dive for the 109, meaning that when it sees a target breaking into an S-turn into the blind spot beneath its belly, the 109 in a dive might not be able to invert its body in time. The spatial position of both sides in airbat changes dramatically, and once visual contact is lost, it might not be regained. Although Wang Zhong shouted, themunication was already in chaos. "Disperse, disperse!" "Where''s the enemy aircraft? I can''t see it!" "I see it, breaking away!" "My rudder pedals aren''t responding, I''m going to have to make an emergencynding!" "I got one! He''s on fire!" "Xiao Miao, you have one on your tail! Turn left!" "Xiao Miao!" Wang Zhong''s expression was stern, and he held the microphone several times, thinking about pressing the button to speak, but ultimately he did not say anything. Chapter 255: Chapter 46 "This is really scientific" (Additional update 2/33) At eight o''clock in the evening, after the enemy''s shelling hadpletely ceased, a jeep carrying Hamov and a pilot arrived at the headquarters of the Guards Mechanized Infantry Division. Having been informed in advance, Wang Zhong led all the staff of the division headquarters to meet them at the entrance. Seeing two people getting off the jeep, Wang Zhong asked, "Did we lose two people?" "No," Hamov shook his head, "Another had a rudder failure, and thest message from his radio was that he flew over the river, but we don''t know where hended. If he makes contact with our forces, he will return by car." Since pilots are so precious, any unit that finds one will send them back to the airfield by car. "Do you know the family address of Captain Semyon? I want to personally write him a letter of thanks," Wang Zhong added. As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a guard from the sentry unit click his tongue in awe, "A General personally writing a letter of thanks, wouldn''t that be something to have." Popov looked like someone who had just been enlightened, turned his head, and looked Wang Zhong up and down. Wang Zhong forcefully pretended not to notice the expression on his face. Hamov said, "Through official channels, you could do this through the church at the airfield. If you want to send it yourself, I know the address, after all, he''s an old soldier from the first squadron, and I''m quite familiar with him. Should I give the address to your maid?" Wang Zhong nodded and gestured for them to enter, "Pleasee in. Let''s not stand out here, lest the Prussians learn from us and start shelling unexpectedly." The group entered the bunker like so. Upon entering, Hamov''s first words were, "General Rokossovsky, during the enemy aircraft attack, no one was paying attention to your radiomunication, but thinking back now, you seem to have a good grasp of airbat tactics. You also knew that enemy fighters have trouble rolling during a dive." Wang Zhong quickly said, "That''s justmon knowledge, most aircraft will see decreased maneuverability when diving beyond a certain speed." This was true, so during a dive, it was necessary to control the speed well, often throttling back to prevent the aircraft from going too fast. A Yak-1 bing unresponsive when diving too fast is also a risk of wing failure, given that the wings of the Yak-1 were made of wood. However, the Yak-1 rarely executed dive attacks. When Wang Zhong yed War Thunder, he would dogfight with a Yak-1 at low speed and low altitude. Hamov stared at Wang Zhong, "Common knowledge, I see. So among the nobility, this kind of knowledge, typically held by seasoned veterans, has bemon knowledge?" Wang Zhong firmly said, "Yes. It all started when a buddy of mine took a girl up for a flight, and afterwards, she was totally devoted to him. So flying became popr. It''s all for wooing girls, and I''m the second yboy of Ye Fort, understand!" Hamov nodded, "I don''t understand much about nobility, but it''s true that pilots are very popr with the girls. More than once, we''ve asked hospitals not to be set up near airfields because the more nurses that are close by, the more socializing happens, and after socializing, many nurses get pregnant." Wang Zhong''s sympathy for Hamov''s squadron suddenly halved. Vasily asked, "And what about you, Colonel? I remember your wife is a high school teacher, do you also get cozy with the nurses at the dance?" Hamov replied, "Of course not. Roughly six years ago, when a fighter group I was with stationed near an airfield that had a high school next to it, my wifeto behad just started teaching there. We had a mixer between the pilots and the teachers, and then I got married." Vasily remarked, "It''s good that I didn''t join the Air Force." Wang Zhong eximed, "You like men?" "No, I just don''t want to get married yet." Popov interjected, "He hasn''t had enough fun yet, I can tell just by his expression. When I was still a Priest at the church, over half the youngds who came to confess were just like him." At this point, Pavlov joined the conversation, "Let''s get back to serious matters, Colonel Hamov." The Colonel nodded, "Right, back to business. We came here to report what we observed while flying at low altitude." Wang Zhong asked, "The enemy didn''t hide?" The Colonel shook his head, "No, they have no air raid awareness whatsoever. Their tanks and tents had no camouge, not even a covering. Moreover, when they saw the nes, they didn''t scatter or duck, they all stood in ce waving at us." Wang Zhong wasn''t surprised by this, as those who hadn''t experienced airstrikes tended to bex. On Earth, when Ameidulite air-raided Tokyo by flying along the coast, fishing vigers seeing the nes at first mistook them for their own, waving and cheering. Popov snorted, "They''ll quickly learn their lesson from the war." Wang Zhong continued, "You flew behind enemy lines, did you find out why they stopped? After this morning''s wave of attacks, the enemy just shelled us withoutunching any further attacks. We specte that the enemy may have suffered unexpected losses or had a death that caused low morale." Hamov replied, "No, the soldiers we saw from our low-flying sortie didn''t seem like they had been defeated. They were spirited and seemed jubnt, not bothering to take cover. They gathered in the canteen; a single heavy shell could have killed a hundred people. "I actually feel like the enemy thinks victory is within reach." After Hamov finished, his wingman added, "Another thing, all the enemy stayed in tents, and we noticed many nice houses that werepletely unupied." Wang Zhong spected, "They are probably scared by our nightly shelling." Pavlov asked, "Knowing that the enemy isn''t upying the houses, do we still bomb tonight?" "We can stop tonight, even for a couple of days, wait until the enemy starts taking shelter in the houses, then strike." Pavlov nodded, "Okay, then tonight, the artillery can rest." Having said this, he turned to see to this matter while Wang Zhong kept questioning Hamov, "Any other intelligence? It''s unlikely that the enemy won''t attack, but we''ve been on guard all day with no activity." Hamov shook his head, "I''m just a pilot; I can only tell you that the enemy''s air defense awareness is very poor." Wang Zhong stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. At this time, Hamov swallowed hard, as if he had made up his mind to ask, "General, how did you manage to get the shells within our line of sight? If you hadn''t sent the first one over, today''s tactics would have been impossible." Vasily also looked at Wang Zhong. He had personally witnessed Wang Zhong drawing crosses on the map with his fingernail today. Wang Zhong had actually thought it through already and concluded that he couldn''t hide it, he could only say that it was really cool. Luckily, this world had Divine Power. So he said, "I prayed to God, and He told me the location." What''s the deal, girls are allowed to pray to guide Divine Arrows, but I, a good-looking young man, can''t pray to guide a cannon? Besides, the praying hands were equally split between men and women; it just so happened that all the praying hands in my troops were females. Popov''s expression immediately became very subtle. For the first time, Wang Zhong actually noticed! After all, one must pay attention to the bishop subordinate''s response, right? So, he added, based on his understanding of the secr faction''s doctrine, "I think there must be scientific principles behind this, maybe due to ckbody radiation inducing quantum entanglement." Actually, Wang Zhong waspletely bluffing at this point; he didn''t understand quantum mechanics at all. He had just watched a video titled "The Ultimate Battle at the Summit of Quantum" and remembered a few terms because they sounded cool. It was like those pseudo-intellectual youths on some tforms who watched "Five-Minute Speed Read of XX Masterpieces" on TikTok and, after remembering a few keywords, started to show off and act pretentious. What he hadn''t anticipated was that these few words were as long as names in Ante''snguage. After a string of gibberish, everyone was confused. Popov: "What the heck is that?" Wang Zhong: "I mean, based on the nck constant and de Broglie resonance, I knew the location of Hamov and the others." Vasily: "I''m pretty sure what you just said is different from what you said before." Wang Zhong: "I just piled up a few of the most cutting-edge scientific terms; eventually, they will be exinable. Science that''s advanced enough looks just like magic." Popov: "Don''t worry, the Sanctified faction has been wiped out, and moreover, the Grand Patriarch has given special instructions that the Judge will turn a blind eye to what you say." Wang Zhong: "That''s really scientific!" Hamov chimed in, "So, does that mean we will be able to guide artillery by keeping in radio contact with you in the future?" Wang Zhong: "First, you''ll need to get a better radio. Actually, contacting you today was a fluke; the weather is going to get worse soon, and the increasing clouds might further affect radiomunication." Hamov: "Right. And after all, we are fighter pilots; it''s not suitable for us. I think we could request to dispatch Ye-2 bombers. The Ye-2 bombers have dedicated navigators, and they know their own positions. I''ve always thought we should make heavy bombers into reconnaissance nes like the enemy does." Wang Zhong: "Maybe we could get some B17 support from the Federation." After he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Popov coughed, "Did you just leak some secrets?" Wang Zhong: "Ah? Oh, you mean Mike, the reporter from the Federation? He told me a lot about what''s going on in their country. It''s not a leak; they are already discussing in Congress whether to help us or not. It''s not leaking secrets, their newspapers are reporting it every day!" The others exchanged nces and collectively decided to ept that exnation. Hamov sighed, "Well, I do hope they send more fighters. I''m sick of these wooden nes." Wang Zhong thought, just wait, you''ll get to fly a Yak-3. That thing is all metal and known as the perpetual motion machine at low altitude; it can make a fool out of any ne that dares to battle it at low altitudes. Pavlov had finished arranging the artillerymen''s rest and came back, asking, "So, why exactly did the enemy stop attacking?" Everyone looked at each other, clueless. ---------- "Tomorrow morning, I will personally fly to exin to His Majesty." In the headquarters of the First Army of the Asgard Knights, Giles said so. His adjutant looked at the telegram in his hands with worry, "This telegram is so strongly worded; aren''t we taking a risk by going to His Majesty now? Won''t we be asking for trouble?" Giles: "But it''s a fact that our elite armored units were useless in the attack on Shostka. Even if we move them to the northern line, it would be more useful than wasting them here. I will make His Majesty understand this." The other officers nced at each other. Giles added, "Or do you think His Majesty doesn''t have the magnanimity to understand such things?" The other officers immediately shook their heads. Giles: "That''s settled then. I will leave the front line tomorrow, and you will continue with the engineering work." Chapter 256: Chapter 47: Giless War (Additional Update 3/33) Within the territory of the Prosen Empire, Eagle''s Nest, the headquarters of Emperor Reinhard. At the airport near Eagle''s Nest, a Junkers Ju 52 tri-motor airne elegantlynded. After the ne came to a stop, a jeep followed by a medium-sized truck carrying a squad of soldiers drove up to the aircraft. Giles stepped out of the airne and nced at the deserted airport, his brow slightly furrowed. The weing major said at that moment, "Your Majesty is waiting for you at Eagle''s Nest. Due to the urgency of military affairs, no one else has been arranged to receive you besides the guards." "Understood," Giles descended the gangway and got into the jeep. His aide-de-camp Feliz took the seat of the co-driver directly. Seeing this, the weing major stood directly on the step outside the truck''s door, holding onto the door, and then made a gesture, "Let''s go." The jeep driver pressed the gas pedal, and the motorcade left the airport, heading for Eagle''s Nest along the winding mountain road. On the way, they passed by a ruin, and Giles, curious, asked, "What''s the story with the ruin?" Then he realized that due to his aide-de-camp''s actions, the avable person to answer this question had taken the guard''s vehicle. Giles could only close his mouth. A momentter, the car drove into a tunnel on the mountainside and continued to the deepest part, entering arge electric elevator. Apanied by the sound of the electric motor, the elevator began to ascend. This elevator seemed to have been built solely to boast of the Prosen Empire''s achievements in mechanics and electrical power; it could lift the weight of a jeep and a truck, plus seventeen adults all at once. When the elevator stopped, the weing major made a gesture, "If you please." The elevator doors opened, and Giles stepped into the passageway of Eagle''s Nest, making his way to the Emperor''s office with ease. At the entrance to the office, Giles was just about to hand over his sidearm to the secretary, but the secretary said, "His Majesty said you may carry your sidearm into the office." Giles hesitated for a moment, then took off his sidearm with the holster anyway, "I can carry my sidearm in, but it''s not required, is it?" The secretary bowed, "Then I shall keep it for you." After taking the sidearm, the secretary pressed a button on the desk, and the doors to the office automatically opened. This fortress, seemingly to boast of Prosen''s technological prowess, had automated doors driven by machinery everywhere. Prosen Emperor Reinhard stood in front of a massive sand table, staring at the entire battlefield as if he were a colossal god in control of everything. Hearing the door open, Reinhard, without turning his head, directly questioned, "I hear you stopped the attack and began digging works?" "Yes, I discovered that our armored forces are not suited for such an offensive." Reinhard: "Nonsense! In Carolingian, our armored forces broke through the fortified regions! Back then, our forces still had many Type 1 and Type 2 tanks!" "Now our forces also have many Type 1 and Type 2 tanks. In Carolingian, we indeed achieved a glorious victory, but here, after attacking for a day, I achieved nothing but the loss of several hundred casualties and seventy tanks!" Giles, neither servile nor overbearing, continued, "Your Majesty! I understand that destroying the symbol of the enemy''s will to resist has decisive significance, and war indeed is an extension of politics, but in the end, war is not politics! "I know you pursue the gains of having the Asgard Knights, which symbolize your ideals, destroy the enemy''s imperial iron wall, but the fact that our Armored Division is not suited for attacking fortified regions is irond! "In Carolingian, our Armored Division was mainly responsible for encircling the enemy and cutting off their logistics. To present the Armored Division in front of the enemy entrenched along the river is a bad idea!" Faced with Giles''s forceful statement, Reinhard looked at the sky: "You... make sense. That iron wall of Ante''s, is it really that formidable? It made Zigfried, whose name is celebrated alongside our ancient heroes, give up in just one day?" Giles: "I''m named alongside heroes because my father named me after a hero. It''s not a coincidence, nor is it any ''Divine Power'' bestowed. It''s my father''s heartfelt wish." "But under the propaganda, it''s no longer the case. Zig, you must defeat your enemy!" Reinhard stepped forward three paces, grabbing Giles''s shoulder, "Understand?" "That''s why I''vee to earnestly exin the pros and cons to you! We need the engineering corps for earthworks, to cope with the enemy who excels at using artillery! As long as we render the arcs drawn by their artillery in the sky ineffective, we can approach the river. Then, crossing it in smoke or using concealed 88 guns to destroy the enemy''s armored trains will be as easy as flipping one''s hand!" said Giles. The Emperor released Giles''s shoulder and walked up to the map: "What about the armored forces, then? The armored forces can''t just travel to the front through tunnels, can they?" Giles: "We could move the armored forces to the north to join the offensive there. Organization-wise, both the southern and northern pincers are troops of the Central Army Group, so such a move wouldn''t be particrly troublesome." "But what about the distance?" Reinhard looked at his ssmate from military academy, "Ante is not Carolingian. In Carolingian, such a move would be easy, just a matter of transporting them by train. But in Ante... without railroad transportation, by the time they reach the north, most of the Armored Division will have broken down, with no more than thirty tanks able to move." The Emperor returned to the map: "As for using the railroad, look at Ante''s railroad lines. All of them are radial, designed precisely for his troops to be continuously sent from the rear to the front. From the perspective of transporting reserve troops to the front line, their railways are extremely efficient!" Giles: "Not to worry. Once our infantry and engineers break through the defenses and capture Shostka, the armored forces will still have a chance to gallop across the ins. Beyond the Duva River, it will all be opennd to Ye Fort." Reinhard, looking at the map in silence for a while, asked, "How long do you estimate it will take to break through the Duva River and capture Shostka?" "Twenty days. That''s a conservative estimate. In fact, before I took off, the engineers''test report stated that the digging work would almost reach the riverbank in about ten days, after which we can consider building a pontoon bridge under smoke cover." Reinhard nced at the calendar: "Hmm, eptable. A breakthrough in 20 days is manageable." The Emperor came in front of Giles: "I ask you, can we publicly im that you will break through the enemy''sst hope of a defense line within 20 days?" Giles nodded: "No problem at all. And then, my armored army will gallop across Ante''s fields." The Emperor nodded: "Good! Then let''s do it as you say. Break through the Duva River and capture Shostka on October 12th!" In the year 914 of Jules, on September 23rd, Shostka. Early in the morning, Wang Zhong arrived at the division''s bunker headquarters and found only a few staff members on duty; the night shift''s Popov was nowhere to be seen. "What''s going on? Where''s the Bishop?" "He had bad luck this morning and got diarrhea," a staff member said. Wang Zhong sighed, knowing that nobody could me a person for having diarrhea, and it certainly couldn''t be allowed in the division''s bunkerthe smell would have been too much of a test. He went to the observation post and picked up the binocrs to take a look at the opposite riverbank, but as expected, he couldn''t see anything. Then, he casually changed his viewing angle. This time he actually spotted the enemy! All day yesterday, the enemy didn''t appear within the range he could highlight; he almost suspected they had suddenly "gone offline." Now, they finally appeared! Wang Zhong quickly checked what the enemy was doing and discovered they were digging trenches! Trench digging??? Because in various World War II games, depictions of trench digging are rare, and most of the time it''s soldier against soldier, tank against tank, locked in battle. Thest time he sawrge-scale trench digging was in the movie "The Great Battle," where our forces, with inferior equipment, used trench digging to approach enemy positions with superior firepower. The movie even included a ssic scene shot from a first-person perspective that simted moving through trenches. He remembered the dialogue in the movie: "The trenches must be dug to within 50 meters of the enemy''s position!" Could the enemy be thinking of using this same tactic? So, you''re not using your tanks anymore? Wang Zhong suddenly realized that seeing the enemy meant he couldn''t just ignore them. Regardless of what the enemy was doing, the thing to do was to start bombing. So he said to the staff member on duty, "Get in touch with the artillery battalion! The enemy is engaged in trench digging, implement fire n one, open fire!" Five minutester, artillery shells fell. Hearing the sound of the artillery, Pavlov and Popov both hurried to the divisionmand post. Pavlov: "What happened?" Wang Zhong: "The enemy was advancing their trench digging, I spotted it, so I ordered a round of bombardment." Pavlov and Popov quickly grabbed binocrs and ran to the observation post to look out. "There really is trench digging, and that mound of earth looks obviously like it was dug out. I''m quite sure that wasn''t there yesterday," Pavlov put down the binocrs. "I suggest we get Colonel Eugene to take a look at it, hees from a mining background, and has basically overseen the construction of all our fortifications." Colonel Eugene observed solemnly for half an hour before he put down the binocrs and said to Wang Zhong, "It''s definitely trench digging." Wang Zhong thought to himself, I used a cheat to see that, tell me something I don''t know. Eugene continued, "The bombardment this morning doesn''t seem to have done much, mainly because our artillery can''t ensure the shells fall into the trenches. Plus, trenches are generally W-shaped, so even if a shell falls into one, it can only kill the people in that section of the trench." Wang Zhong: "So the bombardment is useless?" "It has some use, the enemy can''t work when we''re bombarding. As long as we have enough artillery to keep bombarding, the enemy can''t possibly advance." Wang Zhong''s face crumpled. Eugene understood immediately, "We can''t keep bombarding, can we?" "Correct," Wang Zhong nodded, it was time to think of a strategy. He started pacing in the bunker. Popov even tried to console him, "It''s not like the moment they break through that we''re inevitably going to fall. Our n also ounts for the possibility that the enemy sessfully crosses the river and then we battle them on the beachhead." Wang Zhong pursed his lips. Suddenly, he asked Colonel Eugene, "How long do you estimate it will take the enemy to dig through?" Eugene: "When we were building the fortifications on the opposite bridgehead, I tested the soil on the western bank. I estimate it will take fifteen days." Wang Zhong turned to ask Pavlov, "The airfield has a meteorological unit, right? What''s thetest weather forecast? How soon will it rain?" Pavlov: "ording to the forecast, it will be another 20 days." Wang Zhong pped his thigh, "We should inform themander on the other side of this situation! Let him know he''s running out of time!" Chapter 257: Chapter 48 Friendly Advice Wang Zhong finished speaking, and the others in the room were slow to catch on. Vasily: "Wait a minute, so General, are you saying you want to talk to the enemy? Call out to them using radio?" Wang Zhong shook his head: "No, that would seem too informal, and it would only let our immediate enemies hear us. After all, even with the best radio equipment we have, themunication range is only so far. "We need to make sure that all the enemies facing us get this friendly reminder, so let''s use a radio broadcast in in code to openly tell them." Pavlov frowned, looking at Popov: "If this doesn''t vite military discipline..." Popov scratched his head, which was already quite bare: "Sending messages in in code to our own troops and leaking military information would definitely be treason. But sending messages in in code to the enemy, and talking about the weather, that should not count as treason. "I think it should be treated like having a casual chat over the radio during nonbat times, which means being confined to barracks." Vasily was shocked: "Won''t they do something more severe?" Popov: "Usually not. So, we can make the telegrapher who sends the message take the me and confine him to barracks for a week." Wang Zhong: "That works, let''s send the message in in code then." Pavlov, still clearly wishing to prevent this unconventional tactic, said: "The enemy''s meteorological department should know about this, right? No, their observation equipment is better than ours. Are we meddling unnecessarily?" Wang Zhong: "Since the enemy''s meteorological department also knows, then there''s even less of a problem with us sending this telegram. Go ahead and send it." Prussian Army, Asgard Knights First Army Headquarters. Giles was meeting with themander of a newly joined engineer brigade when suddenly amunications staff officer entered, stood at attention, saluted, and said loudly: "Report! We''ve received an unsigned telegram in in code, sent using the International Civil Aviation Organization''s standard code. Judging from the tone of the telegram, it seems to be from the enemy." Giles frowned: "International Civil Aviation Organization''s standard code?" Themunications staff officer immediately exined: "Even when sending telegrams in in code without encryption, the codes for differentnguages vary. The International Civil Aviation Organization''s standard code is a set of international codes adopted to solve this problem, based on the Anglonguage of the United Kingdom." "I see. So, what does the telegram say?" Giles asked curiously. The staff officer picked up the telegram paper and read from it: "''To the respectedmander of the Prussian Army, having observed your forces carrying out earthworks, we kindly remind you that in half a month, the autumn rain season will begin, and conditions will be unsuitable for offensive operations.'' Giles''s eyebrows knitted together: "What does that mean? Why would the autumn rain make it unsuitable for an offensive?" The adjutant, Feliz, reminded: "In the situation reports issued by the High Command about Ante, it was mentioned that transport in Ante would be somewhat affected during the rainy season." As soon as he finished speaking, the chief of staff confidently said: "That''s why we nned for a 20 percent redundancy in our supply ns. Even if it rains, it won''t affect our offensive." Giles thought for a moment and said: "Let''s still consult the meteorological department. And call over the Air Forcemander too. After we push the trenches to the western bank of the Duva River, we''ll need their cooperation." The Prussian Army originally had its own meteorological department, but Duke Meyer, believing that meteorology also fell under the jurisdiction of the Air Force, protested to the emperor for many days. The emperor, with the intention of weakening the traditional officer corps, transferred the meteorological responsibilities to the Air Force. Therefore, even though Giles was favored by the emperor, he still had to invite the Air Forcemander and the meteorological department personnel together. Thirty minutester, an Air Force Major General, apanied by a colonel and several aides, arrived at the headquarters of the First Army. Giles: "Did you receive that in code telegram?" "Of course, we did. We even conducted triangtion to confirm that the telegram came from thatWhite Horse General." The Air Force Major General deliberately paused before mentioning the nickname of the White Horse General. Rocossov would surely have an interesting expression if he knew he''d been given a "space" before his title, but sadly he would never know. Giles: "So, are we really entering the rainy season?" The Air Force Major General stepped to the side, yielding the floor to the colonel he brought with him. The colonel''s sleeve bore the insignia of the meteorological troops. With the Major General''s permission, he immediately opened his briefcase, took out the documents, and ced them on the map table: "We''ve been discreetly recording the meteorological information from all over Ante since the year 910. Our intelligence department promised to steal Ante''s own meteorological records, but so far, they have not fulfilled that promise." Upon hearing this, someone among Giles''s subordinatesughed: "Isn''t it normal for Rabowell to fail?" The colonel ignored the jab at the intelligence department and continued: "ording to our records, Ante really will enter the rainy season in the middle of next month. The timing of the first rain each year is quite consistent; in the year 910 it was on October 11, in 911 on October 9, and the following year on the 14th. "We believe this year will also see rain around the 10th." Giles: "Is the impact of the rain significant?" Colonel: "It will cause a certain level of traffic congestion." Giles: "Will it lead to difficulty in military operations?" "No, in fact, during the civil war within the Ante Empire, they often operated during the rainy season," the Colonel took out another record. "Before I came here, I specificallypiled the war history of the Ante Empire''s civil war. There were many military operations during the rainy seasons over three years, like the First Cavalry Army''s famous raid." Giles frowned deeply: "Cavalry isn''t quite the same as our mechanized units, is it?" Feliz: "General, could the hooves of a horse possibly have better terrain adaptability than our tracks?" Colonel: "Still, it''s best to prepare for the worst and to assume a redundancy of about thirty percent would be appropriate." Giles still frowned deeply and, after pondering for a while, said, "Get a local, ask about the situation... You haven''t killed them all, have you?" Feliz immediately said, "Don''t worry, when we upied Argesukov in August, the Emperor had already issued an order. Considering that the upied area is toorge, it''s necessary to retain a sufficientbor force. Therefore, systematic cleansing has already ended." "I''ll have them bring a few locals over now." Giles: "Go ahead." After the adjutant left, the Air Force Major General said, "Why did the White General send this telegram?" Giles wore a pensive expression, clearly he hadn''t figured it out either. But the Chief of Staff of the First Army spoke up: "Because earthwork is his Achilles'' heel, his most adept artillery fire has no ce to be used. He''s in a hurry now." "I see," the Air Force Major General nodded and continued, "This White General is a bit strange. Yesterday when the pilots from JG17 (the Prosen Air Force''s unit number) were hunting down their artillery spotters, they heard shouts in Antenguage." "Shouts in Antenguage?" Giles lifted his head. Major General: "There are quite a few yboys among the pilots, and many of them know Ante and Carolingiannguages. So someone heard, they were shouting ''Break S, drill into the blind spot under the belly, the 109''s roll is bad during the dive." Giles: "And the actual situation?" "I''ve flown the 109E3 that our troops are currently equipped with, and indeed, the control stick is very heavy during a dive. Actually, it''s not because of the dive, but because of the speed," the Air Force Major General gestured with his hands. "The 109 can never exceed 600 kilometers per hour in level flight, in fact, we rarely fly to the maximum speed of 536 kilometers per hour listed on paper during operations. But the speed might reach 700 kilometers per hour during a dive." Giles: "You mean, the White General is very knowledgeable about our fighters?" "Right." Giles: "And the ''Break S''? Is that a term?" "Yes. It''s the exact opposite maneuver of the Immelman Turn. The motion is roughly like this." The Major General snapped his fingers, and his adjutant immediately stepped forward with a box. Opening it, there were two intricate fighter ne models inside. Then the Major General picked up one of the models and began to demonstrate. While demonstrating, he also exined: "You can use the Break S during level flight. If an enemy is on your tail, you can use a better roll to enter a Break S, which can instantly make the enemy lose sight of the target. "And when the attacking aircraft is diving from a higher altitude, because of the attacker''s high speed and decreased maneuverability, the Break S often allows slipping into the attacker''s blind spot. However, this maneuver doesn''t give the defender an advantage. As long as the attacker doesn''t forcibly follow but instead pulls up to regain altitude using their speed, the next engagement will still be in their advantage." Giles: "What if the attacker does follow?" The Major General shrugged, "First, you have to control the speed, throttle back while adjusting the pitch of the propeller, using the resistance of the propeller and the like. Fighters don''t have airbrakes like dive bombers,cking means to quickly reduce speed under such circumstances. "Even if the speed is controlled, you''ve needlessly lost lots of energy. It''s foolish. So, experienced pilots who encounter a Break S from the enemy will give up the attack and recover altitude to seek another opportunity to battle. "But most of the time, there''s no chance for another battle. Our pilots like mboyant liveries, a pride inherited from the Red Baron, but enemy pilots prefer camouge. Once they dive close to the ground, they blend in with it and are difficult to detect. "Yesterday''s battle was the same; ourds shot down one, the rest of the enemy nes all flew low and escaped. "Ourds are proud Eagles, while the enemy is just a bunch of sparrows." Giles: "You didn''t have to go into such detail, I understand that Break S is a practical aerialbat maneuver. But how would the White General know about this? Isn''t he from an infantry background?" Everyone looked at each other before the Chief of Staff finally said, "Maybe the Crown Prince of Ante is quite versatile? Many noble young masters like flying." Giles nodded, seemingly epting this exnation. At this moment, Feliz entered: "We''ve caught some locals." "Bring them in," Giles paused then corrected himself, "Please bring them in." Chapter 258: Chapter 49: The Sneer from the Ante Farmer An Ante man dressed as a farmer was brought into the room. Giles scrutinized him for a moment and praised, "Farmers are most familiar with the conditions of rainfall and the earth, very good. Ask him how much autumn rain can affect transportation." The lieutenant who brought in the farmer immediately asked in the Antenguage. The farmer didn''t hurry to answer and instead looked curiously around, showing no sign of fear at all. The lieutenant cursed in the Antenguage, "Suka! Answer the question!" The farmer nced at him and then at Giles, "The impact of the rain is just that, isn''t it? Mule carts can''t carry too much, or the mules won''t be able to pull. Also, you must reinforce the axles of the carts in advance, or there might be idents. "The hooves of horses always have a variety of problems, and sometimes horses sprain their legs. Such horses prone to spraining cannot be used for breeding, as they might pass the defects to the foals... In the end, all you can do is kill them and eat their meat..." "Enough!" the lieutenant cursed, "Answer the question!" The farmer widened his eyes at the lieutenant, "Aren''t I answering the question? Isn''t this the impact of the rain that you asked about?" The captain sighed and began to trante for Giles. Giles listened seriously and said, "It seems that the rain has quite a severe impact on transportation..." The chief of staff said, "This might be because the Ante people are too negligent in the care of their livestock. For instance, the part about horse sprains seems like a problem caused by poor care. This just shows that inferior races are like this." However, Giles didn''t pay attention to the chief of staff and continued, "Is the cirction of goods still normal during the rainy season? Can you normally purchase goods?" After the lieutenant tranted, the old farmerughed, "Buy normal goods? How could that be possible! Before there were no church stores, all sorts of goods were incredibly expensive during the rainy season and the grain-mashing period. "Now the good people of the church sell goods at fair prices, and the Judge even had that hoarding Lord Boye shot!" Once the lieutenant tranted, the chief of staff scoffed coldly, "Hmph, just the church''s way of buying people''s hearts!" Giles angrily said, "Don''t speak!" Then he turned to Feliz, "It looks like the impact of this rainy season might be bigger than we anticipated." Feliz said, "Our contingency ns already have a twenty percent redundancy. Can a little rain reduce our transport capacity by twenty percent? Moreover, the old farmer also said that mule carts could be used; they just need frequent axle maintenance. "Our mule carts are much more sophisticated than those of the Ante people. How about we increase the redundancy to thirty percent?" Giles nodded, "Yes, thirty percent." At this moment, the old farmer asked, "What, you can''t attack anymore, waiting for the rain toe?" The others, who could not understand the Antenguage, looked curiously at the old farmer. The lieutenant, who understood Ante, promptly pped the farmer, "That''s none of your business!" Giles said, "Don''t hit him! What did he say?" "He asked if we can''t advance and if we are waiting for the rain," the lieutenant replied. Giles said, "Answer ''yes''." Once the lieutenant tranted, a smile appeared on the corners of the farmer''s mouth. Giles asked, "Ask him why he is smiling." (After tranting) The farmer replied, "I just thought of something pleasing, Colonel sir." Feliz was about to get angry, but Giles stopped him, "Let it be. Our Knight Order''s generals don''t have red cor patches; the Ante farmer doesn''t recognize them. Saying the highest military rank is fine. "Take him away, give him some gifts and food." Feliz nodded and then, with a stern voice, gave the orders, while the lieutenant who did the trantion roughly dragged the old farmer out of the room. Feliz turned back, seeing Giles with a serious face. "Don''t worry," he reassured, "even if the Ante people can maintain transportation during the rainy season, it just proves it''s not that scary. Intelligence shared by the High Command also mentioned rain, which might affect transportation." Giles replied, "Remember the big traffic jam at the start of the war? High Command wasn''t reliablest time." At this moment, the Air Force Major General presentwho also didn''t have the red cor patchsaid, "We have already established modern airports. Even if ground transportation is hindered, we can airdrop supplies." Giles nodded and turned to the map of the war zone, "We will still proceed with the earthwork. Meanwhile, let all units start stockpiling ammunition and other supplies." Feliz asked, "Should we reply to the enemy?" After thinking it over, Giles said, "Send a clear telegram, state that we are aware and appreciate the warning. Sign my name at the end of the telegram." Inside the bunker of Ante Army''s elite mechanized infantry division headquarters. Wang Zhong looked at the enemy''s reply, his face long with disappointment, "The enemy didn''t fall for it!" Pavlov looked worried, "Have they really prepared for the muddiness? If so, General, your war concept has ws!" For a moment, Wang Zhong truly felt as if Prosen, being Jude, might actually have some impressive countermeasures. But then he thought that although Prosen had rolled out some equipment that Sturmtiger on Earth would only be able to have in a few years, their overall level wasn''t too far beyond Sturmtiger. Moreover, Prosen had basically stepped in all the traps Sturmtiger had encountered in the Earth''s war history without missing any. There shouldn''t be too much of a problem. Wang Zhong, "Since the enemy doesn''t ept our kind advice, let''s just y trench warfare with them. Tonight we''ll organize a night raid squad, sneak over, and give them a surprise to slow down their digging." Pavlov: "Okay." Wang Zhong: "Grigori!" The sergeant major entered the bunker: "What''s up?" Wang Zhong: "Tonight, you''ll lead the raid team. Don''t cross the bridge to get there; it''s too conspicuous. Have the Naval Infantry row you across quietlythe key is to be silent." Grigori: "Understood. Am I to select the troops for the assault myself?" "You pick them yourself," Wang Zhong nodded. Pavlov: "Should we coordinate with the Naval Infantry? They''re continuing to send people over tonight to cover the technicians dismantling the radio station. Why not send them together?" Wang Zhong: "That''s fine too. You contact the Naval Infantry. To cover the raiding troops, we''ll provide artillery preparation tonight. With our current fire support n, the raiding troops can get as close as thirty meters without worrying about our own fire." "Fine." Pavlov picked up the handset, then suddenlyughed, "This thing is bing my tool of the trade, like a farmer and his hoe." Wang Zhong: "What are you talking about? That''s clearly your weapon! Just like my little tank." Pavlov frowned: "What ''little tank''? Your way of putting things is kind of disgusting." It was you who started it! At two in the morning. Wang Zhong, more tense than during the day,y beside the observation window, watching the opposite bank. Thanks to external support, he could clearly see that the enemy''s trenches had advanced 100 meters and were now 1,200 meters from the bank. At this rate, they would reach the bank in another twelve days. Wang Zhong''s external aids were many times more powerful at night than during the day. Under this visibility, the fact that he could see Prosen troops making coffee in the distant trenches was terrifying. Wang Zhong even thought, if he hadn''t joined the Ante People but instead gone to the United Kingdom, he probably would have been part of the Allied Forces'' daredevil squad, causing trouble for the Prussians with that hero who yed the bagpipes and brandished a longsword and longbow. At this moment, he saw the Naval Infantry''s boats setting off. Originally, Wang Zhong thought the boats would be rowed with oars, but the sailors ced ropes in the water, stretching straight to the opposite bank, and, like tug-of-war, pulled themselves across. Wang Zhong didn''t know when the Naval Infantry had ced the ropes; maybe they did it on the first day when theynded to nk the enemy, left the ropes there just for nighttime raids. One had to admit, the initiative of the Naval Infantry was terrifyingly high. Wang Zhong watched as Grigori led themando team ashore and was surprised to find an entirepany of Naval Infantry moving with them. It appeared that the Naval Infantry also nned a night raid and had readily agreed to join forces. Now, from Wang Zhong''s vantage point, there were three of our army''s markersnding at the crossing point. A Naval Infantrypany halted in ce, likely in charge of covering the technician''s dismantling of the radio. The other two markers slowly approached the enemy trenches. Due to low visibility, Wang Zhong could only see the units'' markers and not the specific actions of the people. On the other hand, the enemy was quite clear because of the highlighting featureno, that''s not right. Only those within Wang Zhong''s line of sight were highlighted, just one section of the trenches. The target of Grigori''s raid was just out of Wang Zhong''s highlighting range. Wang Zhong sighed, "Send me two more guards, I need to get closer to observe the situation." Pavlov was shocked: "Are you nning to cross the river?" Popov was off catching up on sleep, not in the bunker, but he probably would have had the same reaction if he were present. Wang Zhong: "No, I''m just walking along our positions. A walk. I overate tonight." Nelly: "Overeat? But you didn''t eat much, did you?" Wang Zhong: "I had a lot of pastries, and they expanded with water. Now I need to walk it off, that''s all." Pavlov: "But the artillery preparation is about to begin, is it okay for you to leave themand post at this time? The enemy might retaliate too." Wang Zhong had to give up. He had enough experience with enemy shelling over the past few days; without solid concrete fortifications, the barrages would have been sufficient to break the Guard Division. He had no desire to face the shelling outside the bunker. If he thought about it, even if he made it to a position where he could highlight the target location, he wouldn''t be able to help. After all, this wasn''t him personallymanding tankbat, where he could immediately direct tank fire upon highlighting the enemy. Just then, music suddenly drifted from across the river. Because the sound was too faint, Wang Zhong couldn''t clearly make out the song and asked Vasily: "Musician, what song is that?" Vasily listened intently for a few seconds, then said, "It seems to be ''Katyusha''." Wang Zhong: "The enemy is ying ''Katyusha''?" Vasily listened again and nodded, "Yes, it''s ''Katyusha'', and a woman is singing it. Probably yed on a captured phonograph." Wang Zhong''s mouth formed an O-shape. At that moment, Pavlov said, "It''s time, shall we start the artillery preparation?" Just as Wang Zhong was about to say "Fire," he suddenly saw the two units making their way towards the enemy lines speeding up their movement. Wang Zhong: "Don''t, don''t fire! There''s a change in the situation!" Chapter 259: Chapter 50 Night Raid (Supplement 4/33) On the west bank of the Duva River, Prussian Army frontline trenches. Captain Hans looked at the thing the engineers were carrying over and asked, "So, you want to listen to music in this kind of environment?" Someone from Hans''s subordinates shouted, "There isn''t a tailcoat for you to change into here!" "Nor are there any pretty girls!" another sergeant shouted. Everyone burst intoughter. "We found this in a nice house nearby, that house was turned into a dangerous building by the Ante People''s own artillery fire, so we rescued the phonograph. There''s also a piano that our colonel ns to take for his father-inw," the Captain of the engineers, who was in charge of moving the phonograph, said. Captain Hans: "Your colonel''s father-inw?" "A general, an old Junker," said the captain as he pointed to the newly dug bomb shelter entrance, "Just put it at the entrance of this hole." The soldiers moving the phonograph said, "There''s no electricity though." "This machine can be cranked by hand! Idiot! Hurry up and connect the speaker, then grab that handle and start winding." The private fitted the speaker and began to crank by hand. The captain then picked a record from a box held by another of his men: "Look at this, damn, can''t understand what''s written on it. Let''s have a listen." After saying this, the captain ced the record on the spinning turntable, then picked up the sound box and ced the needle on the record. At first, only a soft static noise came from the speaker, then the music began to y. Captain Hans smoked and listened to the music, even starting to tap his foot to the beat: "Not bad at all." Someone shouted, "That woman''s got a real nice voice, must be great when she calls out!" "Bastard! Don''t defile art!" Hans scolded, "Thinking about f***ing all day long! Can''t you properly assimte the... the... what''s the word? Forge? Smoke-cure?" "Cultivation," said the Captain of the engineers. "Oh right, right, engineers sure know a lot!" "I studied architecture in Weinahr, now I spend all day researching how to blow up buildings. Being transferred here to dig is like returning to my old trade," the engineer captain said. Hansughed, "Don''t worry, you''ll have your moment to shine. His Majesty the Emperor said that once we conquer Ante, we''ll drive them all out, and each of us will have a thousand acres ofnd!" "A thousand acres!" eximed the soldier who had just been thinking about f***ing, "That''s going to be deadly tiring to farm!" "Right, so a fine Prussian man will need to marry four wives then, and have them give birth every day!" Captain Hans said, puffing out a ring of smoke proudly and watching it disperse into the night. Beside him, the phonograph emitted a song that was unintelligible. "The song isn''t lively enough, turn it up faster!" the engineer captain said. The soldier operating the crank immediately quickened his pace. What was originally a sentimental tune instantly became something full of passion. Grigori was originally crawling on the ground, but when he heard what the song was singing, he stopped abruptly, his brows furrowed. Seeing this, everyone else also stopped. The Lieutenantmanding thepany asked Grigori softly, "Did they capture a singing girl?" Grigori shook his head, "No, it feels like a phonograph. Listen, it''s speeding up and slowing down, obviously someone is cranking it by hand." At that moment,ughter from the enemy came through the song, not knowing what they wereughing at. Then the singing of "Katyusha" suddenly sped up. Hearing the familiar melody turn into a tuneless thing, Grigori stood up and strode forward with great strides. Thepanymander following him was shocked, "Are you mad? The enemy sentries will open fire if they spot us!" However, there was no firing, and the enemy didn''t even realize what Grigori meant. Then the men from the Naval Infantry stood up, quickly advancing in a skirmish line. Seeing this, many from the Army also stood up, their skirmish line was not as neat as that of the Naval Infantry, but they advanced rapidly as ifpeting in a race walk with the sailors. The captain saw the situation and also stood up, cursing as he did so, "Damn it, forget about it!" Seeing the captain stand up, the rest of thepany got to their feet as well. In the pitch-ck night, the skirmish line rolled forward like a tidal wave, heading towards the enemy trench. Grigori, walking at the front, heard another burst ofughter and quickened his pace. At that moment, the captain ran up to him, "What will we do if they fire at us?" Grigori: "The general said as long as we keep thirty meters from the enemy, we won''t get hit. If artillery falls, we can still get down in time. If we are already within thirty meters when the shelling starts, we can charge forward and take cover in the trenches." The captain was astonished, "Is this tactic even sound?" Grigori didn''t answer, but broke into a run instead. The nearby Naval Infantrymen immediately caught on and started running as well. Soon, the entire line was running, with nobody shouting. Only footsteps and the sound of breathing filled the night air. And just like that, this bunch of men charged to the front of the trench, the whole time unnoticed by the Prosen sentries. Perhaps the Prosen soldiers had all their attention captured by the images depicted in the Imperial propaganda. Just then, Grigori heard the sound of an electric buzzering from the direction of the trench. Hans was in the midst ofughing with his men when suddenly the electric buzzer sounded, so he turned his head and shouted, "Time''s up, fire the res! Let''s see if any Ante rats are sneaking around!" The sentry watching their side immediately replied, "Got it." Then he picked up the re gun, and as he loaded the illumination round, he nced toward the gramophone. Just at that moment, a sentry from farther away shouted, "Who''s there? Aho!" In Prosennguage, one can shout "Aho" when spotting something unusual, or more formally, cry "Ah ku tong." The sentry''s shout didn''t alert the Prosen soldiers, who were gathered togetherughing and chatting. However, in the next moment, gunfire erupted. The Prosen area instantly fell silent, even the soldier who was cranking the gramophone stopped. Captain Hans reacted, yelling, "Ah ku tong! To your positions! Machine guns, fire! Light the re!" As he shouted, the sentrypleted loading the re and stretched the re gun out of the trench, shooting it into the sky. The red re soared, unveiling a corner of the night. The Ante soldiers in ck revealed their snarling faces. Hans shouted, "Fire at will!" The machine guns started firing. But the soldiers in ck seemed not to fear the machine guns at all; as the bullets flew, they showed no intention of ducking and instead started running, quickly moving out of the re''s illumination. Captain Hans heard the machine gunner wailing, "They''re not afraid of the machine guns!" The captain replied, "Don''t panic! Fire! If they''re human, they''ll fear the machine guns!" Suddenly, the re seemed to be hit; its parachute damaged by bullets, and so the still-burning body of the illumination re rapidly fell to the ground. Now the entire battlefield plunged into darkness. The captain ordered, "Another re! And bring up the mortars! Fire to halt their advance!" As soon as he spoke, the sh from the machine gun fire illuminated an angry face, along with a sailor''s jumper visible within the V-shaped cor of the ck uniform, and the streamers hanging behind the cap. The machine gunner, terrified, swung the gun toward the demon, but his adversary charged at him with a stride and lunged with a bay. The machine gun fell silent. More soldiers in ck jumped into the trench. Grigori entered the trench from the opposite side. Just as the re was fired, the Imperial Guard''s division infantry he led had not been hit by the light. Since the machine gun fire was mostly concentrated on the Naval Infantry, Grigori sprinted madly, closing to a distance where he could throw grenades. He didn''t charge directly into closebat like the sailors, but insteady prone and lobbed grenades first. After the explosion, a piercing shriek, like that of a pig being ughtered, rose from the trench. Grigori, clutching his submachine gun, leapt to the edge of the trench and sprayed bullets inside. At that moment, other soldiers'' grenades fell into the trench. Seeing this, Grigori hastily slid to the side andy at the trench''s edge. The next moment, a barrage of explosions erupted within the trench. Then the Imperial Guard infantry, with bays fixed to their Tokarevs, moved in. Grigori eximed, "You bastards nearly blew me up!" "But we didn''t, did we?" Grigori barked, "No chitchat! Clear the trench, recognize the cloaks! Also, the sailors with streamer caps andrgepels! Those without these are the enemy! Hurry!" No sooner had he finished speaking than another series of explosions burst from a trench less than ten meters from him. Grigori shouted, "It''s our own men in the trenches now! Stop throwing the grenades! Risk of friendly fire! Engage in closebat! Watch for the cloaks andrgepels!" Suddenly, Grigori saw someone standing up from the trench nearby, firing with a Prosen MP40. He immediately retaliated with his own MP40, unleashing a burst that sent the enemy ducking back into the trench, then hey on the trench edge to reload. In the dark, someone shouted in Prosennguage. Grigori, after reloading, got up, leaped into the trench, and charged toward the voice, only toe upon a golden trumpet. Beside the trumpet, a Prosen, likely an officer, was yelling. It was too dark to see clearly. Grigori fired a long burst, probably hitting the man with about five bullets, who then clutched his chest and fell. With the Prosen officer down, it revealed another Prosen soldier behind him grasping the handle of the gramophone. Grigori locked eyes with the Prosen. The next instant he pulled the trigger, feeling not a shred of pity for the enemy engaged in an activity so out of ce on the battlefield. After downing the private, Grigori rushed forward, grabbed the record of "Katyusha" that had been on the yer, tucked it into the pocket behind his magazine pouch, and then with a single swing destroyed the cumbersome gramophone with the butt of his gun. By then the Ante forces had seized control of the trench, and Grigori shouted, "Find the maps! Everyone look for maps! The general needs a map to arrange artillery fire!" At that moment, an infantry lieutenant approached, "Why hasn''t the artillery firee? It''s past the agreed time!" Grigori replied, "The enemy fired a re. The general probably knows we''ve broken through, so he didn''t call for the artillery." The lieutenant eximed in astonishment, "The general is that impressive?" "Of course! How else could he make the enemy tremble at the mention of his name?" Grigori said with undisguised pride. "Stop standing around! Find the maps! Hurry and find the maps! Grab any documents if you can''t find maps, otherwise our assault would have been for nothing!" Then a sailor in ck approached, "Stop yelling, we''ve captured a wounded captain!" Chapter 260: Chapter 51: The Situation on September 24th (Supplementary Update 5/33) ``` "Has he confessed?" Wang Zhong asked, rising Popov. This time, capturing prisoners, he didn''t waste time meeting with them face-to-face but handed them over to the "professionals." Popov: "He has, in fact, he spilled everything as soon as he saw the Judge, and even embellished a bit." Wang Zhong asked curiously, "Embellished a bit?" "Yes, saying that we are about to lose anyway, so it doesn''t hurt to tell us," Popov said, spreading his hands, "Are they colluding? Normally, I''d suspect this to be an enemy trap." Wang Zhong: "Alright, so what did he reveal?" "The progress chart for the earthworks, the rotation schedulebut the recent night raid has nearly wiped out apany, and the rotation will definitely be disrupted. Additionally, there''s interesting news that now, anymand post above the division level within our artillery range relocated every two days." Wang Zhong replied with suspicion, "Relocate every two days; must theyy the phone lines all over again?" Based on Wang Zhong''s experience thus far, once the division headquarters was established, it was quite difficult to change because a plethora of phone lines ran from the headquarters and needed to be rid entirely if the location was to be altered. This was a very, very troublesome task. Given themunication battalion''s capabilities of the Ante Army, it would take about a day toy the lines to each regiment, meaning that every time the division''s location changed, a day was spentying lines. Before the lines were done,munication had to be conducted via couriers. Popov: "The interrogated man was a captain, just apanymander, so how could he know how the phone lines wereid? Anyway, they change headquarters every two days. You forced them to!" Wang Zhong: "This is a good thing though, theirmunications will definitely be affected when moving themand post. It''s a pity we are not the attackers; attacking while the enemy is relocating theirmand post would be excellent." "When we attack, the enemy''smand posts should be in concrete bunkers. They''re not necessarily afraid of being bombed," said Popov. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "That''s true. Let''s consider such matters when it''s our turn to attack." Popov continued, "Moreover, the captain also disclosed the location of his battalion''s headquarters, which is in a temporary bunker here." As soon as the words were out, there was the sound of an explosion from across the river. Wang Zhong quickly stood up, went to the observation port to look out, and although he could barely make out the smoke rising opposite, after changing the view angle, he saw an injured soldier in the trench, probably wailingWang Zhong couldn''t hear, only guess by his movements. Then, medics carefully approached to administer first aid, and a lieutenant was issuing orders to subordinates. Sappers with mine detectors then appeared. Wang Zhong: "The mines are effective. Too bad we didn''t have them bring pickle jar lids over." Vasily: "The note I wrote for Sergeant Grigori is in Prosennguage, stating we nted 200 mines." Wang Zhong: "Might that be a bit excessive?" "I signed it with your name," Vasily said with a mischievous smile. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "What''s the logic in that? The enemy will believe it just because it''s signed with my name?" Vasily: "You never know! The enemy is famously rigid; maybe they''re still looking for the remaining fifteen mines in Karlinovka." Wang Zhong waved his hands dismissively, "Not likely, not likely, those are just stereotypes." Turning to Popov, he asked, "Did you say the captain confessed the enemy''s battalion headquarters?'' Popov took up a pencil and marked an HQ symbol on the detailed map of the front line on the table, "Here. They''ve set up a shelter with wooden support structures. It''s said the soilyer is one meter thick; unless a 152 artillery shell hits the battalion''s shelter directly, it''s unlikely our shelling will do much." "Also, right next to the battalion headquarters is the brigade headquarters of the engineers responsible for the earthworks, also dug in," added Popov. Looking at the battalion headquartersbel, Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "So enemymand posts will all be digging these bomb-proof types from now on? Will decapitation be impossible then?" Vasily: "We could have the Air Force give it a try; a 100 kg bomb dropped right on the bunker would definitely blow the whole thing sky-high." Popov admired the idea: "Good thinking, let''s give it a shot." Wang Zhong shook his head, "No, no, they couldn''t hit the artillery positions urately, so we would need to cover with our shelling. This bunker would be definitely harder to identify from the air; I doubt the uracy." Vasily: "Let''s just try; don''t worry about the ne losses, the air strike target is just five kilometers in front of us. After dropping the bombs, they can fly low to return to the safety of Divine Arrow. The pilots are idle anyway!" Wang Zhong and Popov exchanged nces. Popov: "I support giving it a try." "Fine," Wang Zhong conceded, "we''ll have the Air Force give it a try after daybreak." "We didn''t hit the target," Hamov''s voice came through the phone, "Actually, we''re not even sure which one the bunker was, it''s too hard to distinguish. We can try again after the nes are serviced, but honestly, don''t get your hopes up." Wang Zhong: "Understood. Continue with yourbat readiness and air defense duties, thank you for your hard work." "This is what we should be doing," Hamov replied. Wang Zhong put down the receiver, looking at Pavlov who had not been present when the decision was madest night, "That''s the situation, the air strike was ineffective." Pavlov clicked his tongue, "Shelling''s useless, air is ineffective. It seems taking out that battalion headquarters is no longer an option, indicating the enemy''s earthworks method is working. Last night''s raid dyed their progress, but tonight, they will certainly be prepared. "Should we consider retracting our defense line to the east bank and abandoning the original n of letting the enemy bleed at the bridgehead? If we only defend the east bank, the enemy would have to cross the river, and the exchange ratio should be favorable." ``` Chapter 261: Chapter 51: The Situation on September 24th (Supplementary Update 5/33)_2 Wang Zhong: "Shells falling on the water can''tpare to the damage they do onnd. Although underwater shockwaves will injure many people, the water itself absorbs a lot of energy, preventing the waves from traveling far." Underwater explosions have a smaller lethal range, but their lethality increases. However, the problem is, for the fragile human body, this increased lethality doesn''t make much difference. Whether a person is killed by partial organ bleeding or by all internal organs bursting, there isn''t much difference to the dead. Moreover, underwater explosions also affect the lethal range of shrapnel. That is to say, there is basically no shrapnel. Firearms designed for underwater use on Earth after the war use special bullets with a lethal range of only about 30 meters. Don''t underestimate "water", this almost ipressible material. Popov, arms crossed: "This way, we''vee across a formidable enemy, eh? Onnd they use trenches to advance and negate our artillery, and once they get to the riverbank, they rely on the water to weaken our artillery fire. What did that guy sign his name asst time he invented Morse code for us?" Wang Zhong: "Siegfried Gis." He remembered it so clearly not because the enemy made a big impression, but because his name was only one letter different from the "Good Redhead" in Legend of the Gctic Heroes. Wang Zhong looked across the river again. The enemy had begun to advance again, slowly but surely. Now, Wang Zhong saw the enemy like he used to watch ants move when he was a child squatting next to an anthill. But as a child, when he got bored, he could pour water from his kettle to create a flood, then pretend he was God, choose a lucky ant to be Noah, and give it a piece of leaf as an ark. Now he could only watch the enemy advanceright? Wang Zhong suddenly spotted an oversight by the enemy: "Wait a minute, have they pulled up any anti-tank guns?" The others also came to the observation window, looking through their own binocrs. "I don''t see any." "But they might be camouged. Our own anti-tank guns are very well camouged." Wang Zhong: "Grigori!" Grigori immediately entered: "Here." Wang Zhong: "Did you see any anti-tank guns yesterday?" Grigori: "No, we used up all the enemy''s res before we retreated, and we didn''t see any anti-tank gun positions." Wang Zhong picked up the receiver: "Connect me to the airfield." Soon, the voice of the ground controller from the airfield came through: "Who is it?" Wang Zhong: "It''s Rocossov, let Hamov listen." "Alright." After a moment, Hamov''s voice came through: "Major General! What''s the matter?" "Did you see any anti-tank guns while you were flying?" "No, I''m pretty sure of that. The enemy''s trenches were freshly dug, camouges were barely up, and we could clearly see each section of the trenches, they didn''t set up any anti-tank guns." Wang Zhong: "Good, thank you." He hung up the phone and grinned at the others: "The enemy wasn''t expecting us to attack, they didn''t set up anti-tank guns at the front." Pavlov: "Are you nning a tank assault? But how are you going to cross the river? The Prussians'' submersible tanks all fed the fish. And then these chunks of metal conveniently turned into reefs, ferries don''t dare go to the opposite bank now." Wang Zhong: "I''ll go over the bridge. Drive the KV off the tbed, two T34s on a car, then unload on the other side of the railway." Pavlov: "What about enemy artillery bombardment while you''re unloading?" Wang Zhong was at a loss for words. It was then that Vasily said, "We''ll bombard them first, theny down a smoke screen at the bridgehead!" Pavlov shook his head, "No, no, that would obviously signal we''re up to something, eliminating the element of surprise. The enemy would be prepared. We can''t stake victory on the enemy''s negligence! If the enemy reacts and starts bombarding us, we would suffer huge losses, especially the lotive, which is most vulnerable." Wang Zhong suddenly pped his thigh, "No! We won''t unload the KVs. Instead, add a few more tank cars behind the three tcars carrying the KVs, and load them with Naval Infantry. And don''t reverse the lotive onto the bridge, just drive straight, pushing the train forward." He excitedly went to the map table and examined the map closely, "Look! The enemy''s regimental and brigade headquarters are right beside the railway tracks. They have no reason to dismantle the railway, so our armored train can definitely charge right up to the entrance of the enemy''s regimental headquarters." "Just the KVs is not enough, after all, the tank''s coaxial machine gun can only fire forward, it''s nearly useless. We can add sandbag fortifications on the tcars and mount machine guns." Pavlov: "We can even put one of our anti-aircraft guns on there, a 25-mm machine gun whose effectiveness against personnel has been confirmed." Wang Zhong: "And add elite Naval Infantry. Then to prevent this raid from being caught by enemy dive bombers, deploy a Divine Arrow team as well." After thinking for a while, Pavlov said, "This tacticpletely defiesmon sense. If I had submitted such a n back in military school, I would have surely failed. But strangely, now I actually think this n might work." Wang Zhong: "Of course, it''s feasible. The enemy doesn''t have anti-tank guns, what will they use to hit our armored train? Plus, we can prepare artillery fire, and with the train''s speed, we can rush up to the enemy in an instant. "Of course, to execute this n, we need highly skilled infantry. These soldiers must have enough initiative to spread out and control the surrounding area when the train stops. "So, we must get help from the Naval Infantry." "I''ll make a phone call..." Wang Zhong then turned to Vasily: "You stay at the lotive with the captured radio, and keep in touch with me at all times." "Okay... Huh? With you?" Wang Zhong: "Of course, I''ll personallymand the leading KV tank." The reason Wang Zhong personally tookmand was to draw out the enemy''s anti-tank guns ahead of time. The biggest threat to the n was the anti-tank guns. Especially the enemy''s 88-gun; a direct encounter with it would be like walking into the tiger''s den. So, Wang Zhong had to take the risk himself. Wang Zhong was worried that Pavlov would object, so after speaking, he looked towards him. Pavlov was also looking at Wang Zhong: "Would you listen if I objected?" Wang Zhong: "No." "Then that settles it." Pavlov sighed, "Moreover,pared to your previous reckless ns, this one is much safer. At least you''ll be in a KV1, and even I know that its armor is reliable." Wang Zhong: "Really? You won''t report me? The moment you pick up the receiver, you''re contacting Liu Xia." "No." Popov asked, "If we''re not letting Ludm Vasilyevna know, then which team should we choose?" Wang Zhong: "Yekaterina Andropovna Bncheva, that little one who''d keep chasing the enemy even if she lost sight of the target with her Divine Arrow." Nelly raised an eyebrow. Wang Zhong continued, "Her abilities are more suitable for this mission, after all, there might not be many opportunities to directly see the enemy while the train is moving at high speed." It was then that Pavlov put down the telephone receiver, "The train station said they can add another lotive, that way we can maintain high speed bothing and going." Wang Zhong: "Good, let them proceed with that!" Chapter 262: Chapter 52 Action "Crossing the Duva River It was not until noon that the armored train was fully prepared. Wang Zhong looked at his watch and said to Pavlov, "From five in the morning until now, it took a full eight hours for you to get ready!" Pavlov: "Combining so many carriages and piling sandbags on top, installing machine guns, and allocating ammunition... finishing all that in eight hours is quite good." Wang Zhong stood up: "Alright, I''ll go check out my little train." Just as he was about to leave the room, Pavlov stopped him, "Wait a minute, this operation needs a name, otherwise I can''t even log it in the diary." Wang Zhong was taken aback. Defense operations did not require creative n namesjust a series of contingency codes was enough. Offensive ns actually needed names. Wang Zhong thought of many clever operation names in an instant, such as "Charlie Don''t Surf," a name first used by the American military in Vietnam, before they got a wallop. Latter, in Somalia, the Americans tried it again, not taking the hintlosing the A?u, damn it, what else could stand in my way! And they got a wallop again. The name waster appropriated by the video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," in which the American assault troops ended up being hit by a tactical nuclear missile, bing one of the memorable scenes in video game history. So, no matter what the operation was called, it most definitely shouldn''t be "Charlie Don''t Surf." "Christmas Offensive" was another name to avoid. After thinking for a moment, Wang Zhong said, "Let''s call it ''Crossing the Merafengmon River.''" Pavlov looked puzzled: "Where is the Merafengmon River?" Wang Zhong: "It''s a fictional where I buried my naivety, arrogance, and countlessrades-in-arms." Pavlov was full of question marks, but Wang Zhong just patted his shoulder: "It''s just something from a dream, don''t worry about it." Pavlov hesitated: "Are you sure you want to call it that? Should I write it in the operation n?" Wang Zhong was astonished this time: "We have an operation n?" "Yes, I had the staff write it while I was dispatching forces. I read it, and it''s not bad, looks like a n that''s been carefully considered for a long time." Vasily, preparing to follow Wang Zhong to the station with the radio on his back, heard the words "carefully considered" and burst outughing: "It''s clearly just a spur-of-the-moment n hatched by the general!" Wang Zhong sternly scolded: "Turning such an improvisational n into reality, making sure it''s thoroughly implemented, shows that Pavlov is an excellent chief of staffah!" Pavlov shook his head: "You don''t need to butter me up with ttery; I didn''t oppose your n because I saw its feasibility. The enemy most likely wouldn''t have expected us to strike in this way and will be caught off guard." He paused, then said: "Let''s not call it ''Crossing the Merafengmon River.'' Wouldn''t it be just fine to call it ''Crossing the Duva River''?" Wang Zhong thought about it: "That works too." After all, naming it after a sci-fi game was a bit too much. But in the future, if therees a time to attack on a bright, sunny day, I''ll definitely name it ''Climbing Naroda Peak,'' whether or not this world has such a mountain. Pavlov: "Now that the naming issue is resolved, you can depart. Good luck, General." After that, he stood at attention and saluted. All the people remaining in themand center saluted Wang Zhong, Grigori, and Vasily as well. Wang Zhong saluted back: "Wait for news of my victory." September 24th noon, 1230 hours, Shostka train station. As Wang Zhong walked onto the tform, he saw that the lead car of the armored train, a KV, had been painted with the number 422, and a red g hung from its radio antenna. All the tank operators were standing outside in a row, as if they were waiting for an inspection. When they saw Wang Zhong arriving, the captain gave themand: "All crew, attention! Salute!" The Ante People''s salute emphasized puffing out the chest and raising the chin, exuding an aura of fearlessness. Wang Zhong said to the captain, "I''m sorry for taking your ce." "I will be in the anti-aircraft gun carriage behind to oversee the direction of the anti-aircraft guns," the captain said, "but what about the original crew of train 422? Won''t you need them?" Wang Zhong: "They''re more familiar with the T34. You''ve been fighting alongside tanks for so long, I wouldn''t separate you from them." "Only those faithful war machines will provide us with a steel tomb," said the captain. Wang Zhong: "No, the Prosen tank operators are excellent, but don''t emte their military songs. We aim to annihte the enemy and then return alive, to see our mothers." Wang Zhong raised his voice, addressing everyone: "I know many of you might think this is a suicide mission. That ispletely wrong! We are going to deal a heavy blow to the enemy forces and then return alive! "You can look at my recordmy troops often fought brutally, but each time, we killed even more enemies! This time will be no different!" After his speech, the entire train started to chant "Ura." Wang Zhong suddenly thought, if the enemy chose this moment to shell the station, they could likely break up our offensive in one fell swoop. Too bad the enemy''s regr shelling had stopped earlier today. Prosen people stand out for being clock-punching and businesslike. Wang Zhong: "Board the train, prepare to depart!" Hismand was passed back by each carmander, spreading to the distance. Vasily, with the radio on his back, jogged toward the rear of the train. Wang Zhong was thest to climb aboard the tank, squeezing into the turret. In front of the tank, the machine gunner behind the sandbags was ready. The t car Wang Zhong was on now had sandbags arranged in an arrowhead formation at the front, with no machine guns at the back because the directional machine gun on the tank chassis could sweep the area in front. Behind the arrowhead sandbags, there were two machine gun nests, each with one machine gun aimed at the sides. There were also two more machine gun nests behind the tank. One car with one KV1 tank, plus four machine guns, symbolized a ruthlessck of familial affection. The t car behind had fewer machine guns, but behind the sandbag barricades,y two squads of naval infantry, ready to disembark forbat. Section three of the tbed car sported four additional machine guns. Section four was a sealed boxcar stuffed with two toons of Naval Infantry. Section five was an anti-aircraft artillery car, equipped with a 72K anti-aircraft gun and the Divine Arrow team, plus a squad of Naval Infantry to protect those praying. The sixth and seventh sections were both sealed boxcars, filled entirely with Naval Infantry in ck uniforms. Next came the lotive and the coal tender. A squad of Naval Infantry had also mbered atop the lotive, and there was another squad on the mountain of coal in the tender. Anyway, Wang Zhong''s armored train was notably crammed with enough Naval Infantry; by the end of the day, ck Death''s fame would be thoroughly established. Wang Zhong put on his headphones and picked up the handset, "Vasily, can you hear me? Vasily?" "I can hear you, you''re asking for tomatoes, aren''t you?" This was the agreed-upon code indicating that Vasily had reached the rear lotive, allowing Wang Zhong tomand the train through Vasily''s Prosen-made radio. Wang Zhong, "That''s right, tomatoes." Just then, the sound of artillery fire could be heardthe artillery position was well-camouged in the nearby woods. At the same time as the artillery barrage, eight Yak-1 fighter nes flew over the train. Wang Zhong had not requested air support, but it seemed the Air Force pilots had taken their initiative. Without even changing his viewpoint, Wang Zhong could see the 100kg bombs carried under the wings of those Yak-1s with his own eyes. Wang Zhong thought to himself, I''ve somehow instilled some battle habits into the Ant Air Force that they should not have. Then, Hamov''s voice came through Wang Zhong''s headphones, "Old farmer, old farmer, what are we eating today?" Wang Zhong had not arranged code words with the Air Force, guessing the pilots hade up with something on the spot after hearing his previous conversation with Vasily about tomatoes. "Today, we have tomato egg soup!" Wang Zhong replied. "Really looking forward to that!" By then, Wang Zhong could no longer see the nes, and the radiomunication began to crackle with static; Ante''s radios were just like that. The radios salvaged from enemy tanks were tank models, and the Naval technicians were still figuring out how to adapt them. Looking at his watch, Wang Zhong saw the artillery assault had fifteen minutes left before it ended; it was time to move out. So, he said to Vasily, "Vasily, add two more eggnts." "Understood, adding one more eggnt." Hardly a few seconds had passed in response when the train suddenly jolted and then began to move forward slowly. Crossing the Duva River required first traversing the entirety of Shostka. As the train moved, the railway sides were lined with Shostka residents who had not yet fled. Those who had not evacuated were basically working on logistics, and when Wang Zhong''s troops needed to retreat, they would be evacuated first. Wang Zhong heard a woman crying, "What a great general, going off to a generous death." No, why does everyone assume I am heading to my death? It seemed that the enemy''s prior victories had indeed severely dented the confidence of the Ante people. Today, I will let the civilians know that we can mount an offensive that isn''t a death sentence! With that in mind, the train rolled onto the great bridge over the Duva River. Wang Zhong looked down at the glittering Duva River below and suddenly remembered his childhood, the first time he crossed the Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing by train. Sometimes, Wang Zhong really couldn''t distinguish between Ante and the homnd from his memoriesperhaps because both were vast and beautiful. Who knows when I''ll cross the Duva River again. As the train passed the bridgehead, soldiers guarding the fortress cheered, "Ura!" Damn it, the enemy is less than two kilometers away, and though they''re currently under artillery fire, shouting like that might alert them! Carrying these worries, Wang Zhong nced at the enemy position and realized there was no issue; the enemy was in disarray from the shelling and couldn''t concern themselves with this. At this moment, the artillery began to extend their fire, and the barrage pushed forward. The train coincidentally advanced along with the barrage. The enemy trenches, just a mere nce away, quickly approached! Wang Zhong yelled, "Open fire!" All the machine guns began to fire. The enemy was clearly bewildered, having never seen such an operation. Wang Zhong, "Vasily, reduce an eggnt." "Got it!" Then Wang Zhong distinctly felt the train slow down. At this speed, the Naval Infantry could disembark to fight; Wang Zhong had it all arranged. The infantry needed to clear the enemies on both sides of the railway and establish defense positions to ensure the train''s safe retreat. After all, the lotive would be leading the way during retreat, and should its cylinders be punctured, that would be problematic. Wang Zhong switched his viewpoint and saw two toons of infantry disembarking from the train. But instead of establishing defensive positions, they charged toward the enemy, who were still stunned. The rattle of submachine guns and the thunderous Ura cries merged into one on the enemy lines. Even though the train had slowed, it continued its trotting gallop along the tracks. The machine guns on the tbed cars fired in all directions. After breaking through the enemy''s first line of defense, the guns began to target the mules and other transport vehicles on either side of the railway. Wang Zhong himself grabbed an anti-aircraft machine gun from the tank, firing down below while shouting, "Fire, fire! Don''t spare them just because they are logistics personnel!" Chapter 263: Chapter 53 Sudden Attack Wang Zhong began to push forward, only to discover the enemy''s defensive line was meticulously dug, with a reserve trench behind the first trench, followed by the second trench. All the trenches were dug in a W shape, which made it difficult for the armored train to effectively use its firepower, requiring the infantry to clear it bit by bit. Luckily, Wang Zhong''s car had plenty of Naval Infantry. When they reached themunication trench, a toon of infantry voluntarily went down and advanced along the trench. The Prussians hadn''t ced any soldiers in themunication trench, but the Naval Infantry still advanced cautiously and searched vigntly. After crossing the third trench, the enemy''s regimental headquarters and the sapper brigade''s headquarters were just ahead. They werepletely out of sight, clearly, the Prussians had reinforced their camouge after yesterday''s Air Force bombing. But from Wang Zhong''s viewpoint, the Prussian officers inside the bunker were highlighted in red, making them hard to miss. Wang Zhong immediately ordered, "Turret, turn thirty degrees to the left! You''ll see a cluster of chopped-down birch tree stumps, the entrance to the enemy bunker is right next to it! Fire!" The KV1 tank gun spat out mes. Because the train was moving, the first shot hit next to the entrance, sending the guard at the door skyward. Wang Zhong: "Vasily, reduce by one eggnt!" The next moment, the train started braking. Only upon actually arriving did Wang Zhong realize how many enemies there were: apart from twomand centers, there were arge number of the enemy''s logistical units, and even a battery position within view. His view was crowded with red humanoid icons, reminiscent of the Forbidden City during a long holiday! No, that was an exaggeration; after all, the Prussians adhered to the principle of dispersal, spreading out quite widely. It was only because Wang Zhong had a raised perspective that it seemed so crowded. Seeing so many enemies, Wang Zhong instinctively ducked, pulling the turret hatch down, retracting his upper body into the turret, with only his eyes looking out and the hatch resting on his head. But as he looked around, it seemed like the enemy hadn''t even bothered to target him, theirmander. The Naval Infantry disembarked; they didn''t like to shout "hurrah" and just silently charged forward, efficiently eliminating the enemy. All machine guns were firing. The sole 72K anti-aircraft gun was also in action, its shells continuouslynding amidst the enemy. Wang Zhong popped his head out again, watching the scene and feeling a sense of dj vu. Oh, right, there''s an American movie called "Pearl Harbor" by Michael Bay, in which the Japanese air raid scatters American soldiers chaoticallya scene that became a popr meme among military enthusiasts. The Prussian soldiers now resembled the panicked American troops from the film exactly. The Naval Infantry, d in ck, herded them like sheepdogs chasing a flock. Looking at the scene, Wang Zhong suddenly thought: Isn''t this going a bit too smoothly? Usually, when things go this smoothly, shouldn''t a Tiger tank suddenly emerge from the woods? Where''s the Tiger tank? Oh, it hasn''t been developed yet, never mind then. At that moment, Wang Zhong noticed something elsethe color of the surrendered enemy highlighted in his vision would change, turning to a lighter shade of red. He hadn''t noticed this before, either because there were too few surrendered enemies or they were isted individuals. Now it was obvious, patches of bright red turning into lighter shades. Just like damn neon lights. Then something even more ridiculous happened; the force Wang Zhong had brought with him wasn''t thatrge, at most a reinforcedpany, so he couldn''t possibly control the entire frontline. Yet, he had illuminated a whole four kilometers of the frontline, controlling perhaps only a kilometer on either side of the railway. But the entire enemy line began to copse. It started with the nearest units abandoning their positions to flee, and like an avnche, the wave of copse spread north and south. Wang Zhong fell into thought: Could it be that the enemy wasn''t as elite as I imagined, determined to fight to the death? This Asgard Knights unit should be on par with the Sturmtiger''s X-Guard troops on Earth, right? They could break too? At that point, Naval Infantry Commander Major Galinin approached Wang Zhong''s tank and saluted: "The organized resistance of the enemy has been crushed. We''re capturing prisoners; how should we deal with them?" Wang Zhong was about to proceed as he used to, but then he remembered something. Previously, he didn''t take prisoners, but simply shot them in the shoulder and let them go because there was no choice. Now, why not take these prisoners and send them back? The enemy was copsing; let those at the bridgeheade out and give assistance. Couldn''t they cover a few kilometers on foot? Send these prisoners back, stuff them into sealed wagons to Ye Fort, and let the locals have some joy! No, first let the supportive locals in Shostka have their fun, to see that we, too, can win battles! Make these prisoners parade the streets, indulging in the people''s rotten eggs and piss mud; wouldn''t that be splendid? Wang Zhong''s expression wasn''t visible since he wasn''t using a picture-in-picture screen. If he''d seen it, he surely would have asked, "Whose grandad are you?" Yes, his expression was just like that of an old grandad in ssic films who sees a pretty girl. Chinese audiences seeing this expression would instinctively imagine the line: "Yo-ho!" Of course, Wang Zhong didn''t see this, missing the opportunity for self-mockery. He sternly told Major Galinin, "Disarm them, and send absolutely reliable soldiers to escort them across the bridge. I''ll notify Shostka to be ready to receive them." Major Galinin: "Yes, sir!" As the Major went to carry out the orders, Wang Zhong directly addressed Shostka inly: "Headquarters, headquarters, I have crushed the enemy''s defenses. Preparing to send back the prisoners, be ready to receive." After a moment''s thought, he added, "Tell the armored units, prepare for a counterattack, straight to the heart." Having given the order, he put down the handset and shouted to a Naval Infantryman beside him, "You, run fast! Tell headquarters, no armored counterattack! That was just to deceive the enemy!" The Naval Infantryman saluted and jumped off the train. He didn''t start running immediately but looked around for a bit and found a motorcycle to ride off on. Wang Zhong was stunned as he watched the Naval Infantry leave: I didn''t even think of riding a motorcycle. As he rode the motorcycle, thergepels and streamers on the Naval Infantry''s cap danced wildly in the wind. Pavlov put down the radio headset and looked at Popov. Popov, "Armor counterattack?" Pavlov, "I think this might be a ruse to deceive the enemy. He likes ying these little tricks. Someone shoulde running with orders soon, telling us not to counterattack." Popov, "Let''s still prepare for it. Anyway, it will take an hour to organize an armored counterattack." "Alright," nodded Pavlov. At this moment, a captain of the Naval Infantry came to report, "Report to the General, we have captured twelve heavy cannons; judging from the numbers on the ammunition boxes, they are likely 150mm." Wang Zhong, "Do we have enough mules and horses to haul them away?" "We do." Wang Zhong, "Then haul them away!" The captain also reported, "We also found eight 50mm mortars." Wang Zhong, "Haul them away...hmm? How many millimeters?" "Fifty millimeters." "That''s garbage, blow it up so the enemy can''t use it." In theory, any weapon should be utilized, but those 50mm mortars of the Prussians were truly garbage with a short range and low power. On Earth, the Sturmtiger had tried them and found them unsatisfactory, so they stopped producing them and even dmissioned the ones already in service, handing them over to the rear-guard troops for fighting insurgencies. Then the rear-guard troops also didn''t like using this stuff against insurgents because it was simply too crappy. Not long after the captain left, a squad of Naval Infantry escorted arge group of Prosen officers over. The leading ensign stood at attention and reported, "General, these men want to see you and refuse to march to the other side of the river." Wang Zhong looked at the group of officers, recognizing their insignia one by one. Then he remembered, shouldn''t I be able to use an "external plugin"? Forget it, identifying insignia also has its own charm! Among these captured men was unexpectedly a colonel, who ording to intelligence should be the brigadier of an engineer brigade. Wang Zhong, "I am Rokossovsky, you wanted to see me, and now you have." He then looked at the ensign, expecting him to trante because he thought the ensign knew Prussian. However, the ensign remained silent, only gesturing with his mouth to one of the majors among the captives. The major immediately tranted Wang Zhong''s words for the others. Well, it turned out they had a trantor among the enemy. Then the colonel reached for his pocket. All the surrounding infantry were rmed, "Don''t move, hands up!" Wang Zhong, "Let him go for it." The colonel stared at Wang Zhong for a second before he took out a monocle from his pocket and clipped it to his eye socket. Only then did he carefully observe Wang Zhong, who was sitting in the tank gun turret. He then scanned the tank''s tactical number and the red g atop the radio antenna. He spoke, "Truly as formidable as your reputation, a man of fine presence." Wang Zhong, "You speak thenguage of Ante?" The colonel seemed to be taken aback by Wang Zhong''s crude expression, his brow furrowed, but he continued, "Deploying irregr forces to break the norm is unconventional but an excellent offensive tactic. We were all fooled by you, General Rokossovsky." Wang Zhong, "After being night-attacked yesterday, you should have been more vignt." Colonel, "We were vignt, and surely, your night attack tonight would not have seeded!" And then you forgot to be vignt during the day, huh. The colonel continued to make excuses, "Our mission was to perform civil engineering work! Nobody told us we had to resist an elite infantry raid. Moreover, both the infantry and artillery had no idea what they were doing! What could a single engineer brigade do? We only have one battalion ofbat engineers with fighting capability, but our main task now is civil engineering, there''s no use forbat engineers!" Wang Zhong, "Where is yourbat engineer battalion stationed?" "It makes no difference now, they must have retreated with the other units." The colonel sighed, "Now that you''ve captured all the military engineering experts of the entire army, I suppose the progress will be significantly dyed until the new experts arrive." Wang Zhong chuckled, "Isn''t that a good thing? Alright then, gentlemen, you have seen me, it''s time to cross the bridge obediently, isn''t it?" The colonel nervously asked, "What kind of treatment can we expect?" Wang Zhong, "First, you will be paraded through the streets. I guess as soon as you are escorted over, the parade willmence, and your pretty uniforms will likely be covered in rotten eggs and urine mud. Ah, urine mud is when children pee in the dirt and then pick up the soil." The colonel''s eyebrows twisted tightly, "That''s against international conventions!" Wang Zhong, "Be grateful! I''ve witnessed the atrocities you havemitted with my own eyes. I won''t bother to distinguish who did what. All these acts of brutality must be borne by your entire army. International conventions are made for humans, not beasts." "Take them away!" Chapter 264: Chapter 54 Battle Results Display (Alliance Hierarch Added) At the same time, in Shostka Pavlov: "I''ve just realized, after being bombarded for days, there aren''t many intact buildings left to hold the prisoners." Popov: "There''s no need to house them. The enemy is likely to reciprocate our artillery fire tonight. The bombardment could well kill off half of these prisoners. Just put them next to the train station, and when the supply train arrives tonight, we can unload the supplies and load them up immediately." Popov paused, then added, "If the enemy begins shelling during this process, we can say that the enemy deliberately killed these prisoners. We''ll use that for propaganda purposes." Pavlov thought about it and nodded, "Alright, let''s do that. There''s arge storage area right next to the train station. They can sunbathe there. It''s autumn, so they won''t get heatstroke." Having decided, Pavlov picked up the phone to issue orders, calling for apany from the reserves to deploy along the railway. Suddenly, Popov said, "No! They can''t go along the railway!" Pavlov, confused, held the microphone of the handset and looked at the Military Bishop, "What''s wrong?" "First, if the train needs to retreat, it will be blocked by them. Second, only the civilians working by the railway will be able to see them. We need these prisoners to get off the railway bridge, walk down the city''s main thoroughfare, pass through the district on the east bank, and then turn towards the train station. "That way, the entire Guardian Army and thebor force can see them. Even thoseborers who are working will be able to see!" Pavlov, enlightened by Popov''s words, eximed, "To boost everyone''s morale! Alright, I''ll make arrangements." He immediately amended the order, instructing the called-uppany to spread out along the streets all the way to the train station. In the afternoon, themon folks of Shostka gathered on the main thoroughfare, looking puzzled at the Imperial Guard soldiers lined up along it. The Priest, with a metal megaphone, was shouting: "Please do not gather, please do not gather. The enemy could shell us at any moment, the enemy could shell us at any moment!" But not a single person left. Everyone was whispering among themselves. "What''s going on here?" "I heard that the general has just crossed to the opposite bank, maybe he has be a martyr!" "Nonsense! Be careful lest the Judge hears you!" "But why are they lined up like this?" The crowd discussed back and forth to no avail, but more and more people gathered. Suddenly, cheering erupted from the west end of the street: "Hurray!" Curious, everyone pushed forward to see what was happening, but the lined-up Imperial Guards blocked them with their rifles held sideways. "Don''t push, don''t push! You''ll all get to see!" An old woman, curious, asked the leading lieutenant, "What''s going on? What''s there to see?" "I don''t know either. They just asked me to line up. I''m even more curious than you, ma''am!" As everyone was chatting away, the cheering gradually drew closer. Then, a child who had climbed onto the roof shouted, "It''s the Prussians! The Prussians are entering the city!" His mother immediately scolded him, "Nonsense, there hasn''t been any gunfire!" "But really, there are people in gray uniformsing this way!" the child protested. Others too began to see: "Gray uniforms! They''re marching this way in formation!" Had it not been for the people next to them starting to shout "Hurray," some might have run away. The gray-uniformed figures then came into everyone''s view. The Prussians marched down the street in formation, all covered in rotten eggs and mud. They carried no weapons, walking with heads lowered in a dejected manner, while the proud soldiers in ck strode alongside them. "It''s the prisoners! The general has sent back prisoners!" Someone shouted out. As if awakened from a dream, everyone immediately cheered, "Hurray!" In the next moment, all sorts of things were thrown at the prisoners. One olddy, while throwing things, shouted, "You''ve been captured too! Serves you right! Serves you right!" "Hand them all over to the Judge! Let them have a taste of our harshness!" "Get out of our country!" Facing the overwhelming rage, the prisoners wilted like overstored vegetables. The crowd quickly tired though because they realized the line of prisoners was too long. Someone muttered in surprise, "Just how many prisoners has the general captured?" "There must be thousands of them, right?" "No, look how long the line isit must be tens of thousands! Remember, that''s General Rokossovsky! He blew up nine of the enemy''s generals!" In the time it took for this conversation, the crowd added a zero to the number of prisoners and believed it to be urate. And the number of enemy generals that General Rokossovsky had killed had sessfully risen to nine. Just as everyone had grown tired of watching the prisoners, someone shouted, "Look! It''s the enemy officers!" The crowd, having rested, immediately got excited again at the sight of the group wearingrge caps and pelted them with rocks, flower pots, and mud as if in a violent storm. An officer, wearing an aide''s aiguillette, was even used as a projectile at the highest-ranked among them, which incited even greater anger, and the rocks flew more abundantly. At that moment, a Priest finally stepped forward, "Stop this! Injuring them will lower the effectiveness of the interrogation! Leave them to the Judges!" The Priest shouted several times before the crowd''s fury gradually subsided, while the Prosen officers supported each other and quickly made their way through the angry mob. Following close behind were the cannons pulled by mules, with the ck-coated soldiers driving them looking proud and haughty. Someone asked loudly, "Soldier, where did that cannone from?" "It''s a trophy of war!" the soldier said happily, "We captured more than a dozen of them! Tomorrow they will be firing shells onto the enemy''s heads!" After the cannons came the ammunition carts, and other wagons full of various spoils of war, including all sorts of Prosen canned food. A child called out to a ck-coated soldier sitting on the wagon, "Can you give me a can? I want to try it!" The soldier immediately fetched a can and tossed it to the child, "You''re wee!" He went home happily. Soon after, there came a child''s wail from inside the house, "It''s so salty ahhh!" Theughter of everybody on the street rose when they heard this crying. ---- Wang Zhong watched as the Naval Infantry drove mule carts loaded with arge amount of war trophies past him, and he shouted, "If there''s a radio, give it to me, understand?" The Naval Infantry driving the cart pointed back, "Themunicationspany has been entirely captured by us, it''s in the back. There''s also a machine with lots of rotors!" Wang Zhong, "An Enigma machine?" Naval Infantry, "I don''t know what it''s called, but it''s a big box with a lot of rotors. At first, we thought it was a kind of gearbox, but then we found a keyboard, and it can type." Wang Zhong pped the KV''s turret steel te, "It''s the Enigma machine! What about the codebook? Did you capture the codebook?" "It''s all in the back, General." Wang Zhong waved his hand to let the Naval Infantry drive the cart away. Soon after, Wang Zhong saw a half-track vehicle approaching, covered with antennas, obviously a Prosenmunications vehicle. Wang Zhong, "Where''s the cipher machine you captured?" A Naval Infantry inside the half-track lifted a box. This was the first time Wang Zhong saw a real Enigma machine, and his first reaction was: isn''t it a bit small? It looked like a slightlyrger typewriter. Wang Zhong, "Hand it over for me to look at." The Naval Infantry stood up, took a brisk step, and leapt from the half-track''s carriage onto the tbed, then agilely climbed onto the KV''s hull, cing the Enigma machine in front of Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong opened the case to inspect the machine inside. The keyboard almost identical to that of a ssic typewriter, where the rolls would normally be ced, there were five rotors, with aplex linkage mechanism nearby. Additionally, there was a manual revolving knob next to the rotors, which seemed to be used to adjust the position of each disk. Using the Enigma machine was simple; to encrypt information, one only needed to type on the keyboard, and it would automatically transform into an encrypted string. To decode, one simply had to type in the string in reverse, and out woulde the content of the information. But to aplish decryption, merely having an Enigma machine identical to the sender''s was not enough, it was essential to urately know the initial position of each rotor during encryption, as well as the wiring pattern on the circuit board below. Even if an Enigma machine was captured, based on the rotor positions one could decrypt messages for a day; but if the enemy changed the rotor positions the next day, decryption would no longer be possible. Wang Zhong inspected the cipher machine closely, again recalling something he had once considered: creating an estate, gathering a group of mathematicians, and cracking the Prosen code. During Earth''s World War II, that''s exactly what the British did at Bletchley Park. Once the Sturmtiger''s code was broken, the losses of the wolfpack tactics skyrocketed because the Royal Navy knew when the wolfpack wasing, where it would assemble, and where it would resupply. Wang Zhong looked at the machine, closed the lid, and handed it back to the Navy, "Make sure to keep it safe, and ensure it''s delivered to the Judge intact. This machine is very important." "Hand it over to the Judge?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, but we''re keeping thismunications vehicle. Also, how many walkie-talkies did we capture? You know, the radios that a single person can carry." "Five, General." Wang Zhong was overjoyed, "Great, great! Deliver them all to the division headquarters! Once the battlefield cleanup is nearly done, we will begin to retreat." ---- On September 24th at 1500 hours, the Prosen Army''s Asgard Knights First Army Headquarters. Giles looked at his watch, "The enemy hasn''tunched an armored assault. Could we have been deceived by the enemy?" Feliz cursed, "This White Horse General, there wille a day when we won''t believe anything he says over the radio!" Giles, "If that''s the case, won''t the enemy have seeded? If we don''t believe anything he says, then he can simply call out his moves in clear text. No, we still need to monitor the enemy''s radiomunication. The Ante People are poor at radio technology and prefer telegrams and telephones, but this White Horse General clearly favors radio." At that moment, the Chief of Staff came in, "We''ve rified the situation. The White Horse General brought a division and an armored train, suddenly charged over, and then upied ourpleted trenches." Giles frowned, "A division? Did High Command''s intelligence err again? Aren''t we supposed to have just one reinforced division on our front?" The room fell into uneasy nces. Giles shook his head, "No, there can''t be that many. The White Horse General conducted a surprise attack; it''s our troops who have mythologized him, turning into a case of startled birds. This can''t continue; order all units to emphasize to the soldiers that the White Horse General is just a man, he doesn''t have Divine Power, nor is he some Surtur!" Feliz, "It seems, the problem lies in the continuous propaganda strategy we''ve used, iming we are from the Aesir tribe. But in the mythology, the Aesir tribe ultimately faces Ragnarok. The Fire Giant Surtur brandishes a massive sword, challenging the gods..." Giles, "Enough. Even though night is about to fall, we mustunch an attack immediately. Our tank forces may not excel at attacking the fortified region across the river, but if we can''t take over the trenches on the ins, then it wouldn''t be fitting. Before night falls, I want full control of the positions!" Chapter 265: Chapter 55 Rocossovs Divine Military Strategy (Supplementary Update 6/33) On September 24 at 16:00, Wang Zhong was opening a can of Prosen canned food in the headquarters bunker. After opening the lid of the can, he stared at the contents for a long time and said, "Is this a pig''s trotter?" Vasily picked up the can and looked at the text on it: "This is pickled pig''s knuckle, it seems to be a famous Prosen dish." Wang Zhong: "What a pity, no noodles, otherwise I could make a bowl of pig''s trotter noodle soup. How do you eat this thing?" Vasily: "Cut it up and eat? I''m not too sure, my Prosen is pretty fluent, but that''s all because that old man forced me to learn, I haven''t really had much contact with Prosen things." Wang Zhong decided to cut a piece to try it out. He poured the pig''s knuckle from the can onto a te and picked up a knife and fork. The skin of the trotter was hard, and it took Wang Zhong a long time to cut off a piece with the help of the fork, and when he chewed it, he immediately frowned. This pig''s trotter is too salty! How can it be so salty! No wonder it''s called a pickled pig''s knuckle! He reached out and grabbed Nelly''s arm: "Water!" Nelly quickly brought him a cup of water from the side. Wang Zhong took a big gulp before letting out a long sigh of relief. "What kind of dish would need such a salty pig''s trotter?" Wang Zhong asked Vasily, puzzled. Vasily: "I don''t know, I told you I don''t have experience living in Prosen. That old man might know, he studied music there." Wang Zhong then turned his head to ask Nelly: "Do you know?" Nelly: "I only know how to cook Ante dishes. But I heard the cook say that Prosen dishes are famously unptable, even the United Kingdom makes fun of them." If the United Kingdom was making fun of them, it must be quite bad indeed. But before he crossed over, Wang Zhong and his dorm mates had been to a ce called either "Scheidter" or perhaps "Fnfter" - for roasted pig''s knuckle and dark beer, which was quite delicious. There were also German sausages, which weren''t bad either. What''s up with this pickled pig''s knuckle? Wang Zhong picked up the can and stared at the text, disying an expression as if he was pondering a philosophical question. Pavlov then mixed the cut pig''s knuckle and pickles and put it in his mouth: "Not bad. Just as well we opened so many cans of pickles for fake mines." Vasily clicked his tongue: "I always feel it''s going to be ineffective, after all, theyunched the attackst time stepping on the lids." Finally, Wang Zhong put down the can and looked again at the pig''s trotter on the te with a corner cut off. Nelly: "Shall I make some sausage and cucumber soup? Maybe that''ll go well with it." Wang Zhong: "Yes, yes!" Vasily: "Wait a minute, this seems to be a soup can, let me open it." He took the can opener, inserted it into the edge of the can, and then kept turning the knob of the can opener, using mechanical force to cut a circle around the can, just enough to cut open the lid. Then the can opener had a special structure that mped the lid, so when you pull the can opener out, it would bring the lid with it. Vasily ced the opened can on the table. Inside was a mush that seemed like a mix of green and yellow paint. Wang Zhong looked at the contents and shared his impression: "Indian mush? We''re opening Prosen cans, not those of the United Kingdom, right?" Vasily stirred in the can with a spoon, and the substance underneath came up. Green peas, red carrots, possibly onions and meat, as well as a lot of yellow mush. Wang Zhong: "What''s that yellow stuff?" Vasily picked up the can, looked at the ingredients list: "Should be potatoes. The ingredients are peas, potatoes, onions, bacon, carrots, and cabbage." After reading, he looked into the can: "I guess this green should be the stewed cabbage, and the yellow is the potatoes." Wang Zhong stared at the mush in the can, which, due to the presence of green, didn''t quite look like human waste; conversely, without this hint of healthy green, it would resemble something from a person with digestive issues... Vasily tasted a spoonful: "Hey, it''s quite tasty." Wang Zhong looked at Vasily: "You... have you developed a resistance from picking through dung?" Vasily: "It really tastes good! Although I hate the Prosen education my dad that old man gave me, this is actually not bad." Wang Zhong, somewhat skeptical, picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful into his mouth. Indeed, it tasted all right. But speaking of vor, it was entirely that of potatoes stewed with meat. Wang Zhong: "I''d rather have potatoes stewed with beef." Just then, an explosion came from across the river. Wang Zhong stood up, came to the observation window, and looked at the positions being bombed on the opposite bank, muttering, "Don''t they send someone over to scout before they bomb? We all pulled out." Vasily: "If they don''t bomb, they would encounter our buried mines; they probably n to st away the mines with artillery, then send in the infantry." "Makes sense." At that moment, Popov entered the bunker, "The captured Enigma machine seems to be usable, but the Judge tried decoding the transmissions afterward, and none of it made any sense. It must be that the enemy''smunication soldier scrambled the settings of the machine before being captured." Wang Zhong, "Have we received any garbled enemy telegrams?" "We have been receiving them continuously, but we simply can''t decode them." Popov spread his hands, "Now the Judge is trying to get themunication soldier to recall the machine''s settings before he scrambled them." Wang Zhong, "I hope he can remember. If we can find out what orders the enemy transmitted this morning, it might be somewhat beneficial to the war effort. "The question is, when will he be able to recall." Vasily, "Do you think this guy will be tough to crack?" Wang Zhong, "No, I think he might genuinely have forgotten this morning''s settings. After all, once the Enigma Machine is set, it can be used continuously until the other side changes the settings. Cryptographers have no need to remember the initial positions." Popov cursed, "The enemy has indeede up with something troublesome." Wang Zhong, "Don''t worry, as long as we gather enough mathematicians, we will always be able to break the code." He changed the subject and asked, "How many prisoners of war have we captured in total?" "One thousand one hundred," answered Popov, "but the word on the streets is that we''ve captured eleven thousand prisoners. It''s also being said that you killed yet another general." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "I''m already used to it. I suspect it won''t be long before even more ridiculous stories emerge. So, these one thousand one-hundred prisoners are now at the depot awaiting transport? Have enough guards been assigned?" "Of course." Popov patted his chest, "I had the Judge set up machine guns on the tform at the depot, guaranteeing no one dares to make a move. However, speaking of which... these Prussian prisoners of war are very disciplined; they even maintain formation during escort." Wang Zhong, "This indicates that their confidence has not been crushed. They firmly believe the Empire will win and will be able to retrieve them so that they may return home in triumph. Don''t worry, their confidence won''tst much longer." As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, the sound of artillery fire outside changed, clearly beginning to extend shooting. Vasily looked outside with the artillery periscope and said, "They must be preparing to attack now. Let''s see if the altered can lids and our modified mines will be effective." At that moment, the extending shooting reached the bunker and then gradually moved to the east bank, exploding into sprays of water. Wang Zhong also observed from in front of the window, watching the barrage move toward their position and then past them. The enemy''s intended "front line" was two kilometers away, totally outside Wang Zhong''s range of visibility, so he could only push Vasily aside and use the artillery periscope to look across the riverbank. Through the artillery periscope, Wang Zhong saw the enemy''s tanks and infantry carefully approaching the position in mixed formations. Then, to his surprise, they began firing machine guns and high-explosive shells at the deserted position! Wang Zhong watched the enemy''s performance with relief. Vasilyined at his side, "You''ve taken my spot; I can''t see anything!" Wang Zhong, "Step aside, I''m enjoying the view!" Just then, Wang Zhong saw someone step on a fake mine and then stop with a grim expression. Unfortunately, even with the artillery periscope, he couldn''t get a close view, and could only see a rough outline. He saw the Prussians scatter, and then someone who might be an officer came over, crouched beside the person who stepped on the mine, and took out a multipurpose knife. At the same time, the enemy''s infantry line came to a halt, possibly having received the message that the mine did not explode. Then the officer, with the multipurpose knife, dug out the mine, checked the firing mechanism, and cautiously extracted it Then both the person who had stepped on the mine and the officer trying to remove it flew into the air. Wang Zhong patted Vasily''s shoulder, "Your trick mine got someone." Vasily, "Really? Are you justforting me?" Wang Zhong let him use the artillery periscope, "See for yourself." Vasily''s eyes lit up as he glued them to the periscope, "Oh, it looks like chaos. Hang on, are the enemies preparing to clear mines? This is just too funny. They never even noticed my fake minesst time, and just walked on by!" Wang Zhong, "Bring the captured radio over! I want to broadcast a clear message! Tell them to watch out for the mines!" Pavlov, "Isn''t that... a bit childish?" Wang Zhong, "If it doesn''t work, I''ll stop doing it, but if it does, of course, I''ll do it more!" "A broadcast message?" Giles frowned, "What did he say?" The signal officer, "He said he''s nted a lot of ingeniously designed trick mines and hopes we''ll enjoy them." Giles'' frown deepened, and his aide, Feliz, started cursing, "What the hell! It''s like stepping on someone''s toes during a childish fight, utterly despicable and amateurish!" Giles turned to the Chief of Staff, "Any reports of trick mines from our troops?" "Yes," the Chief of Staff answered gravely, "Over a dozen soldiers have already been killed by trick mines. They have deployed a new type of mine that isn''t triggered by pressure; it explodes when we attempt to disarm them." Giles, "How is that possible! Our military Science Academy tried to develop mines that wouldn''t detonate with pressure and all attempts failed! How did they manage it? The Ante Empire shouldn''t have such technology!" At that very moment, nobody at the First Army Headquarters considered the fact that those pressure-insensitive minespletelycked fuses; they wouldn''t explode even if you hit them with a hammer. The Chief of Staff, "That''s just the report from the front line, which also states that the mines are mixed in with arge number of metal discs, making it very difficult to clear them." Giles, "Send in the engineers; they''ll handle it." The staff officers in the room exchanged nces. In the end, all eyes fell on Feliz. Feliz, "General, the majority of the engineers... have been captured by the enemy." Chapter 266: Chapter 56 Unique Solution Methodology Giles stared at Feliz for a few seconds, sighed, and did not order anyone to go out. "Have the troops temporarily halt their advance, spread out on the spot, and dig artillery shelters. We''ll wait for the engineers to be brought in from behind to clear the mines." The Chief of Staff suggested, "The divisional engineers can still be used, especially for clearing this amount of mines." Another staff officer suggested, "Actually, there''s abat engineer battalion that made it out. After reorganization, they can be sent up to clear the mines, considering they are engineers too." Giles: "Fine, we''ll do it both ways. I want to see the enemy''s new mines by tonight." About 6 hourster, the "new" mines were brought before Giles. Giles wanted to approach, but was stopped by his aide-de-camp, Feliz. Feliz stepped forward first to carefully examine the device and then turned to look at the engineer captain with a puzzled gazethe insignia on his cor had an ornament, indicating he was abat engineer, not a regr one. Feliz: "How does this thing detonate?" "The detonation works through a pull rope underneath. The other end of the pull rope is buried deep in the ground." The engineer immediately exined, "So if you cut the pull rope, it won''t explode." "I mean, how does it detonate when infantry step on it?" Feliz raised his voice. The captain: "It won''t detonate. The pressure te on this thing is a decoy, it''spletely inert, but it simtes the sensation of stepping on a mine. Infantry who step on it dare not move, luring mine-clearing personnel to approach, and then it can be detonated using a simple pull rope." Feliz''s mouth gaped open, and for a moment, he forgot to close it. Giles concluded, "So the enemy has exploited our fixed ways of thinking, resulting in dozens of casualties on our side?" The Chief of Staff added, "And wasted six hours of our time. By the way, while we were stalled in the open, we came under artillery fire, resulting in a few hundred casualties." Giles'' eye twitched. Feliz immediately stepped in as Giles'' "mouthpiece," cursing loudly, "These enemies only know how to y sly tricks! Coming up with things as perplexing as brain teasers! Are these things useful? Can they prevent them from losing the war in three months?" Giles rebuked, "Don''t be like that! The enemy''s cunning is to be respected. We have to admit when we''ve been outsmarted." He then asked, "What about those iron discs used to cover these mines? Are they specialized equipment?" "This thing," the engineer captain picked up the "disc" ced next to the mine, "you can see it has a groove on one side, we believe it might be a bottle cap." "A bottle cap!" Feliz eximed, "How can they use such things in warfare?" Giles patted Feliz on the shoulder: "Don''t be like that, a good soldier must be able to skillfully use anything at hand, even if all they have is a pencil, they have to figure out a way to kill the enemy." "The White Horse General has dyed us with these rudimentary things, we should reflect on it carefully. So, have the troops now recaptured the lost positions?" The engineer captain replied, "I''m only responsible for transporting the discovered items to headquarters, I don''t know the situation at the front." The Chief of Staff answered, "The troops have entered the positions. In line with your instructions, the railroad has been dismantled, and the Anti-tank Artillery Battalion has also been deployed." Giles: "How long before we can start digging in?" Engineer captain: "We''rebat engineers, good at clearing mines. For trench advancement, we need digging equipment and dedicated engineering experts, all of whom have been captured by the enemy." Giles: "Not a single expert remains?" "Not one remains, we even lost the trench arrangement ns drawn up by the previous bowmen brigademander. It will take time for a new expert toe and redraw the arrangement ns." Giles put a hand to his forehead: "Damn it, hurry up and get the troops up from behind!" At that moment, the Chief of Staff suggested, "Themander of the Amp Division, Kluge, suggests building an artillery observation post on the slope at the front line to guide the artillery bombardment." "How far is the breakthrough from our lines?" Giles inquired. The Chief of Staff: "It''s just south of our current trench. We can start building now... no, we can start building tomorrow." After checking the time, he amended his statement again: "We can start building today, it''s light now." Giles waved his hand grandly, "Let him build it." The next day, on September 25, 914, Wang Zhong entered the bunker yawning and first greeted the night-shift Popov: "Hello. How''s everything?" Popov: "Fantastic, there were mine explosions even in the middle ofst night. But this morning, the report from the bridgehead says the enemy was observed on the positions we abandoned." Wang Zhong stepped up to the observation window and picked up the binocrs for a pretense of a look: "Indeed." From a bird''s eye view, the trench was filled with the enemy. Popov: "I never expected these fake mines to dy the enemy for that long." Wang Zhong hummed a response: "This means that the time it takes for the enemy to dig through will be pushed back another day. By the way, have the prisoners been sent back to Ye Fort?" Popov: "They''ve already been crammed into a sealed railcar and taken away. Additionally, the interrogation of the enemy''s cryptographer by the Judge has concluded." Wang Zhong: "Did he talk?" Popov: "No, the person was rushed into the emergency room and just got resuscitated. The Tribunal sent a telegram scolding us about this matter, demanding that the individual be sent to Ye Fort immediately, where professionals from the Tribunal headquarters will take over." Wang Zhong: "So, they were stuffed into a train instead?" "No, Ye Fort dispatched a ne to pick him up, and he''s already on the ne and gone." After Popov finished, Pavlov entered the bunker. "So, what''s the situation like?" he asked. Wang Zhong repeated what Popov had just said. Pavlovughed heartily, "That''s great. I''d really like to see the face of the enemymander when he sees what Vasily has made." Wang Zhong: "I would too, it must be quite a sight." He paused, looking across the river: "I guess the enemy is bringing up their anti-tank guns now." Within Wang Zhong''s field of vision, there were no highlighted anti-tank gun units, so he added, "We should have the Air Force look for them." Pavlov: "That''s possible. Maybe the Prussians forgot to camouge them. After all, there were no camouges in the war materials you seized with your assault yesterday." Indeed, during previous Air Force reconnaissance, it seemed like the Prussians had been careless and forgotten to install camouges. It wasn''t until yesterday''s charge, capturing the enemy engineer brigade headquarters, that we realized the enemy didn''t have any camouges at all. It was unclear whether they discovered the Ante infrastructure was too poor after arriving, requiring a change in their supply n that dyed priorities, or if they simply never thought they needed camouges in the first ce. Wang Zhong himself picked up the telephone receiver: "Connect me with the Air Force." More than two hourster, a call from Hamov came in: "We''ve discovered at least one battalion of anti-tank artillery troops. We strafed them, but I can''t say for sure how many we killed. After all, everyone would lie down when the machine guns sweep over." Wang Zhong: "That means they''re all well-trained Prussian soldiers." Of course, Hamov didn''t catch the movie reference in Wang Zhong''s remark and agreed, "Indeed, many recognized the direction of our attack and knew to quickly move out of the strafing area. "It''s difficult to judge the effect of our attack just with our eyes. So we were about to call you and arrange for another artillery strike when the enemy Air Force showed up." Wang Zhong: "No worries, it''s good that you made it back safely." Hamov: "I''ve had someone send over a map with the enemy anti-tank artillery battalion positions marked. It should be arriving soon. Also, if you were thinking of another armored train sortie, I''m telling you there''s no chance. The enemy has torn up the rails on their side of the front." As soon as the other side finished, a staff officer came in leading a messenger: "Report, a messenger from the airfield has arrived." Wang Zhong: "The map is here, Hamov. I''ll hang up now." "Alright, good luck hitting the enemy hard!" "I will." Wang Zhong put down the receiver and said to the messenger, "The map." The messenger didn''t respond, but directly took out the map and handed it to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong nced at the map and handed it to Pavlov: "Artillery strike ording to this." As Pavlov was giving the orders to the artillery, Vasily said, "Looks like another boring day today. It would be great if we could make a charge like yesterday. Why don''t we do it again?" Wang Zhong: "Not possible, aerial reconnaissance just reported the enemy has destroyed the rail track. This kind of armored train assault can''t be used anymore." Vasily, not giving up: "Then let''s organize a pure armored assault? Use ferries to transport the tanks across..." Wang Zhong: "No, the western ferry docks are full of enemy tank traps in the water; ferries can''t dock there anymore, and small boats can''t carry tanks." Vasily, frowning: "Are we just going to stand here and watch then?" After some thought, Wang Zhong said, "Here''s an idea, we can organize people to shout across to the other side with loudspeakers, mocking them for their slow advance. By the time they have dug their way across, it''ll be raining and they will be stuck in the mud." Vasily: "That sounds pretty good. The navy should have loudspeakers; I''ll see if I can get hold of one." Wang Zhong: "Go on then. And be careful, the enemy has routine artillery bombardments." Vasily immediately rolled up his sleeve to show off his watch: "I have this! Taken from a dead enemy''s wrist! Now, this watch is going to shine for the Ante Empire!" Wang Zhong: "You rascal, hoarding spoils for yourself! And you even dare to pull it out in front of the bishop!" Popov: "Normally, we wouldn''t actively deal with soldiers taking war trophies, but showing them off in front of me is a different story. Remember to remind me to confine you to a month in solitary when we leave the battlefield." Vasily eximed, "A month???" Popov: "Yes." Vasily immediately looked like he was on the verge of tears. Popov went on, "The main thing is to maintain discipline in the army. We can''t all start hunting for war trophies as soon as we take an enemy position. Then, if the enemy counterattacks, we might lose the position again." Vasily turned and ran off with a doleful face. Wang Zhong: "I was sitting on a tank the whole time yesterday, so I didn''t have time to pick up any war trophies. Otherwise, I would''ve wanted a Prussian-made scope." As he finished speaking, the artillery began their attack on the anti-tank gun positions, with the sound of shells flying overhead. Chapter 267: Chapter 57 "The First Appearance of the Prussian Army on the Streets of Ye Fort September 25th, this day can only be described as boring with the time remaining. The Prussian bombardment was punctual as always, but it had no effect because everyone hid before the appointed time. And the Prussian Air Force seemed to have forgotten about the city of Shostka, not even conducting a level bombing with their heavy bombers. Wang Zhong, in the division headquarters bunker, yawned mightily while listening to the taunting broadcasts from the loudspeakers set up by Vasily outside. Pavlov: "If you''re tired, go to sleep. Once the real fighting starts, you''ll probably have to stay in the division headquarters bunker all day." Wang Zhong: "I''m starting to wonder if a real battle could even happen? We caught so many officers yesterday, all with engineer insignia, and seized so many of their tools. Enemy engineering advancement capabilities must be severelypromised. "Maybe if we just sit here quietly until it starts raining, we can retreat." Pavlov frowned, "Do we still have to retreat even if we hold out until it rains?" Wang Zhong: "Right now, the enemy''s supply line isn''t long enough. Although the rain will lead to chaos, I believe we still need to retreat to stretch out their supply line." Saying this, he walked up to the frontline map. "Besides, look at the enemy''s northern offensive. Even though it''s slower than we anticipated, it is still progressing. The day before yesterday, they advanced 25 kilometers; yesterday, 28 kilometers. It''s slow, but they are indeed moving forward. "From the start of their offensive on the 20th, the enemy has advanced 110 kilometers in five days." Pavlov, looking at the map: "What on earth is the northern line doing? Since we''re not under much pressure here, the Western Front Army has moved all its troops to the north. Why has the enemy been able to advance 110 kilometers in five days?" Wang Zhong: "Regarding this, I also heard some things when I was interacting with the officers at Ye Fort. Mainly, blind expansion of the military has led to a severe shortage of equipment. "Tank divisionsck everything except tanks and infantry divisions evenck tanks. "Prussian infantry are equipped with machine guns down to the squad level, while our infantry divisions only have two to three machine guns perpany, and Papashas are sometimes even rarer than machine guns, with only toon leaders each having one." Pavlov: "Thinking about it, aren''t we an incredibly wealthy division? We captured so many machine guns. When we retreated to Loktov, everyone had submachine guns." Wang Zhong: "You only realize this now? Look at our artillery, 36 heavy guns. Which other division has such artillery configuration? I met an officer at Ye Fort whose division had a total of four 122 mm guns, four! And only four 76 mm regimental guns." Pavlov, looking at the map: "When you think about it, the equipment of our Third Rear Amur Group is also very poor. Only divisions have regimental guns." Wang Zhong: "Right, Prussian infantry groups have a bunch of 75 mm infantry guns, and divisions are well supplied with 105 mm and 150 mm guns. Even if the enemy onlyunches infantry attacks, the artillery fire density alone could break through our lines. "Our problem, in a nutshell, is one phrase: insufficient firepower!" Popov chimed in at this point: "I thought it was a shortage of tanks." Wang Zhong: "Having tanks alone is useless; you need abined arms approach. Look at the enemy, a tank division has everything C sufficient artillery, strong infantry, apanying engineers and anti-aircraft artillery battalions, as well as motorized reconnaissance battalions. "Look how many motorcycles and trucks we captured yesterday." As Wang Zhong said this, he also remembered the sailor who sped past on a motorcycle yesterday, with hisrgepels and streaming ribbons. At this moment, the telephone rang. Pavlov picked it up: "Division headquarters. Who''s this? I''ll put him on right away." Passing the receiver to Wang Zhong, Pavlov said: "It''s a call from Ekaterinburg Fortress." Wang Zhong took the receiver: "This is Rocossov." A grave and steady voice came through from the other side: "Rocossov, you''ve done very well!" Wang Zhong couldn''t immediately remember who the voice belonged to and was about to ask "Who the hell are you" when he suddenly realized, with a jolt, that the person likely to speak like this was probably Belinsky, the Grand Patriarch. He quickly said, "Your Excellency, the Grand Patriarch, hello." The other side burst intoughter, clearly very pleased. As soon as Popov heard it was the Grand Patriarch, he immediately stood up. The voice on the phone said, "We have already received the ''gift'' you sent!" Wang Zhong: "You received the Enigma machine, then. Get the mathematicians on it for decoding right away." The Grand Patriarch paused for a moment: "Hold on." Then, presumably, he moved the receiver away from his ear, but Wang Zhong could still hear the Patriarch''s voice: "The Enigma machine sent by Rocossov? Did the High Command intelligence service''s cryptography department receive it? Why wasn''t I told? Alright, I understand." The Grand Patriarch''s voice came through clearly again, obviously with the receiver back to his ear: "There''s been a bit of an issue. It seems that the High Command thinks decoding ciphers is within their jurisdiction. But the cryptographer is currently with the Judge, after being rescued we''ll make him talk." Wang Zhong: "Actually, the key is mathematics. We should organize the mathematicians, let them focus on studying the patterns of the enemy''s telegraphs to establish a mathematical model. The Enigma machine itself doesn''t enable us to decode the cipher, we need to know the key, which is the initial position of the rotors." Belinsky: "Thank you for your suggestion. We will gather the best mathematicians we have here in Ekaterinburg Fortress. What we''re discussing is another gift." Wang Zhong immediately understood: "You mean the prisoners?" "Yes, there have always been rumors saying that despite proiming various great victories, not a single prisoner has been seen. Now we have prisoners. If you hadn''t sent the prisoners, we would have had to dress people up in Prussian uniforms. "We already had their uniforms half-made. "Such imposture certainly carries risks. If word got out, the consequences would be unimaginable. Now that we have actual prisoners, everything bes much easier." Wang Zhong: "That''s great to hear. By the way, make sure that Federation''s Reporter Mike and his photographer partnere to see them and write a good report!" "Of course," Belinsky paused, "can that reporter be trusted?" "He should be," Wang Zhong answered. "Is there something wrong with the news he sent back to the Federation?" "No, that''s not it. But I haven''t had contact with that reporter, so I''m ultimately unclear on the details. Since you think he can be trusted and he has produced authentic reports, then let''s arrange for him to have a good visit." St. Ye Katerina Fortress, September 25th, 914 A.D. in the afternoon. Reporter Mike from the Federation and his partner, the photojournalist Robert Capa, were taken to Ye Fort Street by several judges after receiving a phone call. Mike looked around with confusion; the pedestrians on the streets of Ye Fort were far fewer than a few weeks ago. One could seebor camp workers piling sandbags by the street, and in the distant park in the center of the street, one could spot an 85mm heavy antiaircraft gun hidden inside. Robert, however, was happily taking photos, especially fixated on ady making a purchase, snapping away incessantly. Then the judge spoke in the Anglonguage of the Federation, "You might want to save your film." Robert: "I can speak Ante. Save my film? Why?" The judge smiled slightly, "You''ll see something exciting in a moment." Suddenly, a woman''s scream came from afar. Mike and Robert turned their heads and saw severaldies at the far corner dropping their things and running as if insane, fleeing away from the intersection. Thedy who had just passed by Robert looked on in bewilderment, staring nkly toward the distance, unsure whether to keep going forwardshe was originally heading in that direction. Then, the Prussian Army turned the corner! Thedy still observing let out a scream, dropped her things and turned to run but was grabbed by a judge: "Don''t worry, ma''am, look closely, those are prisoners!" The woman turned her head, gazing at the Prussians. Robert: "They are tied up with ropes! They are prisoners!" He hurried towards the marching column of prisoners. Mike nced at the judge, and seeing a gesture to proceed, he started walking to catch up with his partner. Robert was already rapidly going through his film rolls, the smoke from the shbulbs drifting into Mike''s nostrils. Mike closely observed these prisoners and noticed that half of them wore the patches of engineers while the rest were d in uniforms darker than the standard Prussian uniform, with different cor patches. He suddenly pulled his partner: "Focus on their cor patches! That''s where the real news value lies!" Robert: "Cor patches?" Mike: "See, the Zeus with the lightning, these people are the Asgard Knights, the elite of the elite! Prussian propaganda says this unit is invincible!" Robert: "I don''t remember that, but if you say so, then it must be. Plus, this patch... it really does catch the eye!" Saying this, he took his camera, got close to the infantrymen with patches, and pressed the shutter. The shpowder''s smoke spewed out of the shbulb. Mike: "Take several shots!" After instructing his partner, he switched to Prussian and loudly asked: "Are you the Asgard Knights? Who defeated you?" All the prisoners red at Mike with resentment. And Robert, as if having found treasure, frantically photographed these people''s expressions. At that moment, the Ante people began to react, starting to curse at the prisoners and hurling various objects from all directions at the column of prisoners. Mike still repeated: "Are you the Asgard Knights? Who defeated you? Who captured you? I''m a reporter from the Federation! Who can give me an interview?" Just then, a man who looked like an officer suddenly raised his head: "Ob''s strmt oder schneit, Ob die Sonne unscht!" Mike understood Prussian, knowing it meant "Whether it storms or snows, or if the sun smiles at us." This was the anthem of the Prussian Armored Troops. The next moment, the previously disheartened prisoners puffed out their chests and raised their heads, singing loudly in unison. Like the roaring of an engine, as swift as lightning, we confront the enemy, under the cover of tanks. In front of ourrades, we charge, we fight alone, and thus we deeply pierce into the enemy''s lines. The Ante people increased their efforts in hurling objects, but this did not stop the Prussians. No, it seemed that in defiance of the Ante people''s outrage, they sang even louder. If Lady Fortune abandons us again, if we can no longer return to our homnd, if bullets target us, ending our fate and halting our lives, at least our loyal tanks will grant us a steel tomb. Mike, watching the Prussians'' defiant attitude, had already thought of the first sentence for his report. "These prisoners, as if they were not prisoners at all but rather here to upy the city. This is the first group of Prussian soldiers to enter Ye Fort." Chapter 268: Chapter 58 The Situation in Other Directions (Extra 7/33) On September 29, at the Second Armored Cluster Command of Prussia, General Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch had just entered themand center when his adjutant hurried over and said, "A call from Marshal von Bock of the Central Army Group." General Mauch: "I know. Make me some coffee." After speaking, he walked over to the maps table and picked up the receiver: "This is Mauch, what''s the matter, Marshal?" "Being able to actually ring through to yourmand post is quite the novel experience." Previously, General Mauch''s armored forces had been attacking very swiftly, always advancing, and thus their clustermand post also had to be moved forward constantly, without enough time toy phone lines. The current scenario, where themand post had remained in the same ce for nine days, was indeed unprecedented. General Mauch exined: "We''ve encountered firm resistance at the Duva River. We have been relentlessly attacking the 51st Army of Ante; they''ve taken heavy losses, but they received reinforcements from the 55th Army, and additionally, the enemy''s army artillery has been taking good care of us." "If the First Army of Asgard couldunch an attack, and share some of the pressure of our assault, I believe it''s only a matter of time before we break through the enemy''s defense." Marshal von Bock sighed, "His Majesty is very displeased; after all, the offensive on the northern front is going very smoothly, yet you are at a standstill. Yesterday a newspaper from the Federation was delivered to His Majesty, then he was so furious that he sent it to us by ne overnight." "I dispatched a motorcycle to bring it to you, it should arrive shortly. You''d better push Giles tounch an attack as soon as possible." General Mauch: "I will." "If you cannot spur the Emperor''s favorite into action, you''ll just have to break through the defense line and then strike General Rokossovsky''s division from the nk." "Wouldn''t there be political consequences?" General Mauch asked, puzzled. Marshal von Bock: "You just need to let that young brat Giles have the credit, for instance, surround Rokossovsky and then move your forces forward. As long as Ye Fort is conquered in the end, the glory will go to the Defense Army!" General Mauch put his heels together, "Yes. I will strive to break through the defense line within a few days!" No sooner had he finished than the other party hung up the phone. Putting down the receiver, General Mauch turned to his adjutant: "The Marshal mentioned a Federation newspaper. Have we received it?" The adjutant: "No, not yet. It takes time from the Central Army Group Command to get here." General Mauch raised an eyebrow: "Never mind, forget about it. Today we continue the assault" At this moment, the staff officer came in with two military officers wearing motorcycle corps leather jackets. Upon seeing General Mauch, the two officers snapped to attention and saluted: "General! Marshal von Bock has sent us to deliver this newspaper to you." "Hand it over to me." General Mauch said while picking up a pair of tongs, opened the sugar jar, took a cube, and tossed it into his coffee cup, then gently stirred with a spoon. The leather-d officer took out a newspaper from a briefcase and handed it to the adjutant. The adjutant frowned upon seeing the front-page photo and began to read the headline news. General Mauch: "What does it say?" "These prisoners, looking as if they are not in fact captives, but rather conquerors of this city. These are the first group of Prussian soldiers to enter Ye Fort. "General Rokossovsky captured them and assured that they will be thest Prussians to enter Ye Fort. "Our reporters have learned that these Prussian soldierse from the Asgard Knights, so hyped by the Prosen Imperial Propaganda Department, and they were annihted by General Rokossovsky acting in full formation. "While paraded through the streets, the prisoners tried hard to maintain morale, but at the mere mention of General Rokossovsky''s name, they immediately shrank like frightened mice. "They attempted to sing to chase away the fear, but this effort clearly failed. Rokossovsky has shattered their will to fight. "These soldiers, they dubbed General Rokossovsky as Surtur, the king of the Fire Giants who brings about the destruction of the Aesir in Ragnar?k..." The adjutant could no longer read: "The Asgard Knights is our armyposed of civilians drafted from the cities, right? They would never utter such things that swing enemy morale and sap our own prestige!" General Mauch clicked his tongue: "Not everything in newspapers must be true. Especially not the ones from the Federation. Let me have a look." The adjutant unfolded the newspaper and smoothed it out on the desk in front of the general. The general looked at the photo on the front page: "Hmph, the uniform of the Asgard Knights has indeed been captured very clearly." The adjutant: "Won''t many in the Defense Army be happy?" "How could this possibly be cause for joy? You said it yourself, the Asgard Knights are also part of the Defense Army, this is our brothers being insulted! It''s time tounch a decisive attack. We must break through the enemy facing us today!" General Mauch lifted his head: "Attack, a determined attack!" ---------- On the morning of September 29, General Kashuk''s army was subjected to a ferocious attack by the enemy. Of course, the enemy''s attacks these days had never been anything but ferocious. Yesterday, the Prussians had attempted to build a pontoon bridge over the river, and Kashuk''s artillery had struggled to prevent the enemy''s bridging efforts. Today, it seemed, the enemy was trying the same tactic again. With the arrival of smoke, Kashuk ordered his Chief of Staff: "It''s another bridging operation, send in the dare-to-die squad." The suicide squad''s mission was to crawl to the river with a telephone and wire, observe the enemy''s bridge-building location on the opposite side, and direct artillery fire. Kashuk''s military defensive front was very wide, and the entire ferry crossing area was suitable for building a bridge. If they were to cover the entire area with artillery fire, the consumption of ammunition would be too much. Taking into ount that they still had to hold this position for more than ten days, Kashuk resorted to this desperate measure. After the suicide squad set off, Kashuk''s chief of staff whispered to him, "The engine noise of the enemy tanks has been constant across the river. Will there be any significant moves today? At our section of the defense line, there are no breakwaters like Shostka, so if the enemy troopse across the river under the cover of smoke... Should we arrange a barrage of blind firing, just like General Rocossov did?" Kashuk thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No, our ammunition supply is already critically low. Prepare for hand-to-handbat. If the enemy attempts an armed river crossing, their heavy machine guns won''t keep up with them, so the pressure on us won''t be that great." Just then, the telephone rang. The chief of staff picked it up, "Hello? What? Suicide squad members killed? Enemy infantry emerging from the river? Then open fire! Open fire!" As the chief of staff roared, the sound of gunshots popped like firecrackers on the defense line. The chief of staff had just hung up the phone when it rang again. He answered, shouting, "Hello? Corps Command! The 27th Division? You need reinforcements? The reserve forces went up there yesterday! If you call for reinforcements again, all that''s left will be us!" After mming the receiver onto the phone, the chief of staff looked up, "Maybe we should call Major General Kiriyenko. Have his army group send a few more divisions up here." Kashuk was still hesitating when engine noise came from outside. Right after that, guards from the division headquarters ran in, "Commander! The reinforcements have arrived, it''s a tank!" Kashuk immediately rushed to the bunker''s door, pushing past the guard to step outside, and indeed saw the dust raised by advancing tanks. A behemoth T34 tank halted in front of Kashuk''smand post, and the tankmander popped out of the hatch, "General sir! We''vee to reinforce you on the orders of Major General Kiriyenko!" Kashuk: "Howe your tank is different from the other T34s?" The tankmanderughed, "This is a secretly producedmemorative model tank, just like General Rocossov''s Number 422! And they all have radios! Although the radios asionally go haywire, they all have them! Let us go and fight the enemy!" Kashuk: "Good! The enemy is currently attacking the 27th Division''s position. Go and support the 27th Division!" Armored Cluster Command. "Report! Our offense is stalled, the enemy has engaged tank forces in a counter-attack, and for now, we only control the beachhead position," said themunications staff officer, standing in ce waiting for orders. General Mauch: "The infantry need not insist on upying the entire riverside position; just hold the beachhead until the bridge-building troopsplete their mission." Chief of staff: "What tanks counter-attacked us?" Communications staff officer: "It''s a model not seen in the identification chart; suspected to be a T34, but with arger turret." General Mauch lifted his head, "A T34 with arger turret? Rokossovskiy hase to our front? Shostka isn''t under pressure, so he''se straight over here?" Communications staff officer: "The front lines didn''t report seeing the red g. Shall I have them confirm it?" "Have them confirm." Mauch finished speaking, and themunications staff officer turned and left. General Mauch''s adjutant said: "General Rokossovsky''s forces are in Shostka; himing over here, does it make sense? Could it be that after Rokossovsky achieved sess using a T34 with arge turret, the Ante side urgently produced some tanks withrger turrets?" General Mauch: "That''s possible. Bring up the 88mm guns to the riverbank, ready to fire. The smoke should be dispersing soon." Riverbank, 27th Division position. The divisionmanderughed heartily, watching the enemy forces retreat under the power of tank fire, "This is fantastic! Now it''s your turn to feel the burn!" The division chief of staff patted themander on the shoulder, "The smoke is about to clear." The divisionmander promptly turned his binocrs, "Indeed, once it clears, our tanks will be able to unleash their firepower andpletely obliterate the enemy''s bridge-building troops!" As the smoke gradually dissipated, a loud boom suddenly came from the opposite side. Themander of the 27th Division had never heard the sound of an 88mm gun firing, so he looked on in confusion. But an oval orb of light had already struck a "new model" T34. The tank''s turret immediately stopped rotating. No tank operators ran out of the tank. The divisionmander thought the tank operators had just been stunned and even breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, the tank''s engine caught fire, followed by a fierce explosion that sent the turret flying into the sky. Themander''s eyes widened, and before he could speak, another shell came flying in. With the supporting tanks being blown up one after another, the infantry of the 27th Division also began to waver. Fortunately, at that moment, new troops arrived from behind. "We are the 210th Infantry Division! We''vee to support you by order of Major General Kiriyenko!" The reinforcements steadied the troops'' morale, and the fierce beachhead struggle continued. Chapter 269: Chapter 59 What a great bridge (Extra 8/33) While the neighboring units were engaged in a ferocious meat-grinder of a battle, Shostka was rtively calm. It wasn''t necessarily calm, though, as both sides exchanged heavy artillery greetings daily. The artillery firepower of the Guard''s First Motor Rifle Division certainly couldn''tpare with that of an enemy army, especially one that had beenvished with attention by the then Emperor as the "nouveau riche army." But Shostka''s sturdy reinforced concrete structures withstood it all. On October 2, 914, Wang Zhong was observing the enemy''s engineering progress when the telephone suddenly rang. Pavlov picked up, "This is the division headquarters. Please hold." After speaking, he handed the receiver to Wang Zhong, "Major General Kiriyenko." Wang Zhong took the receiver and his first words were, "No problems on my end. Do you need me to dispatch troops to support Kashuk?" Kiriyenko, "It seems you''re aware of the situation. The enemy hasunched relentless attacks on Kashuk''s position, some of the surface positions have already been ttened. Kashuk has lost the beachhead and it''s only by sting the enemy''s pontoon bridges with artillery fire that they''ve been stopped from advancing further." "Your Air Force at the airfield also yed a significant role, I never knew our interceptors could drop bombs before." Wang Zhong, "Actually, it''s my first time knowing that too. But it seems they quite enjoy these kinds of missions. By the way, I also learned about the situation on Kashuk''s side through the Air Force." Kiriyenko, "I''ve already sent up all the reserves, and even adjusted the defense sectors of other units, abandoning some non-critical positions. Any troops I could spare, I''ve already sent to Kashuk." "What does the Front Army say?" Wang Zhong asked. "You take one look at the situation to the north and you can pretty much guess what they''d say," Kiriyenko''s wryughter came through the phone line. Wang Zhong nced at the map on the division headquarters'' wall. To the north, a massive salient had prated deep into the defensive area of the entire Western Front Army. Incidentally, on the Western Front Army''s main line, the enemy''s infantry units had alsounched an offensive, firmly pinning down the other units of the Western Front Army in their positions. As a result, the Western Front Army could only continue sending follow-up troops to the north, trying to block the enemy''s overwhelming assault. Apart from defense, the Western Front Army had alsounched an offensive aimed at cutting off the enemy''s "long fangs" at the root, which, unsurprisingly, failed, costing arge number of troops. It appeared that the current state of the entire Ante Army was insufficient tounch an attack. To defeat the Prussian Army, troops had to be tempered in blood and fire. Wang Zhong, "I can dispatch a battalion, no, a regiment!" Kiriyenko, "Come on, do you really think I called you for just a regiment? No no, General Rokossovsky, now is the time to use your connections. I don''t know if you should call Her Highness the Princess or His Holiness the Grand Patriarch, I don''t know who can bring in troops." "But you need to do something, send a telegram, make a call, or fly directly to Ye Fortdo something! You are the star of victory! Of course, I won''t leave it all to you, I''m heading to the Commander of the Western Front Army''s headquarters right now to plead our urgent case." The headquarters of the Western Front Army was not located in Yeborg City but in T. It would take about a day''s drive from Kiriyenko''s headquarters to get there. Yes, a day. That''s how vast Ante was. Wang Zhong, "I understand. I''ll make the calls, and you keep up the good work." "Let''s all keep up the good work. If we really copse, just pull back to my headquarters. Given your division''s equipment, you should be able to hold out for a while, plus the rain starting might be a lifesaver. Hanging up now!" After saying that, Kiriyenko hung up. Wang Zhong ced down the receiver and looked at Pavlov. Pavlov, "Kashuk can''t hold out?" Wang Zhong, "The reserves are almost depleted, including Kiriyenko''s reserves. In retrospect, we should have been deployed to defend the ferry below since we have such powerful firepower. Instead, we''re here in a standoff with the enemy, while Kashuk''s less well-equipped army faces a direct onught from the enemy''s heavy forces." Pavlov shrugged, "Who could have predicted this?" Now, it was impossible to move Wang Zhong''s division down there because such a parallel change of guard would cause significant confusion. The enemy wasn''t close enough for a switch, but making such a move with the enemy in sight was tantamount to suicide. So, a mistake in troop allocation could only result in the current situation. Of course, it wasn''t Pavlov who made the decision to deploy Wang Zhong here but the Western Front Army''s headquarters. Wang Zhong thought to himself that when hemandedrge troop formations in the future, he must conduct more reconnaissance to urately assess the enemy''s main direction of attack as much as possible. At that moment, Popov said, "You can''t say that. If the enemy is undertaking trench work, isn''t it because our division''s firepower hit them hard? They lost so many tanks just on the first day. If Kashuk''s forces came here, perhaps they would face a relentless assault too, and we might be bored watching the enemy''s trench work in Kashuk''s current position." It was indeed a possibility. Wang Zhong, "In any event, Kiriyenko has handed overmand to his Chief of Staff and is now going to Marshal Semyon of the Western Front Army to request troops." "And I need to ce a call to the Grand Patriarch. Our line can directly reach the capital, right?" Pavlov, "Yes, we can use the civilian long-distance lines. The military lines are moreplicated; they must first go through the Front Army''s switchboard." Wang Zhong: "Should I just get us connected to the civilian line?" "Yes, now all the jack points are at our switchboard." Wang Zhong picked up the receiver: "This is Rokossovsky, connect me to the civilian line, to Ye Fort." The operator on the other end asked, "Which part of Ye Fort?" "The Great Cathedral of the Eastern Holy Church." "Understood." Wang Zhong held the receiver, waiting to be connected, as his gaze shifted back and forth between Pavlov and Popov. Soon, the other side replied, "Great Cathedral switchboard, who may I ask is calling?" Wang Zhong: "This is General Rokossovsky..." "Is this Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky?" "Yes, it is." "Are you looking for His Eminence Grand Patriarch Belinsky?" "Yes, I am." "One moment, please." Another waiting period ensued, and Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov and suddenly asked, "Why aren''t you two speaking?" Pavlov and Popov exchanged a nce, saying, "We were afraid of disturbing your call for reinforcements." Popov: "Right, just in case we scare off the reinforcements with our chatter, that wouldn''t be good." Wang Zhong wanted to retort to the two of them, but then "that" voice came through, "Rokossovsky here, what''s the matter?" Wang Zhong: "The situation is this, Kashuk''s unit downstream has exhausted their reserves. Kiriyenko''s reserves have also all beenmitted, without new troops for support, the situation on the southern line will be very dangerous." Belinsky was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "I only have the Guardian Army here, would that be okay? They have weapons, but that''s about it. Do you understand?" Wang Zhong: "I understand, I''ve fought side by side with them." Belinsky: "I see, I will arrange for the Guardian Army to be transported to the front line. I''ll send the ones of better quality. After gaining some battle experience, perhaps they can be reformed into regr troops like the Fifth Beshensk Regiment." Wang Zhong: "Thank you very much." "What''s there to thank me for? I''m also fighting for the country, just from a different position. Hold the line, the weather department predicts based on current observations and records from the past forty years that it will rain in about a week." Wang Zhong: "Understood. I will pass this on to Generals Kashuk and Kiriyenko. So..." He was about to say goodbye when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "What''s the situation at High Command? Ever since Marshal Semyon went to the Western Front Army, we have been left with Chief of Staff Tukhachev..." The Grand Patriarch: "Tukhachev has calmed the Emperor down, at least we don''t have to worry about him issuing impromptu orders for now. If the situation on the northern line is indeed terrible, a retreat order is likely to be issued." Wang Zhong: "Even if a retreat order is issued, it should be after the rainy season begins. We are better suited for mud, plus our supply lines are shorter. Once the mudes, the enemy will hardly be able to pursue us, and we can retreat safely." Belinsky: "I remember. But High Command doesn''t listen to me. Maybe you should discuss this issue with Her Highness the Princess." Wang Zhong: "She still has influence over such matters?" Belinsky: "From what I''ve heard, she isn''t allowed in High Command''s operations rooms and map rooms, but she''s been staying with General Tugenev at Military Command, so she should be able to exert some influence." Wang Zhong: "I see. I''ll reach out to her if necessary." At that moment, the Grand Patriarch said "Hold on," put down the receiver, and spoke with others. After a while, his voice returned, "It''s settled, the first batch of the Guardian Army will leave tonight and should arrive at the train station controlled by your Army Group by tomorrow afternoon. How to use them will be up to your Army Group." Wang Zhong: "Thank you very much... Ah, that''s a personal thanks." The Grand Patriarch: "Then I ept your thanks." After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong let out a long breath and said to Pavlov, "Inform the Army Group that the reinforcements from the Guardian Army will arrive tomorrow. I don''t know the exact number, but whatever it is, it will be useful." Wang Zhong turned to look out the observation window. The enemy''s sappers were not advancing as quickly as they were at the beginning; clearly influenced by Wang Zhong''s recent strike. Popov joined Wang Zhong, ncing at the enemy while speaking, "The engineer corps estimates that by October 10th, the enemy will have dug up to fifty meters from the bridgehead. Before that, we need to find the right time to retreat and blow the bridge. Otherwise, once the enemy reaches the shore, installing explosives will be inconvenient." Wang Zhong: "Install the explosives tonight. Begin the setup at dusk; now that the nights have grown longer, it should be finished before dawn, and then we''ll retreat from the bridgehead at the darkest time before dawn." Popov: "That works. It''s a pity, such a fine anvil, and the enemy isn''t taking the bait after being hammered twice." Wang Zhong sighed, "Indeed. And we even have to blow up the bridge over Duva River. Now looking at this bridge, what a fine one it is." It was at this moment that Wang Zhong truly understood that line from the famous movie "The Bridge." Chapter 270: Chapter 60 Goodness, theres a Division Commander October 3rd, early in the morning. Pavlov maintained his position holding the receiver and said, "The troops at the bridgehead havepleted their retreat, and the explosives are installed." Wang Zhong, "Detonate." Pavlov, "Detonate." The next moment, the top cover of the bridgehead bunker on the opposite bank waspletely lifted off by the explosives, and the approach section of the big bridge copsed into the river with a loud crash, like building blocks pushed by a naughty child. The remaining sections of the bridge, yet to be detonated, were twisted by the enormous st, but the next moment the explosives on the bridge also detonated, sting the rails into many pieces, which flew into the air before falling back into the water. From Wang Zhong''s overhead view, all the high-light targets in the enemy trenches that had been motionless suddenly sprang into action, clearly startled by the consecutive booms. Watching the little red-highlighted figures running about in the trenches, Wang Zhong found a touch of childhood innocence he hadn''t felt in a long time. Unfortunately, he didn''t have a mineral water bottle to pour water into the trenches now. Pavlov put down the receiver, "Next, we''ll see how fast the enemy advances through the trenches. Based on the current pace, they''re estimated to reach the bank by October 9th. If we''re optimistic, it should start raining by then." Wang Zhong observed the opposite bank and, hearing the footsteps of themunications staff officer, turned around to see the staff starting to update the full map of the front line on the wall. Generally, division-levelmand posts do not update their front line status maps immediately becausemanders can''t control other units'' situations, so theypile intelligence over a period before updating all together to reduce the staff''s workload. Thus, division-levelmand posts can be updated by just two or three staff officers. If it''s the Front Army headquarters, more than a dozen staff officers would be continuously busy updating the map with verified intelligence, and several dozen more staff officers would be in charge of verifying all sorts of misceneous messages. Wang Zhong looked at the staff updating the map and suddenly noticed something, "The enemy on the northern line didn''t advance yesterday? Was there a unit that stopped them?" The staff officer, "It''s the enemy who stopped advancing, probably to resupply fuel and ammunition." Wang Zhongughed, "The enemy''s supply line is starting to break down. They have advanced so far on the northern route, but their logistics can''t keep up." Pavlov''s gaze swept from the extreme leftthe westernmost pointon the map to where the enemy vanguard was now situated, "That''s nearly a thousand kilometers. It''s normal for something to go wrong." Wang Zhong, "After the rain, bigger problems will arise." He looked out of the observation window again, "Fall, rain, fall!" However, up until October 9th, there was still no indication of rain. On the morning of October 9th, as soon as Wang Zhong entered the divisional bunker, he saw Popov, who had been on the night shift, answering the phone, "The enemy currently has no intention of crossing the river, and we are closely monitoring them. Yes Oh, he''s here, I''ll hand the phone to him." After saying that, Popov passed the receiver to Wang Zhong, "Major General Kiriyenko." Wang Zhong took the receiver, "Hello, General." "The situation is a mess," Major General Kiriyenko blurted out. "If it wasn''t for the continuous support of the Guardian Army, our front line would have already copsed. The good news is, the enemy''s northern spearhead has stopped for two days." Wang Zhong, "Yes, the northern enemy forces probably can''t keep up with the supplies. They need progress from the southern route toplete their pincer movement. So the pressure is greater on us." Kiriyenko, "It''s not just a question of us being under more pressure, did you know that Kashuk''s headquarters was overrun yesterday? He himself only sustained a scratch, but his staff are nearly all dead. Even if his forces retreat now, I doubt they can do it properly. "If we don''t get rain soon, we might not be able to pull back!" Wang Zhong, "No, that won''t do. The enemy facing us has a short supply line and has been holding back here for so long. If it doesn''t rain, they will catch up to us." Kiriyenko, "Damn the weather. Some ces should have started raining on the 7th in past years." Wang Zhong, "Telling me that doesn''t help, what can I do, conduct a ritual and pray for rain for you?" "What?" Kiriyenko''s confusion was palpable even over the phone line. It seemed that the Ante People did not have the custom of praying for rain; they were never short of water. The territory of Ante wasced with many rivers, but all these rivers ran from south to north. Despite the abundance of water in these rivers, they could not support east-west cargo transportation across their long and narrow territory. Wang Zhong, "I mean, pray to God for rain." "You forgot we are the Secr faction?" The Secr faction believed that all "miracles" had scientific exnations; they just hadn''t been discovered yet. Therefore, the Secr faction would not pray for rain but would predict it based on meteorological data. Kiriyenko, "ording to past data, it might not rain until October 20th at thetest, so we''ll have to be prepared to fight and retreat simultaneously. "The good news is, since the northern enemy stopped, we''ll soon have reinforcements from the regr army. Additionally, the Western Front Army is building a second line of defense behind us." Wang Zhong was about to respond to Major General Kiriyenko, when suddenly the sound of artillery shells falling pierced the sky. The explosion quickly followed, shaking the bunker with a shockwave that sent a plume of dust onto Wang Zhong''s head. Pavlov stumbled in, "Damn, it''s heavy artillery. The enemy is probably nning a major assault." Wang Zhong looked outside; the enemy''s trenches had been dug to about 20 meters away from the river''s floodbanks. Meaning, if theyunched an attack, the enemy would need just a few steps out of the trenches to enter the river. With the aid of his "outsider advantage," Wang Zhong had already seen the enemy''s pontoon unit transporting bridge materials to the riverbank through the trenches. He immediately ordered Pavlov, "Prepare the artillery battalion, implementation of Firepower n Four." The fourth fire n was to bomb the riverbanks, potentially damaging the bridge equipment that had been moved to the edge of the river. As Pavlov was giving orders on another telephone, Kiriyenko asked Wang Zhong beside him, "Has it finally started over there too?" "Yes, the enemy has advanced to the riverbank and is about to begin a forceful river crossing. But I am prepared for closebat with them." "Then I won''t disturb you any longer. Good luck," Kiriyenko said before hanging up the phone. Wang Zhong put down the receiver, and Popov said, "They''re finally here. The soldiers have been getting impatient. We can definitely hold them off in today''s attack." Just then, as Pavlov had finished giving orders to the artillery, his expression changed abruptly, and he shouted, "Artillery? Artillery?" He hung up the phone, turned his head and yelled, "Signals officer! The line has been cut by a bomb! Send someone to check the wires immediately!" Although the enemy was in the middle of preparing their firepower, under these circumstances, it was necessary to send someone to check the wires and restoremunication immediately, even if it meant putting the signalman in great danger. If they dyed much longer, they could miss a crucial opportunity in the battle. Wang Zhong: "At least we still have the radio as a backup." "If you use the radio, the other side will know everything!" Wang Zhong: "In a critical moment, who cares about that?" As he said this, he looked across the river. On the other side, besides the trenches, about a kilometer from the riverbank, there was an artillery observation post. Wang Zhong had been keeping an eye on that post, hoping for some high-ranking officers to show up. However, it seemed the Prussians might be cautious because all that had appeared after so many days was a junior officer "leading" the post. Wang Zhong no longer wanted to waste shells on a junior officer. ---- Prussian Army, Asgard Knights, First Army headquarters. Giles: "I want to personally oversee the attack at the frontline today! We must break through the defense in one day!" Feliz: "That must not be done! The White Horse General likes to behead!" "First, we now have solid shelters; second, the White Horse General''s two beheadings might just be a coincidence," Giles said seriously. "And if my soldiers are willing to die bravely and I, as amander, am not willing to face any danger, how can such an army win?" Feliz: "But the White Horse General almost blew up the headquartersst time! It was your tin soldier that took the hit!" Gilesughed, opened the p of his officer''s coat, and revealed a key hanging at his waist, "I have repaired the tin soldier, and if need be, he can take the hit again. That''s it -- inform Major General Kluge of the Am Division that I want to personally supervise his division!" ---- When Kluge heard the order from headquarters, he frowned deeply, "If themander dies on my front, I''m finished." He turned to his chief of staff and asked, "Is there a rtively safe ce with a view of the front line? Maybe some high ground or something." The chief of staff looked at the map: "There''s an artillery observation post that''s well concealed and has not been bombed by the Ante People so far. I think we could arrange for the army chief to supervise from there." Kluge nodded, "More than a kilometer from the riverbank, good, let''s choose that ce. Prepare the car; I''ll go check whether the observation post is safe." Kluge''s aide immediately turned to get the car ready. About thirty minutester, Kluge''s car hurried to the artillery observation post. He did not head straight to the post but got out of the car about a kilometer from the post and moved toward it through the trenches. The Prosen soldiers he encountered along the way all looked at him with surprise and snapped to attention to salute. And so, Kluge walked right into the artillery observation post. The captain guarding the post was shocked, "Division Commander!!" Kluge waved his hand and approached the observation window from the shade, carefully peering outside. Both banks were in in sight; it was indeed an excellent observation spot. The only remaining question was whether Rocossov would bomb this ce. Kluge had seen Rocossov blow up the formermander of the Am Division in disguise, leaving him fatally injured. He decided to wait here for Major General Giles. ---- Wang Zhong had not been paying much attention to the artillery observation post a kilometer away from the Duva River; he was busy identifying the enemy''s main direction for crossing the river to position the reserve troops correctly. It was then that he took a quick nce at that artillery observation post and was startled. Damn, there''s a divisionmander! Ever since he had located that artillery observation post, Wang Zhong had measured the firing parameters for his artillery, just waiting for a "fat pig" to present itself. Now the pig had finally arrived! While it didn''t want to hit the tree itself, the tree coulde looking for it! Chapter 271: Chapter 61 Wisdom from Another Dimension ``` On the morning of October 9th at eight o''clock, Giles''s motorcade was stopped on the Prosen Army''s side. Feliz stepped out of the car and demanded, "What''s the matter? General Giles is in the car!" The Major who stopped the car saluted those inside, then loudly said, "The Chief of Staff has instructed me to stop you at all costs." Giles frowned, "What''s happened?" "When Major General Kluge, themander of the Amp Division, went to inspect the artillery observation post you were heading to, he was shelled. The crossbeam on top of the bunker copsed due to the artillery fire and Major General Kluge was injured in the shoulder. He has been sent to the division''s field hospital for emergency treatment. The Chief of Staff believes that under these circumstances, you should not proceed to the frontline," the Major blocking the road loudly stated. Turning his head to Giles, Feliz asked, "Could the enemy have received intel? Was this barrage aimed to target you?" Giles was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Now with no onemanding the Amp Division, I''ll head directly to the division headquarters. I want to see if this ''White Horse General'' can still locate me and bombard me!" On Wang Zhong''s side, he witnessed the divisionmander being carried away. After all, with a bunker in ce, it was difficult to kill the enemy inside using the indirect fire of howitzers. This time, the shell had simplynded near the bunker, causing it to copse. The divisionmander was just unlucky to get hit by the falling debris in the shoulder, while others in the bunker were unharmed. And this was after Wang Zhong had already pre-calcted the distance and firing parameters. It seems that to ensure casualties, direct fire from heavy artillery was still necessary. A direct hit from a 203mm shell on the bunker C how could anyone survive that? Just at this moment, the enemy began to deploy smoke. Wang Zhong announced, "Prepare for battle!" On the east bank, Wang Zhong had set up severalyers of defense. The enemy''s fondness for deploying smoke was well known to all the guards of the First Guards Division, so the defense on the east bank fully took this into ount. Wang Zhong had set up fire points on the second floors of the riverside buildings. They were somewhat reminiscent of the design philosophy of bastions from World War I. The breakwater itself was very steep and difficult to climb, so even if the enemy swam across the river andnded on the beachhead, they would have to use stairs. The machine guns on the second floor could perfectly cover these staircases with downward diagonal fire. Yes, this was the first ''gate of hell'' Wang Zhong had set up for the enemy. Even if they managed to cross the river under the cover of smoke, they''d face blind fire from machine guns C the smoke wouldn''t affect this firepower. Instead, it would make it difficult for the enemy in the smoke to locate and counter the machine gun positions. Even if the enemy broke through this ''gate of hell,'' Wang Zhong had set up a second defensive line. Wang Zhong had sealed off most of the windows on the first floor of the riverside buildings, leaving the rooms facing the riverbank empty with not a single defender inside. The defenders were all located outside the room doors. In this way, the enemy wouldn''t be able to see inside the rooms clearly. If they used explosives to st through the sealed brick and sandbag windows and rushed in blindly, they''d be met with submachine gun fire from those waiting at the door. Moreover, Wang Zhong had also cedndmines in the rooms facing the river. Mines ced outside would be detonated by the st pressure, but what about the mines inside the room, especially when the room''s windows were sealed with bricks and sandbags? This design would minimize the chances of st pressure triggering the explosion. Of course, some of the ground floor buildings along the river had been converted into anti-tank gun positions, for which Wang Zhong employed a different defensive logic. For these buildings, the walls facing the river were demolished, leaving only the load-bearing columns, with machine gun fire points positioned within the second row of buildings. Once the anti-tank gunners evacuated, the ground floor of these buildings would be pure zones of fire damage. And by demolishing the ground floor walls facing the river, it also facilitated the movement of anti-tank guns like the ZIS-30 tank gun, which could move directly in and out of the first floor. If the enemy breached this line of defense, it would be exceedingly difficult for them to assault the second floor. Because Wang Zhong had removed all the stairs going up to the second floors of the riverside buildings, normally using woodendders to go up and down, which would be pulled up duringbat. Unless the Prussians learned to double jump, they were not going to make it up. And even if they did get up, there were soldiers from the First Guards Division waiting with submachine guns. If all of these measures proved useless, and the enemypletely took over the buildings along the street, they would find that they couldn''t enter the bunkers underneath the riverside buildings. All the entrances to the bunkers were on the second floor of the buildings across the street, connected by tunnels. If the enemy wanted to attack the second row of buildings, they''d have to face bunker fire from behind. When this entire design was presented, Pavlov and the rest were shocked because Ante''s military academy had never taught them to design defensive positions like this. Wang Zhong didn''t tell them that this wasn''t actually his own creation, but rather from trench warfare. He himself had not anticipated that one of his favorite movies as a child woulde in handy after having traveled through time! Now Wang Zhong was just waiting for the enemy toe and see if what he had learned from military films was actually useful. After the enemy''s smoke deployment wasplete, faint whistle sounds could be heard from across the river. Vasily said nervously, "The whistles, the enemy is going to attack." Wang Zhong ordered, "Close all bunker doors." Pavlov immediately ryed themand. To facilitate entry and exit, the division headquarters had kept one door open to the surface, but now that they had closed this door, leaving from the division headquarters bunker meant going through a long tunnel. Because there was no airflow inside, the white smoke from outside didn''t drift into the bunker. Wang Zhong used his external device to look through the smoke and watch the enemy''s movements. At the ford, the enemy seemed intent on building a pontoon bridge, so the primary forces emerging from the trenches were the bridging units. ``` Wang Zhong: "Order the heavy mortar fire, firing n three." Firing n three was to cover the opposite river crossing. Dealing with the floating bridges set up by the enemy was no easy task, and the enemy woulde streaming over endlessly. With only one division at his disposal, it was best to hinder the enemy''s advance as much as possible. As the sound of the mortars exploding reached them, the enemy troops began to swim across, armed. The Prussians even brought out steel boats, ced them in the river to transport heavy weapons, pushed along by the swimming soldiers. At that moment, the enemy''s machine guns and armored vehicles on the shore began to spray the second floor of the buildings on this side of the eastern bank with random gunfire through the smoke. Unfortunately for them, Wang Zhong and his men had concealed their firepower positions well, and the enemy had not discovered the true locations of their firepower. Just then, the telephone rang. Pavlov was thrilled: "The line is connected! Good." He picked up the phone: "Division headquarters, yes, the enemy is crossing the river, there''s no need for the reserve troops to move yet, just wait." After hanging up, Pavlov looked back: "Colonel Eugene is a bit anxious." Vasily: "I''m also very anxious, shall we open fire? It''s too quiet." Wang Zhong: "Aren''t we still hearing the sound of the heavy mortar barrage?" "But that''s too far away. Itcks impact," Vasily said, looking outside the window, "shall we open fire?" Wang Zhong: "Don''t rush it, the enemy''s charge whistle only blew a few minutes ago." Popov: "You should be as calm as a general." Wang Zhong thought to himself that his calmness was because he had ''smoke-prating eyes'', knowing exactly where the enemy swimmers were. ncing at the time, Pavlov asked: "Shall we order the artillery battalion to fire? We might hit some of the enemy''s reserves." Wang Zhong: "Why can''t you stay calm? This first wave of enemy attacks will definitely fail, rx." After he spoke, the whole divisional bunker fell silent. Wang Zhong focused intently on observing the enemy from his vantage point until he felt someone tugging at his clothes. He looked back and saw Nelly, the little maid: "I''m really nervous, what should I do?" Wang Zhong: "What, don''t you believe my arrangements can deal a heavy blow to the enemy?" "It''s not that." Extending his hand, Wang Zhong patted Nelly on the head: "Rest easy." Right at that moment, Wang Zhong saw the first wave of enemy troopsnding. They first tried to climb the breakwater, but finding it impassable, surged toward the stairs. Wang Zhong: "Fire!" Pavlov to the speaking tube: "Fire!" The machine guns on the second floor instantly opened fire, forming a web of bullets thatpletely sealed all the staircases. The enemy, shrouded in smoke and unable to see clearly, was knocked down by the fierce storm of gunfire. Some of the veteran Prussian soldiersy down, using their experience and instincts to dodge the barrage. But the Prussians were persistent, crawling along the stairs until a blind bullet struck them down. Wang Zhong: "Mortar!" Heavy mortars were assigned to each regiment, and following Wang Zhong''s order, the ones given to the Fifth Belensk Regiment opened fire. The shells kept falling on the beachhead. Even though the mortars were not very urate, the enemy was packed so densely that it didn''t matter. At that moment, Wang Zhong saw a Prussian officer shooting a re toward the second floor where the gunfire wasing from. The red light of the re, even through the smoke, roughly indicated the direction. The only problem was, this officer was guessing the location based on the shes of gunfire; the re actually didn''tnd on the machine gun position. However, the infantry guns across the river opened fire. Those runs just happened to be outside the range that Wang Zhong could light up. After all, the range of the Prussian infantry guns was decent. The shells continued to fall on the second floor, and using the density of their fire, they actually silenced a machine gun! Wang Zhong: "Call the artillery battalion, enemy infantry guns are outside of my line of sight, but they can''t be too far away!" Pavlov was about to pick up the phone when he heard the sound of heavy artillery: "Wait, is the artillery battalion firing?" Vasily: "Maybe the artillery observation post saw the position of the enemy''s infantry guns." Wang Zhong had set up an artillery observation post on the rooftop, but he thought that the artillery officers there had been sacrificed during the preparation of fire. It seems that was not the case. The enemy artillerymen, who had been bombarding the location indicated by the re, ceased fire. The machine gun fire promptly resumed. But in that gap, many Prussian soldiers had already crossed the first deadly barrier. Clearly prepared for the second obstacle, the Prussians directly used explosive charges to blow open the sealed windows. However, they were unaware of the mines behind the windows. The first Prussian soldier to climb through the window was blown out of it. Wang Zhong saw it all clearly andughed heartily. The others in the map room were all puzzled, not understanding what Wang Zhong wasughing about. Chapter 272: Chapter 62: Prussians Blood Flows Into a River (Supplement 9/33) Prussian Army, Asgard Knights'' Ante Division Headquarters. Giles anxiously awaited the frontline report. The assaulting forcesprised not only the grenadier battalion from the Ante Division but also two more grenadier battalions from another grenadier division. An additional pontoon brigade brought up from the rear was responsible for bridge-building. Afterpleting the bridge-building, Prussian armored units would also join the assault. The No. 2 methrower tanks would cleanly sweep all buildings. This was one of the many lessons the Prussians had learned from the Carolingian campaign: even when smoke obscured vision, the me throwers of the methrower tanks still inflicted significant casualties. All that was needed was to aim at the ces where gunfire shes were spotted. ording to the records, Rocossov''s troops hadn''t yet faced the No. 2 methrower tanks, and this time they were going to get a taste of their power. Giles paced back and forth in themand center, finally unable to contain himself and saying, "I should go to the frontline to see for myself!" "No!" Feliz stopped him loudly, "Absolutely not! Even though Division Commander Kluge has been rescued from danger, he can''t return to hismand post!" In reality, had the staff at the division headquarters beenpletely wiped out, the impact on a division wouldn''t be too great if only the divisionmander was injured and taken off the field. Giles sighed, his expression stern as he continued pacing back and forth. This caused the original staff of the Ante Division to hardly dare to breatheafter all, this was the Emperor''s favored subject. Not to mention, this was the man who could actually convince the Emperor, eager to end the war, to ept his method of using earthworks to reduce casualties, and rumors about this had been growing more and more outrageous over the past twenty days. Some even swore that Giles had sold tricks in front of His Majesty and was, in fact, an imperial pageboy. Giles had never denied such a imof course, it was also possible he didn''t know about it. In the end, now everyone dared not speak, just watching Giles pace back and forth. Two hours into the attack, a message finally arrived. "Report to the major general," said a messenger saluting Giles, "our attacking troops arepletely suppressed by the Ante People on the riverbank. The first smoke has dissipated. The frontlinemander requests direct fire." "No," Giles scolded, unch another Smoke Bomb. The enemy''s anti-tank fire is fierce. Have the artillery maintain smoke cover until the bridge ispleted!" "Yes, sir!" Giles continued pacing, mumbling as he walked, "It would be great if we could deploy airborne troops right now." Feliz: "We could call in the Air Force for support right now." Giles shook his head: "There''s too much smoke by the river now. They''ll use that as an excuse not toe, saying they can''t see the targets. We''ve used earthworks to reduce so many casualties; now it''s time to use lives to breach the enemy''s defense." Wang Zhong muttered softly, "They will continue attacking after such huge losses?" In fact, everyone in the bunker didn''t know how big the Prussian losses were, after all, they couldn''t see. Now, the entire firepower of the first guard division was blindly firing based on pre-determined parameters to respond to the enemy''s smoke blockade. Only Wang Zhong, who could see through the smoke, saw the Prussian soldiers piling up dead along the entire riverbank. The enemy''s pontoon troops were still struggling to build the bridge under the fire from the heavy mortars; currently, the pontoon bridge had reached halfway. Therefore, Wang Zhong ordered, "Direct the artillery to shift fire, have the observation posts guide the bombardment towards the ferry point." Pavlov did not doubt and immediately picked up the telephone receiver. Popov suggested, "Why not let some of the enemy forces in? Shooting blindly at smoke will make the soldiers grumble. Let the soldiers see the enemy and then kill them; that''s the way it should be." Wang Zhong shook his head: "No, it is almost certain that the enemy will breach the first fire. We must maximize the killing at every checkpoint to eliminate the enemy''s living forces." Popov: "You are the divisionmander, you make the decision." At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly heard the sound of anti-aircraft guns firing and, puzzled, raised his head: "What are they shooting at?" Vasily listened carefully and said, "That''s not our anti-aircraft fire; it sounds like the navy firing from the port side." Wang Zhong immediately switched perspectives. Seeing that he could not control the naval forces, he could only recognize the unit insignia, but indeed he could see the traces of the naval anti-aircraft fire. Wang Zhong: "It seems to be that ind gunboat." Pavlov: "Is the smoke at the port cleared? Can they see the target?" Wang Zhong knew very well that the smoke at the port hadn''t cleared, but he could only concur, "Possibly." The navy probably heard the heavy guns bombarding the ferry point and deduced that there was a high-value enemy target, hence the machine gun fire from the gunboat. It had to be said that the navy indeed had high standards; theirbat will and initiative were terrifyingly high. The enemy''s pontoon troops at the ferry point had already stopped building the bridge because of thebined washing of heavy mortars, heavy artillery, and machine guns. The question was how long this kind of fire could be sustained. Just as Wang Zhong pondered, he saw the Prussian soldiers suppressed on his side of the riverbank starting to climb the breakwater. He was stupefied to see Prussian soldiers using entrenching shovels stuck between the breakwater cracks and climbing up by stepping on the shovels! Once the first soldier who climbed up confirmed that the method worked, he immediately threw a Smoke Bomb to ensure continued smoke cover. The second soldier to climb up carried a bundle of rope and ran toward the roadside tree. Clearly, he nned to secure the rope to the tree to allow Prussian soldiers to pull themselves up the breakwater! These people Just as Wang Zhong was about to use the radio to issue orders, the defenders on the second floor suddenly started throwing hand grenades down. What''s going on? The defenders on the second floor didn''t have Wang Zhong''s ability to see through the situation. He carefully observed these grenade-throwing defenders and finally realized they had noticed the new smoke points popping up unexpectedly, figured something was amiss, and that''s why they started throwing grenades. The Prosen soldiers thought they had been spotted and threw a grenade directly at the second floor. However, the grenade was caught on the second floor and thrown back down. This also alerted the Ante side that Prussians wereing up. Wang Zhong saw a captain shouting, and soon a captured Prussian machine gun was brought over and set up on the second floor to blindly fire downwards. Others began a fierce grenade battle. The Prosen soldiers were outnumbered and suppressed from a higher ground, quickly losing the upper hand. But more enemies found a way to climb up the breakwater. Of course, the blockade of the staircase had to continue, or else the enemy would surge up like a tide. Wang Zhong was focusing on the defense around the breakwater when the Prussian infantry guns started firing againdespite having been suppressed by heavy artillery just before! However, due to the smoke, the enemy''s first volley from the infantry guns fell directly on the riverside avenue between the building and the breakwater. The Prosen soldiers, who had just managed to climb up and get a footing, were hit by their own artillery! Wang Zhong''s mouth fell open in astonishment. Prussian artillerymen, are they trained in hell? More precise at hitting their own men than the enemy? Wang Zhong, "Have the artillery observation post guide our suppression of the enemy''s artillery positions." Vasily, "Indeed, I just heard the sound of the enemy''s infantry guns exploding. But this back-and-forth suppression is chaotic. How about we split into two groups, each suppressing separately?" Wang Zhong, "No! Haven''t you heard the saying ''It''s better to cut off one of the enemy''s fingers than to injure his five fingers''? Artillery should be concentrated for use, spreading it out will achieve good results on neither front." In the meantime, another round of smoke bombs arrived from the enemy''s artillery troops. Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, "The enemy doesn''t n to stop with the smoke bombs, huh." "Don''t stop the smoke, until all smoke bombs are used up," Giles ordered, "If we can''tplete the pontoon bridge by day, we''ll keep attacking until night. Keep on attacking, attack!" Feliz, "The first echelon reports heavy casualties, but if they don''t withdraw, the second echelon mounting an assault will just pile up on the narrow beachhead." Giles, "Let the second echelon cross the river from upstream of the crossing point. Further cover for the bridgeying operation." "Yes." At the Guard Division bunker, the telephone rang. Pavlov picked it up, "Division headquarters. Where are they crossing the river? Understood." He put the phone down, "The enemy is trying to cross upriver." Wang Zhong, "Dispatch the armored units. The river is so wide upstream, the enemy is getting desperate." The Duva River, although at its lowest level now, was nevertheless a navigable river. Shostka was already the narrowest part of this stretch of the river. As Pavlov ordered the armored units to strike, Wang Zhong heard the sound of engines. Since Brother Peter had not informed them, it must be the Ante Air Forceing to assist in the battle. As expected, four Yak-1s dived down first, dropping bombs on the westernnding. 100-kilogram aviation bombs directly flung the Prussian bridgeying vehicles into the air, to be overturned in the river. After the first wave of bombing, the second wave of four Yak-1s dived to continue the attack. Two waves of 16 bombs directly turned the crossing into a sea of fire. At that moment, Vasily suddenly said, "There''s a wind!" Wang Zhong, "What wind?" Vasily stretched his hand out of the observation window, "Yes, there is a wind, blowing downstream, which means it''s about to rain." Then, a strong wind blowing from the north began to sweep over the Duva River. In just ten minutes, the smoke enveloping the eastern bank was blown away. All the Prosen soldiers who had climbed up the breakwater were fully exposed under the eyes of the Ante soldiers on the second floor. Then, a storm of gunfire erupted. The Prosen soldiers, who had just managed to climb up the breakwater, were swept away from their high position. At the same time, enemy fire from the opposite bank also began targeting the second floor. Fire from both sides started to exchange across the Duva River. Wang Zhong heard the sound of the 57mm anti-tank guns opening fire, as high-explosive shells were continuously fired toward the western crossing. This firepower was much denser; a 57mm anti-tank gun crew could achieve a high rate of fire with three seconds per shot. The ferocious firing of 12 anti-tank guns was much more terrifying than any heavy machine gun. The enemy''s pontoon troops were wiped out in an instant. Wang Zhongughed heartily, "Good! We held them off this wave!" He turned around and high-fived others to celebrate. Then Nelly, who had been silent until then, suddenly shouted, "Rain, it''s raining!" On the afternoon of October 9th, 914, the rainy season arrived. Chapter 273: Chapter 63 "Sincere Congratulations on Your Victory October 11th. After the rainy season arrived, the Prussian Army maintained an offensive for two days, and then had no choice but to stop. "What do you mean we''re running out of shells?" Giles red at the logistics major general and asked, "The enemy still has the leisure to disrupt our meals every evening! Are you telling me our shells ran out first?" The logistics major general answered with a stern face, "Lieutenant General, the enemy is less than four hundred kilometers from their industrial center, Ye Fort. Our supply line, just within Ante''s territory alone, is 700 kilometers. "Moreover, because the rail gauge used by Ante is different from ours, trainsing from our country cannot directly enter Ante''s railway system. They have to be transferred to stations on Ante''s side and then organized into new train formations. "Because of this, we''ve always been heavily reliant on road transportation with trucks and mule-horse transportation, but after the rainy season started, trucks and mule-horses have been greatly affected." "How greatly affected can it be that shells can''t be supplied?" Giles questioned. "Greatly affected," the logistics major general repeated his phrase and then added, "Therefore, the ammunition is piling up at the train stations, unable to be delivered. But we are already in the process of calling up more mules and focusing on supplying shells to your troops. Your artillery will be able to continue firing tomorrow." Giles: "Where are you calling up these ''more'' mules from?" The logistics major general: "From the transportation of less critical materials. Anyway, the war will be over by the end of the year, so some materials are not that urgent." Giles sighed, "Alright, continue the attack tomorrow. Let the troops rest as much as possible today. Feliz, do we still have tobo and alcohol in our supplies?" Feliz immediately replied, "ording to the supply list I saw, there should be." "Distribute them to the troops!" Giles said. Wang Zhong looked at the time: "It''s eight in the morning, no artillery fire yet. Could the enemy be out of shells?" He looked out the observation window. After two days of fighting, the enemy used demolition charges to destroy the breakwater, creating an incline that could be attacked up. In addition, the enemy had built three pontoon bridges across the river, but all three bridges had been blown up, leaving only the halves closest to the enemy. The entire riverbank was littered with the corpses of Prussians, and because of the continuous rain, all the bodies were swollen, burst, and emitting a strong stench. Popov also came to the window and looked toward the riverbank: "The water in the wells has started to deteriorate, indicating that the shallow groundwater has been contaminated. And this damn stench, if we don''t retreat, many soldiers will fall ill. Just yesterday, the hospital received three cases of vomiting and diarrhea, possibly cholera." Wang Zhong: "But we have to wait until all the currently semi-encircled troops havepletely withdrawn." The Western Front Army had ordered a full retreat on the second day of rain. Because the divisions of the Front Army were already very exhausted and had suffered huge casualties, they might copsepletely if they didn''t retreat. New troops had already organized a new defensive line near the Front Army headquarters in T. These withdrawn troops would rest and be replenished to the east of T. Some of the units with particrly severe losses would be withdrawn to an area east of Ye Fort for more thorough rest and reorganization. Wang Zhong turned around to look at the map on the wall. Many troops east of Shostka had already withdrawn, and most of the remaining units had already broken contact with the enemy and were retreating through the space behind the Guard First Mechanized Infantry Division. Pavlov put down the telephone receiver and reported to Wang Zhong: "Currently, there is no attack across the entire line, and it''s quiet on the side of the Fifty-First Army as well." Having said that, he also looked up at the map on the wall. Pavlov: "If we hadn''t stopped the enemy at the Duva River, I''m afraid several hundred thousand troops would have been surrounded in this salient." Wang Zhong: "The overall tactical concept has been achieved. Now it''s just a matter whether we can retreatpletely, and... how long it will take to retreat." At this moment, amunications staff officer came in with a recently decoded message: "Orders from the Front Army headquarters." Wang Zhong: "Read it." Themunications staff officer: "The Front Army headquarters to the Guard First ''Red g'' Mechanized Infantry Division, your unit has sessfullypleted the blocking mission, and should retreat from the current defensive position at midnight tonight. Rearguard units will cover your withdrawal to rest on the outskirts of Ye Fort in Suhayaveli." Wang Zhong immediately looked for the ce name on the map; Pavlov was quicker: "Here. We can get there by train. We should ask for more train cars from behind us, after all, you see..." Pavlov nced out the observation window and made a gesture, meaning "you see the enemy isn''t shelling anymore." Wang Zhong: "You want me to use my special connections again?" Pavlov: "It''s raining now; you wouldn''t want our vehicles stuck in the mud, forced to abandon them, would you? All those artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, and even your little tanks!" Wang Zhong pursed his lips, "Fine, I''ll make a call" At that moment, the phone rang. Pavlov, muttering "hope it''s not the enemy attacking," picked up the receiver: "Division headquarters. Hello, Your Eminence. I''ll hand him the phone right now." After speaking, Pavlov jabbed the receiver in Wang Zhong''s direction: "The Grand Patriarch is looking for you." Wang Zhong took the receiver: "Your Eminence, I greet you." Belinsky got straight to the point: "Has the Front Army given you the order to retreat?" "They have, instructing me to retreat from Shostka by midnight. Your Eminence, could you use your influence to send us some train cars?" "Empty train cars?" "Yes, we don''t need ammunition and supplies here anymore. Excess food that we can''t eat or take with us will have to be burned. Additionally, apart from my division''sbatants and logistics personnel, there''s also theborers supporting us and the Guardian Army, they and their families need to retreat as well. This requires..." Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov. Pavlov showed five fingers. Wang Zhong: "We need five hundred train cars!" Pavlov''s eyes widened. Seeing his reaction, Wang Zhong quickly corrected himself: "Fifty train cars." Pavlov clicked his tongue and said straightforwardly, "We need five columns of standard military trains. Fifty carriages are far too few for uswe have almost forty thousand people here!" Wang Zhong immediately said, "Five columns of standard military trains." The Grand Patriarchughed heartily, clearly in an excellent mood today: "I''ll give you five columns with forty carriages each. If you leave now, they should be able to reach you by tonight." Wang Zhong: "That''s wonderful, then we''ll be waiting." "I look forward to your triumphant return. Then, we''ll meet in the capital." "See you in the capital, Your Highness." Wang Zhong ended the call. Pavlov: "So how many carriages are there?" Wang Zhong: "Two hundred carriages, five columns of trains." Pavlov snapped his fingers: "Alright, let''s immediately start nning the retreat and arrange the order in which the troops will board. Anyway, the armored train will cover our rear." Wang Zhong: "Let the artillerymen take some trouble, fire off all the remaining shells today. We''ll only take the cannons and men with us." Pavlov: "No problem." On the evening of October 11, at eight o''clock, Colonel Kozelsky,mander of the naval river fleet, arrived at the division headquarters bunker. "Salute to you, General Rokossovsky," the colonel extended his hand to Wang Zhong. "You really are the star of victory. I never dreamed that I would be able to retreat alive from here." Wang Zhong sped the colonel''s hand and was about to speak when a loud noise came from outside. Wang Zhong jumped in fright and was about to look outside through the observation window, but the colonel pulled him back, "Don''t worry, that was us blowing up our gunboats. We can''t let the Prussians use them against us in the future, can we? The water is so shallow here, the sunk vessels can be salvaged quickly." Wang Zhong: "Did you properly hold a ceremony to bid them farewell?" Kozelsky: "Of course, we had a grand farewell ceremony for the ship''s spirit." The ship''s spirit? That ship isn''t the Golden Mary! Kozelsky looked outside: "It''s strange, we''re retreating, surrendering our homnd, our soil soaked with ourrades'' blood, to the invaders, to the devils, but at this moment, it feels entirely like a victory." Wang Zhong: "It certainly is a victory. This time we didn''t leave any civilians behind, we didn''t let the Guardian Army cover our rears, and we still have enough strength to fight again, only withdrawing willingly for strategic objectives." Kozelskyughed: "Lengthening the enemy''s supply lines, making it impossible for them to resupply winter gear, and then wiping them out with the help of General Winter, is that it?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, an outright stratagem. I think the smartest among the enemy generals have already noticed, but they have to step into it for their own goals. They can only put their hopes on taking Ye Fort." Pavlov: "I propose a toast!" He had just finished speaking when Nelly came over with drinks and sses. Wang Zhong: "Where did the drinkse from?" Nelly: "I took them from Lord Boye''s local cer. I don''t know if it''s good wine." Vasily picked up a bottle and admired it: "Trebbiano! This is good wine! Here, let me pour for everyone." Vasily deftly uncorked the bottle and filled all the sses. Each person present took a ss and realized there was one ss extra. Wang Zhong: "Nelly! Join us! Today is a happy day; you must have a ss!" Nelly could only pick up a ss. Wang Zhong: "To a stage of victory!" Pavlov: "Cheers!" Everyone drained their sses in one go. After downing her drink, Nelly''s face began to turn red. Vasily suggested: "Should we leave a message for the enemy? Like the one the general leftst time. How many booby traps shall we write this time?" Wang Zhong: "No, no, the enemy''smander named Giles is quite capable. If he doesn''t approach the bank using trench warfare, their losses would be even greater." Pavlov: "But there''s also the possibility that they will attack after exhausting our ammunition." Everyoneughed heartily. Popov solemnly reminded: "Actually, with their fierce attacks in the past two days, we''ve lost twenty-five percent of our troops. It''s because our morale is high and our fighting spirit is strong that we don''t even blink at a twenty-five percent loss. Any other unit would have copsed." Wang Zhong: "Yes, we should of course congratte such an opponent for his victory!" Vasily: "I''ll write it... Is it a bit too yful to write with a pencil?" Pavlov shouted: "Bring in a piece of charcoal!" Soon a piece of charcoal was brought inas winter was approaching, such heating materials were everywhere. Pavlov pointed to the wall from which the map had been taken down: "Write on the wall, make it big." Wang Zhong: "Write this: ''To the respected General Giles''what is his rank?" Everyone looked at each other, no one knew. Wang Zhong: "Never mind, don''t mention the name. Write ''To the respected Prussianmander, you have shown us the art of war in full measure, so we sincerely congratte you on your victory!''" Chapter 274: Chapter 64: Major General, Im So Cold October 12th, the east bank of Shostka, controlled by the Prussian Army. Giles stepped off the pontoon bridge, looking at the bodies piled up on the riverbank. Aide-de-camp Feliz frowned, "I will oversee the logistics personnel to clear the bodies as soon as possible to prevent an outbreak of gue." Giles nodded. At this time, the terrible stench had already made many staff officers cover their noses, but Giles remained indifferent. He walked solemnly onto the riverside boulevard, looking at the windows and walls blown open by explosives, with only the bodies of Prosen soldiers remaining inside. Giles, "Are there no bodies of the Ante Army?" The chief of staff immediately responded, "Report, we believe the bodies of the Ante Army have already been buried in the suburban cemetery." Giles, "The enemy even had the leeway to do this, which shows that we didn''t put much pressure on them at all; they could have continued to defend here, but they retreated." Giles paused, then added, "If they had continued to defend here, we might have had the chance to crush their defense." Having said that, he continued to move forward, along the path cleared by the earliernding troops, passing through the first row of buildings along the Shostka river. On the street between the first and second row of buildings, the bodies of Prosen soldiers still piled up. Feliz said, "This is as far as we got. "The day before yesterday, the captain who attacked here and then fled back reported that the enemy had removed all the stairs to the second floor; we couldn''t find a way up, so we could only try to cross the street into the buildings behind under the cover of smoke, and as a result, we suffered heavy casualties on the street." Giles looked at the buildings on both sides and eximed, "This has be a trap set to ughter us. Look at those firing holes on the second floor; they were specially built to shoot at our forces from behind." As he said this, he stepped forward, turning in circles to survey his surroundings. At that moment, the military chief of staff added, "This is a ''wengcheng'' (a trap within a fortress gate), after the enemy troops breach the gates, they will be shot by archers from the ''wengcheng'' above." In the end, Giles stopped, looking towards the row of buildings along the river, "The only way to deal with these fortifications is to blow up the entire first row of buildings; we should use the Bison heavy infantry gun to fire from close range." Feliz, "But the Bison would immediately be counterattacked by the enemy''s artillery, and it''s also vulnerable to enemy anti-tank guns." Giles, "We need thicker frontal armor and weapons capable ofpletely destroying such solid buildings. Right now, the infantry''s StuG III assault gun''s 75mm short-barreled howitzer and the Panzer IV''s short-barreled howitzer are not up to the task." If Wang Zhong knew his masterpiece might lead to the early appearance of the Grizzly assault gun and the Tiger assault gun, I wonder what he would think. Giles once again looked around and then ordered, "Protect all these buildings, carefully measure all the fortifications; this should be the standard for our army''s future urban defense, to be written into textbooks." Feliz, "Is that necessary? The Imperial forces have always been on the offensive, winning one victory after another." Giles was silent for a while before saying, "Just in case. Look at the Ante Army; their doctrine is heavy on offense, light on defense, and you see the result. We can''t have such a weakness." "Yes," Feliz nodded, his expression grave. Giles then asked, "Do you know where Rokossov''s troops have retreated to?" Feliz, "He followed the railway. We advanced about twenty kilometers and then encountered the enemy''s blocking force, not bearing the red g, so probably not theirs. It is reported that General Moochi''s troops downstream have broken through the enemy''s defense, but..." Giles, "But what?" "His fuel transport team couldn''t keep up with the tank troops, and now they have had to stop because the fuel stocks fell below the warning level," Feliz said with a wry smile. "Moreover, with this damn weather, the tank failure rate has soared, the repair troops are stuck in the mud and can''t get through, so chasing the enemy is probably not possible." Giles, "The enemy knows this and also knows that they can move faster than us in the mud, so they took the opportunity to retreat after the rain." Then the military chief of staff said, "They took advantage of this opportunity to retreat because they knew they couldn''t stop us. The Empire will achieve victory." But his tone no longer had the optimism and confidence of before. Giles whispered, "I always feel the reason for the proactive retreat is not so simple... The only reason I can think of is to stretch our supply line. Kutuzov also used the same strategy against that Conqueror. "I have a bad feeling. Feliz, how much of our winter gear do we have?" Feliz, "Currently, the troops have only been replenished with clothing suitable for autumn weather; there''s basically no winter gear. But don''t worry, the Typhoon Campaign n originally included provisions for winter warfare, so the logistics department started preparing winter gear in September, it should be delivered soon." Giles suddenly felt a chill at the back of his skull, "No, Feliz, no, the winter gear won''t being. Because all the mule transport is concentrated on transporting ammunition, fuel, and tank parts." Feliz turned pale, "This... then we should tell the logistics department to prioritize winter gear!" Giles, "No, Feliz, you saw the results of their transport capacity adjustments yesterday. We received only seventy percent of the fuel and ammunition supplied normally. As we push forward, this amount will definitely decrease. But the enemy is getting closer and closer to their supply center..." Giles, supporting his chin, fell into deep thought, hisplexion ashen. Finally, he said, "I see the great defeat that awaits the Empire in the future. The only way to deal with this defeat is to stop advancing and defend on the spot. The enemy alsocks the strength to attack, so we can divert transport capacity to bring in winter gear. "But to stop advancing would mean the failure of our hopes for a swift victory. The war would turn into a war of attrition, and we wouldn''t get the fuel and raw materials we urgently need." Giles looked up into the sky, where a fine drizzle was incessantly falling. "Remember that clear telegram from Rokossov we got at the beginning; he even warned us!" Feliz, "That was just his psychological warfare, he wanted his artillery fire to cause as many casualties as possible." Giles did not respond. At that moment, a messenger ran over and saluted, "Report, a way to enter Rocossov''s headquarters has been found." Giles said, "Let''s go and have a look." A short whileter, Giles entered the headquarters of the general on the white horse. The maps and documents had, of course, been burned to ashes long ago, and all sorts of equipment had naturally been removed as well; only tables and chairs were left in the empty bunker. And a charcoal stove, on which sat a teapot. As Giles walked toward the charcoal stove, he suddenly felt something flicker in the corner of his eye and turned his head toward the wall. Then he saw written on the wall, "Dear Prussianmander, you have fully demonstrated the art of war to us, and so we sincerely congratte you on your victory!" The signature was "Your friend, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky." Upon seeing these words, Feliz flew into a rage, "Someone! Scrape off these words!" But the chief of staff said, "No! We all know that these words are mocking us, but others don''t! We should let the propaganda department send people to photograph these words and publish them on the front page and headline!" Feliz, hearing this, was overjoyed, "Right, let''s propagate that the general on the white horse has already submitted to us!" At this time, amunications staff officer entered the bunker, "Report! A telegram from His Majesty the Emperor himself!" Giles said, "Read it." Themunications staff officer began, "''Congrattions, my dear Siegfried, for capturing Shostka within the time you promised. The empire will remember your merit.'' Giles pursed his lips and nced at the words on the wall again. "Scrape it off." He said, "And no one is allowed to say they''ve seen these words." Feliz asked, "Why? Doesn''t this perfectly echo the emperor''s praise?" Giles replied, "Because I am a soldier. My skin is not that thick! Wipe it all off! Don''t let those bastards from the propaganda department know about this! And don''t let them take any photos!" Having said this, he kicked over the charcoal stove in the room. Then something on the ground started to smoke. Feliz yelled "Careful," pushed Giles aside, and threw himself on top of the object. Giles fell to the ground and, during the fall, his head struck the edge of the table, immediately swelling up with a huge lump. At the same time, the booby trap exploded, slightly lifting Feliz who was lying on top of it. The other staff officers were scattered all over the floor. When the explosion was over, Giles struggled to his feet, ran to Feliz''s side, and turned his aide over. Feliz''s clothes were already soaked red, but he still gasped for breath. He looked at Giles and said, "General... I''m... so cold." Then his face twisted. Giles checked his pulse and then gently closed his eyes. The chief of staff got up and said, "We should publicize this too, make the general on the white horse out to be a despicable viin! That way..." Giles interjected, "Wipe off the words! Do you think we haven''t embarrassed ourselves enough? I''ve just got my aide killed! Understand?" The chief of staff shut his mouth, and the other staff officers called for soldiers to begin erasing the charcoal from the wall. Giles stood up and watched until every word written in charcoal was erased. Then he too fell forward. The chief of staff was rmed, catching the falling general, and shouted, "Medic! Medic,e quickly!" Afterward, Giles was diagnosed with a mild intracranial hemorrhage and had to temporarily leave hismand post. October 12th, Suhayaveli, under the control of Ante Army. As soon as Wang Zhong got off the train, he sneezed several times in a row. Ludm rushed over with concern and asked, "Caught a cold? You should see the doctor right away!" Wang Zhong waved his hand dismissively, "Don''t make a fuss, maybe it''s just the Prussians cursing me." Nelly opened an umbre and handed it to Ludm. Chapter 275: Chapter 65 Rocossovs Summary of Experience In October 914 in Suhayaveli, the Ante Army''s elite First "Red Banner" Mechanized Infantry Division headquarters. Upon entering the division headquarters, Wang Zhong looked around and said, "Compared to our previous headquarters, this ce is much more shabby." "Be content, Suhayaveli isn''t like the modernized towns we were stationed in before," Pavlov said. "Once the bunker is finished, we''ll have to move there to avoid enemy bombardments targeting civilian houses like you do. This wooden house can''t withstand artillery shells." Wang Zhong looked up at the roof of the wooden house and said, "Suddenly, I don''t feel sofortable living in this house anymore. Let''s move as soon as the bunker is ready." Pavlov: "Don''t worry, we''ve already hung camouges over the roof, so we can temporarily deceive high-altitude aerial reconnaissance. Low-altitude reconnaissance is blocked by Divine Arrow and Brother Peter, so we''re rtively safe." Popov: "We didn''t choose the best house in the vige either. We left Boye''s brick house empty, not knowing when the Ploson Air Force will bomb it." Wang Zhong shrugged and walked over to the map to look at thetest situation. "The enemy has actually broken through our defense line," he eximed, "That was breached too easily, wasn''t it?" Pavlov: "But after breaking through, they quickly stopped and didn''t even get past our infantry. General Mud is really powerful." Wang Zhong: "It''s more remarkable that our infantry could outrun tanks in the mud." "What are you talking about? We''ve been walking through this mud since we were kids; we''re used to it," Popov said. "And our donkey carts have been adapted for the mud too, except for the toll it takes on the donkeys, everything else is fine." Wang Zhong: "Toll on the donkeys?" "Yeah, if you walk through the mud too much, the donkeys get sick. The Prussians are the ones suffering," Popov said with a bit of schadenfreude. Looking at the map, Wang Zhong said with a smile, "When winteres, we''ll just sit on the riverbank, watching the enemy''s corpses float by day and night; they''ll destroy themselves." The othersughed heartily, and the air was filled with a sense of joy. Suddenly, Popov put on a stern face: "Even so, the enemy inflicted significant casualties this time, our troops lost twenty-five percent of ourbatants. Although many were injured and could eventually return to the ranks, we still lost twenty-five percent." Wang Zhong: "Yes. We are the elite of the army, but the enemy''s fighting spirit andbat skills are still stronger than ours on average. "Reflecting on our past battles, in the battle at Peniye, the enemy almost overwhelmed us. Most of the damage inflicted on the enemy was done by my personallymanded Tank No. 422. "Without my personallymanded tank, we would have been devoured on the first day at Peniye." As someone who also participated in the battle at Peniye, Pavlov added, "Then your tank got taken out. At that time, we all thought we were going to die for our country, but to our surprise, a call from Sufang worked, and a KV rolled in. We were able to hold the enemy back thanks to that KV tank." Wang Zhong: "And in Loktov, the support from fortifications was indispensable to keep our positions and achieve a high exchange ratio, as well as the backing from the local Guardian Army,borers, and the armored support we received." After he finished, Pavlov added, "In the end, we had lost half the city, but we managed to reim it thanks to Major General Kiriyenko''s cavalry." Wang Zhong nodded: "And in Orachi and Shostka, it was our carefully constructed positions that yed the main role." He stood up and began pacing in the wooden hut, saying, "Upon examining our battles thus far, we find that our troops only manage a favorable exchange ratio against the enemy with the support of fortifications. "Even our T34s and KVs, which have the advantage with AP rounds, need the support of fortifications. In open fields, battling against enemy armored units, we would quickly be defeated by their tactical and technical superiority. "Looking back at all our battles, the only time we were on an equal footing with the enemy, with no disadvantage, was with our artillery." Wang Zhong faced hisrades, raising his right fist: "Artillery! Our artillery can stand toe-to-toe with the enemy! And artillery fire can ignore the enemy veterans'' tactics. "Veterans do avoid shelling well, but with enough firepower, they can still be sted to death or to pieces. "I used to think our armor was the most reliable thing to count on. They are indeed reliable, but when ites to efficiency in killing the enemy, they still fall short of artillery." Pavlov, gazing at Wang Zhong, remarked, "Don''t you love your little tank anymore?" Wang Zhong: "I only love my Liu Xia." Popov: "What about the princess?" Wang Zhong: "I treat her like a sister. Wait a second, why is there a princess here?" Popov spread his hands: "Aftering off the front lines, we need some gossip to distract us, otherwise, we''ll keep thinking about our fallenrades. Right now, everyone''s favorite topic is the story about you, the princess, and Captain Ludm Vasilyevna." Wang Zhong: "Can''t they focus on something else, like discussing the story between Vasily and his father?" "Oh, my general," Popov shook his head repeatedly, "no one would be interested in that story, itcks elements that capture people''s attention. If Vasily''s father had a mistress, and then Vasily seduced this mistress, that would be suitable gossip for everyone after a drink." Wang Zhong: "Is it appropriate for you, a bishop, to talk about this?" "I''m a bishop of the Secr faction," Popov shrugged, "I still drink and eat meat, and I don''t fast every year." Indeed, indeed. At that moment, Vasily entered: "General, I''ve heard a strange piece of news. Hmm? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Wang Zhong: "It''s nothing, what''s the news?" Vasily: "Themander of the enemy''s Asgard Knights'' First Army has been reced. I have evidence. Firstly, I heard the call sign of their headquarters changest night..." After Vasily exined in detail, he concluded: "Taking all things into ount, I believe the enemy''s First Army of Asgard has changedmanders." Wang Zhong and Popov exchanged nces and said, "Could it be... that my booby-trap killed someone? No way, the Prussians are meticulous; they should have cleared the mines first. Plus, my booby-trap was so rudimentary, just a hand grenade modification, with time to react before the explosion." Pavlov shrugged, "Who knows." Vasily said, "Anyway, the enemy has changedmanders." Popov looked at the map, "Based on yesterday''s intelligence, the Asgard Knights have also stopped in their tracks and are not moving. Currently, it is General Von Maqi of the Second Armored Group who is crawling forward at a snail''s pace. With his current speed, even reaching the outer defenses of Ye Fort wouldn''t happen until mid-November at the earliest." The outer defenses of Ye Fort. dimir Bradsky, Vasily''s father, had joined the Labor Corps and had arrived at the outskirts of Ye Fort to begin fortification work. Along with his corps, there was also arge group of young girls from the Women''s Labor Camp. One noon during the break, Bradsky asked the girl serving them food, "Miss, howe you''re doing this kind of work meant for men?" The girl lifted her head, "We''re not old enough to join the army, and the nursing corps wouldn''t take us tenth graders who haven''t graduated. But school''s out, and we have to do something, right? "So we sent Shu Ya and the others to petition the Grand Patriarch, and it was a bishop who received Shu Ya. After hearing their wishes, he arranged for us toe and build anti-tank obstacles." Another girl serving the foodughed, "Some are not happy about it,ining that the girl from next door has gone off to learn shooting, and she wants to learn shooting, too." Bradsky smiled, "It''s better to build anti-tank obstacles. Look, it''s useful in the war, and you don''t have to die for it; that suits you perfectly. It''s not only by killing the enemy that you support the war. War is aplicated affair; there''s all kinds of work to be done." "Then why did you be aborer?" a girl asked. Bradsky replied, "I''m a professor, a music critic. I could have taken a clerical job in the army, but I''ve never been good with various forms of paperwork. Oshanin, the editor-in-chief, said, ''You could try writing a tune to lift people''s spirits,'' but what does he know? I''m just a critic; it''s my son who''s the skilledposer." "So in the end, I came here to build fortifications. I hope that my sonVasilywill be able to use the fortifications I make, to have a bit more security for his life." After finishing, Bradsky showed a bitter smile to the girl, "It''s the first time I feel that my skills are so useless." "You''re a music professor?" the girl asked. "Yes." "Then your son is a greatposer?" "Do you know ''The Holy War''?" "We know it!" several girls nodded together, "We can sing it too!" Bradsky said, "That wasposed by General Rokossovsky, and my son did the arrangement." At the mention of General Rokossovsky''s name, the girls all became excited, "The General! Your son is fighting beside the General!" "I heard that the General''s shout alone can scare the enemy''s tanks into stopping!" Just as Bradsky was about to reply, distant shouts from the anti-aircraft lookout rang out, "Enemy nes! Enemy nes!" The working girls all stood up, curiously looking at the sky. "Enemy nes?" "Where?" The young girls were not scared at all, standing there curiously looking at the sky. Initially, Bradsky didn''t react either, but seeing the girls'' actions, he suddenly realized and shouted, "Girls, don''t just stand there!" He stood up and ran desperately, shoving each girl to the side, "Get down! Get down quickly!" At that moment, the sharp screech of the reaper''s call came from the sky. Bradsky kept running, dragging the young girls who had no experience of war and didn''t know what death was, one by one, and throwing them to the ground, "Get down quickly!" Just then, a bomb plunged into the muddy ground right in front of Bradsky. He was stunned at the sight of the bomb, and for a moment, his brain lost the ability to think. That''s when the Labor Camp''s camp chief rushed over and knocked Bradsky to the ground. The explosion urred. Bradsky closed his eyes, covering his ears. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt the camp chief on his back get up. Only then did he turn around to look in the direction of the bomb. The bomb was stuck in the dirt, its tail timer had stopped ticking, but due to some issue, it didn''t explode. Bradsky stood up and looked around. The other bombs had detonated sessfully. Cries resounded everywhere. And even more girls could cry no longer. Chapter 276: Chapter 66: The Fame of General Mud (Extra 10/33) On the fifth day in Suhayaveli, which was the evening of October 18th. Ludm returned from her shift and the moment she walked in, she saw Wang Zhong busily writing away. Nelly stood by with a candlestick in hand. Curiously, Ludm asked, "What are you doing?" "Writing a summary of experiences. I had already done an oral summary with Pavlov and the others, but now that I think about it, it''s better to write it down and share it with more people." Approaching behind Wang Zhong, Ludm read from the notebook, "''Artillery is the only branch where our forces and the enemy''s do not have a decisive gap. The heavy artillery they use is just as old as ours''" Wang Zhong took over and continued, "The enemy''s artillery textbooks have not been updated for many years. We are on the same starting line with the enemy in terms of artillery." "Moreover, the enemy does not prioritize the use of artillery at the campaign level, and the artillery organization goes up to the army level at most. The enemy''s army group level battle units do not have corresponding artillery." "This is because as the emperor who is the chief of the enemy, he is more interested in the rising technology branches, enhancing the influence of these branches topete with the traditional Junker officer corps for power and profit" Ludm asked with confusion, "How do you know all this?" Wang Zhong: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, my lord. His Highness has been studying the situation in Prosen to prepare for resisting the invasion." In fact, these reports came from another timeline, on top of a little spection by Wang Zhong. On Earth, the Sturmtiger, because ''Xiaogu'' was very popr, had significant influence, wanting to include everything that moved on tracks under the banner of Armored Troops. ''Xiaoman'' has been resisting all along, striving to increase the number of assault guns within the Infantry Division''sposition. Because the assault guns were to be made using tank chassis, there was fiercepetition for production capacity between the two sides. Wang Zhong merely assumed that these situations could be transferred over. Clicking her tongue, Ludm said, "You''ve started writing experience sharing notes; will you have topile textbooks in the future?" Wang Zhong: "It depends on the situation. Her Royal Highness said she ns to establish a temporary school in Charon to specifically teach the experience ofbat against Prosen." Ludm: "Charon? Isn''t that your newly conferrednd?" "That''s right. It seems I''d be responsible for teaching at this school." Ludm eximed in surprise, "They''re not putting you in charge of the front lines?" Wang Zhong: "Of course, when the front lines are tense, I''d naturallymand the troops, but during the winter and the muddy season from February to June next year, I expect the whole line will be rtively quiet." Ludm: "So they''ve asked you to teach people how to deal with Prosen? And when the front lines get tense again, they''ll send you back?" Wang Zhong: "What''s wrong with that?" "Nothing," Ludm shrugged her shoulders, "Then, my great military strategist, how long will we have this period of quiet?" Wang Zhong nced at the calendar: "I estimate it''ll be quiet till November, depending on when the ground starts to freeze. General Winter will rescue the enemy from General Mud. They might have about a week''s time to attack before the major cold snapes." "And then?" Wang Zhong: "Once the cold snap arrives, it''ll be our turn to counter-attack." While Wang Zhong was having a warm conversation with his fiance, General Von Maqi of the Prosen Second Armored Group was raging at his subordinates. "What do you mean we can''t move forward anymore?" the general roared. Themander of the 16th Armored Division, serving as the vanguard, said, "Our division currently has only thirty tanks ready forbat; all the other tanks have been abandoned in the mud due to mechanical failures. "Spare parts can''t be delivered, and the maintenance factories are stuck in the mud, immobile. The number of tanks being repaired each day is zero, zero!" "The situation with the half-track vehicles is just as bad, and the worst is with the trucks. They get stuck in the mud easily, and then we have to unload everything from the trucks, otherwise, even with a tractor, we can''t pull them out!" "General, if you make us move forward, we would have to be infantry. Do you really want the tank operators to charge like infantry?" General Von Maqi fumed, "We have been held up at the Duva River for so long, we''ve be theughingstock of the entire Army Group, no, the entire Prosen Army! Others are saying it''s us who let Ante''s heavy forces get away. "The glory we gained at Argesukov has beenpletely lost! Do you understand, my dear divisionmander?" It was sarcastic for a general to refer to a major general divisionmander as ''my dear''. Themander of the 16th Armored Division retorted, "Alright, then I''ll order my men to continue advancing, even if we lose all our tanks, and pretend we''re infantry! Would that satisfy you?" General Von Maqi paced back and forth in themand post, silent for a minute, before asking his adjutant, "Does the logistics department really have no solution?" Aide-de-camp: "After crossing the Duva River, we advanced nearly a hundred kilometers, and the logistical pressure increased. Coupled with the mud... The Third Armored Group in the north encountered logistical problems even without rain. I think, General sir, the logistics department has tried every possible method." Von Maqi seemed to have made a great resolution before asking, "What about air supply?" Aide-de-camp: "Air supply can only be done by airdrops, because even if the engineers build field airstrips, the Air Force nes dare notnd due to all the mud. In fact, the Air Force has already suspended the use of those field airstrips with bad conditions, and now only Argesukov''s permanent airstrip runways are in use." Von Maqi suddenly insisted: "Then just airdrop! What''s the problem with that?" Aide-de-camp with a bitter smile: "Airdropping requires parachutes, which after the initial days of airdropping, couldn''t be replenished and ran out." Von Maqi burst into a rage: "These good-for-nothings in the logistics troops! Good-for-nothings! On the beaches of Burgundy, it was logistics that forced us to stop! And then that damned Air Force boasting, iming that it could be done relying on air supply alone!" No one dared to speak, all waiting for the general''s anger to naturally subside. Finally, Von Maqi sighed, "At this point, we can only ept our fate. All units should stop advancing, make an effort to collect and repair the abandoned tanks, and umte supplies. Wait for the freeze-over tounch an attack." "Freeze-over?" the aide-de-camp asked in surprise, "Why mention freeze-over?" "Now the mud is making it impossible for us to move, but once it freezes over and the ground hardens, won''t we be able to attack? We''re a little over two hundred kilometers from Ye Fort nowjust ten daysno, five days and I''ll be able to charge into Ye Fort!" General Maqi said confidently. Argesukov, Prosen Army Officer Rehabilitation Center. Giles, his head wrapped in bandages, was writing a letter to Feliz''s parents: "Dear Uncle and Auntie, I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to tell you the details of Feliz''s sacrifice. First, I must apologize: Feliz''s sacrifice wasrgely due to my oversight..." Just then, a nurse rushed into the single ward with a tense expression: "Lieutenant General! His Majesty the Emperor is here!" Giles hurriedly put down his notebook and pen, rising from the hospital bed. As soon as he stabilized himself, Emperor Reinhard entered the room and quickly came over to support him, "Why are you standing up! Lie down and rest!" Giles: "Your Majesty! I failed to capture Shostka within the set timeframe..." "Just two days behind schedule, which is eptable." After helping Giles back onto the bed, His Majesty sat on the edge and then gestured for others to leave. Soon, only the emperor and Giles were left in the ward. The Emperor: "I''ve heard about Feliz''s incident, and I''m sorry. That Rocossov is a despicable bastard! To attack so covertly!" Giles: "Our sudden breach of the non-aggression pact isn''t really any more noble than his actions." The Emperor: "It''s fine to say that when it''s just us two." "It''s precisely because it''s just the two of us that I''m speaking so frankly, Your Majesty," Giles said, "and I''ve been contemting the telegram Rocossov sent me. If we continue to attack, we''ll step into a trap. Our supply lines are already troubled, and without the capacity to transport winter gear and other cold-weather supplies, when winteres..." Giles trailed off. The Emperor, with a worried face: "I only show such expressions in front of you, Ziggy. Even a fool can see the truth by now. Our only hope is to use the time between the freeze-over and the onset of the cold wave to rush to Ye Fort." Giles: "Rocossov and his division won''t let us seed." The Emperor: "He only has one division..." "No more! Kashuk downstream and behind him, Kiriyenko of the Sixty-sixth Army Groupthe enemy has started to surfacepetent generas amidst the turmoil! And we''ve helped them with their selection!" The Emperor, hands covering his cheeks: "Of course I know. In fact, there''s also Meishikin from Bolsk, Gorky from Andrew Fortress... The enemy is quickly picking out capablemanders and eliminating the useless. "But we haven''t lost the war yet; we have eliminated nearly three million enemy troops after all. Although this pincer movement failed to annihte the hundreds of thousands of enemy troops in the encirclement, it did deal them a heavy blow! There are at most only a million enemy troops left towards the capital. I think if General Maqi were in charge, he might be able to break through to Ye Fort. "Besides, General Maqi once crushed that irond Rocossov''s defenses, and although he escaped in the end, I believe he could do it again." Giles: "Irond Rocossov?" The Emperor: "That''s the nickname the enemy''s Star of Victory gave him." Giles: "Inappropriate. It should be Rocossov of the artillery, Rocossov of the bombardment, or... or Rocossov the funeral provider. After all, only his troops and ours have such a good exchange rate, sending our soldiers to hell so efficiently." Giles paused, ncing at the notebook on the table. The Emperor: "Your suggestion to preserve the Shostka fortification specimen has been approved. The Empire''s Science Academy will soonplete its survey and make a life-sized replica within our territory. Perhaps we''ll find use for it in the future. Also, the order to develop a heavy assault gun has been issued, overseen by Doctor Porsche." Giles: "Finally, some good news." Reinhard, lowering his hands from his face and with determined expression, said: "I must prepare for the worst-case scenario. After all, I am the Emperor of the empire." Chapter 277: Chapter 67: Condolence Visit (Supplementary Update 11/33) The Prussian Army was stuck in the mud while the Guard 1st "Red g" Mechanized Infantry Division carried out routine training. Suhayaveli was itself part of the new fortification zone around Ye Fort, recently rushing to construct anti-tank stakes and anti-tank gun positions, with little attention paid to building bunkers. Once the Guard 1st Mechanized Infantry Division arrived, an engineering troop was immediately dispatched from above to construct bunkers and trenches, and the building of fortifications was no longer assigned to thebat troops. Therefore, Wang Zhong ordered intensified training. Most of the division''s new recruits hadn''t gone throughplete infantry training, just hasty instruction on throwing grenades and firearm operationsnot yet proficient, some even experienced weapon jams on the battlefield due to careless cleaning and oiling. Now that they didn''t have to dig fortifications, it was a good time for thorough training. Wang Zhong also took this opportunity to learn from the gunner Alexander Yefimovich of tank number 422 how to be a T34 tank gunner. Who knows if it mighte in handy in the future? And so, Wang Zhong spent his days learning to be a gunner and his nights writing materials to sum up the experiences umted since the beginning of the war. His days were full and passed quickly. The only thing that didn''t go Wang Zhong''s way during this time was that the Naval Infantry that had retreated with his division were called back to Ye Fort. Ye Fort also had arge river running through the city, flowing southward to join the Valdai Hills River, eventually leading into the Ind Sea. Since there was a navigable river, there was an ind river fleet, and so the Naval Infantry that retreated with Wang Zhong joined the headquarters of the Ye Fort ind river fleet, bing a force defending the riverbanks. Wang Zhong was reluctant to part with the elite Naval Infantry, but they belonged to the Navy and were under navalmand. He had thought about using his connections with the Grand Patriarch, but the Grand Patriarch had said to him, "If you were themander of the Front Army, the Naval Infantry within the war zone would also be under yourmand, even the Air Force!" Since Belinsky had put it that way, Wang Zhong had no choice but to let the matter go. On October 24, ten days before the Ante National Day, Wang Zhong, as usual, went to check thetest situation on the front line at the division headquarters before going to the training field for tank operation practice. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Popov. Now it had be a routine that Popov worked the night shift, and Wang Zhong and Pavlov worked during the day at what had be the division headquarters. Wang Zhong, "Good morning, Bishop, how''s the front line?" Popov, "Yesterday, the enemy''s second armored group broke through our defense line on the southern front and advanced about ten kilometers before stopping. I feel that the enemy isn''t aiming to advance, but to prevent us from establishing a particrly solid defense line." Wang Zhong nodded in understanding, likening it to the Paradox Interactive game "Hearts of Iron." In Hearts of Iron, the longer units stay in one ce, the higher their "entrenchment level" bes. The enemy''s southern group''s actions seemed to be preventing the Ante Army from umting entrenchment levels. Wang Zhong stared at the map, "You might be right. The enemy''s second armored group''s slow push has indeed gained some ground, advancing nearly 100 kilometers in eight days." Popov, "Our troops have been continuously forced to retreat, losing engineering equipment, concrete, and many other resources. The new defense lines certainly aren''t as well constructed as the old ones. "In fact, since we retreated from the Duva River, the defense lines in our rear should be rtively the mostplete. But the enemy broke through it at once, making it seem like our sessful defense on the Duva River was a miracle. "I suspect the enemy might know there''s a gap before the freezing currents arrive and ns to use that time for a desperate assault." Wang Zhong nodded, "It seems the danger is not yetpletely over. Personally, I think the enemy''s losses will be greater if they manage to break into Ye Fort." Popov, "I don''t know much about military matters, you say their losses will be greater, because once General Winteres, the troops that break into Ye Fort will bepletely annihted?" "Yes," answered Wang Zhong, "but you can''t rule out that once the enemy breaks into Ye Fort, some people will start thinking of surrendering. It''s better not to let the enemy into Ye Fort; we''ll block them here." Wang Zhong said this and moved towards the window of the division headquarters that faced in the direction of Ye Fort. Although the location of the headquarters was low, he could barely make out the chimneys at the edge of Ye Fort. "It''s interesting," he said, "those chimneys are 20 kilometers away, yet I can see them clearly." Popov came up to the window, "Those are just factories on the edge; we are 30 kilometers from the center of Ye Fort. However, if the enemy captures this ce and advances another ten kilometers, their artillery could reach Ye Fort. "North of us is Ye Fort''s satellite city, Karanskaya, which has a very high ancient castle on a hillside. If you climb the tower of the castle, you can see Ye Fort''s iconic iron bridge." Wang Zhong, "Honestly, I would also like to defend a city; cities are great fortresses. Unfortunately, the real Imperial Guard is stationed there right now." The troops led by Wang Zhong, although also called the 1st Division, were specified as the 1st Mechanized Infantry Division. The true Guard 1st Infantry Division,prising the 1st to 5th Guard Infantry Regiments, was the actual royal Imperial Guard. These units were stationed to defend Karanskaya, which could see Ye Fort''s central iron bridge from the castle tower. Wang Zhong, "Karanskaya is, after all, built with so much concrete construction that it would be quite difficult to lose. The enemy might bypass it, in which case our position will be the main focus of the enemy attack. We must not lose here. Not at all! The moment we lose, everything would be undone." At that moment, Pavlov came in, "Hey, I saw a training into the station on my way here, the winter gear has arrived." Ye Fort radiated countless railways all around, including a branch line to Suhayaveli, which not only connected to Ye Fort but also to Shostkathe way they hade previously. Wang Zhong, "Winter gear?" He looked down at his own clothes; for someone from the southernnd of Ceres like him, this heavy long woollen overcoat already qualified as winter gear. The weight of the overcoat had surpassed any clothing Wang Zhong had ever worn. Incidentally, this article of clothing that he replenished in the fall was autumn wear, and Wang Zhong had been wearing it for almost a season. It was just that when he first started wearing it, it felt hot, so he often left the buttons in front unfastened, but now he always made sure to button up properly ording to military discipline. Pavlov frowned, "Don''t be like that, General Rokossov, acting like a southerner. How could this singleyer of clothing possibly withstand the winter?" At this time, several soldiers came in carrying boxes. Pavlov opened a cardboard boxbeled "General" and pulled out a general''s coat, which he handed to Wang Zhong. The coat was terribly heavy! And squeezing it, he found it to be incredibly thick. Wang Zhong even thought that with two such coats wet with water, and with dirt between them, they could be used as a makeshift tankyes, just like the "dirt tank" used for blowing up the tower in the story of the small soldier Zhang Ga. Wang Zhong unfolded the coat and discovered that itsrgepel cor was made of fur from an animal he couldn''t identify. It seemed the Ante People also liked to wear fur. Wang Zhong took off the wool coat he was wearing and put on the thicker one. The first sensation was heavy, as if he was wearing full body armor. His second sensation, though, was warmthas if the fur coat could generate heat on its own. He quickly started to feel hot soon after putting it on. "Damn," Wang Zhong eximed, "I''m not afraid of any degree of cold with this thing on!" Popov also grabbed one for himself, and upon hearing what Wang Zhong said, he looked at Wang Zhong doubtfully, "Really? Then what''s the need for a firece?" ...Hmm? Wasn''t it said that northerners were so hot inside their rooms that they went bare-chested, and only wore coats when stepping outside? Could it be that the technology of this era hadn''t advanced that far and there wasn''t such an impressive heating method avable? Wang Zhong was still wondering when Pavlov said, "If you were living in the central district of Ye Fort, then you might indeed only need this thick clothing when going outside. But in a ce like this, it''s better to dress warmly. "After all, when the fighting starts, we spend every night in the bunkers, without the luxury of a stove to keep warm." Wang Zhong nodded. Just then, Ludm entered the bunker in a brand-new coat, "Ah, you''ve already changed." "Yes, have you also put one on?" Wang Zhong took a look at his fiance and noticed that the coat could even conceal her figure. That was quite frightening. At that moment, Nelly also came in, wearing a simr coat. Wang Zhong: "They have child-sized versions of these military coats?" Nelly looked at Wang Zhong with a disdainful gaze. Just then, the telephone rang abruptly. Pavlov picked up, "Hello? This is headquarters. Hmm? A special train? What kind of special train? It didn''t say? Alright, I''ll inform the general." Pavlov hung up the phone, "The train station reported that the dispatch center said there''s a specially added training our way, but it didn''t say what it was carrying." Wang Zhong: "At this time, what could be so secretive that they can''t inform us?" Vasily happened toe in and, hearing thest bit of conversation, suggested, "Secret weapons?" Wang Zhong: "No, I don''t think that''s quite right. By process of elimination, I specte that it''s likely to be peopleing to visit us. The question is whether it''s the Grand Patriarch or His Majesty the Tsar. Either way, it can''t be wrong to wait at the station." ---- Senior officers of the Imperial Guard, decked out in brand-new winter gear, all gathered on the tform, waiting for the special train to arrive. Pavlov suddenly chuckled, "It kind of reminds me of when we were waiting for Popov in Loktov." Wang Zhong: "True, butpared to that time, we''re now well-supplied with troopswell, maybe not elite troops, but at least with strong fighting spirit." Ludm: "That''s why we need to use the artillery to eliminate the technical and tactical disparity with the enemy." Wang Zhong: "You still remember that..." "My fianc''s tactical writings! Of course, I have to read it!" Before Wang Zhong could reply, the distant sound of a train whistle was heard. The special train arrived at the station and came to a slow stop before the tform. The train was full of the same sealed freight cars used to transport troops, with nothing to suggest that any dignitaries were aboard. However, when the door of the first carriage opened, Wang Zhong could not help but narrow his eyes. Imperial Princess Olga stood in the open doorway of the sealed car, giving Wang Zhong a radiant smile. Chapter 156: 9 Departure Chapter 156: Chapter 9 Departure In Jules 914, on the morning of July 23rd. The senior officers of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division gathered at the headquarters entrance, watching the first vanguard depart. The primary mission of this unit was to requisition houses in Olga, prepare amodations for the troops arrivingter, andmunicate with local churches and municipal authorities. Wang Zhong instructed Popov, who was leading the team, Make sure to get along with the church! We have just over ten thousand nonbatant personnel, which definitely isnt enough. My defense n needs a lot ofbor, so get the church to organize enough workers! Wang Zhong had already understood that mobilizing the lower sses in the Ante Empire relied on the church, which had prated every corner of the empire through low-priced food stores, various service societies, and more. Inparison, the empires nobility was genuinelycking. Popov said, You n to implement those tank shelters of yours? That really does require a lot ofbor. After all, the tank shelters Wang Zhong wanted to dig wererge enough to amodate an entire tank, which meant a significantlyrge amount of earthmoving work. Wang Zhong said, Im counting on you. With so few tanks to hold off an enemy armor cluster, theres no other choice. Popov gave a thumbs up: Done, leave it to me. After saying that, he gestured to the driver: Lets go! Thus, the vanguard squad set off, consisting of five jeeps and trucks. Thest truck carried arge stack of wooden signs, which were to be used for directions on the road. As Wang Zhong watched them disappear into the distance, he turned to see the troops making preparations to depart. Moving the main force was not like the small vanguard that could set out with just five vehicles. The main force had to decide on a marching order, distribute marching maps, arrange for personnel to direct traffic at crossroads and other ces where it was easy to take the wrong path, form small teams to assist stragglers, and so on. Moreover, this time the armored units had to travel on tracks, and there might be breakdowns along the way, necessitating the mobile repair teams traveling by truck. In short, ensuring the movement of the 151st Divisionan enhanced division by the standards of the Ante Armyover a hundred kilometers to an unfamiliar city was a technical task. This job was a true test of the capabilities of Chief of Staff Pavlov and his division headquarters staff. Wang Zhong, the divisionmander, could afford to be hands-off; once the troops set out, his task was to ride Bucephalus among the columns to boost morale. Thinking of Bucephalus, Wang Zhong decided to visit his beloved horse in the stables. The 151st Temporary Infantry Division did not have the term mechanized in its definition, so its logistics were rather free, having both trucks and mules. However, if it were to be a mechanized infantry division, under the rigid doctrines of the Ante Empire, the entire divisions supply would have to be by truck aloneafter all, its a mechanized unit! For the Ante Empire, which was still rather weak industrially, this would be a disaster: there simply wouldnt be enough trucks. Currently, the 151st Division had about 4,000 mules and almost the same number of horse-drawn carriages. There were also three thousand coachmen, in addition to several hundred logistics personnel responsible for the care of the horses, such as veterinarians, cksmiths for shoeing horses, and so on. The stables were bustling with horses, luckily spacious enough due to the dukes own equine interests; otherwise, the horses would have had to sleep under the open sky at night. Seeing Wang Zhong enter, Bucephalus became excited. It probably sensed the impending departure and kept shuffling its hooves, forcefully hitting the horse stall. While patting the horses neck, Wang Zhong whispered softly, Take it easy, youll get to run your fill today, we have a hundred kilometers to cover! Two days! Another problem with the march was setting up camp in the middle, aplicated affair. Thinking of this, Wang Zhong felt a bit of sympathy for Pavlov, wondering if the staff and clerks added to his team were sufficient. In any case, Wang Zhong was resolved to take a hands-off approachoh no, rather, leave professional matters to the professionals. At that moment, Bucephalus calmed down under Wang Zhongs touch and then grabbed Wang Zhongs cap with his teeth and tossed it aside before starting to chew on Wang Zhongs hair. Damn it, whats with this horse? Because I hadnt washed my hair for a long time due to battle, it might have had a scent that horses like. But now my hair was washed by Ludm, scented only with perfume! After washing, Ludm even helped me with hair wax! Would a horse like perfume and hair wax? No sooner had Wang Zhong thought this than Bucephalus shook his head, spit on the ground twice, and then distanced himself from Wang Zhongs hair. Haha, got a taste of the perfume and hair wax, huh? Serves you right! Wang Zhong bent down to pick up his cap, brushed the dust off it, and put it back on. Just then, the air raid rm sounded. So theyve finallye to air raid Argesukov Wang Zhong muttered, taking three steps out of the stable, and looked up at the sky. Switching to a birds-eye view, one could clearly see a formation of about thirty bombers and almost the same number of escort fighters. Considering the direction of the flying squadrons, Wang Zhong surmised that the bombers target was again the train stations, lotive repair yards, and lotive marshaling yards. They were clearly hoping to weaken the Ante Armys resistance by striking at its logistical transport. Unfortunately, on the vast territory of Ante, its almost impossible for the Air Force topletely cut off the rail transportation. In such a vast space, it was not easy for Prosens attack nes to locate a train, and by the time they finished the attack and recorded their achievement, a look at the fuel gauge: uh-oh! As Wang Zhong gazed at the sky in deep thought, a messenger riding a horse galloped over and shouted from a distance, General Rokossovsky, the Chief of Staff sent me to inform you that you can depart immediately. At that time, the sound of enemy aircraft bombs hitting the ground could be heard in the distance. Wang Zhong: Were departing now? Isnt there some kind of oath-taking rally or something? The messenger looked bewildered: What oath-taking rally? Right, they dont have that tradition here. He had thought that since this ce had the real Divine Power, before setting off to fight the infidels, there would be a splendidly dressed Archbishop conducting a mass or something, right? Then a nun would recite the Emperors quotations while purifying all heretics with mes. Wang Zhong gathered his thoughts and said to the messenger, Ill be right there. The messenger saluted and turned his horse around to leave due to the particr nature of their profession, messengers could ignore some of the militarys cumbersome formalities, like dismounting before saluting a superior officer who was not on horseback. After watching the messenger leave, Wang Zhong turned back to his old partner and had a sudden idea: How about I fit you with a saddle this time? Bucephalus immediately shook its head, clearly and decisively expressing its refusal, obviously knowing that Wang Zhong didnt have a clue about how to fit a saddle on a horse, and that forcing it could end in disaster. Wang Zhong: Alright, alright, Grigori! You put the saddle on it! Hearing the name Grigori, Bucephalus calmed down. Grigori approached, General, saddling a horse is actually quite easy, I can teach you. Wang Zhong: Good, good, teach me quickly. On July 23rd, 914 Jules, at 1210 hours, Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus and left with his troops from the temporary location of the 151st Division. Old Rokossov stood at the gate of the manor with a few maids to see them off most of the maids had been evacuated. The Duke of Rokossov had estates east of Mount Raoul, where the maids were sent to engage in agriculturalbor. As Wang Zhong passed by the old duke, he saluted him. The old man happily returned the salute, then also made a V for Victory gesture, a masterpiece of the war minister of the United Kingdom in this world. Wang Zhong also smiled and made a V for Victory gesture. Latter, after he had traveled a long distance and looked back, he could still see the old duke standing at the gate, gazing in his direction. Finally, Wang Zhong turned a corner on Bucephalus, and neither the iron gates of the manor nor the old father at the entrance could be seen anymore. But someone ahead was calling him, Alyosha! Wang Zhong turned and saw the Crown Prince standing on top of an extravagantly luxurious imported sports car, cupping his hands before his mouth like a megaphone and shouting, Alyosha! Have a good journey! To be honest, although the Crown Prince was a bit of a yboy, he was really not bad when it came to brotherhood. So Wang Zhong also shouted, Take care! Your Highness! He thought about it and felt it wasnt clear enough, so he inly said, Hurry back to Yekaterinburg! Crown Prince: Why should I return to Yekaterinburg while you are fighting? No, I am here under the Emperors orders to supervise the troops! Wang Zhong: Your Highness! This ce would soon be encircled he couldnt say something that could so easily shake the morale of the troops, at least not in public. As he hesitated, the Crown Prince shouted, This is for you! No sooner had the words fallen than the Crown Prince threw something at Wang Zhong, which reflected the golden sunlight as it spun through the air. Wang Zhong barely caught the item and realized it was the seal ring he had used once before, with red residue of the seal wax still lingering in the crevices on its face. Wang Zhong: I cant keep this! Take good care of Olga! the Crown Prince responded with an incongruous statement. Wang Zhong pondered the meaning of those words but then noticed that the Crown Prince had stopped waving. He stood on the back seat of the luxury car, looking forlorn yet resolute. The summer sun poured down from above his head. Chapter 278: Chapter 68 What Does Breaking Through the Defense Mean? Wang Zhong looked up at the sky and thought to himself that it hadn''t snowed, so why was the princessingno, why should he fear the snow, he wasn''t ying both sides. Thus, he saluted the princess, his heels mming together with a thunderous sound, "Your Imperial Highness, the Grand Princess!" Ludm also saluted, and all the soldiers on the tform saluted in one direction. A few slow-reacting members of the Guardian Army looked around confusedly until they saw the princess''s crown, and then hastily saluted as well. The princess''s smile stiffened when she saw their salute, but she quickly adjusted her expression and responded with royal etiquette, "At ease. You are all brave warriors who have fought for the Empire; there''s no need for such formalities." After finishing her words, she got off the train and came up to Wang Zhong. Seeing that Wang Zhong had lowered his hand, she once again revealed the smile she had at the beginning and opened her mouth Wang Zhong cut her off, "You should have notified us in advance of your inspection!" Olga didn''t stutter this time but smoothly caught on to hisment, "If it were announced, there would be a security issue. The situation in the capital is veryplex now. More than a hundred people were shot today, and a curfew might be implemented starting tomorrow." Wang Zhong slightly frowned, "Is the situation that bad?" "Yes, when you held Shostka, the defeatists kept quiet. The moment you retreated, they started. But exactly what they say, I do not know. If I did, the Judges would certainly know as well, and they would have beenpletely eradicated." Wang Zhong, "What do you mean by ''they started''?" Olga, "You would know if you were to experience the capital for yourself. I can tell from their eyes, their attitudes. Beforeing here, I saw the Grand Patriarch, and his eyes also indicated many issues. If the Prussian Army wasn''t just 200 kilometers from the capital now, he might have already started a systematic purge of the capittionists." Olga paused, then shook her head, "I don''t know, he might also be waiting for these capittionists to expose themselves. After our army drives the enemy from the capital, that might be the time to act." The princess stopped, raised her hand, and gently touched the stars on Wang Zhong''s coat cor, "The Grand Patriarch trusts your judgment a lot. The enemy will be stopped, right?" Wang Zhong, "The enemy will be stopped." He had wanted to remove the princess''s hand as he spoke, but considering the many eyes on him, he decided against it. A girl being pushed away under such circumstances would probably feel humiliated. But Olga withdrew her hand herself and with a smile said, "That''s good. I came here for two reasons, the first being to ask about the next production n. "The 100 tanks produced under the special royal decree have all beenpleted, and aside from the 24 reserved for the parade, the rest have been sent to the troops and have been well received. "What shall we produce next?" Wang Zhong, "Continue producing the Parade Tanks, of course. If they''re well received, we continue production. It''s best to switch all of Ye Fort Joint Machinery Factory''s capacity to Parade Tanks. It took more than two months to produce those hundred units, which is too slow. At this pace, we''d only produce six hundred tanks a year, which is far too few. "The scale of the war we''re now involved in is unprecedented; throwing in six hundred tanks won''t even cause a ssh. "At the start of the war, we had over twenty thousand tanks, even if most were just BTs and T26s, but the enemy also had many of their Panzer I and II. "But now look, our twenty thousand tanks have all been gobbled up by the enemy, not even a core spit out." Olga nodded, "Then we''ll continue to produce Parade Tanks. By the way, General Tugenev discreetly gave these tanks a production designation, calling them the T34W model." Wang Zhong frowned, why the W model? The Cyrillic alphabet starts with ABCD as well, W isn''t at the front! Seeing Wang Zhong''s expression, Olgaughed, "This is to avoid using up the letters reserved for regr improvements. The chief designer, Valentin, was furious when he heard the troops'' feedback on the T34W; he threw it right into the firece. He said his improvements would make the troops truly satisfied." Wang Zhong, " Then I hope he includes radios on the new tanks." Olga sighed, "Radios are even less likely, I''ve specifically inquired about this. The production of radios simply can''t keep up with the consumption. Airnes need radios, not to mention spare parts for recements. "If we were to equip all the tanks with radios, the shortfall would be huge. Major General Sergey from the Ordnance Department suggested that we concentrate the Parade Tanks and assign them to experienced tank units to form specialized assault Army Groups." Wang Zhongughed, "Didn''t that enrage Valentin?" "Major General Sergey is his father-inw, so" Olga shrugged her shoulders, "I think General Sergey is quite a decent man. He even made a special call before I came to the front line, asking if you have any special requirements that the existing equipment can''t meet." Wang Zhong, "Yes! I certainly do! First, I need a self-propelled gun that is equipped with a 152mm howitzer, has radios, and can use tracks to move at high speed across our nation''s rough terrain. "This artillery should have apanying ammunition vehicles, be able to rapidly switch firing positions, and have some resistance to enemy air strafing. It also needs an anti-aircraft machine gun!" Wang Zhong was speaking about this based on the SU152, which on Earth was often used as a self-propelled howitzer. After the war, the Soviet forces even included the 122mm howitzer in armored assault clusters at thepany level. Wang Zhong continued, "Then I also need a quadruple anti-aircraft gun, also mounted on a tank chassis. The gun should be our 25mm cannon, and it needs a new ammunition feeding system with a belt feed. "This will be our apanying air defense, aside from supporting our armored assault forces, it should also be able to clear enemy infantry while being leveled, so it needs a depression angle, understand? A depression angle!" As he spoke, Wang Zhong grabbed the princess''s shoulders with both hands, vigorously shaking her, "Depression angle, do you understand? A depression angle!" The princess, "Stop shaking me! Just say it properly!" At that moment, Nelly leaned closer to Ludm: "Why do I get the feeling that the princess is really happy?" "They''re discussing serious matters, Nelly," Ludm whispered, "As soon as they''re finished, I''ll join in." Wang Zhong finally let go of the princess: "Sorry." Olga sighed, then immediately burst intoughter. Seeing her smile, Wang Zhong quipped, "What, did all the shaking blend your brain so you''ve started giggling like an idiot?" Olga put on a stern face: "No. I''ll ry your requests to General Sergey just as you''ve said." Wang Zhong: "I''d better write a formal report. I haven''t done that before because I didn''t think my position allowed me to interfere with the research and production of military equipment, but now that I can, naturally, I''ll interfere to my heart''s content. I''ll get the report out tomorrow..." "No," Olga said seriously, "I''ll pass on the message! Tell me whatever you need! Going through the normal channels, do you understand that it will get held up?" Wang Zhong expressed surprise: "Would it?" Olga said with absolute certainty: "Yes!" Wang Zhong: "Alright. Then we also need a practical reduced-load cartridge rifle that can fire repeatedly and maintain good uracy at 200 to 400 meters. High reliability is also very important. Reliability is crucial!" Olga asked earnestly: "What''s a ''reduced-load cartridge''?" Wang Zhong: "It''s reducing the charge and shortening the length of rifle cartridges. Current rifle cartridges, when used for automatic fire, make the whole gun very heavy because it''s practically a machine gun. The universal machine guns we''ve captured from the enemy are this big" Wang Zhong turned his head and randomly picked a guard: "You! Go to the headquarters and tell Rocossov I want one of the captured enemy''s squad machine guns." While waiting for the machine gun to be brought over, Olga asked, "Wouldn''t it be better to just use a machine gun directly?" Wang Zhong: "No, the enemy''s infantry squads are mainly organized around machine guns; in actualbat, such squads fight rigidly around their machine guns. "However, when we concentrate our submachine gunners and fight the enemy in positions where machine guns can''t be used effectively, they''re at a loss. "In fact, our Tokarev semi-automatic rifles have already performed very wellthe key is choosing the terrain and preventing the enemy''s machine guns from being effective." In actuality, on Earth, squads organized around machine guns, when facing the fullplement of semi-automatic Browning Automatic Rifles and Thompson submachine guns of the American ''big-head'' soldiers, weren''t so effective. While the BAR couldn''t suppress as effectively as a machine gun, it was flexible. A machine gun required three people to operate and was very heavy. The Americans could fire the BAR while moving, and just one person could run around with it. In ces without machine gun fire, the Americans'' Garand semi-automatics significantly outperformed the German Kar98k. Most of Wang Zhong''s troops were equipped with the Tokarev semi-automatic, and they had actually encountered the same situation; as long as the Prussian machine guns didn''t catch up, the Imperial Guard had an absolute advantage in firepower. Without a doubt, theposition of a fullplement of semi-automatics, supplemented with a few automatic weapons, was more reliable than the Prussian''s current organization of squads built around machine guns. To advance further, the only option was to develop the AK first. At that time, the guard from earlier brought three people and carried over the captured machine gun. Wang Zhong pointed at the machine gun: "Look at this thing, so cumbersomethat''s the disadvantage of firing rifle cartridges. I suggest we modify Tokarev''s full-power cartridges, shorten them a bit, and make them fully automatic." Olga nodded: "Okay! I''ve got it, I''ll talk to General Sergey. Is there anything else?" Wang Zhong: "That''s all for now. Everything I''ve suggested can be modified from existing equipment, so we can form a force quickly." "Good," Olga nodded, then said, "Take me to visit the front line. Since I''m here to boost the troops'' morale, I should meet everyone." Wang Zhong: "What''s the fun in just meeting? How about singing a song for them? You must have studied music, right?" "I have," Olga said with a puzzled look at Wang Zhong, "I''ve even sung for you before! In front of you and my brother." Wang Zhong: "Oh right, that did happen." Well, look at that, a princess who can sing. She''s only missing pink hair now. Come to think of it, Olga did actually provide a lot of equipment, so should Tank No. 422 actually be called "Free Demon"? Wang Zhong: "Please, this way. Our troops are intensively training. If you could sing to motivate them, they''d be delighted." "Sure." Olga naturally reached out to hold Wang Zhong''s hand, but Wang Zhong immediately turned to Ludm: "Could you keep Princess Her Highnesspany as well?" See, what''s that called? Shaving it way too close! Chapter 279: Chapter 69: Dark Clouds Ludm took Olga''s hand, "Let''s go." Olga replied, "Mm, okay." Wang Zhong took a step forward as if he were merely a butler leading two youngdies on a garden tour. "This way, please." And so, the group consisting of the three of them, along with Nelly and arge contingent of royal guards, plus Sergeant Grigori, made their grand departure from the station. At the same time, at St. Ye Katerina Fortress, a gunboat was stationed under the iron bridge. Naval Infantry and engineers were hoisting explosives from the gunboat using ropes. To blow up the bridge would take twenty tons of explosives, which would require ten gas trucks for transport. Even if using the scarce three-ton gas trucks, seven would be needed. But a single gunboat could deliver all the required explosives directly beneath the bridge. The engineers were working diligently when, suddenly, several Judges wearing blue hats rushed onto the shore and apprehended ady admiring the scenery from the bridge''s viewing tform. "What are you doing!" thedy screamed. "I was just looking at the scenery!" A Judge''s interrogation floated up to the bridge, "Watching the scenery in this kind of rainy weather? No, we need to search you!" The woman''s screams intensified, "Judge, that''s indecent!" She continued to shout for a minute until the Judge pulled out a miniature camera from her underwear. "Ah," the lead Judge carefully examined the camera, "Prosen-made device. Though small, it can clearly photograph all of our bridge''s explosiveyout. Miss, you might want to exin why you have this in your underwear!" With a sobbing tone, the woman said, "I confess everything! A person named Bolo told me that if I took these pictures, the Prosen Army wouldn''t kill us after they upied Ye Fort! Kind Judge, I just wanted to find a way for my family to survive!" The Judge remarked, "You seem sincere, but ording to our experience, the enemy starts by acting sincere, using some unimportant information to conceal what''s truly important. No matter, we''ll figure it out." "You gang of men, you''re going to torture a woman?" The Judge responded, "Of course not. We deeply respect women, so a woman will be in charge of your interrogation." No sooner had he spoken than a car stopped on the shore and four robust women in Judge uniforms stepped out. The leading female Judge smiled, "We are much more merciful than men because we know how to coerce you intopliance with less violent but more effective methods. "Of course, we guarantee that our methods will be as effective as those of male Judges." As if toplement the female Judge''s statement, the leading male Judge cracked a spherical decoration on the shore''s railing with his fist, his knuckles splitting and bleeding. "Thank you for the demonstration," the female Judge said with a smile. Ye Fort City Defense Command Militia Headquarters. The City Defense Command was entirely managed by the Ante Army, while the Militia Headquarters in the same courtyard was run by the Church. As the mobilization capabilities of the Ante Army were much weaker than those of the Church, it was now the Church that continuously sent conscripts to the Ante Army''s training camps. Men who were not suitable for immediate enlistment were all drafted into the militia C that is, the Guardian Army C while women of all ages were organized into Labor Camps. The Militia Commander reported to Belinsky: "We''ve organized by city blocks. Every block in Yeborg has a church, plus rted church stores, ration distribution centers, and so on. "These churches have yed a role in mobilization, and we''ve already formed 25 Guardian Army battalions. We n to organize another 25 in the next two weeks. "In addition, we''ve formed Priest strike teamsposed of clergy over fifty. They will be responsible for blowing up enemy tanks that cross the anti-tank barriers. We n to set up single-person shelters at the front lines where the strike teams can hide." Belinsky: "These strike teams should be deployed on the city''sst line of defense, inside the inner garden ring road. That''s ourst line of defense." The Militia Commander agreed, "Yes." Belinsky: "How''s the situation with the City Defense Army?" "The City Defense Army currently has twenty-five battalions, all deployed on the outer ring," indicated the Militia Commander with his pointer on the map, drawing a circle. "Beyond that is the field army''s defensive line." Belinsky inquired, "Is there any difference between the City Defense Army and the field army?" "The City Defense Army uses outdated equipment, while the field army includes new units and arge number of troops that were withdrawn from the encirclement in the west. Those units suffered great losses and were unable to receive sufficient reinforcements before the enemy assault, so they have been downsized." "Downsized?" Belinsky questioned. "Yes, a division has been scaled down to a brigade, a regiment to a battalion. This way, the units remain at full strength, with weapons and equipment even more plentiful than before. The only unit not downsized is the elite 1st Guards Machine Infantry Division, also known as the ''Red Banner'' Division. They''ve only lost a quarter of theirbat troops." Belinsky: "Where have they deployed?" "They are in Suhayaveli. From here, they are ten kilometers away from the outer ring. Once their positions are lost, the enemy''s heavy artillery will be able to reach the city." "Moreover, to their north in Karanskaya, the Imperial Guard is in charge of defense. There''s a fortress there, and from the highest point of the fortress, you can see the Summer Pce." "Once the enemy captures this ce, they can conduct observed artillery fire on the Summer Pce." The Militia Commander''s expression was grave: "We believe that once the enemy bombards the Summer Pce, the situation in the capital will be very dangerous." Belinsky''s face showed a fierce glint: "So the surrender faction is going to take action, huh?" The bishop in charge of the Tribunal, Ravkid, adjusted his sses: "We have already wiped out five treasonous groups attempting to produce explosives. Additionally, we''ve taken down one underground church of the Sanctified faction." "We''ve also found a printing press and seized arge amount of propaganda, all calling for the nobles to rise up and reim their glory, saying the Prosen nobility is doing it... to help their noblepatriots." Belinsky: "Arrest these traitors. No need for a trial; after interrogating them until no more information can be extracted, execute them all." Ravkid smiled: "Understood. In fact, once we catch a traitor, we uproot their entire family. The effect has been very significant so far." "But there are still many traitors lurking in Yeborg." Belinsky: "Once we implement the curfew as nned, the crisis situation will be greatly alleviated." Ravkid: "Why not just kill all the nobles?" "No, that won''t do. The enemy is less than two hundred kilometers from Ye Fort. At a time like this, we must unite all we can. Once the situation stabilizes, then we can do the reckoning. So only arrest those who have been exposed and have conclusive evidence." Ravkid: "But if Prosen''s cannons reach the Summer Pce, even His Majesty the Tsar might surrender." Belinsky: "What''s the situation with His Majesty the Tsar now?" Ravkid: "When Shostka was still holding, His Majesty seemed very confident. But after the loss of Shostka, His Majesty began to look quite unsettled." "His Majesty the Tsar is a weak man," Belinsky interjected. "That''s also why we chose him as a puppet in the first ce. We just didn''t expect him to perform so well, especially those former centrists." Belinsky paused. Ravkid: "What if His Majesty tries to flee Yeborg?" Belinsky: "Let him run. As long as I don''t leave, that''s fine. As long as I''m here, the masses who believe in the Secr faction won''t panic. However, if His Majesty the Tsar flees, it will still trigger a series of side effects." Belinsky stood up and walked towards the giant city defense map on the wall: "November 10th is our National Founding Daynaturally, we should hold a parade. If the Royal Family runs off, the parade will turn into a farce without a royal review." "With the current situation, this will have negative impacts. No, whether His Majesty runs or not, we must ensure that a member of the Royal Family remains. How is Grand Duchess Olga?" Ravkid pushed his round sses: "She''s gone to inspect the front lines, the first stop being General Rocossov''s division. I think Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess will stay no matter what." "That''s good," Belinsky said, looking at the city defense map. "Is there any chance the enemy will take Karanskaya by October 10?" The Militia Commander took the cue: "It''s unlikely. At the moment, with the dy of the mud, the enemy''s advance speed is roughly ten kilometers a day. By November 10, the muddy season will have just ended; they won''t be able to advance to a point where they can shell Saint Ye Fortress. It''s a simple arithmetic problem." Belinsky nodded: "Then the issue is the air. We must ensure that on the day of the parade, there are no enemy aircraft." Militia Commander: "The Air Force, due to its close rtionship with science, is still something we can talk to. We also invited the Air Force Commander, but it seems he has reservations and hasn''te." Belinsky: "Why?" The Militia Commander looked at Ravkid, who shrugged: "Because we arrested his daughter. She was actually filming our bridge bombing arrangements using a Prosen Army camera." "Then thismander isn''t trustworthy. Arrest him, but don''t be in a hurry to kill him. Just keep him under house arrest at the Command, so the pilots can see that theirmander hasn''t been killed yet. Have the deputymandere here." --------- Two hourster, the Deputy Commander of the Air Force arrived at the Militia Command. "I salute you, Your Eminence, the Grand Patriarch," the Deputy Commander spoke loudly. Belinsky: "On the morning of November 10th, can you guarantee that not a single Prosen aircraft enters the capital?" The Deputy Commander frowned: "For that, I need another two hundred fighter nes. Currently, a significant portion of the capital''s fighters are under repair due to consecutive days of air battles." Belinsky: "Just the fighter nes? Do you have enough pilots?" The Deputy Commanderughed: "We''re fighting in our own airspace, so as long as we can parachute, we can basically make it back." Belinsky nodded: "I''ll figure something out for the nes." Chapter 280: Chapter 70 Blades and Shadows (Additional 12/33) Wang Zhong, apanied by the two princessesyes, two princesses, one a real princess and the other his princesswandered around his quarters for three hours. He had been prepared for a sh of swords; after all, both were from Ante, where subtlety was unheard of, and direct confrontation the norm. But the situation turned out much better than he had anticipated. Initially, Wang Zhong yed the role of tour guide, but gradually, Ludm took over that role, leading Olga on a "tour" of the barracks, treating the soldiers'' training exercises as entertainment. As the true and false princesses happily engaged in machine gun shooting, Wang Zhong couldn''t help but ask Nelly, who followed close behind, "Is this normal? They''re getting along so well, it''s not the calm before the storm, is it?" Nelly looked at Wang Zhong and countered, "What, do you really want to abandon Liu Da to marry Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and be a prince consort?" Wang Zhong, "No, I have no such thoughts. But the Crown Princess has always been forthright, so I thought they would be at each other''s throats..." Nelly, "What are you talking about? Even if you marry Liu Da, you can still have a lover. If a woman doesn''t have lovers, it means she really loves her husband. If a man doesn''t have lovers, it means he has no charm." Wang Zhong, "Ah? Is that so?" "Yeah." As Nelly said this, Olga began to operate the machine gun, with Liu Da assisting her by holding the ammunition belt. The twoy on the ground, using their chests as a cushion of sorts. Wang Zhong paused to watch the recoil of the machine gun and its fluctuations. Ludm, wearing a military uniform, handled it fine, but the Crown Princesswow! As the machine gun''s bullets shattered the brick wall behind the target, Olgaughed heartily. Wang Zhong''s mouth fell open into an ''O'' shape, thinking to himself, ''Mother of God, no matter which one I marry, I dare not have a lover, or I''ll end up as target practice.'' Then Nelly continued, "Once the Crown Princess really gets married, she''ll keeping to see you, her lover. In nobility marriages without love, it''s normal for both spouses to have lovers." Wang Zhong was shocked, "What do you mean? So will Liu Da as well?" "No, she loves you," said Nelly. Wang Zhong, "I love her too, so shouldn''t we both be good to each other? But ording to what you just said, I need to have a lover?" Nelly, "Yeah, it proves you''re apetent man. Even if you never touch this lover, you should have one. Liu Da probably thinks the princess would be suitable." Wang Zhong was tremendously affected, "Is, is that so?" Then in ''Quiet Don River'', why did Grigori''s affair with Aksinya lead to Natalia''s suicide? Wang Zhong fell into deep thought. Nelly seemed to guess what he was thinking and said, "That''s only for nobles. Amongmoners, if a womanmits adultery, the man would challenge to a duel, and one of them would end up dead. "If a man cheats, the woman would feel unattractive and might consider suicide." Wang Zhong, "Then there''s too much difference between nobles andmoners, no, I can''t ept that." Nelly blinked her eyes, "Everything I said was just made up." ...it was made up! Indeed, on second thought, in the Russian literature Wang Zhong had read, nobles didn''t calmly ept having lovers. For instance, in ''Humiliated and Insulted'', Nelly''s mother was abandoned by a noble because he was to marry a real nobledy. Huh? Wang Zhong turned to Nelly, "Wait, you are Liu Xia''s wet nurse''s daughter, right?" Nelly, "Right. My mother is also your wet nurse." Wang Zhong, "Oh I see. You aren''t some duke''s illegitimate daughter, are you?" Nelly gave Wang Zhong a pitying look as if he were an old man gone senile from an illness. Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief; it was just a coincidence of names. Indeed, Nelly did not have the same defiance and strong pride as the girl in the story. Of course, being precocious and radiating maternal warmth were traits they shared. While reading the novel, Wang Zhong had felt that (the story''s) Nelly could be his mother. But the end of the story was too sad; it truly crushed all things beautiful, leaving behind just a sliver of light. So many Russian stories are sad, like ''Quiet Don River'', where Grigori lost everything in the end, including his love Aksinya, Natalia who loved him, and the rank he earned throughbat: both White Army''s and Red Army''s. He lost it all. In the end, he even threw the weapon that had always been at his side into the Don River. But at the very end, his child ran towards him. Wang Zhong didn''t really like children, but when reading this scene, he felt as if the child were an angel descending from heaven. Russian literature was truly miraculous. As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, watching Nelly, her expression grew even more scathing, "Sir, if you say you don''t choose either of them and only want someone like me, even if it''s a joke, I''ll get angry." Wang Zhong, "What happens when you get angry?" "I''ll ssh you with boiling tea," Nelly said. Wang Zhong: "Is that something a wet nurse''s daughter would say? You must be some duke''s daughter, right?" Nelly: "The Secr faction is already in power, my mother is a sried free person." "I''m sorry. It was my mistake." Wang Zhong sincerely apologized for his slip of the tongue. Instead, Nelly was put on the spot: "Ah? No, there''s no need to apologize that much... " At that time, Ludm and Olga had switched ces, but they did not start shooting; instead, they looked to the side together. Olga: "What do you think?" Ludm: "He''s been clingy to the wet nurse since he was little; he might see the wet nurse''s shadow in her daughter." Olga: "You''re not taking this seriously enough!" "No, we''ve lived together since we were little; we''re practically family. I''ve always thought of Alyosha as a brother, and Nelly as the youngest sister." "That''s exactly what''s most dangerous!" Olga said. "You will be separated from him on the battlefield, right? The maid is always by his side though, umted over days and months..." Ludmughed: "That won''t happen; I''m going to start shooting now. You should enjoy the feeling of the cartridge belt." After Ludm started shooting, Olga was caught off guard by the movement of the belt and was startled. Ludm stopped: "Hold the belt properly." At this point, the machine gunner exined: "The old-style machine guns we use can actually fire without a second shooter holding the belt, no problem. Not having a second shooter just increases the chance of malfunctions; it doesn''t mean it will definitely malfunction." "I see." Olga stood up and patted the mud off her bodythough they were lying on a tarpaulin, so there was actually no dirt on her. Ludm also stood up: "Are we done here?" Olga: "I wanted him toe over to instruct me in shooting, to even personally feed the belt! And here he is, ying with the little maid!" Ludm nced over: "It''s fine. And keep your voice down." Suddenly, a soldier shouted: "General, has it been confirmed that he is the prince?" Ludm: "I am the general''s fiance." The priest supervising the training spoke: "Shulov! Go runps! Run until your mind clears!" "Yes! " Olga looked at Ludm: "You... are you engaged? I mean, was there a ceremony, with rings? I''ve noticed you''re not wearing an engagement ring." Ludm: "No ceremony yet. Duke Rocossov only died for his country in August. And my family''s estate along with Duke Rocossov''s are all around Bolsk, my family should be busy helping to defend Bolsk at the moment. In such circumstances, no one is free to arrange our engagement ceremony or prepare the paperwork." Olga: "Then you''re not really his fiance, so I still have a chance." Ludm: "He has said in person that he only sees you as a sister." "You''ve also said in person that you see him as a brother." "Not anymore." Ludm said. The intense direct confrontation caused everyone to subconsciously stay away from the two "supremes." Olga: "I acknowledge your current leading position, but I remind you if General Rokossovsky bes the prince, he could directly influence our military''s policies..." Ludm: "But you''re still the Grand Princess, not Ekaterina III. Besides, you can see that Rokossovsky is closer to the Secr faction; do you think the nobles would ept a prince like that? "Of course, I wouldn''t mind him seeing you as a sister. After all, he was so close to thete His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. In an extreme case, for the sake of the entire Ante Empire, I could even tolerate some weird rumors between him and you. "I mean, considering his past, if I couldn''t tolerate these at all, marrying him would be a torment. Are you prepared for that? Are you ready to share your beloved with the socialites of Ye Fort? "Just from what I know, he has 51 lovers in Ye Fort alone, he could date a different one each week for a year without repeats." Olga: "That''s not right, isn''t it? That''s one short of a year, isn''t it?" "Thest week is mine." said Ludm. Olga stared at Ludm, who looked back at her unflinchingly. Finally, Olga sighed: "Alright, alright, a brother is fine too. But... maybe the church would think they need someone close to them to act as a bridge between them and the nobles?" "I think you''re pretty close to them too." Ludmughed. Olga: " Indeed. Let''s continue cheering for the soldiers at the front." Ludm: "Eh? I thought we were here to visit, to see the great military amusement park." Olga: "Of course not." Then she turned toward the soldiers, cleared her throat, and began to sing: "When the pear blossoms bloom across the horizon..." Ludm immediately picked up the second part and harmonized. After all, both sides received thorough elite youngdy education, and they were notcking in musical literacy. Even General Rokossovsky stopped talking with the maid to look their way. Chapter 281: Chapter 71 Quite the Heroic Vibe (13/33) Wang Zhong heard the sergeant grumble by his side, "I must be dreaming, the princess... Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is singing for me!" He firmly said, "Because the world is secrized now, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is just an ordinary person like us!" Sergeant: "Is that so?" "Of course. Look, I''m just like you. We eat the same things every day, it''s just that my lunch is personally made by a little maid, while your lunch is personally made by a big mama..." "That''s not the same at all!" a soldier said emotionally. At that moment, the Priest looked over and said, "Shush! Quietly enjoy the music!" Katyusha had finished singing, and the two august personages exchanged nces, then Olga, giving herself a very high start, began to sing coloratura. The soldiers were all stunnedno, even Ludm was stunned, and Wang Zhong was too. Was this apetitive spirit? Olga stood there, singing coloratura high notes so difficult that even Wang Zhong, an outsider, knew they were incredibly challenging, while maintaining a posture with her head held high, as if it took no effort to sing the song. Especially since the princess was now wearing a corset, unless her waist was naturally that thin and she wasn''t torturing herself too much, the difficulty of the song would escte by several degrees. Wang Zhong gradually recognized the song. It was supposed to be an aria from the opera "La Traviata," and the reason Wang Zhong knew this was not because he often wore a tailcoat to the operahow could that be possible, he didn''t have such refined tastes. He knew it because the VUP he supported had won a singingpetition with this song. This song came from a Carno, from a story "La Traviata" written by a Carolingian author Alexandre Dumas fils and adapted into an opera of the same name from Appeninia. It was sung in the Appeniniannguage. Wang Zhong was now sure that he didn''t understand Appeninian, and judging by the confused looks of the soldiers beside him, he guessed they didn''t understand it either. But everyone could hear that the coloratura was truly impressive. After finishing the song, Olga, as if showing off her still steady breathing, put her hands on her hips, striving to keep her breathing so subtle that outsiders could hardly notice any rise and fall in her chest. Of course, it might also be possible that the armor was so thick it absorbed the movement from her breathing. The soldiers were all stunned. Ludm: "Your Highness Olga, no one understood." At that moment, Wang Zhong caught on and led the apuse, "Bravo! Well sung! Her Highness the princess sang wonderfully! It brought tears to my eyes!" The soldiers quickly joined in with thunderous apuse. Olga smiled at Wang Zhong, then looked at Ludm. Ludm smiled faintly and began singing "Tanya Tanyusha." As soon as Ludm started singing, the soldiers joined in; by the time it reached the chorus, their voices even overshadowed Ludm, "Tanya Tanyusha, my Takiyanne, do you still remember that fiery summer, I can''t forget that time, that time of impassioned love." There should have been whistling here, and then a dozen young men began to whistle together. The soldiers continued to sing the following verses, but Ludm stopped and looked at Olga, "Your Highness, next time you want to get closer to everyone, just sing this one." "I understand, thank you for your guidance," Olga responded. The two stood tall and faced each other, and although they didn''t re and maintained ordinary postures, Wang Zhong felt as if he could hear the threatening hiss that two cats emit when they confront each other. Mommy, he began to miss the nonsensical setup made up by the little maid: lovers and wife coexisting harmoniouslyit really is impossible. Wang Zhong stood up, beginning to carry water: "Exquisite art and folk songs are both great! Thank you, Her Royal Highness Olga, for letting us glimpse the pces of art that we usually can''t see..." Then someone looking for fun shouted, "Her Highness the princess finished singing, sister-inw finished too, General, why don''t you give us one!" Wang Zhong: "Ah? Me?" Are you kidding me, they''ve just finished singing the aria from La Traviata, and I, utterly tone-deaf, should not embarrass myself. Wang Zhong: "Better not, I''m not good at singing..." "But youposed ''The Holy War''!" Wang Zhong was embarrassed, yes, this song was my copy, but when I hummed it myself, peopleughed at me, okay! He looked to Ludm for help, but Liu Xia this time turned her face away, looking to the side as if to say, "You insisted on carrying water; figure it out yourself." Wang Zhong always thought that Liu Xia was like a sister who apanied Olga in making mischief, but now he suddenly realized she was jealousvery jealous! This was bad, what to do now. Wang Zhong thought it over; he should stick to songs that didn''t require too much vocal skill, just something to get by. Then he began to recall the Ante songs he had heard along the way. He decided to sing "Setting Out." When he swayed and began to sing "Our journey is long and hard," Olga suddenly shouted, "We don''t want to listen to this one we''ve already heard!" Wang Zhong was caught off guard, the song cut off. What the heck, Your Highness! Didn''t you say you wanted to be my little sister? Does any sister make her brother lose face like this? Ludm also chimed in, "We don''t want to listen to this one we''ve already heard!" The surrounding soldiers were all youngds, and one of their traits was, if a pretty girl was leading the heckling, they would be particrly, particrly energetic, not caring about generals or anything. "General, sing something we''ve never heard before!" "Give us one!" Left with no choice by the encouraging crowd, Wang Zhong could only search his memory for a song that was easy to sing, where shouting in a loud voice could still be moving, and with a simple melodyso he wouldn''t go disastrously out of tune. Chapter 282 : 71 Quite the Heroic Vibe (13/33)_2 Humming the melody of "The Holy War" previously was a response to the mood evoked by Vasily, the genius musicianit''s hard to say whether it was Wang Zhong who brought the tune over or Vasily who was inspired to write it. Without the emotional buildup, going off-key was inevitable. It would be best to have a constant tone throughout, like speaking, with a very simple chorus, requiring emotion and artistry. Moreover, the lyrics must suit the current situation. The first thing that came to Wang Zhong''s mind was the "Cuckoo" by the godfather of Soviet rock, but he quickly realized that the arrangement of "Cuckoo" was very important. In many ces, the emotions depended not on the lyrics and melody but the musical expression of the arrangement. Acape might not work well. Wang Zhong had to find something else, and he indeed found it. This was a rock song, but its main apaniment was the drumbeat, which could be improvised with just one drum, better with an electric guitar, but also fine without. Wang Zhong found a helmet nearby, put it on a head, and then began to p the helmet with his hand. There was the drumbeat. The owner of the selected head had a lopsided smile on his face, as if he had just passed the imperial examinations. Anyway, Wang Zhong wasn''t hitting hard; the main thing was to have the gesture. He started singing while tapping the helmet, "I swallowed the dust, I lost consciousness." (Lyric trantion by Bilibili UP Master: Ghost of Kusa, song title "Devouring Sand") The people who started jeering all calmed down and listened to Wang Zhong sing. "Not a drop of water is left. "Stukas circling nearby, the Tokarev in my hand growing heavy." The Imperial Guard soldiers present were all equipped with Tokarev semi-automatics; they looked down at the guns in their hands, and their immersion skyrocketed. Wang Zhong continued to sing and tap the helmet, "Yes, I am the only one left; all myrades have fallen in battle. The only magazine holds all my hope; I won''t be captured by you so easily, you beasts!" This was the only part of the song where the pitch would rise, but it didn''t rise much; the emotion was enough. The chorus followed. The original lyrics were about "Aghanistan," which is generally tranted as Afghanistan. Wang Zhong changed it to, "Kazakhstan, Kazarlia, the hearse passes the riverbank, the bank of Mother River!" The chorus of the song just repeated these two lines, and the apanying drumbeat didn''t change during the chorus part, with only guitar added to vent the emotions. There''s no way to have a guitar, and the versatile Vasily, if he were here now, might be able toe up with some music on the fly, but he''s off handling feces. Wang Zhong could only wail the chorus, wailing it twice to make do before entering the main melody again. "My legs are broken, voices echo in my head." Everyone looked down at their legs, even Olga and Ludm looked down only to realize they couldn''t see them just by looking down. "Saint Andrew, I don''t want to, I don''t want to die before I''m twenty. Tears welled up in my eyes, streaming nonstop." By this time, the girls from theundry squad watching nearby were all wiping their tears. But the soldiers were all stoic, most of them were veterans, who had crawled out of one hellhole after another; at this moment, they were surely thinking of their ownrades. Some might have been contemting a future day for themselves. Wang Zhong continued to sing while tapping on the helmet, "Stay calm, I tell myself. We should smile as we go to our deaths." "Kazakhstan, Kazarlia! The hearse passes the riverbank, the bank of Mother River!" As the chorus hit, finally, an instrument other than the drum (helmet) joined in. Wang Zhong looked towards the source of the music and saw an unfamiliar soldier with a blaika. His expression was solemn, as if he was ying a dirge for himself. Entering the third verse, Wang Zhong continued: "I''ve been surrounded, I''ve been surrounded; there is no escape. "Come closer, you beasts, let me host you properly!" "They''re shouting something,ing closer to me. "One hit my face with a rifle butt, blood covered my eyes. "Alright, farewell. I have pulled the pin!" As he sang this line, Wang Zhong saw a soldier nearby clenching his fist, veins bulging. He might have recalled arade who died alongside the enemy. Wang Zhong: "Kazakhstan, Kazarlia! The hearse passes the riverbank, the bank of Mother River!" The song from then on was just a repetition of the chorus and a guitar solo segment, but since there was no guitar, the chorus had to be repeated over and over. Frankly speaking, if this song were yed in Aganistan, it would have a taste of ck humor, because the Soviet army was the invader and the people described as beasts in the song were the valiantly resisting insurgents. The more heroic the soldiers in the song were, the more it highlighted the immorality of the war. But in the current environment, the "beasts" had be the invading Prussian Army, so the song immediately became filled with a heroic spirit. Wang Zhong hadn''t thought it would fit so well when he copied it. He had simply chosen one that looked easy to sing. Now, looking around, the young girls had all started crying, while the big mamas from theundry team were patting the girls'' shoulders, offering their broad and sturdy chests for the girls to cry out loud on. Yes, the mamas'' chests. Wang Zhong stopped and looked around, "I''ve finished singing. Where''s the apuse?" The others hadn''t reacted yetthey were too busy getting into the mindset to fight the enemy to death and had no time to spare. Wang Zhong could do nothing but shrug helplessly, and then he picked up the helmet he had been tapping all the while and ced it back on the soldier''s head, "What''s your name?" "Semyon Alekseyevich." Wang Zhong, "Semyon, keep this helmet, it will make you fearless on the battlefield." Semyon grinned, "Don''t worry, General, I have already killed an enemy and pissed over him." Wang Zhong was stunned, "What?" Semyon used his hands to describe, "In Shostka, I was sure that I killed the enemy myself, I shot him five times with the Tokarev. Then when the battle was over, I found him and pissed ayer on his pants. I had really needed to go, and there was a lot and it was pretty yellow. The moment I finished, my hands stopped shaking, and my heart calmed down. Even if ten thousand Prussians came, I would not be afraid!" Wang Zhong: ... At that moment, the air raid alert suddenly sounded. The broadcast also transmitted Brother Peter''s shout, "Enemy nes have bypassed the direct front of my sound array and areing from the east! They are almost here, take cover!" Brother Peter''s sound array had always faced the west and kept "scanning" from south to north and then from north to south; the east was the search blind spot. The air raid alert was still sounding, and Wang Zhong''s overhead view had already spotted the bomber. He ran towards Olga and Liu Xia, opening his arms and tumbling both to the ground. At that moment, the sound of explosions and machine-gun fire came. Then came the sound of Divine Arrows beingunched as well as the ack-ack guns. Perhaps realizing that there were Divine Arrows on the ground, the enemy nes quickly left. Wang Zhong, who had been keeping his eyes shut and pressing down hard on the heads of the two girls, now breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes to look. To the left was Ludm gazing at him affectionately, and to the right was Olga doing the same. For a moment, Wang Zhong felt that staying on the ground wasn''t so bad. But the next moment, he stood up. Then he reached out to pull Ludm up first, and then Olga. Olga looked at Wang Zhong with admiration, "You really canpose music!!" Wang Zhong, "Ah, this... Music is inherently divine, the marvelouses by chance. It''s ''The Holy War'' bestowed upon me by Saint Andrew." Olga grabbed Wang Zhong''s hand, "This piece must be published! I especially, especially love this song!" Ludm directly embraced Wang Zhong''s arm, "Me too!" Olga didn''t care, she embraced Wang Zhong''s arm as well. Ludm, "Your Highness, be mindful of your image!" "If you really get engaged, and wear an engagement ring..." Olga stopped, "No, I''m the sister, a sister can always do this." ...She had found a loophole in the system! But if the Imperial Highness decided to recognize this sister from now on, maybe there would be no more intense confrontations? Wang Zhong thought that. Meanwhile, Sergeant Semyon was showing off to everyone the helmet that the General had been tapping for nearly five minutes. It seemed that someone wanted to buy this helmet, and the bid had already reached 1,000 Rubles. Chapter 283 : 72 My Sister Cant Possibly Be This Tall (1/8) Wang Zhong was propped up in the middle, and his feeling was So hot! The coat itself was already thick, and now it was surrounded by fat. As for any pleasant coolness, it made himughthe coat was so thick he couldn''t feel a thing! Why am I wearing such a thick coat? It was supposed to be a perking back! I thought it was a perk! Wang Zhong forcefully shook off the two girls, "Alright! Look at me, I''m sweating all over!" Ludm immediately leaned in, "Ah, you really are sweating. You put on this coat too soon. You should change into it along with the winter snow capes. Look, the soldiers are still wearing the summer grasnd capes." Ludm helped Wang Zhong take off the coat, handing it to Nelly. Then, Wang Zhong, now in autumnbat dress and freshly sweated, immediately felt cold. The current temperature was already low, then the air was also damp. Honestly, this weather was a bit like the humid and cold spells down south in Ceres. Wang Zhong had just taken off the coat when he sneezed. Olga seemed about toe over to warm Wang Zhong with her body, but Ludm was quicker. She evenughed, "When you went up to Peniye, you crushed the enemy with a high feveraren''t you getting a fever again now?" Wang Zhong smiled and said, "Isn''t there a possibility that just wearing the coat, without you girls hugging me, the temperature would be just right?" Ludm and Olga exchanged nces, then collectively took a step back. Nelly unfolded the coat again and helped Wang Zhong put it on. "See, the temperature is perfect," Wang Zhong moved his arms and body around, "No more hugging! Stand properly!" Olga, as if she had caught something from Wang Zhong, sneezed too, and then made a gesture to the maids. The royal maids brought out a thick shawl and draped it over the princess, covering her armor securely. Ludm said, "Your Highness, you should have started off wearing this. A cold would be terrible." Olga replied, "I didn''t realize it was already so cold outside the city." She nced at the sky, "Wonder how long this muddiness willst." Wang Zhong looked up as well, "Even if it freezes right now and the ground hardens, we''re confident in holding back the enemy. Your Highness." Olga nodded. Wang Zhong said, "Let''s visit the next troop." Olga''s inspection continued until the afternoon. After visiting all thebat positions, Olga started to take an interest in various oddities: "I want to check out that water tower!" "I want to look at that cabin!" "And that garden in the middle of the street..." "That''spost, which is excrement," Wang Zhong interrupted Olga''s sentence, "Your Highness, don''t you still have other troops to inspect?" Olga pouted, "I want to take the music you just created over there! I''m staying here tonight! Teach me how to sing it!" It had to be said that the whimsical Olga really did look like a younger sister. Even though her appearance wasn''t sisterly at all. Not to mention other reasons, a sister shouldn''t be tall. It would be best if she were about Nelly''s height. But Olga was just like Ludm, a typical Russianssbig in every way. Just as Olga started to act spoiled, Ludm reminded, "Don''t hug him, he''ll get hot. You wouldn''t want our general to get a fever because of you, would you? At such a critical time, a fever can be deadly!" Ludm didn''t specify which way it could be deadly. Olga could only keep her distance, but still pleaded, "Teach me! Tomorrow when I go to the other troops, I''ll sing it for them! I really like this song myself." Wang Zhong said, "Your Highness, this song hasn''t been arranged yet, there isn''t even a melody. If the musicians at Ye Fort hear it, they''llugh at me again." Olga responded, "Where is that geniusposer of yours? I know it was the genius musician from your unit who turned your melody into aposition, call him here!" Wang Zhong showed a troubled expression. Olga gasped, "Ah, did he sacrifice himself? I''m sorry, I..." "No, he didn''t sacrifice himself. He''s being disciplined by hauling manure." Olga waited for a second, "Doing what?" Wang Zhong replied, "Hauling manure. He''s our expert here, quick and good at the job!" As they were speaking, Vasily came over with a shoulder pole from a distance. Wang Zhong wanted to pretend he didn''t see him because his goal was to send the princess off on the train, but with Vasilying, the princess would find a reason to stay the night. However, Vasily called out directly, "General! I heard you have a new song. They''re all talking about it! What kind of song is it?" Wang Zhong, ncing at Olga, said to Vasily, "Well..." Olga interjected, "Sing it again, and let thisposer do the arrangements! This is theposer, right? That shoulder pole is for hauling manure, isn''t it?" Vasily, startled to see the princess, eximed, "Eh? Is this Her Royal Highness the Tsarevna?" Olga inquired, "Your shoulder pole is for hauling manure?" "Err, yes," Vasily said, looking baffled, "So please don''t touch it or me. I''m not sure if anything sshed on me while I was hauling." Olga urged, "Please, you mustpose the music for it. I want to learn it tonight and take it to all the units tomorrow to sing." Wang Zhong marveled, "Your Highness, that''s not appropriate. How can you just stay as you please?" Olga dered, "I can call my father, the Tsar. He will agree!" The headquarters, Olga holding a phone, quietly waiting for the operator to connect, finally a tired voice came through from the other end, "Who is it?" Olga said, "Father, I wish to stay in Suhayaveli today. Rocossov hasposed a new song that is very popr among the soldiers, and I want to learn it and bring it back!" After a full twenty seconds of silence on the other end, the voice asked, "Are you in Suhayaveli?" "Yes." "With Duke Rocossov?" "Yes, Duke Charon." "Hmm, if you want to stay for a day, you can stay. I have a military meeting to attend here." Having said that, His Majesty the Tsar hung up the phone. Olga turned her head to Wang Zhong and said, "Father said if I want to stay for a day, I might as well stay." Wang Zhong curled his lip. At this moment, Pavlov spoke with a solemn face, "But we don''t have any residences here that meet the standards of the Royal Family! The best house is Lord Boye''s brick house, and that''s just a brick house! That house might not hold up if it gets bombed!" Olga said, "I can stay in a bunker! Or sleep in a hammock, I''ve wanted to try sleeping in a hammock for a while! Do you have hammocks here?" Pavlov replied, "No, but we can get one for you. Are you sure you want to sleep in a hammock? You might fall out." Olga hesitated and nced sideways at Wang Zhong, "Alyosha, what do you think I should sleep on?" Wang Zhong said, "A camp bed will be fine. As for where to sleep, I think the bunker is good. Ludm and I will move out of the bunker; we can give our bed to Your Highness. We... can manage with Nelly''s room." Nelly protested, "I only have one small bed!" Wang Zhong replied, "We''ll get another one, we''re not short of beds." Olga frowned, "I think we can share. Put two beds together, you two sleep on one, and I''ll sleep on the other." Just as she finished speaking, Vasily entered, "I''ve finished writing the music, the melody is very simple, and so is the score. The general said the musical instruments for this song should also be kept simple, so I''ve only arranged for a blaika and a Bayan, and..." he lifted the steel helmet in his hand, "a steel helmet!" Wang Zhong, feeling a bit embarrassed, said, "You could change that to a drum, any kind of hand drum would do..." "No no no!" Vasily shook his head vehemently, "I''ve asked the soldiers onsite, and they all say the steel helmet is just right! The song is supposed to be yed by hitting a steel helmet!" As he spoke, Vasily ced the steel helmet on the table and began to tap the helmet while singing, "Swallowing dust, I lost consciousness." Pavlov had a "let me hear this thing" expression, crossing his arms and watching Vasily. Vasily lived up to his reputation as a professionalposer; he said he hadn''t changed the score much, but to Wang Zhong, who had heard the original "Consuming Sand", Vasily''s version clearly modified the tone and the marching rhythm. "Consuming Sand" was originally a very desperate and rock song, even somewhat decadent; however, once Vasily altered it, it became sad and restrained yet filled with a heroic spirit. When Wang Zhong sang it himself, he just felt that changing the background made it very heroic. Now Vasily had achieved this heroism in the melody. After the song ended, Olga wiped her eyes, but noticed there weren''t many tears, "Huh, strange, I was teary-eyed when I heard Alyosha sing it." Vasily said, "I didn''t sing with such deep emotions, after all, I didn''t experience the bloodshed at Peniye. General, is this song about Peniye?" Wang Zhong took a deep breath, "Yes! You really are great, you even figured that out!" Olga said, "Hurry and teach me how to sing it!" Vasily replied, "No need, I''ve written the score, with lyrics too, and made many copies. Just take a few when you leave!" Wang Zhong eximed, "Granfendo gets ten points! No, Vasily gets ten points!" Vasily looked confused, "Huh? Ten points for what?" Olga pouted, "I don''t know how to sing it, you have to teach me!" Wang Zhong said, "Come on, you can sing arias from La Traviata, learn it yourself! You can have the bunker tonight, stay with your maid!" Olga pouted. Pavlov slipped quietly to the door, preparing to sneak out when Popov came in, "What are you doing?" "Uh, I''m going to arrange the Grand Duchess''s amodation!!" Popov frowned and then seeing the situation inside the headquarters, he immediately turned around, "Then I''ll arrange the Grand Duchess''s guard!" Wang Zhong sighed and pointing to the two leaving men said, "Olga, the war situation is very urgent now, we were just bombed today, don''t be willful. If you want to stay and learn the song, then learn it, but don''t make any more unreasonable requests." Olga deted, "Alright~ then~" The next day, October 25th, Wang Zhong, along with a group of people, was at the train station to see off Grand Duchess Olga. He urged her, "Make sure to convey my requests to General Sergey of the Ordnance Department! The faster we start designing and manufacturing the equipment I want, the sooner we can get them into actualbat, and the smaller our casualties will be!" "I understand," Olga lifted her head, "Isn''t there supposed to be a kiss at farewell?" Wang Zhong sighed and gently kissed Olga on her forehead. No sooner had he kissed her than Olga suddenly stood on tiptoe,unching a surprise attack. If she were the height of Nelly, standing on tiptoe would at most reach Wang Zhong''s chin. But she was the height of Ludm. Wang Zhong was shocked, are you channeling "your Xun Zong"? Coming at me with such a beastly mindset for a kiss, there''s no romance in this at all! After the ambush, Olga ran away like a shot. Wang Zhong looked nervously toward Ludm, "That was a brotherly and sisterly kiss. And I know an Ante ruler who also likes to do that!" Ludm said, "I saw, you only meant to kiss the forehead, I don''t me you. Let''s go ahead and set the wedding date. I want to have another child, you mentioned before, didn''t you, that the frontline would be rtively stable from December to next June, I think it''s the perfect time." Wang Zhong began, "But we''ve already agreed..." Ludm gave Wang Zhong a look that could kill a bear. Wang Zhong conceded, "As youmand, my dear wife." Chapter 283: Chapter 72 My Sister Cant Possibly Be This Tall (1/8) Wang Zhong was propped up in the middle, and his feeling was So hot! The coat itself was already thick, and now it was surrounded by fat. As for any pleasant coolness, it made himughthe coat was so thick he couldn''t feel a thing! Why am I wearing such a thick coat? It was supposed to be a perking back! I thought it was a perk! Wang Zhong forcefully shook off the two girls, "Alright! Look at me, I''m sweating all over!" Ludm immediately leaned in, "Ah, you really are sweating. You put on this coat too soon. You should change into it along with the winter snow capes. Look, the soldiers are still wearing the summer grasnd capes." Ludm helped Wang Zhong take off the coat, handing it to Nelly. Then, Wang Zhong, now in autumnbat dress and freshly sweated, immediately felt cold. The current temperature was already low, then the air was also damp. Honestly, this weather was a bit like the humid and cold spells down south in Ceres. Wang Zhong had just taken off the coat when he sneezed. Olga seemed about toe over to warm Wang Zhong with her body, but Ludm was quicker. She evenughed, "When you went up to Peniye, you crushed the enemy with a high feveraren''t you getting a fever again now?" Wang Zhong smiled and said, "Isn''t there a possibility that just wearing the coat, without you girls hugging me, the temperature would be just right?" Ludm and Olga exchanged nces, then collectively took a step back. Nelly unfolded the coat again and helped Wang Zhong put it on. "See, the temperature is perfect," Wang Zhong moved his arms and body around, "No more hugging! Stand properly!" Olga, as if she had caught something from Wang Zhong, sneezed too, and then made a gesture to the maids. The royal maids brought out a thick shawl and draped it over the princess, covering her armor securely. Ludm said, "Your Highness, you should have started off wearing this. A cold would be terrible." Olga replied, "I didn''t realize it was already so cold outside the city." She nced at the sky, "Wonder how long this muddiness willst." Wang Zhong looked up as well, "Even if it freezes right now and the ground hardens, we''re confident in holding back the enemy. Your Highness." Olga nodded. Wang Zhong said, "Let''s visit the next troop." Olga''s inspection continued until the afternoon. After visiting all thebat positions, Olga started to take an interest in various oddities: "I want to check out that water tower!" "I want to look at that cabin!" "And that garden in the middle of the street..." "That''spost, which is excrement," Wang Zhong interrupted Olga''s sentence, "Your Highness, don''t you still have other troops to inspect?" Olga pouted, "I want to take the music you just created over there! I''m staying here tonight! Teach me how to sing it!" It had to be said that the whimsical Olga really did look like a younger sister. Even though her appearance wasn''t sisterly at all. Not to mention other reasons, a sister shouldn''t be tall. It would be best if she were about Nelly''s height. But Olga was just like Ludm, a typical Russianssbig in every way. Just as Olga started to act spoiled, Ludm reminded, "Don''t hug him, he''ll get hot. You wouldn''t want our general to get a fever because of you, would you? At such a critical time, a fever can be deadly!" Ludm didn''t specify which way it could be deadly. Olga could only keep her distance, but still pleaded, "Teach me! Tomorrow when I go to the other troops, I''ll sing it for them! I really like this song myself." Wang Zhong said, "Your Highness, this song hasn''t been arranged yet, there isn''t even a melody. If the musicians at Ye Fort hear it, they''llugh at me again." Olga responded, "Where is that geniusposer of yours? I know it was the genius musician from your unit who turned your melody into aposition, call him here!" Wang Zhong showed a troubled expression. Olga gasped, "Ah, did he sacrifice himself? I''m sorry, I..." "No, he didn''t sacrifice himself. He''s being disciplined by hauling manure." Olga waited for a second, "Doing what?" Wang Zhong replied, "Hauling manure. He''s our expert here, quick and good at the job!" As they were speaking, Vasily came over with a shoulder pole from a distance. Wang Zhong wanted to pretend he didn''t see him because his goal was to send the princess off on the train, but with Vasilying, the princess would find a reason to stay the night. However, Vasily called out directly, "General! I heard you have a new song. They''re all talking about it! What kind of song is it?" Wang Zhong, ncing at Olga, said to Vasily, "Well..." Olga interjected, "Sing it again, and let thisposer do the arrangements! This is theposer, right? That shoulder pole is for hauling manure, isn''t it?" Vasily, startled to see the princess, eximed, "Eh? Is this Her Royal Highness the Tsarevna?" Olga inquired, "Your shoulder pole is for hauling manure?" "Err, yes," Vasily said, looking baffled, "So please don''t touch it or me. I''m not sure if anything sshed on me while I was hauling." Olga urged, "Please, you mustpose the music for it. I want to learn it tonight and take it to all the units tomorrow to sing." Wang Zhong marveled, "Your Highness, that''s not appropriate. How can you just stay as you please?" Olga dered, "I can call my father, the Tsar. He will agree!" The headquarters, Olga holding a phone, quietly waiting for the operator to connect, finally a tired voice came through from the other end, "Who is it?" Olga said, "Father, I wish to stay in Suhayaveli today. Rocossov hasposed a new song that is very popr among the soldiers, and I want to learn it and bring it back!" After a full twenty seconds of silence on the other end, the voice asked, "Are you in Suhayaveli?" "Yes." "With Duke Rocossov?" "Yes, Duke Charon." "Hmm, if you want to stay for a day, you can stay. I have a military meeting to attend here." Having said that, His Majesty the Tsar hung up the phone. Olga turned her head to Wang Zhong and said, "Father said if I want to stay for a day, I might as well stay." Wang Zhong curled his lip. At this moment, Pavlov spoke with a solemn face, "But we don''t have any residences here that meet the standards of the Royal Family! The best house is Lord Boye''s brick house, and that''s just a brick house! That house might not hold up if it gets bombed!" Olga said, "I can stay in a bunker! Or sleep in a hammock, I''ve wanted to try sleeping in a hammock for a while! Do you have hammocks here?" Pavlov replied, "No, but we can get one for you. Are you sure you want to sleep in a hammock? You might fall out." Olga hesitated and nced sideways at Wang Zhong, "Alyosha, what do you think I should sleep on?" Wang Zhong said, "A camp bed will be fine. As for where to sleep, I think the bunker is good. Ludm and I will move out of the bunker; we can give our bed to Your Highness. We... can manage with Nelly''s room." Nelly protested, "I only have one small bed!" Wang Zhong replied, "We''ll get another one, we''re not short of beds." Olga frowned, "I think we can share. Put two beds together, you two sleep on one, and I''ll sleep on the other." Just as she finished speaking, Vasily entered, "I''ve finished writing the music, the melody is very simple, and so is the score. The general said the musical instruments for this song should also be kept simple, so I''ve only arranged for a blaika and a Bayan, and..." he lifted the steel helmet in his hand, "a steel helmet!" Wang Zhong, feeling a bit embarrassed, said, "You could change that to a drum, any kind of hand drum would do..." "No no no!" Vasily shook his head vehemently, "I''ve asked the soldiers onsite, and they all say the steel helmet is just right! The song is supposed to be yed by hitting a steel helmet!" As he spoke, Vasily ced the steel helmet on the table and began to tap the helmet while singing, "Swallowing dust, I lost consciousness." Pavlov had a "let me hear this thing" expression, crossing his arms and watching Vasily. Vasily lived up to his reputation as a professionalposer; he said he hadn''t changed the score much, but to Wang Zhong, who had heard the original "Consuming Sand", Vasily''s version clearly modified the tone and the marching rhythm. "Consuming Sand" was originally a very desperate and rock song, even somewhat decadent; however, once Vasily altered it, it became sad and restrained yet filled with a heroic spirit. When Wang Zhong sang it himself, he just felt that changing the background made it very heroic. Now Vasily had achieved this heroism in the melody. After the song ended, Olga wiped her eyes, but noticed there weren''t many tears, "Huh, strange, I was teary-eyed when I heard Alyosha sing it." Vasily said, "I didn''t sing with such deep emotions, after all, I didn''t experience the bloodshed at Peniye. General, is this song about Peniye?" Wang Zhong took a deep breath, "Yes! You really are great, you even figured that out!" Olga said, "Hurry and teach me how to sing it!" Vasily replied, "No need, I''ve written the score, with lyrics too, and made many copies. Just take a few when you leave!" Wang Zhong eximed, "Granfendo gets ten points! No, Vasily gets ten points!" Vasily looked confused, "Huh? Ten points for what?" Olga pouted, "I don''t know how to sing it, you have to teach me!" Wang Zhong said, "Come on, you can sing arias from La Traviata, learn it yourself! You can have the bunker tonight, stay with your maid!" Olga pouted. Pavlov slipped quietly to the door, preparing to sneak out when Popov came in, "What are you doing?" "Uh, I''m going to arrange the Grand Duchess''s amodation!!" Popov frowned and then seeing the situation inside the headquarters, he immediately turned around, "Then I''ll arrange the Grand Duchess''s guard!" Wang Zhong sighed and pointing to the two leaving men said, "Olga, the war situation is very urgent now, we were just bombed today, don''t be willful. If you want to stay and learn the song, then learn it, but don''t make any more unreasonable requests." Olga deted, "Alright~ then~" The next day, October 25th, Wang Zhong, along with a group of people, was at the train station to see off Grand Duchess Olga. He urged her, "Make sure to convey my requests to General Sergey of the Ordnance Department! The faster we start designing and manufacturing the equipment I want, the sooner we can get them into actualbat, and the smaller our casualties will be!" "I understand," Olga lifted her head, "Isn''t there supposed to be a kiss at farewell?" Wang Zhong sighed and gently kissed Olga on her forehead. No sooner had he kissed her than Olga suddenly stood on tiptoe,unching a surprise attack. If she were the height of Nelly, standing on tiptoe would at most reach Wang Zhong''s chin. But she was the height of Ludm. Wang Zhong was shocked, are you channeling "your Xun Zong"? Coming at me with such a beastly mindset for a kiss, there''s no romance in this at all! After the ambush, Olga ran away like a shot. Wang Zhong looked nervously toward Ludm, "That was a brotherly and sisterly kiss. And I know an Ante ruler who also likes to do that!" Ludm said, "I saw, you only meant to kiss the forehead, I don''t me you. Let''s go ahead and set the wedding date. I want to have another child, you mentioned before, didn''t you, that the frontline would be rtively stable from December to next June, I think it''s the perfect time." Wang Zhong began, "But we''ve already agreed..." Ludm gave Wang Zhong a look that could kill a bear. Wang Zhong conceded, "As youmand, my dear wife." Chapter 284: Chapter 73 Approaching (2/8) On the morning of October 31, Suhayaveli. Grigori was startled as soon as he arrived in front of Rocossov''s bunker. He saw Major General Rocossov sitting on a chair at the door, lookingpletely burned out. After hearing Grigori''s footsteps, Rocossov raised his head and, ncing at his own guard, said, "Reflecting on history, every time Ante has been ruled by a queen, the nation has made leapfrog progress. The great rulers in the history of Ante have either been tyrants or queens, or even tyrant queens. That must be our national character." Grigori peeked inside the bunker, then took a sniff, showing an expression that he understood something, and said, "There are deer in the nearby forest. I''ll go hunt one. Some deer meat will do." With that, Grigori left, supporting his submachine gun with one hand, and headed for the stables. At that moment, Ludm came out saying, "I feel like it''s happening. It''s kicking my belly!" "How could it be so soon!" Wang Zhong had no strength left toin, "You, have you ever considered my feelings? Conceiving a new life is supposed to be an event filled with a sense of ritual, do you understand?" Ludm replied, "In times of war, where can there be so much sense of ritual?" Wang Zhong sighed, "Look on the bright side, you will stay in the rear in the second half of next year. That''s a good thing, definitely a good thing." The next year would mark the second year of the war. So far, the entire course of the war had followed the script of Earth. Although Wang Zhong''s efforts had eliminated one annihtion battle, since the enemy was Jude, the progress probably wouldn''t differ too much. Next year, there would likely be a massive meat-grinder city battle in some ce. At this time, Wang Zhong still didn''t know that Prusso, because of the strong defensive fortifications he had crafted that frustrated them, nned to produce Grizzly assault tanks andTiger assault tanks ahead of schedule. After all, on Earth, the Grizzly was developed after summarizing the second year''s urban meat-grinding experiences. Wang Zhong introduced the Prussians to the most advanced urban defense positions right in Shostka, making the Prussians consider abandoning room-by-room fighting. The Grizzly had a 15-centimeter caliber and could even fire a short-range, boosted charge shell, emphasizing a single shot that wipes out any fortification. Of course, Wang Zhong had also considered how his own troops would deal with cities fortified with reinforced concrete. On Earth, the British developed a specialized tank known as the Churchill AVRE, mainly for dismantling sturdy reinforced concrete structures, with its main armament being a 290-millimeter spigot mortar. That beast had a range of only about 100 metersyes, 100 metersand because it sounded like a spring shooting out its shells when fired, it also earned a nickname: the Dustbin Launcher. In actualbat, it sessfully destroyed many strongholds, but its reload required the radio operator to climbpletely out of the tank, making them easy targets, hence it typically had to be reloaded in safe areas. Because its range was only 100 meters, it often meant the tank would be loaded safely, then driven up to face the enemy, fire a devastating shot, and retreat to reload safely. Besides its thick armor, the Churchill AVRE was particrly slow, which led to terriblebat efficiency. Following city grinds, the Soviet Army''s solution on Earth was to drive B4s onto the streets and shell enemy buildings. The Soviets also equipped their su152 self-propelled guns with special concrete-breaking shells, designed for close-range direct fire against concrete structures. After much thought, Wang Zhong concluded that leveling the concrete buildings might be his only option. Fuel-air explosives were an option too, but Wang Zhong didn''t know if Ante was capable of developing such sophisticated weaponry at present. To determine this, the industry of Ante would need a thorough investigation. All in all, given the current situation, Wang Zhong was uncertain whether he could obtain efficient urbanbat weapons before the massive city battle in the war''s second year. So if Ludm could give birth in the rear and not participate in the battle, that would be best. Of course, if push came to shove, they could try asking the Federation for weapons; the Federation had napalm and white phosphorous bombs, both suited for urbanbat. As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, Ludm nudged him hard, "What''s the matter with you?" "Nothing, I''m just d you could conceive. We just received newnds in Charon where you can stay. It''s far from the front and even out of Prussian Air Force''s attack range." Ludm objected, "I really don''t want to leave you at the front alone, my love. Waking up this morning, I began to doubt whether my decision was wrong. I should be on the front lines with you, being your praying hand." "Thinking back, it was the Crown Princess''s kiss that startled me..." Wang Zhong summoned hisst bit of energy to stand up, grabbed Ludm by the shoulders, and used his Xun Zong''s ultimate technique on her. After finishing, Wang Zhong managed a smile, "Feeling reassured now? I''ll be honest with you, when Olga went all out in her attack, saying I wasn''t shaken would be a lie. But you are the one I love the most. Olga is just the sister entrusted to me by Ivan, and no matter what she does, that won''t change." Ludm cracked a smile. Just then, the air raid rm sounded again. Wang Zhong pulled Ludm with him and entered the bunker. Ludm asked, "Did Grigori go hunting?" Wang Zhong confirmed, "Yes, he should be safer in the forest than us, nobody bombs the woods." While speaking, Wang Zhong leaned against the observation window of the bunker, using an external device to gain aplete view of the outside. He easily spotted the enemy aircraft and saw that the bomb bay was open. Arge number of leaflets fell from the bomb bay. Leaflets? Suddenly, Wang Zhong remembered what Olga had said about the situation in the capital, how arge number of surrender supporters were restless. These leaflets were probably meant to bolster the confidence of the surrender faction. After triple checking that there were only leaflets, Wang Zhong opened the bunker door. Ludm: "What are you doing? It''s dangerous outside!" Wang Zhong: "The bombing has ended." With that, he walked out of the bunker. "What? We haven''t heard any explosions! How could it have ended?" Wang Zhong looked at the sky: "Because what''s being thrown are not bombs for assaulting the city, but bombs for assaulting the heart." Ludm also stepped out of the bunker and looked at the leaflets falling from the sky. At this time, the sound of the air raid alert being lifted rang out, so more people emerged from the bunkers. The leaflets also began to fall to the ground at this time. Wang Zhong directly caught one from the air and read the printed text: "The besieged Saint Andrew Fort has been captured, the enemy has advanced to Markikov 100 kilometers away from Ye Fort and will soon reach Ye Fort. This is merely a pleasant armed parade, the organized resistance of the Ante Army is on the verge of copse. "The Ante People may have only one million troops left, Ante has no more troops to deploy!" Ludm stretched her neck to read the words, and her eyebrows furrowed tightly at this sentence: "One million is too few, isn''t it? There are more troops than that just on the Ye Fort defensive line." Wang Zhong: "Indeed. Of course, this may be propaganda material written by the Prussians. Let''s go to themand bunker to confirm the situation at Saint Andrew Fort, and then check on Markikov." Ludm nodded her head. As usual, Popov was on the night shift at the division headquarters. Seeing Wang Zhonge in, he said, "Saw the leaflets?" Wang Zhong waved the leaflet in his hand and asked, "So, what''s the situation with Saint Andrew Fort and Markikov?" Popov turned toward the map: "Both cities are under our control. The Front Army at Saint Andrew Fort still has considerable strength, and has repelled the enemy''s attack on Manahaim, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. "Because Manahaim itself is short on troops, this level of attack is sufficient to prevent Manahaim from coordinating with the Prussian Army Group''s offensive operations in the north. "The Front Army at Saint Andrew Fort has already redeployed most of its strength to the forefront, directly facing the Army Group." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "It seems Saint Andrew Fort is in a fairly good situation!" Popov nodded: "It should be fine, but I think they encountered the same problem as usour troops are as fragile as dregs, especially the tank units. Blindly expanding from 18 tank armies to 95 tank armies resulted in nothing substantial in the ranks." Wang Zhong: "We are nothing but an edematous fat man, who nearly fell over from a strong push by the Prussians." Popov''s gaze shifted to Markikov: "Markikov has indeed been shelled, and enemy reconnaissance units have been spotted. But so far, it has not been subjected to a strong attack, and it''s likely the Prussians are umting supplies for a siege." Wang Zhong: "Then there''s not a single truth in these leaflets!" At that moment, Pavlov entered: "What, nothing true? Are you talking about the leaflets? Rest assured, leaflets are for those who are willing to believe. Those capital''s surrender advocates must be ecstatic." October 31, noon, Saint Ekaterina Fortress, outskirts, anti-tank trench construction site. Ante-controlled area. Leaflets dropped by the Prosen Army fell, and many people, just like Wang Zhong, grabbed and read the content directly. At this time, the Priest walked among them, calming everyone: "Saint Andrew Fort is still fighting, Markikov is still fighting! Don''t fall for the enemy''s deception!" This section of the construction site was managed by the 515th Labor Camp, an all-femalebor camp. Now, there were many such women''sbor camps around Ye Fort. Hearing the Priest''s words, the women in the camp echoed: "Don''t fall for the enemy''s deception! It must be a trick." While the young girls, already somewhat shaken by the leaflets, settled down after being shouted at by the older women and the Priest. Just then, a bespectacled man rushed over holding a leaflet and shouted, "Ladies! What are you busying yourselves for? Run for your lives! The Prussian Army is about to arrive here!" "Don''t listen to his nonsense, girls! Capture him!" an older woman yelled. "Catch him! Don''t let him spread false rumors!" By the time the women had subdued the bespectacled man, the Judges hurried over and took the traitor away. Chapter 285: Chapter 74 The Road Roller is Rolling (3/8) On November 1st, just as Wang Zhong had arrived at the division headquarters, he saw Pavlov had already gotten there ahead of time, discussing with the night shift Popov in front of the map. "The enemy''s advance has suddenly elerated," Pavlov said, cradling his arm while resting his chin on the other hand, "They actually moved forward 20 kilometers yesterday. If they keep this up, they really might break into Ye Fort before it gets colder." Wang Zhong: "What''s going on?" Pavlov pointed to the telegram on the table: "See for yourself." Wang Zhong picked up the telegram and read through it quickly, then said, "Haven''t you seen the enemy advance seventy kilometers in a day before? Why are you making a fuss over twenty kilometers? "Besides, I''ve checked the ground around here. Thend isn''t like that of Kazarlia; it''s naturally harder here, so even if there is mud, it shouldn''t have as serious an effect as the ck soil in Kazarlia." Wang Zhong had surveyed the area riding Bucephalus. He had nned to go by car, but Grigori suggested riding, because "at this time, horses are more useful than cars, trust me." The ground around Suhayaveli is all hard earth, with just a thinyer of mud on top. ordingly, when Wang Zhong asked the local elders, they also mentioned that they generally don''t grow wheat around here but various vegetables instead, along with fodder for feeding pigs like alfalfa and the like. And also potatoes. This even had an impact on the supplies of the Guaridian Army. While in Kazarlia, the officers and troops had a rich variety of food on their tables, now it was just borscht and potatoes every day. Potatoes became the staple, steamed and given to the officers and men like bread, with the soldiers having to peel them themselves. The division''s bakery was now generally baking bread only once every three days. Wang Zhong had not expected to feel, so directly and so quickly, the benefit of the ck soil of Kazarlia. Recalling the scene of his previous survey, Wang Zhong couldn''t help but touch the lunchbox hanging from his body, carrying the hefty soil of his homnd. Wang Zhong: "The soil around here is not like the ck soil of Kazarlia. It''s just not the same." Pavlov: "I see, I didn''t investigate the local soil conditions, so it''s the ground hardening that''s sped up the enemy''s advance?" He took a pencil and made a note on the map: Ground is harder. "How about our forces?" Wang Zhong asked. Pavlov: "Four new Army Groups have been supplied, all spread out along the front line. I think the Western Front Army''s idea is to use these inexperienced troops to dy the enemy, exhaust them, and then intercept them with well-rested units." Wang Zhong looked at the map. Kashuk''s forces were positioned south of Suhayaveli, and the defense area had been greatly reducedit must be because his forces suffered heavy losses. The rest of Kiriyenko''s Army Group was basically arranged around Suhayaveli, it seems like they were preparing to fight around the Guardian Army. Wang Zhong: "Did the Army Group not receive reinforcements?" Pavlov: "You mean arge number of troops from the Guardian Army? Indeed, they have been reinforced. But there aren''t many young men who are experienced and formally trained. I think the first wave of conscription is over." Conscription is in stages: the first conscripts are those who had been discharged within thest three years and those in the active reserve. Those young men of the right age who hadn''t undergone military training were not part of the first wave of conscription, so they could only join the army and then undergo military training. Next would be the conscription of those who had been discharged for over three years, most of whom would need refresher training and could not be sent directly to the front line after conscription. The conscription of those discharged within three years and the active reserves is already over and that''s not even counting the 5 million troops expanded earlier. Wang Zhong looked at the map with a solemn expression. They say numbers are cold, unable to make people feel real, but someone like Wang Zhong, who actually emerged from hell, could feel the weight just by looking at the numbers. "What a sin," he murmured softly, "poor expansion, poormand. It really is a sin." Pavlov and Popov were also silent, as if they were mourning the millions of soldiers who had been sacrificed. Coincidentally, at that moment, the song of some troop drifted in from outside: "Kazakhstan, Kazarlia! The corpse cart crosses the riverbank, the riverbank of Mother River!" Suddenly Pavlov asked, "What''s that song called? I haven''t heard you mention it before?" Wang Zhong: "''Knawing Mud.''" Eating sand refers to eating sandy soil, which tells of events in Aganstan; called "Knawing Mud" for Kazakhstan, it makes sense. Popov eximed, "That name can''t inspire morale! Are you really going to publish it with that name?" Wang Zhong: "No, when Vasily sent it to the music magazine, he wrote the title as ''The Last Courage.''" Popov breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, Nelly pushed open the door: "Breakfast." Pavlov: "Oh, breakfast is here. What are we having? It smells delicious." Nelly: "Susie stew." "Really? Serve me a bowl." Nelly immediately served a bowl to the chief of staff. The plump chief of staff took a big sip and then shoveled the tenderized, stewed meat from the stew into his mouth with a spoon. Wang Zhong silently watched as Pavlov feasted, just watching as the blood flowed from his nose. "Wait a minute!" Pavlov pulled out a handkerchief to cover his nose, "What''s going on here?" Wang Zhong: "Because the meat used in this soup isn''t sausage or beef, but deer and hedgehog meat." Nelly: "And snake meat. I processed everything that Sergeant Grigori caught and put it all in." Pavlov''s eyes widened: "Why are you bringing it out for us to eat now?" Wang Zhong: "Because she had her period yesterday, it''s no use even if I eat it. So I sent the leftover meat to the cooking team." Popov clicked his tongue: "You''re done for, do you know how many single mothers you''re going to create? With so many girls in the garrison, the cooking team, theundry team, and the nurses at the hospital. It''s all over, how could you let theseds eat deer and hedgehogs, it''s over." Wang Zhong scratched his head: "My fault?" "Your fault," Popov and Pavlov said together. ---------- November 1st, the advancemand post of the second armored army group, the former residence of the literary giant Kozov. "General!" The adjutant led the way, proudly announcing, "This is the former residence of the great literary giant Kozov." Von Maqi slowed his pace, admiring the well-preserved disys in the room as he walked: "This is where he wrote that book ''War and Peace'', isn''t it?" Adjutant: "Are you going to set up yourmand post here?" "No," Von Maqi refused without even thinking about it, "The enemy has gradually started bombing existing buildings, and this former residence will definitely be a target for bombing. As long as it is within range of the enemy''s fire, we cannot stay in an existing house, we can''t let the enemy seed." Adjutant: "But, because we don''t stay in houses within the range of enemy fire and don''t camp on roadsides, the troops are exhausting a great deal of physical strength. Theds need beds." Von Maqi: "Tell them that after they are killed in battle, they can rest forever then, in Valha." "But," the adjutant asked doubtfully, "isn''t the war about to end?" Maqi didn''t answer but walked to the map that was already spread out and looked at thergest ce name on it, Ekaterinburg Fortress, pursing his lips, even decreasing his blinking rate. Just then, a staff officer ran in, saluted, and shouted loudly: "Report! The front line has informed us that we have obtained three new army group numbers from the prisoners!" Maqi immediately turned to face the staff officer, his eyebrows lifting sharply: "How many?" "Three!" the staff officer replied loudly. Maqi said in a deep voice: "I heard you, don''t shout so loud." The staff officer was embarrassed. The adjutant went over to take the telegram, quietly waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly. General Maqi personally stepped forward, grabbed the telegram, and began to read: "ording to the interrogation of the prisoners, the existence of enemy army groups 111, 112, 113 has been confirmed. ording to prisoner testimonies, these three army groups don''t have army-level organization, which suggests heavy losses among senior officers." "Thergest of the three army groups, 112, has eight infantry divisions in organization, along with the group''s artillery and auxiliary troops, around a hundred thousand men." "The smallest, 111, has five divisions and one independent brigade, around sixty thousand men." "We estimate that at least two hundred thousand new troops have joined the defensive operations." After reading, Maqi put the telegram behind him, took a deep breath, then looked up at the ceiling. He maintained this posture as though a child watching a spider weave its web on the ceiling. Finally, Maqi asked: "How many enemies did High Command say we are facing head-on?" Adjutant: "One million." "Now it''s one hundred and twenty million. Ask the front line, what''s the equipment situation of these newly added army groups? If the equipment is poor... there might still be hope." The adjutant immediately turned: "I''ll make a call right away... I mean, I''ll radio to ask." "No need, it''s not that urgent, just send a telegram." ... About an hourter, Maqi was flipping through Kozov''s collection of books when the adjutant came in with a telegram: "The reply''s here, General." "Read it," the General said softly. The adjutant lowered his head: "The newly encountered army groups indeed show signs ofcking equipment, but what they mainlyck are light weapons; the numbers of heavy artillery and tanks are rtively sufficient. The troops of these army corps are highly motivated, oftenunching bay charges topensate for theirck ofbat skills. "Also..." The adjutant stopped, nced at the General, then continued: "We''ve also discovered another new army group number, 114, which has eight infantry divisions and one cavalry division, nearly a hundred thousand men." Maqi sighed: "The steamroller... has started to move. " He closed the ancient book, closed his eyes. A few secondster he opened his eyes: "No, it''s not time to give up yet, order the troops to advance at full speed! The muddy conditions are easing, we''ll winter in Ekaterinburg Fortress!" After finishing, he turned to look at the collection: "Pack these books in boxes and take them to the basement! The Ante People will shell this house, the books are innocent!" Chapter 286: Chapter 75: Assault Camp (4/12) ``` November 4, God''s Arrow Company of the First Mechanized Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard. Companymander Koshkin rode the chestnut horse he had brought from home, leading his small reconnaissance squad up to the hilltops. On the ins near Ye Fort, although the terrain remained t, more hills began to appear, unlike the mere mounds seen on the grasnds of Kazarlia. Some of these hills rose hundreds of meters above the in, but their slopes were gentle, allowing even tanks to ascend. Koshkin reached the crest of the hill and lifted his binocrs to observe the west. At that moment, one of his subordinates suddenly rode down the hillside, aiming his submachine gun toward the bushes and shouting, "Who''s there! Come out!" After shouting twice, several men wearing military caps askew timidly stood up in the bushes. "Which unit are you from?" The scout tried to control his restless horse, keeping his submachine gun trained on the men. The leading sergeant straightened his cap, saying loudly, "We''re from the 180th temporary Infantry Division. Our division has been routed, everyone''s running back. We couldn''t find division headquarters or any battalionmanders, so we could only keep walking east hoping to bump into our troops." Scout: "Your identification!" "Look at my pocket," the sergeant showed his autumn military uniform pocket, "it was sted by shrapnel, but they should have their IDs." No sooner had he spoken than a corporal produced an ID: "I have it." Then two privates: "I''ve got mine, too." "I don''t know where my ID went." "My jacket was stolen by the Prosen devils during a fight! My ID and my fiance''s picture were taken too, damn it!" The sergeant made a "quiet" gesture and said gravely to the scout, "We haven''t betrayed anyone, we''re willing to keep fighting the devils! Please don''t execute our families! We just couldn''t find any officers and don''t know what to do!" By then, Koshkin hade down from the hill on horseback: "How do I know you''re not enemy spies?" "My family is in Yelmsk! I''m a genuine Ante person! There are five people in my family!" the sergeant said loudly, "You can check!" The corporal who imed to have his ID said in a low voice, "Now that you''ve mentioned your family, the Judge will go look for them!" The sergeant red at the corporal: "You showed your ID, doesn''t that amount to the same thing? No, whether we can live or not, whether our families can live, depends on whether we can find apassionatemander!" "Alright," Koshkin said, "you''re lucky this time! Because we are Rokossov''s troops, the general will ensure you''re treated fairly!" "Regarding the issue of deserters C and routing soldiers," Wang Zhong looked towards the others in the bunker, "I think we can hold a general meeting where everyone can identify those who led the retreat. We execute those who led, and the rest form a penal battalion to undertake the most dangerous tasks to prove their determination to fight the enemy." Popov shook his head, "No, no, we''re the Imperial Guard, we can''t use the name penal battalion, it would make it seem as if we''ve also supplemented our ranks with convicts and death row inmates." Wang Zhong thought for a moment, "Then call it assault battalion. Let them get trained to use the new anti-tank grenades, and during battle, their specific task will be to destroy enemy tanks." Pavlov: "If they only have anti-tank grenades, even if they mutiny on the battlefield, they won''t cause much damage. I support this idea. Just yesterday, we caught 700 routing soldiers. Such manpower needs to be utilized." Wang Zhong slightly raised his eyebrows: "700? That many?" "Yes, the troops that have been in contact with the enemytely are inexperienced, even the officers are green. Once the officers are killed, the troops retreat," Pavlov shook his head, "We''ve recently added some recovered veterans, overall the situation isn''t too bad. But the units that receive these veteran reinforcements are few and far between." Wang Zhong: "The wounded have begun rejoining the ranks?" "Yes, the war has been going on for four months now, Your Excellency the General," Pavlov looked at Wang Zhong, "Four months." Then themand post fell silent. A momentter, Popov stood up: "I''ll organize the penal battalion C the assault battalion, and let the Judge carry out the executions as per the soldiers'' identifications." After Popov left, Pavlov asked Wang Zhong, "The enemy''s advance is faster now, maybe even before General Winter arrives, we''ll be broken through." Wang Zhong looked at the enemy''s breakthrough arrow on the map; judging only by the map, the arrow was just threepass draws away from Ekaterinburg Fortress. At that moment, amunications staff entered, saluting, "Urgentmunique from the Western Front Army Headquarters." Pavlov read the telegram and looked up at Wang Zhong, "Markikov has been captured. The enemy is now less than 100 kilometers from Ye Fort." Wang Zhong went to the front line map, examining it for a few seconds before asking, "What about the weather forecast?" Pavlov: "There won''t be snow in theing week, and the probability of snow in the next two weeks is only forty percent. But the temperature is nearing zero now, it''s going to freeze." Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, it would be at least another two weeks before General Winter arrived. And the enemy had already advanced within 100 kilometers of Ye Fort. The real hard fight wasing. Wang Zhong: "Continue the surveince." At that moment another staff with a telegram entered: "Report, telegram from the Western Front Army Headquarters." Pavlov took it and nced over: "The Western Front Army is preparing a counterattack. Strange, why send this to us? We''re just a division headquarter." He looked up at themunications officer, "Are you sure this was for us?" "Yes, the top of the telegram has the identification code; it was indeed sent directly to us." Pavlov looked at Wang Zhong, "Is this... they really treat you like a prince, wanting you to look it over?" ``` Wang Zhong took the telegram, scanned it, and sighed, "Nonsense, there''s no word in here about asking for our opinion. Reply that we got the message." After themunications staff officer left, Pavlov said, "Now the Commander of the Western Front Army, Marshal Semyon, is a general trusted by the Tsar. Although he''s not the favorite, he generally maintains consistency with His Majesty. I guess the princess staying overnight here might have been over-interpreted by them." Wang Zhong frowned deeply, "What''s the matter with these people? The enemy is advancing within 100 kilometers of the capital, and they''re still engaging in these court intrigues? All these vermin togetherforget it." Wang Zhong thought to himself that he had no n to exterminate pests right now, so there was no point in saying this. Suddenly, Vasily burst in, holding a radio, "Everyone,e and listen!" As he said this, he turned on the radio, only to find there was no sound, so he pped the back of the radio hard. Pavlov took the radio, ced it on the table, then delivered a karate chop to it, nearly splitting the radio in half. Then the sound came throughit was "Devouring Sands," no, "The Last Courage." Really, the addition of the radio''s unique static interference noise gave the song a different vor. Vasily said, "I just sent it back a week ago! Now it''s being yed on the radio!" Pavlov, looking at the radio, said, "Too bad I''m already sick of it, even the people going to the bathroom outside are singing ''I still have onest grenade, you beasts will taste its power''." Wang Zhongughed, "Isn''t that a good thing? If just one song can inspire the soldiers to fight until the end, that would make things much simpler." At that moment, the song on the radio ended, and the announcer came on, "This song was inspired by General Rokossovsky during the battle over Peniye, where he was surrounded by enemies. With only a few hundred troops left, he destroyed two hundred enemy tanks!" Wang Zhong snorted, "Bullshit! Most of those 200 tanks were destroyed by the KV crew! I only took out eight, just eight!" Just as he was seething with anger, an air raid siren wailed from outside. Hurriedly, Wang Zhong went to the observation port in the bunker, switching to a skyward view. From a bird''s eye view, he heard a telephone ringing inside the bunker, probably Brother Peter calling. After Pavlov answered the call, he reported, "Brother Peter says he heard two heavy bombers escorted by eight 109s heading our way." Wang Zhong switched back to the bunker''s view, "What''s going on? Only two bombers?" "Yes." Wang Zhong had a vaguely bad feeling. Observing from the bird''s eye view again, he finally spotted the enemy formation. Two heavy bomberswith Fritz X slung under their bellies! Wang Zhong shouted, "God''s Arrow Company, move! Don''t fire!" Pavlov immediately picked up the receiver, "Connect to God''s Arrow Company! Cease air defense readiness, move quickly!" Wang Zhong''s view moved back to his own troops'' positions, located the God''s Arrow Company, watching the figures run out from under the camougeds and hop onto motorcycles to make their escape. Great, the motorcycles seized during the Shostka surprise attack were still being used! After confirming the entire God''s Arrow Company had moved, Wang Zhong focused again on the enemy formation. Strange, the enemy formation was flying at high altitude. At that height, God''s Arrow Company wouldn''t fire, out of range. So what was this all about Then Wang Zhong saw the Fritz X bombs being dropped. Startled, his gaze followed the bombs. Then he saw the bombs plunge into Boye''s brick house. Yes, the one the princess had nearly stayed in before. It was an empty house now; after all, when one''s own artillery fires too often, one must also guard against retaliation. There was a massive explosionthat Wang Zhong''s real body heard, diminished by the bunker, but his eyesHeavenly Eye saw the huge mushroom cloud. Seeing that mushroom cloud, his heart skipped a beat, but then he realized there were no exaggerated shockwaves or radiation, just the explosion from the excess TNT. Boye''s brick house had been ttened. The second Fritz X fell, striking the church in the vigealso a brick building, but with a wooden roof. Following the colossal noise, the church was gone too. After dropping those two Fritz X bombs, the enemy squadrons turned away. It seemed that the Fritz X under the belly of the other bomber wasn''t intended for the Imperial Guard''s first machine gun toon. Wang Zhong switched back to the bunker''s view, telling Pavlov, "Figure out a way to deploy some smoke units. When the enemy nese, use smoke to obscure the view of the sky." The uracy of the Fritz X depended on the radio operator aboard the ne, who targeted visually. Wang Zhong added, "Also, inspect the bomb craters to see if we can find any remaining parts of the enemy''s bombs." Pavlov confirmed, "Yes." Chapter 287: Chapter 76: Engaging the Enemy (5/12) On November 8th, the Recon Squadron of the Guards Motorized Infantry set out on a reconnaissance mission. Commander Koshkin nned to go up to the usual mound to survey the situation, but as he spurred his horse halfway there, he suddenly heard the sound of an engineing from the mountain. He sharply pulled on the reins, holding his breath to listen more intently. It was indeed an engine, and the sound was bing clearer. He turned and shouted, "Misha (Mikhail''s nickname)! Start running! We''ve encountered the enemy, hurry back and send a message to headquarters!" Mikhail was the best horseman in the unit, so he always rode the most spirited horse. Hearing themander''s shout, Mikhail immediately turned around, spurring his horse into a wild gallop, hooves kicking up sshes of mud. While snatching a smoke grenade that he had confiscated from the enemy from his belt, Koshkin shouted, "Prepare the smoke! We need to buy Misha some time!" In these road conditions, a horse at full gallop could outrun mechanized troops. But to be on the safe side, Koshkin decided to lead his team in staying behind to block the enemy''s reconnaissance forces. As he threw the smoke grenade, a motorcycle crested the hill. Rather than a machine gunner, the motorcycle sidecar held themander of the motorcycle reconnaissance team, so machine-gun fire didn''te immediately. But when the second motorcycle ascended, the machine gunner in the sidecar opened fire right away. The Recon Squadron immediately had three horses brought down by machine-gun fire, and only two of their riders were able to jump off in time; the third was pinned under his horse, screaming in agonylikely his leg was crushed. The fallen horse continued to struggle, trying to stand up. Hiding in the smoke, Koshkin shouted to his unit, "Spread out! Deploy smoke! Make the enemy hesitant to pursue!" The reconnaissance squad scattered to avoid machine-gun fire, throwing smoke grenades. Soon, the entire hillside was enveloped in smoke, and the enemy''s machine-gun fire stopped. Koshkin: "Disperse and retreat, make the enemy unsure of who to chase, and regroup at the division headquarters tonight!" After issuing themand, hey t on the horse''s back and sped away at full gallop. Major Cohen,mander of the 512th Motorized Recon Battalion, climbed out of the sidecar. He looked at the ground beneath his feet: "The mud on the hilltop is gone, this damn weather is finally passing." After confirming the ground was indeed no longer muddy, Major Cohen grinned, "With this weather over, we can attack with full force. The end is nigh for Ante!" The othersughed heartily as well. No wonder they wereughing; after breaking through the Duva River, the Second Armor Group had been unbeatable, crushing every Ante Army unit they encountered, no matter how fiercely they resisted. Although it was not an encirclement battle, and not many prisoners were captured, the morale-boosting effect of continuous victories on the troops was self-evident. In the midst ofughter, the half-track vehicle apanying the recon battalion also ascended the slope, and Major Cohen immediately ordered, "Establish an observation post and support point here, ensuring the enemy''s harassment forces cannot cross this slope." "Yes, Major." The Major then turned back and yelled to the Tank No. 2 at the bottom of the hill, "How''s it going! Is it fixed yet?" It had be standard for the Prussian Army to outfit reconnaissance units with Tank No. 2; these tanks were no longer fit for front-linebat, but they were quite capable of lending their 20mm cannons as support fire to the reconnaissance troops. Faced with the Ante People''s small units and scouting Cavalry Troops, Tank No. 2 was outstanding. In response to the Major''s question, themander of Tank No. 2 yelled back, "No good, it''spletely broken down; we need the repair team up here!" The Major: "Then leave it here. Mark its location on the map, and we''ll wait for the repair team toe up." The rapid advance of the Second Armor Group, coupled with the mud, had left the repair team a hundred kilometers behind. In October, they had to stop their advance for two full days to wait for the repair team. Afterward, the logistics department allocated a significant amount of transportation to the repair teams, barely enabling the field repair shops to keep up with the shock troopers. But as the Second Armor Group prated deeper, the situation again began to deteriorate. The tank crew, abandoning their tank, quickly made their way up the hill on motorcycles, and once themander dismounted, he protested to Major Cohen, "The field repair shop is still a hundred kilometers back. If we leave it here, it might never be fixed. If we had the third gear of the transmission, we could fix it ourselves. We should check if other tanks have a third gear. "Our tank''s spare parts kit is just missing the third gear; we have the rest, so we could trade with other tanks." Major Cohen looked at themander, "You all carry spare parts kits?" "Of course, with this lousy weather, logistics are as unreliable as the Air Force. Every tank carries its own spare parts kit and makes its own repairs. In actualbat, the spare parts kit can even serve as additional armor!" Major Cohen nodded, "Alright, you can use the radio to ask if any other tanks have a third gear." "Thank you, Major." Recon units typically maintain radio silence to avoid revealing their position, breaking it only to report significant targets spotted. After sending off the Tank Operator, Major Cohen shouted to the signaler, "Report to division headquarters that we have advanced to a position ten kilometers west of Suhayaveli." On November 8th at noon, Suhayaveli, Guards Motorized Infantry Division headquarters. A cavalryman was led into the division bunker. Wang Zhong: "Eh, aren''t you Private Mikhail from the Recon Squadron?" ``` The cavalry was startled, "You recognize me?" Wang Zhong replied, "I remember the names of all the officers and soldiers in the entire division." He had remembered them with the help of a cheat. But the cavalryman didn''t know, and immediately looked touched, "That''s astonishing!" "Don''t be astonished, report the situation. You went on reconnaissance, didn''t you? Why didn''t Captain Koshkine himself?" Wang Zhong asked. The cavalryman immediately became serious, "Captain Koshkin had mee back first to report. They are responsible for dying the enemy. We encountered the enemy''s reconnaissance unit on Hill 391, with motorcycles and half-track vehicles, and there were more engine sounds, but I didn''t see those vehicles." Pavlov immediately picked up an engagement marker and ced it on the situation map on the tabletop, next to a triangr symbol representing the hill and its elevation of 391. Naming hills after their elevation is also a traditional practice in military cartography. Only after a major battle has urred will a hill be named, with names like "Tiny Nameless Ridge" and so on. Wang Zhong wore a serious expression, "The enemy''s reconnaissance unit is already within ten kilometers of us." Pavlov asked, "Should we hit them?" Wang Zhong replied, "Are we sure the enemy has stopped? They might continue advancing toward us, right?" Just then, Vasily suddenly reported, "Wait a moment, I heard some shouts in Prosen. It seems like one of their Number 2 tanks has broken down and needs spare parts delivered by another tank." Wang Zhong asked, "Is the radio clear?" "Clear, the speakers might be around ten kilometers from us," Vasily answered. Wang Zhong praised him, "Well done, musician." He then picked up the handset himself, "Connect me to the artillery position. Artillery position, is that you? This is Rocossov." "General, hello! We are conducting a simted firing drill!" the artillery regimentmander reported. Wang Zhong instructed, "Stop the simtion, let''s do real firing. I''ll give you the map coordinates; you calcte the firing elements yourself. The map coordinates are..." Wang Zhong found Hill 391 with a bird''s eye view. Although there was a "fog of war" currently covering the hill and he could only see thendscape, not the enemy on it, giving a coordinate was still a simple matter. After giving the coordinates, he continued, "Fire three rounds at rapid speed." The artillery regimentmander confirmed, "Three rounds at rapid speed, understood. General, are we about to kill another general?" Wang Zhong sternly rebuked, "Don''t say things without basis. It''s just that there might be a Number 2 enemy tank that has broken down there, and perhaps the enemy''s motorized reconnaissance team is also present. So, we are firing three rapid rounds as a sort of lottery." "Just a lottery?" "Yes, anyway we are now close to Ye Fort, and replenishing shells is easy." In fact, Wang Zhong had so many shells at his disposal that he was concerned that if their storage was struck it could explode and decimate the entire division they had that many. Wang Zhong hung up the phone and looked at Pavlov, "They''re asking me if I''m about to kill another general." Pavlov burst intoughter. Wang Zhong stated, "Such unrealisticments should be avoided from appearing repeatedly." Pavlov replied, "Just give up, have you not seen thetest tabloid from Ye Fort? The people there are talking about your rumored affair with the Princess, how many Prosen generals you''ve killed, and even that you''re actually the reincarnation of Saint Andrew." Wang Zhong frowned, "What''s thatst part about?" Pavlov pointed at Popov, "That''s his area of expertise, ask him." After Popov faced Wang Zhong''s gaze, he said, "Firstly, this was not spread by the church, but... Generally speaking, iming someone to be the reincarnation of Saint Andrew would be considered sacrilege by the Tribunal. Yet such talk has made it into the papers, even if it''s just a tabloid... right?" "What do you mean ''right''?" Wang Zhong said, then heard the sound of artillery firing outside; the artillery unit had finished calcting the firing data andmenced firing. Vasily suddenly interjected, "I hope it takes out a general. An enemy one." Wang Zhong red at him. When Major Cohen heard the whistling of artillery shells, he immediately threw himself to the ground and assumed a professional artillery crouch. The first wave of shells hit the hill, flipping the half-track vehicle over, and its mounted machine gun dislodged from its mount andnded right in front of Major Cohen. As the second wave of shells fell, Cohen had to open his mouth wide to equalize the pressure inside and outside his head. By the time the third wave of shells hit, he had already passed out from the shock. It turns out that while the artillery crouch is indeed useful, if the enemy''s firepower bes intensely concentrated, the crouch is not so effective. Unaware of how long he had been unconscious, Major Cohen woke up, sat up dazedly, and looked around nkly. At that moment, his brain wasn''t functioning; he was in a state of physical stupor. His ears couldn''t hear anything either, only a strong ringing. Then he saw a captain rushing towards him, mouthing words at him incessantly. It wasn''t until the buzzing in Cohen''s ears suddenly dissipated and the world seemed to return around him, allowing him to hear the screams of wounded soldiers and the captain''s words, that he realized what was happening. "Major! Our motorcycles and half-tracks are all destroyed! Should we continue the reconnaissance?" The major shook his head, "No, get off the hill quickly! The enemy, the enemy is Rocossov! It''s the General on the White Horse! This sneaky, sudden bombardment, it has to be him!" ``` Chapter 288: Chapter 77 Rocossov Assures You, the Parade Can Proceed (6/12) Prussian Army, Second Armored Group, Advance Command Headquarters. Calling it an Advance Command Headquarters means that themand unit was still in motion, not deployed yet. In such a state, although themand vehicle could receive telegrams, it absolutely could not send any outthe reason was simple: too much shaking. A single jolt could add an extra character to the message, and another shake would add yet another. When a telegram was sent, the message was transmitted instantly upon pressing down. Of course, even while in motion, the headquarters could stillmunicate with all divisions via radio. The high-power radios carried on themunication vehicles could, if necessary, broadcast at full strength. The messages could potentially be heard as far as Plowsonia. Thanks to the radio, General Von Maqi was still able to keep abreast of the conditions of his subordinate troops, and asionally, he could even listen to the battle situations reported by pilots in the air. At one o''clock in the afternoon on November 8, themunication staff suddenly stood up and said, "General, the 22nd Armored Division is reporting." Von Maqi was studying a map at the time and asked without looking up, "What''s the matter?" "They''ve encountered enemy fortifications again; the defendingmander may be General Rokossovsky." Von Maqi lifted his head, "Really? Wasn''t he already transferred to the rear at Kharon, in charge of organizing the Kharon Defence Line? That''s what Rabowell said! The newly established Krat Bureau provided us with a lot of intel about the Ante!" Themunication staff looked toward the adjutant. Just as the adjutant was about to speak, the general shook his head: "A piece of intelligence being inurate asionally is normal. It''s just a minor issue." He suddenly stopped, his eyebrows knitting together, "No, it''s not a minor issue. If the enemy hasn''t retreated to break off... If they''ve ced the ''Imperial Iron Wall'' here, that means they''re prepared for a dogged fight with us." General Von Maqi thought for a few seconds and said, "Continue the attack ording to the original n. But assign our reserves, which were originally standby, to the 22nd." The adjutant asked, "Move the reserve troops now?" "If we cannot break into Ye Fort, what''s the point of keeping the reserve troops idle? The enemy''s defensive line is already near the outer rings of Ye Fort; we are down to thest little bit of distance. "It''s time for a sprint and we must bring all our strength to bear! Go all out!" General Von Maqi pounded the table with his fist. The adjutant asked, "So... shall we order the 22nd Division tounch an immediate attack?" General Von Maqi thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No, no, ''to do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools''that''s an Eastern proverb. Does the 22nd Division currently have artillery?" "Not yet. It''s still on the way. But the nearby 35th Armored Grenadier has Bison Assault Guns assigned." General Von Maqi rose in the constantly swayingmand vehicle: "Bisons, huh? The 15 cm heavy infantry gun possesses a certain breaking power, but that''s about it. ording to thebat experience summary of the Asgard Knights, this Empire Iron Wall likes to construct robust and ingenious fortifications." The general paused for a moment: "During Argesukov''s period of rest, I visited his tank shelters built in Orachi, very ingenious but also overlyplicated, basically impractical in field conditions. I''ve simplified his design, which will assuredly perform excellently in defensive battles." The adjutant frowned, "Defensive battles? Our army has always been on the offensive..." "Just in case," General Von Maqi interrupted the adjutant, "just like Giles, who went to recuperate, saved Shostka and requested the Imperial Military Science Academy to survey it, I''ve also embraced the wisdom of the enemy. This Empire Iron Wallin terms of defense and annoying the opponentcertainly has genuine substance." The adjutant couldn''t help but suppress augh, "Annoying the opponent?" "Yes, annoying the opponent. Hereafter, when we take over a ce he has defended, we must be cautious and thoroughly sweep for mines. Otherwise, just blow it up," General Von Maqi shook his head, "How can there be such a shameless soldier who nts trick mines in his own headquarters?" Wang Zhong sneezed three times in a row, his snot even spraying onto Nelly''s hands. Nelly looked disgusted as she wiped her hands with a handkerchief, distancing herself from Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong said, "Someone from Prosen must be cursing me! It''s probably one of the trick mines we nted in Shostka that got triggered again." Indeed, the trick mines Wang Zhong had nted in Shostka were not limited to just one in themand post. Pavlov inquired, "Are you alright? Catching a cold would be troublesome, especially since the temperature will drop sharply sooncatching a cold at such a time can be bothersome." Wang Zhong replied, "What''s the fuss? Just cover yourself with a quilt and sleep it off in bed." His attention returned to the detailed map of the defensive area on the table: "We already know we''re facing the enemy''s Second Armored Group. ording to the information brought back by the soldiers from the assault battalion before they disbanded, it''s very likely we''ll be up against the 22nd Armored Division. "This division''s artillery hasn''t caught up yet. The previous breakthroughs of our defenses were mainly because our forces didn''t have enough time to constructprehensive fortifications. "But we not only haveplete fortifications, but also arge number of 57 mm anti-tank guns." The mobile ZIS30 57 mm guns have the advantage of firing and then quickly repositioning, ideal for mobile enemy engagement. Whereas the static 57 mm guns benefit from the support of arge squad, achieving a very high rate of fireup to one shot every three seconds. That''s faster than some bolt-action rifles. Of course, anti-tank guns need to continuously switch targets so such firing rates are not feasible in actualbat. Yet, the practical rate of fire of Wang Zhong''s 57 mm guns is still formidable, capable of rapidly suppressing enemy tank toons. Having assessed our situation, Wang Zhong spoke with conviction, "Tank Division 22 won''t be able to break through our defense line. If they attempt a strong charge, they will be met with a crushing defeat right in front of us." General Von Maqi: "Tank Division 22 won''t be able to break through Rokossovsky''s defense lines. Their tank units are down to less than a hundred, and using this few tanks to charge Rokossovsky''s ''turtle shell'' is nothing but a waste of manpower. "Do you know what''s most important when dealing with a ''turtle shell''? It''s to bypass the shell and scoop out the flesh inside. Of course, we cannotpletely avoid attacking Rokossovsky; we need to contain him, prevent him from moving around freely." The general turned and moved to the small window of themand vehicle, opening it to look out at the fields rushing by behind him: "In war, whoever is able tomit thest battalion will emerge victorious. "We must ensure that Rokossovsky''s division does not be that st battalion''." Aide-de-camp: "You mean..." The general: "Ferociously assault Rokossovsky''s division, drain their manpower, and then have our elite forces circuNovelBinent his defense from both sides. No, not just from both sides C the other generals from the same army group as Rokossovsky have also performed quite well, and their troops are very determined. "We need to make arger detour. We will..." The general moved away from the window back to the map, picked up a pencil, and traced a line along the enemy defense revealed by reconnaissance, finally resting on the location named Karanskaya. "The main attack will take ce here. We will breach the enemy''s defense at this point." After listening, the aide-de-camp immediately went to a filing cab, took out a folder, pulled an album from inside, and located the aerial reconnaissance photos of Karanskaya ording to the album''s ssification. "This location won''t be easy to capture; it is a satellite town of Ye Fort, filled with reinforced concrete buildings. In addition, there''s a fortress built on a hill with a view covering the surroundings. Furthermore, the reverse slope below the fortress can serve as an anti-tank position..." General Von Maqi dismissed thement with a wave of his hand: "Do you think that the presence of reinforced concrete means it is a ce easy to defend but hard to attack? No, in fact, closebat is a real test of the troops'' courage and their will to fight. "In our previous engagements, the enemy might have been able to face our artillery, to face our tanks, but once they enter close-quartersbat with the elite Prussian troops, they copse rapidly! "And now, the forces of the Ante Army we''ve encountered along the way are increasingly losing their will to fight. Some divisions even start to retreat after just ten percent casualties. "This is about making the most of our strengths!" General Von Maqi straightened up, ncing at the Ante national g hanging inside themand vehicle. "We will win the war with courage. And Rokossovsky can only watch helplessly from his positions as we break through the defense lines and march straight to Ye Fort!" Wang Zhong: "If the enemy doesn''t take us down but turns to attack Karanskaya instead, their supply lines will be very awkward." He pointed at the highway on the map with a pencil. "I''ve scouted this highway in person and I think the nobles who built it must have taken kickbacks. The condition of the road is terrible; even without usying mines, it can''t carry much in the way of supplies. The road was muddy when we reconnoitered; our horses injured their legs after just a brief gallop. "I asked the old farmers along the way, and they said the road is also hard to travel when frozen. Without a doubt, the forces attacking Karanskaya will have serious supply issues." Pavlov, staring at the map: "If this road is difficult to travel, the enemy can only attack us. After capturing our current positions, they''ll use them as a supply center, right?" Wang Zhong: "Exactly. They have to attack us." Popov sighed: "I usually take the train when I leave the capital; I had no idea the transportation around the capital was this poor." Wang Zhong: "No, it''s not just around the capital; the whole of Ante has poor road transportation. We rely mainly on railways and shipping. The waterways of Ekaterinburg Fortress can flow south all the way to the Ind Sea, which is why an industrial belt has formed along the Valdai Hills River. "This industrial belt and the Kazarlia-Livonia industrial belt, which we''ve almostpletely lost, are connected by the Dnieper River and the northern Neva River, with a 100-kilometer-long canal between the two rivers. The internal transportation within these industrial belts is not bad, but between the belts C aside from the railways C it''s just these kinds of dirt roads." Wang Zhong shrugged at the map. If you were to mark the industrial belts in ck on the map of Ante, leaving the rest white, it would look like a piece of zebra skin. Pavlov: "But once they get past us, the transportation conditions will improve." Wang Zhong: "True, I''ve scouted the area to the east as well; the road standards improve sharply there, with asphalt surfaces. At the same time, there are more concrete buildings and factories scattered across the fields. "If the enemy breaks through our lines, they can advance quickly; we have to hold them back." Just then, the telephone rang, and Wang Zhong picked up the handset without hesitation: "This is Rokossovsky." A calm baritone came through from the other end: "Rokossovsky." "Your Excellency, Grand Patriarch," Wang Zhong instinctively stood up straight. "I have a question for you. I heard your troops have already engaged the enemy?" "Yes, my troops have already engaged the enemy," Wang Zhong replied truthfully. "Then I want to ask you, can we still hold the National Day military parade on November 10?" Wang Zhong thought for a moment, then answered confidently, "I, Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, assure you that the parade can proceed as scheduled!" Chapter 289: Chapter 78 Burning (7/12) On November 9 at 0600 hours, the artillery bombardment began. By this time, Wang Zhong was already in themand bunker of the division. It usually got light around four in the morning, so he was ustomed to waking up at that time. His daily routine was entirely in "summer time"; he would start feeling sleepy as soon as it got dark after ten at night and would wake up at four in the morning. Now, the nights were as long as the days had been during the summer. At six o''clock, it was still pitch-dark C such was the north. But Wang Zhong''s daily routine remained the same as before, so he ended up yawning and making his way to the divisionmand bunker in the pitch-dark as if it were still four in the morning, and then he would chat with Popov, who was on the night shift. It was when the enemy''s bombardment began that Pavlov stumbled into the divisionmand bunker. Wang Zhong, "You don''t have to rush over like this; you could wait for the enemy artillery preparation to end beforeing." Pavlov, "How could I? That preparationsts as long as two hours; I had toe over. Without me here to break down orders for implementation, you''d be no different from amander without troops. Besides, the enemy''s focus is not on us here but on the front line positions; it was quite safe for me on the way here." Just as Wang Zhong was about to speak, the artillery fire suddenly changed. Being an experienced soldier himself, he could instantly tell when the artillery preparation shifted to Xu Jin''s barrage. The others in the room lifted their heads sharply as well. Popov, "Has it shifted to Xu Jin''s barrage? Is it finishing up a bit early?" Wang Zhong, "The enemy doesn''t have that many shells! My prediction is correct; their logistics haven''t caught up, and they will be met with bloody noses on our positions." Having said that, Wang Zhong moved to the observation window. In fact, from the divisionmand bunker''s observation window, you couldn''t see the front lines, because the defensive area wasn''t like Shostka. Shostka had the Duva River, and the divisionmand bunker was on the riverbank, so you could observe the battle. Suhayaveli was a road intersection and a railway junction, located on a in. So the defensive positions of the Guards First Motor Rifle wereyered, and couldn''t be seen from the division''s position. In fact, during Orachi, Pavlov, who had been stationed at the division, couldn''t see the front lines either; that Wang Zhong had been able to see the frontline was mainly because back then, his forces were weak, and he had to personally drive a small tank to the front to hold the line. Now, joking aside, Wang Zhong''s division alone had been supplemented with 36 towed 57mm anti-tank guns, which could fire every 3 seconds. As long as the enemy did notpletely cover the anti-tank positions with heavy artillery fire, their armored forces would surely suffer heavy losses. Even if the anti-tank position was covered, it would be fine; Wang Zhong still had 30 ZIS-30s as a mobile anti-tank force. The Guards First Motor Rifle had already been outfitted like apletely wealthy division, so much so that Wang Zhong could reserve all 36 of the Armored Division''s ceremonial T34s C no, now called the T34Ws C as a reserve force. Of course, when it was time to deploy the armored battalion for a counter-attack, Wang Zhong would certainlymand his own small tank personally. If the armored battalion had to bemitted to the attack, Pavlov probably wouldn''t mind if Wang Zhong temporarily left the divisionmand bunker. Additionally, Wang Zhong still had three KV tanks; this number had not changed from before. Now, these three KV tanks, one for each position, were treated by Wang Zhong as defensive anchor points and stationed in tank shelters at the front lines. Moreover, to ensure that these heavily armored turtle shells could attract enough firepower, he had used a forward cement of anchor points in his defensiveyout and specifically concealed veterans armed with submachine guns near these points, waiting for Ploseni veterans to approach for closebat. Now Wang Zhong, with his bird''s-eye view, waited for the enemy to test the strength of his defenses. Without directmunication with the front line, Wang Zhong could only see the markers of his own units; to his surprise, he noted that next to the frontmost two battalions, there were sawtooth lines on the military map, indicating defensive positions. While still marveling, the enemy markers appeared. The enemy''s symbol was a red square, which should contain an icon representing the type of troops inside, but now there was a square with a question mark instead. Was this because the front hadn''t determined what type of unit was attacking? Wang Zhong, "Call the 31st Regiment, 1st Battalion." Pavlov eximed in surprise, "Why call them?" Wang Zhong, "I need to understand the situation. Once you get through, hand me the handset." Pavlov immediately picked up the handset, "Connect me to the 31st Regiment, 1st Battalion. Is this the 1st Battalion? The divisionmander wants to speak with you! Yes, here you go." Wang Zhong took the handset to his ear, switched the view to the 1st Battalion''s perspective, and it lit up; he could see every member of the 1st Battalion and also the attacking enemy. But first, the enemy wasn''t highlighted, and second, the enemy''s organization was still unclear. So the previous direct view of the enemy''s organization, knowing if the enemy was an armored battalion or grenadiers, was because I saw the enemy with my own eyes C thus Wang Zhong thought. That means in an emergency, he would still need to go to the front line to see the situation for himself. At this moment, the battalionmander on the phone said, "Division Commander, please speak!" Only then did Wang Zhong realize he had taken the handset but hadn''t spoken. Wang Zhong, "Ah, what''s the situation with you guys?" "The enemy ising. Currently, they haven''t crossed the 1,000-meter mark, so we haven''t opened fire." Wang Zhong, "Good, try to capture some prisoners and find out the enemy''s unit designation, as well as the forces involved in this attack." ``` "Understood. Once the enemy is repelled, we''ll try to dig a few lightly wounded prisoners out of the dead for you. Anything else?" "No, see you in Ploseni." "See you in Ploseni!" Wang Zhong had juste up with that line, and the battalionmander said it as if he had been injected with chicken blood. After hanging up the call, Wang Zhong realized he had a view of the front for another fifteen seconds before it disappeared and turned back into icon shing. This cheat is interesting, it demands that even if I hold a high position, I still have to run to the front line. Hmm? Wang Zhong suddenly remembered that on Earth, the Sturmtiger also had a general who was very fond of going to the front line. He even made it to themander of the African Army and would still jump into his beloved little tank to rush to the front. His most famous battleno, skirmishwas when hemanded two Armored Divisions to push forward and got surrounded by the British force, and then he fought hard to create a bloom at the center, making the British force, prepared to annihte his troops, retreat inplete disarray. Desert Fox, you also had a cheat! I''ve found you out! Wang Zhong was so familiar with this battle because in his childhood, "Tank and Armored Vehicle" magazine had used it as a "question" for the reader participation column, inviting readers to submit their battle ns to break the situation. Of course, Wang Zhong wrote one, and naturally, it sank without a trace. Later, the published standard answer turned out to be just the historical battle n of the Desert Fox, and they also featured a few readers'' ns,menting in the end that even with a God''s-eye view, no reader came up with a betterbat n than the Desert Fox. Since then, Wang Zhong became a little fanboy of the Desert Fox and always felt Montgomery was nothing special. Of course, a sign of growing up is graduating from one''s idols, and Wang Zhong, after reading numerous biographies, no longer worshiped the Desert Fox. But now, I am the Desert Fox of this world! Watch me wage a couple of battles that will be legendary, making military magazines use my strategy as the standard answer! Wang Zhong suddenly got fired up. He didn''t care about the frontline, returning to the defense area map, and stuffed the handset into Pavlov''s hand, focusing on studying the map. Pavlov asked curiously, "What''s up?" Wang Zhong: "The enemy is attacking us under such hasty preparations for artillery support... Do you think they would act so recklessly?" "Hmm, indeed," Pavlov returned the handset, "I think it''s more like an action to pin us down. If that''s the case, their attacks will be continuous. Though they may not threaten the fundamentals of our defensive line, they''ll never stop." Wang Zhong nodded, "Right, judging from this offensive, the enemy is likely targeting Karanskaya. They''re taking this small path." He pointed to the small path he had pointed out the day before. Pavlov: "So what''s your n?" Wang Zhong: "We need to advance, at least up to the previous position of Hill 391. This way, our artillery can move forward and bring that small path within firing range." Pavlov: "An attack? But you''ve said before, we have a decisive gap in tactics and techniques with the enemy. Without our prepared positions, even our best troops can''t beat the enemy''s regr forces." Wang Zhong: "I also said that we are not at a disadvantage in artillery. Make a call to Kiriyenko." The call quickly connected, and Pavlov handed the handset to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: "Kiriyenko, it''s Rocossov." "What''s up? Are you under a lot of pressure?" "No, I''m under no pressure at all. I surmise the enemy''s main attack direction is not here. I think it''s probably Karanskaya." Read thetest novel on M-VL-em|p,yr Kiriyenko: "I judged the same way. The pressure on our front is too mild; even the artillery preparation this morning didn''tst half an hour. So, what are you nning to do?" Wang Zhong: "I''m going tounch an offensive. But because our techniques and tactics aren''t up to par, the offensive will need your artillery support." Kiriyenko: "I''ll reinforce you with the Army Group''s artillery brigade. You decide how to use it. This brigade just got a new artillery battalion, all equipped with 152mm heavy guns." Wang Zhong: "No rocket artillery?" "What is that?" Kiriyenko was shocked. Okay, still ssified. Wang Zhong: "Never mind. When will the artillery brigade arrive here?" "If they set out now, they should arrive by tomorrow. You can start preparing their positions,ying camouges, and such." Wang Zhong: "I already have four pre-set positions reserved for my artillery battalion. Just have them move into these positions." "Wow, four pre-set positions?" Wang Zhong: "Not just pre-set positions, but also wooden dummy cannons. When they arrive, just remove the dummies. We''ll find somewhere else to build new dummy artillery positions." Kiriyenko: "You sly dog, with your dummy positions, false mines, surprise barrageswhatever doesn''t work the usual way, that''s what you use." Wang Zhong: "I''m forced to, aren''t I? We can''t win head-on inbat. We only win in tank gun confrontations. What can I do? Reinforce my artillery brigade, and I''ll throw something big at the enemy." ``` Chapter 290: Chapter 79: Military Parade (8/12) ``` November 10th, 0400 hours, Ekaterinburg Fortress, Summer Pce. Tsar Nichs V questioned: "If there is a parade, will Belinskye? He hasn''t run away, has he? This guy must be thinking we''ll die defending this ce, like Ivan did in battle, and then he''lle to reap the rewards!" Chief of General Staff Tukhachev nced at Marshal Boris who had taken over as Minister of Defense after the former Commander of the Western Front Army. Marshal Boris adjusted his sses: "As far as we know, His Eminence the Grand Patriarch has not left Ye Fort and will participate in the parade." "It must be a body double!" Nichs V dismissed with a wave of his hand. "A body double! If you ask him some questions about the Secr faction and demand he interprets the scriptures, he will beat around the bush!" "I am willing to answer any questions about the Secr faction," a deep bass voice sounded from the direction of the main entrance. Everyone turned their heads toward the entrance. Grand Patriarch Belinsky walked into the room with measured steps, followed by two red-clothed bishops and guards. "Your Majesty," the Grand Patriarch greeted Tsar Nichs V with a court bow, a form of salute reserved for subjects greeting the emperor. Nichs V''s expression softened: "You misunderstand, Belinsky. I was just... I just overheard some rumors. I''ve already punished the person who spread them. Oh, and, dispense with the formalities." Belinsky then straightened his body: "Your Majesty, the enemy is actually at the end of their tether; it''s only the continuous advances that have emboldened them. They have also notably stepped up pamphlet attacks around Ye Fort just yesterday, their nes dropped over ten tons of leaflets. "The enemy clearly wants to break our will to resist, just like with the Carolingians. The Carolingian capital was still defensible; the City Defense Command had mobilized a million militiamen. This heroic city has resisted foreign invaders countless times, and its people are prepared to do so again! "However, the Carolingian highmand were cowards afraid of death, so they chose to surrender. The Prosen armies hadn''t even seen the capital before they surrendered. "The Prussians are hoping we will do the same thing." Nichs V fixed his gaze on Belinsky: "But look at the battlefront, how many troops we''vemitted, all scattered by the enemy, and thetest forces couldn''t even hold for a day! Can you guarantee they won''t break through into Ye Fort?" Belinsky: "Rocossov has assured me that the enemy won''t enter Ye Fort." "He said that at the public memorial too! He said mud and heavy snow would stop the enemy. Mud hase and gone, and heavy snow is at least ten days away, but the enemy is already less than fifty kilometers from Ye Fort!" At this moment, Olga, who was standing aside, suddenly said, "Rocossov''s forces are stationed twenty kilometers away from Ye Fort''s outer ring they are the final barrier! He also assured me that not a single enemy will get past his defense." Nichs V whipped his head around, scrutinizing his daughter, surveying her carefully, then his eyes settled on her waist: "I know you stayed with him for a day! What exactly did he use to assure you? Huh? With what?" Olga: "With reason and logic. Father, Your Highness, the people need you to set an example. Besides, didn''t you swear to avenge my brother?" Nichs V suddenly stopped, gazed at his daughter''s face, which bore a slight resemnce to his son, then his expression firmed up again: "Ah, yes, Ivan, you''re right." The moment she was mistaken for her brother by her father, Olga''s mouth twitched, but she quickly regained control of her expression with years of court etiquette training, maintaining her dignified demeanor. Nichs V turned to Belinsky, his demeanorpletely transformed: "You''re right, we must parade! To show those Prussians that we will never give up resistance! One day, we will storm into their capital and raze it to the ground!" Having said that, Nichs V left the room in high dudgeon. Only then did Olga sigh, her shoulders slumping wholly. Belinsky approached her and murmured, "Don''t be sad. One day, he will recognize you clearly." Once Belinsky had spoken, he followed Nichs V out of the room with long, determined strides. Until he followed out, no one in the room, including the Chief of General Staff and the Minister of Defense, dared to follow, but now they hurriedly trailed after him. Within the Prosen Empire, Eagle''s Nest. Prosen Emperor Reinhard put down a secret report that had just been delivered by the Asgard Intelligence Department: "Our radio operator in Ye Fort risked their life to send a message, saying that the Ante people will hold a national parade today." He looked at the head of Rabowell, Duke Redwitch. Duke Redwitch: "We also submitted a report suggesting the possibility of a parade. We believe the parade is to stabilize the morale of the troops, and thereafter, they will still retreat to the Carillon defensive lines, given that they have already sent the empire''s Iron Wall Rocossov to the Carillon lines." Reinhard: "Rocossov is in front of the Second Armored Cluster!" "Such level of error was also within our predictions. It''s possible that he was meant to go to Carillon, but his appointment was canceled. Or perhaps the appointment was not carried out in time. You should know that our newly established Krat Bureau is very powerful and has directly established connections with the exiled organization of the Sanctified faction," Duke Redwitch said proudly. Reinhard clicked his tongue, turning back to ask his secretary of the Confidential Secreatariat: "Is this what Rabowell says?" "Yes, but at the time, you discarded this report. Because you wanted to end the war after taking Ye Fort, you refused to look at any intelligence suggesting the war might continue after Ye Fort''s capture," the secretary responded. Reinhard fell silent for a second, deciding to move past this matter and turned to ask the Grand Duke Mayer, Air Force Marshal: "Can the Air Force disrupt the parade?" Grand Duke Mayer shook his head: "No, because our forward airfields are not yet operational. We can reach Ye Fort from our current airfield, but we can''t sustain it for long." Reinhard: "We''ve advanced to less than fifty kilometers from Ye Fort!" ``` Duke Meyer: "Our advance airstrip is still 300 kilometers away, and the mud before made it impossible for engineers to level the new temporary airstrip''s runwaythere''s always water. They''re trying their best to build a new airstrip right now. "The Ante People have concentrated all their fighter jets to protect the capital, and escort fighters flying from our current airfields are at too significant a disadvantage." Reinhard: "What disadvantage?" Duke Meyer spread his hands: "I am an ace pilot, so I can exin it to you. First, our fighters have to fly over three hundred kilometers, which takes more than an hour..." Reinhard: "I remember our nes can fly at 500 kilometers per hour, can''t they?" "Most of the time, they can''t reach that speed, and they also have to climb, so by the time they reach the airspace over Ye Fort, the pilots are usually very fatigued. If they have to coordinate with the much slower heavy bombers, it will take even longer. "Because the heavy bombers can''t take off from the frontline airstrips, they need to rendezvous in the air with the heavy bombers, climbing for dozens of minutes to reach the altitude of the heavy bombers before they can meet. In short, you should know that our pilots will be extremely fatigued by the time they reach the airspace above Ye Fort. "Another issue is drift. We use radio navigation for bombing runs on the United Kingdom to guide the bomber formations toward the capital of the United Kingdom. But in Ante... we don''t have such facilities. "Without radio guidance, they can only rely onpasses for instrument flight because thendscape of Antecks significantndmarks." Reinhard interrupted Duke Meyer again: "What''s the problem with instrument flight?" "There''s wind in the sky, Your Majesty," the Dukemented, seeing that the Emperor seemed unconcerned before he continued, "there are often tremendous winds in the air that can blow the nes off course. Our heavy bombers are equipped with gyroscopes, which can counteract the wind to some extentbut drift is still inevitable. Unless we innovate our navigation technology, drift cannot be avoided under current conditions." Reinhard sighed: "Have them hurry up and build the frontline airfield!" At that moment, the sweat began to pour from the Chief of General Staff of the Prosen Empire: "Your Majesty, the supply situation at the front is very difficult; although the muddy conditions have disappeared, the impact of distance and Ante''s poor infrastructure still persist... to have the front build an airfield now is not quite appropriate." Reinhard: "Building just one should be possible, right? Just one! Build it!" The Chief of Staff nced at the others and answered, "Yes!" ---- Olga climbed onto the parade tform alongside her father and the Grand Patriarch. The nobles already waiting in the spectator stands on both sides were shocked, having not expected the Grand Patriarch to ascend the "side" tform. The church''s viewing stand was on the opposite side of the parade avenue. As Olga reached the tform, she suddenly heard the troops awaiting inspection singing below. She hurriedly looked down to see that some soldiers were holding their steel helmets to their chests, patting and singing along. It was a song of Rocossov! Initially, Olga thought it was just two or three people singing loudly, but then she realized it wasn''t so. All the inspecting troops were singing, each voice not loud on its own, yet they collectively reached a volume audible to the viewing tforms hundreds of meters away. "I''m surrounded, surrounded, with no more chance to escape. "Come closer, juste closer, beasts, let me entertain you a bit!" Just then, the Grand Patriarch suddenly said, "Do you know, a long time ago, the author of the Rhine River Battle Song met with the Emperor of Prosen, and the Emperor said, ''Your song is mightier than a few legions.'' "He said that because the Carolus Army, singing the Rhine River Battle Song, charged towards the Prussian lines with a readiness to die. As long as the song echoed, the Carolingians would not be defeated. "It seems that the Carolingians have forgotten how to sing that battle song." Just as Olga was about to reply, the military band began to y ''The Farewell of the Ante Woman.'' The troops seemed provoked by this and sang even louder, as if to overpower the band. Officers started running around, desperately shouting to overpower the singing. The master of ceremonies announced the start of the parade, and the parademander first began the inspection of the troops. The Grand Patriarch, beside Olga,mented on themander: "Hecks presence, both man and horse." Olga did not express her opinion but tried to imagine the inspecting troops being reced by Rocossov, riding Bucephalus. Sheughed and said, "Indeed, there''s a considerableck of presence." During the Tsar''s speech, Olga didn''t pay much attention to what her father said, only feeling that his shrieking was somewhat shrill and annoying. Seemingly in echo of Olga''s thoughts, the troops'' hurrah after the speech was somewhatckluster. Then came the march-past, and almost immediately after leaving the site, the troops began to sing "I Still Have One Last Grenade." They sang this song with heads held high and firm strides, charging toward the battlefield. Chapter 291: Chapter 80 Rocossovs Offense (9/12) On November 10th at 1400 hours, the headquarters of the First Guards "Red Banner" Mechanized Infantry Division. Two brigadier generals were led into the division''s fortress by the staff. Wang Zhong saw that the two men were quite calm because from his vantage point, he had already seen the two brigadesing over. But he had to put on a show, so he widened his eyes, "Why are there two brigadier generals? Isn''t there just one artillery brigade?" "The artillery brigade is mine." The first brigadier general to enter stood at attention and saluted, "Commander of the 33rd Artillery Brigade, Donikov! Awaiting your orders, General!" Wang Zhong returned the salute and looked towards the other, "Then what brigade''smander are you?" The other brigadier general saluted, "Greetings to you, General Rocossovsky! I am themander of the First Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade, Ivanov, and we have been ordered to provide you with two salvoes." Wang Zhong was ready to ask "Why only once?" but was stunned upon hearing it was twice. He was actually given two opportunities? Pavlov thought Wang Zhong was stunned by theck of rounds and questioned on his behalf, "Why only twice?" Ivanov, looking embarrassed, replied, "We only brought enough ammunition for one loading. There''s a fairly lengthy reload time between the two firings, so that needs to be taken into ount when allocating firepower. Here''s our rocket artillery user manual..." Wang Zhong took the manual without even looking at it and said directly, "My n is this: The artillery brigade and my division''s artillery will conduct fire preparation together for two hours and must ensure that all the enemy''s pots and pans are smashed to bits. "Then when the artillery switches to Xu Jin''s barrage, our troops will start to advance, and the rocket artillery will fire when our forces are within one thousand meters of the enemy. Wait for my signal." Ivanov was shocked, "You''re personally leading the attack?" Wang Zhong: "My father died in service at Argesukov, the soldiers who escaped said he was in the forefront. My father was a general and yet led from the front, whereas I''m only a major general." Ivanov''s eyes moistened, and the soldiers who had seen life and death understood everything from Wang Zhong''s expression. Although Wang Zhong was taking the lead first and foremost to get a better view of the situation with the help of an advantage, in reality, this was akin to walking into the jaws of death. Moreover, Wang Zhong wasn''t scared at all now; at worst, he would go to the afterlife to summon his oldrades, with banners of a hundred thousand to y the King of Hell. Would the King of Hell dare take him? This was courage forged through the mes of warno, fearlessness. Ivanov saluted, "Honor to you! Having a general like you is a blessing for the soldiers. But there is one problem, our brigade doesn''t have radio." Wang Zhong: "What?" Ivanov: "Our brigade has no radios. It''s not customary in our army to equip artillery with radios." Wang Zhong recalled that in Orachi, the artillery had no radios either, so they had to ce either a BT tank or a T26 on the artillery position to establish radiomunication. Wang Zhong: "Vasily!" "Present!" Vasily stood up, shouldering the radio, "It''s all charged up, Prosen battery, reliable. I''ll go with the Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade." Wang Zhong nodded, "Go." Ivanov and Vasily left together. Donikov: "Where do I find your artillerymander?" "I''ll have the staff take you there. We originally had four fake artillery positions, all wooden guns; we''ve now moved the wooden guns to new fake positions, and you''ll take over these," pointing to several locations on the map. "Understood, by the way, do these fake positions have air defense?" Donikov asked. Wang Zhong: "Yes, we have trucks equipped with Divine Arrowunchers, and prayer warriors on motorcycles moving around; they all operate as guerris nearby. Also, the anti-aircraft artillery battalion''s positions are deployed here and here, perfectly covering all four positions." Donikov nodded, "Got it, have the staff lead the way." Pavlov immediately called a staff officer to guide the way. After the two brigademanders had left, Pavlov said, "You charge ahead without worry; I''ll handle the rest. And if you really need support, we have radios here too, also captured from the enemy, just a bitrger." After this, both men looked toward the corner where the radio wasnaval technicians had removed it from a Prosen tank. It was incredibly useful. It was just that Prosen tanks were of no good now, otherwise if they had a Panzer IV F2 with a long barrel, Wang Zhong would havemanded that. After all, his best performing vehicle in War Thunder was the Panzer IV F2, but that was before the weightings were changed; now, he probably couldn''t make it work anymore. Wang Zhong: "That''s the n, radiomunication. Your call sign is Valdai Hills River, and my call sign is..." Wang Zhong touched the mess tin at his waist, feeling a strange illusion as if the soil from his homnd in the mess tin was giving off heat. "My call sign is Dnieper River," he looked at Pavlov, "Just call for Dnieper River, and I will respond, I will definitely respond!" Pavlov cursed, "Suka, I''m a Kazarlian too; I also want Dnieper River as my call sign." Wang Zhong: "Then you... you call..." "All right, I was justining," Pavlov waved his hand dismissively, shooing him away, "Go on, get to your little tank." Wang Zhong left headquarters with a smile. The rocket artillery brigade''sunchers were just then rolling out from the train station toward the artillery positions. The driver of tank 422, Beliyakov, asked, "What kind of weapon are all these trucks anyway? They look like Divine Arrow from God''s Arrow Company, only theunchers have been clustered together." The gunner, Alexander Yefimovich, said, "I went over to look when they stopped there, and there''s a K on the truck, but no model number." Wang Zhong: "That''s called Katyusha, it''ll give the enemy a taste of springtime warmth." Beliyakov whistled, "The kind of warmth I''m thinking of?" "The very kind you''re thinking of." A staff officer ran over and reported to Wang Zhong, "General, we''ve issued steel helmets to the assault battalion, all marked with the letter Z." Wang Zhong replied, "Very good, so everyone can see how they fight. As long as they prove themselves, they can join other units as reinforcements." As he spoke, he climbed onto the tank and patted the gunner, "Move over, move over, I''m taking my spot." Alexanderughed, "Just like the old days." Wang Zhong replied, "Indeed." Seated in the small tank, Wang Zhong put on his headset and microphone, then pressed the microphone on his throat and shouted, "Testing the radio now, everyone report your vehicle number, those not in tanks shut up for now." While vehicle numbers were being reported over the radio, the enemy suddenly began bombarding the frontline positions of the Guards Mechanized Infantry, seemingly preparing to attack again. However, it was clear the enemy was running low on ammunition, as they only bombarded the frontline positions. Wang Zhong turned his head and motioned with his hand, and Pavlov approached, "What''s up?" Wang Zhong ordered, "Begin artillery preparation, smash all the enemy''s pots and jars!" Pavlov gave a thumbs up and turned back to the bunker. Seeing Pavlov''s thumbs up, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered a joke about how, if a nuclear bomb were dropped, you should give a thumbs up to the mushroom cloud, and if the mushroom cloud is smaller than your thumb, you''d better hide quickly. If the bomb is bigger than the mushroom cloud, then it''s time to ept your fate, as running would be futile. Wang Zhong gave a thumbs up towards the blue sky as a half-hearted measure. That knowledge probably only residents of a certain ind would ever need it. At this moment, the artillery from his own side began their fire preparation. Its power was much greater than the enemy''s scrounging bombardment, Wang Zhong thought. He had two more hours to arrange the attack formation. Pavlov would get it done. The Prussian Army''s Second Armored Cluster Command, a makeshift map room formed by marching tents, General Moochi was studying the map when amunications staff officer rushed into the tent, "Report! The positions held by the 22nd Armored and 35th Armored Divisions are under fierce enemy artillery fire." Moochi waved his hand dismissively, "Aren''t they just carrying out fire preparation?" "Yes." General Moochi scoffed, "This is counter-battery fire, Rokossov loves to do this. In the futurewhen we are on defense, I mean, if we are on defensewe could consider this too." Themunications staff officer replied, "But the 22nd Armored has sent a telegram and also called out on the radio. The shelling is very intense, they suspect the enemy is going to attack." General Moochi raised an eyebrow, "Attack?" After a moment''s thought, he said, "Let me go listen to just how intense it is." He turned and, with a brisk pace, left the tent, heading straight for the radio truck parked nearby. After entering the radio truck, he shouted loudly, "Calling the 22nd Division!" "No response, General," replied the radio operator. "Keep calling! And call the 35th Armored too, no, call all units reporting artillery fire." The radio truck immediately buzzed with calls. General Moochi wanted to pace but found the truck too cramped for walking, so he stepped out, leaving the door open, and paced back and forth on the ground outside. However, as the seconds ticked by, there was no response from any unit under bombardment. The 22nd Armored Division, the 35th Armored Grenadier Division, and all the logistic units responsible for supply vanished as if they had disappeared. At this time, an aide-de-camp came to General Moochi with his coat, draping it over him while saying, "These units didn''t construct anti-artillery cover; after all, they didn''t have time for engineering work, and have been on the offensive..." General Moochi interjected, "But they have anti-aircraft artillery battalions, including 88mm guns. Based on the lessons learned from the Carolingian campaign, whenever a unit has been stationed in a ce for more than a day, they should build bunkers for the 88mm guns and be prepared to fire. "If the Ante people really are attacking, then we''ll have to hope that the troops have actuallyplied with this order." General Moochi looked up, "Rokossovsky is attacking? Could it be?" Wang Zhong was now less than three kilometers away from the enemy''s position. His troops had fully deployed, spreading out 36 T34Ws in a horizontal formation. Originally, he wanted to adopt the Prosen-style goose formation, but his leading the charge was precisely so he could view the situation firsthand. If hemanded from behind like the Prussians, it would all be for naught. So he deployed an arrow formation, with himself at the very front. Each tank carried a squad of infantry C this was a uniquebat method of the Ante People. Of course, Wang Zhong intended to let the infantry dismount and form a skirmish line once they reached the right spot. The real skirmish line was already left behind by seven or eight hundred meters from Wang Zhong''s tank. Wang Zhong stayed vignt, watching ahead at all times. His spotting range was just a bit over two kilometers; if the enemy had any tricks up their sleeve, he should be able to spot them before they could effectively harm his forces. Suddenly, he spotted an 88mm anti-aircraft gun. The gunners were moving into position, but the shells had not yet been brought up. Wang Zhong immediately pressed the microphone on his throat, "Ivanov, where the hell are your rockets? Fire for me, damn it!" Chapter 292: Chapter 81 This is Rocossovs Offensive Tactics (10/12) Wang Zhong shouted out and then remembered he was supposed to report the coordinates, so he hurriedly added them and continued yelling, "Ivanov! Here are the coordinates, fire for me!" After he finished shouting, he watched the enemy loading the shells onto their artillery positions. But since the anti-aircraft guns were originally aimed at the sky, they had to crank down the guns. Wang Zhong watched as the gun slowly began to target him At this moment, as the tanks advanced, he saw more artillery positions, but either they were unmanned or the guns were immobile. It seemed that after the artillery preparation wasplete, the enemy''s entire anti-aircraft battalion was down to thisst surviving unit. But even thisst standing unit was putting immense pressure on Wang Zhong. He manned the anti-aircraft machine gun, firing tracer bullets in that direction while shouting, "Alexandria, the direction of my machine gun, see it? Turret turn left 7 degrees! Distance 2100!" Alexandria, "I see it! High-explosive shell loaded! Emergency stop!" Beliyakov braked hard, and the infantryman crouched behind the tank turret mmed into Wang Zhong. His helmet, marked with a Z, fell off and rolled off the tank. The tank fired, but the shell flew over,nding behind the enemy''s artillery position. Wang Zhong, "Alexandria! Ah, ah, ah, ah!" "Our scale only goes to 2000! I fired based on experience, next round!" At this time, Wang Zhong saw that the enemy had finished loading the shell, and the first round wasing! Then the shell whizzed past No. 422, hitting the ground and bounding up, it flew into the air and far away. Good, the enemy also had never shot at such a distant target. At this distance, even a tank, asrge as it was, would probably seem no bigger than a mung bean. At this moment, a terrifying noise came from the sky. It felt like a giant child was ying with an airne model in the sky, holding the ne up and shouting, "wuwu!" Wang Zhong looked up, the experience was like watching a meteor shower that happens once every half century. The enemy''s area became lively. Wang Zhong had previously performed acrobatics in War Thunder,unching rockets from a Sherman "calliope" at opposing points. Even with just one Sherman "calliope" rocketuncher, he''d always manage to wipe out a few unlucky ones. This was literally "ground sweeping". Now a brigade was bombarding a single coordinate intensely, the ferocity of it practically leveling everything in their path. The rocket artillery''s uracy was poor, resulting in a very wide coverage area, but the abundant firepower density turned the entire area upside-down. Every enemy position within Wang Zhong''s field of view was engulfed in explosions, and his targeting area became even more clearly illuminated, clustered enemies wiped out instantly, leaving only scattered stragglers. At this moment, he suddenly realized this was an opportunity, so he shouted, "Charge, Beliyakov! Full speed ahead, take the position!" As Beliyakov mmed the gear stick while shouting, "Are we really charging in? Is the bombardment over? If we go in with this fire density, we''re just delivering ourselves!" Wang Zhong, "It ends as soon as we charge in. Rocket artillery is quick!" "Is it that quick?" Because No. 422 charged so fast, some of the infantry riding on it fell off, tumbled on the ground, then got up and started running. Grigori held onto the antenna with his hand to stabilize himself, and asked loudly, "Are we really charging in like this?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, charge in and spread out. Take advantage of the enemy not having reacted and wipe them out." After saying this, he operated the anti-aircraft machine gun and sprayed wildly towards the continuous barrage of rocket artillery fire in frontafter all, there were plenty of machine gun bullets. When No. 422 had only two hundred meters left to go, the rocket artillery barrage ended. The enemy still hadn''t reacted. Wang Zhong fired the anti-aircraft machine gun at the same 88 gun that had been threatening him all this time. Because he saw there was still one enemy "glowing" there! After continuous bursts of machine gun fire, the enemy "went dark", and only then did Wang Zhong breathe a sigh of relief, as the tank also charged onto the position. Wang Zhong, "Quick, infantrybat, clear out the shell craters and bunkers! Eliminate the enemy!" Indeed, after two hours of fire preparation and just now a wave of rocket fire, the ground had been almost leveled. The enemy had barely dug any anti-artillery bunkers, nor had they nned for defensive operations, so after this bombardment, there were hardly any survivors. When the follow-up troops rushed up, Wang Zhong shouted, "Only half of the infantry dismount, the rest follow us and charge forward, head straight for 391 Heights, our objective for this mission!" After shouting out and remembering that all 36 vehicles were equipped with radios, he pressed the microphone again and repeated, "Half of the infantry dismount, the rest follow us and charge forward, to 391 Heights!" After finishing, he motioned to Grigori, "Grigori, assign two reliable men to guard this 88 gun, everyone else get on!" Soon, tank No. 422 was back to "full capacity", and Wang Zhong ordered Beliyakov, "Advance! Keep going all the way to 391 Heights!" Beliyakov''s response was the roar of the engine. The T34''s exhaust pipes spat out two thick plumes of smoke and then sped forward. You know, the ground that was muddy before snowfall, the T34 really moved quickly over it. If it were earlier with mud, it wouldn''t outpace the cavalry, andter with snow cover, it still wouldn''t outpace them. But in this state, the T34 was as fast as a truck. Wang Zhong adjusted the radio frequency and called out to Pavlov, "Valdai Hills River, Valdai Hills River, calling Deb River!" "This is Valdai Hills River, Dnieper River, please go ahead." Wang Zhong: "The artillery strike exceeded expectations, the artillery strike exceeded expectations, my unit is advancing rapidly toward Hill 391. Please organize trucks to transport Colonel Eugene''s troops to Hill 391." Colonel Eugene was experienced at on-the-spot repairs of the fortifications on the high ground; his troop was essential for the task. "Valdai Hills River understands. And don''t mention names and numbers." Well, now you''re schooling me? However, the chief of staff was right, and Wang Zhong could only shrug. At that moment, he suddenly noticed some enemies ahead who hadn''t been killed by the sts. It seemed they were protecting a high-ranking officer! Wang Zhong swung his machine gun around, a sustained burst took down three men, and the high-ranking officer was pped to the ground by his adjutant. Wang Zhong: "Grigori, there''s an enemy general! Take him alive!" The radio operator also spotted the enemy and started to spray bullets, preventing the enemy from raising their heads. Just like that, the tank charged through to the enemy, screeching to a halt. Grigori jumped down directly, kicked away a guard''s MP40, and shot dead several other enemies who tried to resist. By then, the others had gotten out of the vehicle and surrounded the enemy. Wang Zhong, holding the microphone to his neck, ordered: "Move forward, don''t mind me!" At this moment, Tank No. 423 passed No. 422, and the "tank cavalry" on it were still waving to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong pointed forward: "Advance! Hill 391, wait for me!" The tank column passed by Tank No. 422, one after another. By then, Grigori had already dragged the general up and pulled him beside the tank. Wang Zhong: "Introduce yourself." Then he realizedhe didn''t bring Vasily, there was no one to trante! Where had Vasily gone? Vasily had gone to the Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade with his radio on his back. Unexpectedly, the Prosen general answered in Ante''snguage: "I am Major General Rudolf von Bingrilloff,mander of the 22nd Armored Division." Wang Zhong: "Do you realize you''ve been captured, by tomorrow Ye Fort will be buzzing with rumors that I''ve captured ten major generals?" Grigori: "At least ten." Rudolf snorted: "Do you think my troops would disintegrate after just one bombing? You will definitely encounter resistance, resolute resistance!" Wang Zhong shifted his view and indeed saw many surviving Prosen troops, but they were all running backward, showing no signs of resistance. After confirming the situation, Wang Zhong said to Rudolf: "It seems not, listen, there are no gunshots. Your troops have lost their nerve." "No! Impossible! We have been victorious in continuous battles, our troop''s morale is high!" Rudolf shouted, "You will meet resistance!" Wang Zhong: "It looks like you are not as valiant in battle as the legends say. But, I''ve known that for a while, I''ve known that. I''ve defeated you countless times and will continue to do so!" The night of November 10th, 2000hrs. Prosen''s Second Armored Cluster Command. A few guards escorted several men dressed in Armored Troops uniforms into themand tent. The adjutant saluted General Moochi: "Report, these men were captured near themand headquarters as deserters." General Moochi looked at the deserters: "Hmph, what a sight! You run so disgracefully, and you still call yourselves soldiers of the Prosen Army? At least stand at attention for me!" With thatmand, the deserters reflexively stood at attention. Moochi continued to ask: "You''re from the 22nd Armored Division?" "Yes, the 51st Armored Battalion of the 22nd Armored Division." Moochi: "What happened?" "Rocossov''s troopsunched an attack; they surged from all directions carrying red gs! They flooded toward our positions like a tide!" "Nonsense!" Moochi scolded, "Report the facts!" The deserter shrank his neck, stammering out: "The enemy''s artillery fire was incredibly intense, we had no anti-shell shelters, and we only avoided the existing viges and roads, but the shells covered us everywhere, as if they had an endless supply of ammunition, explosions were everywhere, even the forests were leveled. "After the bombardment, the enemy used a terrifying new weapon; it sounded like demons howling, and then Sergeant Fritz shouted ''Rocossov has brought the demons of hell,'' and then everyone started running. We ran too." Moochi clicked his tongue: "Sergeant Fritz? Find this sergeant and shoot him. Have all deserters identify the ones who led the retreat, the ones spreading rumors, and shoot them all. The rest will be assigned to the penal battalion." After finishing, he waved his hand, and the guards took the deserters away. The chief of staff of the clustermented: "Could this be arge-scale counterattack by the enemy?" "No. If it were arge-scale counterattack, it wouldn''t be just two divisions subjected to the artillery fire." Moochi walked over to the map, observed it, and said, "Rocossov has guessed our intentions, so he wants to capture Hill 391. That way, he can push out his artillery and use it to block this road with fire. This could affect the logistics of our troops attacking Karanskaya." Moochi paused, pondering for a moment and said: "But he has left his own fortified zone, which took a month to build, to upy a high ground without fortifications; this may be our chance to crush him. "Of course, we should attack from both sides. Didn''t an engineer troop juste from the rear to build the airfield? Let them follow this more remote path and build a new road; this road will be outside the range of Rocossov''s artillery firepower." The adjutant worriedly said: "But this engineer troop, after building the airfield, was meant to assist the Air Force in bombing Ye Fort. Otherwise" General Moochi waved his hand grandly: "To hell with the Air Force and the airfield! What''s the use of such superficial projects at this time! We are racing against time; we are trying to save the Prosen Empire, understand?" Chapter 293: Chapter 82: Highland 391 (11/12) Wang Zhong had upied Hill 391 and had been waiting until it got darkwhich didn''t take long because it was getting dark so early nowwhen finally Colonel Eugene arrived with his miner''s pickaxe. Eugene jumped off the truck, approached the defensive core next to position 422, andined, "The weather is getting colder and colder, even with my coat on, the wind made a fool out of me on the ride here." Wang Zhong: "All right, all right, look at the ground, can it be dug? We found that the heavy artillery only made craters of that size." He pointed to the side, then realized that in the pitch-ck winter, one couldn''t see the size of the crater at all. Eugene took the miner''s pickaxe off his shoulder: "That''s why I brought this old buddy along." Wang Zhong stepped back, making room for him to dig. The colonel struck with the pickaxe and immediately furrowed his brow. Wang Zhong''s brow furrowed too, as he watched the colonel''s expression. Eugene tried another spot and swung again, then shook his head repeatedly, "It''s still possible to dig for now, but it will be veryborious. I suggest using explosives to st it first, and then we can think of ways to smooth and shape it." Wang Zhong: "It''s already frozen this hard; no wonder the Prussians couldn''t dig much of a trench to protect their 88mm anti-aircraft guns. They couldn''t dig through it." Eugene tried a few more times and quickly dug a pit big enough to nt a sapling, which was about the size of the pits Wang Zhong had dug during the tree nting festivals of his childhood. Then Eugene stood up and shook his head, "Digging trenches will be too physically demanding, I''ll go look for softer ground. I estimate this hilltop can only have foxholes sted with explosives and then stack some sandbags." Wang Zhong: "Then don''t bother, there are plenty of shell craters already. Now we''re in trouble. When the enemy''s heavy artillery firese down, nothing will be left." Gunner Alexandria, who was also an instructor for the tank training squad, suggested at this time, "Bring the KV up and use it as a basis for defense." Wang Zhong: "That''s the only way to do it. I''ll call the KV up with the radio, Eugene, find a ce where trenches can be dug! It''s all up to you now." Eugene waved his hand, "Leave it to me! If I can''t find it, then it really can''t be found." As he spoke, he hoisted the miner''s pickaxe and walked into the darkness. Alexandria: "Although he''s dressed in a military uniform, he looks just like a miner." Wang Zhong: "Don''t I look like a yboy?" "Yes, General, absolutely," said Alexandria. When Wang Zhong climbed onto the tank, the moment his hand touched the metal, he felt a stickiness. He quickly pulled his hand away, relieved that it hadn''t resulted in his skin being torn off. "Damn," he looked at his hand, "it''s not even below zero yet, and it''s already starting to be like this?" Alexandria: "You better get used to wearing gloves. If it''s minus 40 degrees and you touch the metal of the tank like this, we''ll have to hand you over to the medics." Wang Zhong swore under his breath, climbed onto the tank, and reached for the radio. At eight o''clock in the evening, Wang Zhong heard the engine sound of the KV and quickly adjusted his view to see two KVs approaching Hill 391. Wang Zhong immediately asked through the radio, "Why only two?" "Reporting to Dibo River, another one broke down, the crew has gone back to Suhayaveli for emergency repairs," came the reply. Wang Zhong cursed, "Suka"he had also gotten used to recing "fuck" with "suka." The KV was very heavy and underpowered, which directly resulted in a high rate of breakdown, no matter how much it was improved. Like a small horse pulling a heavy cart, even if everything else was fine, the horse might copse from exhaustion. Wang Zhong was still cursing when Colonel Eugene came over beaming with joy, "General! General! I''ve found ayer of soil umted from rotten leaves in the woods at the foot of the hillwell, what used to be a forest. Most of the trees were cut down by the Prussians to make firewood and tents, and the rest were ttened by your artillery fire." Wang Zhong was overjoyed, "How deep can you dig?" "We can''t dig too deep; there''s still hard ground below, but we can fill the soil into sacks to use as sandbags and the location is great. I haven''t studied military science, but I roughly know, on the reverse slope we can avoid artillery fire. So, on the reverse slope!" After saying this, Eugene looked around and suddenly realized that this hill wasn''t really that high, plus it had a very gentle slope. "Uh... I''m not sure if this hill can provide cover from artillery fire," Eugene added somewhat embarrassingly. Wang Zhong: "Don''t worry, the enemy had very little time to coordinate their artillery fire before attacking us. Their supply is failing, and the ammunition isn''t getting here. We''ll use the enemy''s wreckage to create false targets, and when the artillery moves into position, we''ll take their tractors and drag the wreckage to the front line and cover it with grass." Colonel Eugeneughed heartily, "General, you make warfare a pleasure I mean, as allies, you bring joy." Wang Zhong alsoughed. No kidding, I always enjoy being the crafty one in anypetitive game, alright! Being crafty feels great, always crafty, always thrilling. Wang Zhong stood up on the tank, looking westward. The wholend was pitch ck, only the sparks from earlier shelling were still burning. It seemed like a tree was on fire, reminding Wang Zhong of the lyrics from "The Song of Lonely Mountain," "The trees like torches zed with light." Because ofnguage issues, he didn''t feel much for most English lyrics, with a few exceptions, and this was one of them. Wang Zhong looked at the solitary burning tree that made the surrounding darkness seem even deeper. Wang Zhong had, in fact, once considered pushing the defense line to this area. But at that time, the road conditions from the station to here were too bad, and supplies couldn''t get through. Mud is a double-edged sword. If they set up defenses here, it wouldn''t have been possible to construct defensive fortifications as good as those at Suhayaveli. Moreover, even now, Wang Zhong could choose to trust the allied troops and just defend his own small patch ofnd. No, to be precise, when he had just retreated to Suhayaveli, Wang Zhong never imagined that the Prussians would be able to "crawl" that far in the mud. Perhaps it was because the Prussians were much stronger than the Sturmtiger. Wang Zhong quietly watched the burning lone tree, surrounded by the bustling construction site. The next day, at dawn, Wang Zhong had retreated to a spot about one kilometer behind Hill 391. He hid the tank battalions in the busheseven though the bushes had been razed by artillery fire yesterday. He would wait until the soldiers from the Blyshensk battalion grinded down the enemy and depleted their numbers to a certain degree, then he would deploy the tanks for a countercharge. This was Wang Zhong''s n. The sound of artillery fire from not too far behind could be heardit was the advancing artillery units covering the path leading to Karanskaya. At that moment, a signal corpsman came trailing the telephone wire: "General, the chief of staff wants us toy the telephone wire." Wang Zhong, "Why not use wireless?" "Afraid of being intercepted, the telephone wire is more reliable, he said." The signal corpsman then took out pliers, cut the telephone wire, expertly snipped away the rubber coating from the cut end to expose the metal wire, and connected it to the portable phone he carried. After these tasks, he ced the phone on the ground, cranked the handle hard to generate power, then picked up the handset: "Division headquarters, division headquarters! Connection established, your general." Wang Zhong took the handset that was handed to him: "What is it, Pavlov?" "The First Imperial Guard thanks us for advancing to blockade the highway, but they can hold off the enemy. They have four Imperial Guard divisions and carefully constructed fortifications." Wang Zhong, "Is that so? But since we''vee all this way, we might as well alleviate some of their pressure. That way, the enemy is bound tomit a significant number of troops to attack us today." Pavlov, "I support your decision, it''s better to have control over the oue of the war in our own hands." Wang Zhong, "Then I''m counting on you to deal with them. I''ll keep the phone." As soon as he''d finished speaking, shells fell on Hill 391, one kilometer away. Wang Zhong, "The enemy''s artillery fire is starting. I''m hanging up." Without waiting for Pavlov''s response, Wang Zhong hung up the phone abruptly. The enemy''s artillery fire was quite dense, but like yesterday, it onlysted for half an hour. Moreover, most of the fire was attracted to the fake tanks Wang Zhong had set up, sparing the positions on the backside of the hill. Based on Eugene''s scouting from yesterday, Wang Zhong''s defensive firepower was all deployed on the reverse slope, with anti-tank guns even hidden in the woods. As soon as enemy tanks crossed the hilltop, they would be struck head-on. However, Wang Zhong didn''t think the enemy would make it over the hilltop. He had divided the rocket artillery brigade into three battalions; he felt that having one brigade concentrate fire on the same area was a bit wasteful. So, after splitting them into battalions, they would fire one after another. Hiding there, Wang Zhong thought that even without any add-ons, as soon as enemy tanks crossed the hilltop into his line of sight, he could order the rocket artillery to fire, and one volley would cripple the enemy. Wang Zhong waited for the enemy tanks to cross the hill. He had already heard the sound of engines. But it came from behind! Wang Zhong quickly turned his gaze and saw agging KV limping towards him. Describing it as limping was because the KV seemed to have an issue with the suspension on its left side, wobbling slightly. The KV''s tank operator stuck his head out and waved at Wang Zhong: "General! We''ve caught up!" Wang Zhong, "Get into your position! Do you see Colonel Eugene''s makeshift shelter? The one covered with tree trunks! Park next to it, and you''re done. Be careful not to drive into a ditch!" The tank operator looked toward the shelter with his hand shading his eyes: "Alright! Don''t worry!" Then the KV staggered off, but before it reached the spot, it suddenly came to a haltits problematic left track broke off, the vehicle abruptly stopped, and it even turned approximately 30 degrees due to the momentum. Seeing the position of the KV, Wang Zhong thought to himself, impressive, it identally stopped in a perfect hull-down position. Just then, enemy tanks crossed the hilltop. Wang Zhong, "Grizzly! Fire! Grizzly, fire!" This was the call sign designated for the three battalions. Before issuing this order, it hadn''t been used, and it wouldn''t be reused after; new call signs would be given to the runners. The meteor shower that had been witnessed once yesterday flew over Wang Zhong''s head again. However, as the targets aimed for were out of his direct view, he could only watch through an overhead angle, which seemed to lessen the impact. The sight he had witnessed with his own eyes yesterday, with its overwhelming momentum, left a profound impression on Wang Zhong. As the rocket artillery opened fire, the ZIS-30 hidden in the treeline also fired. Wang Zhong hadn''t brought the 57mm towed gun toon with him, as it was too slow to move, and having its position targeted and covered would have been troublesome. The ZIS-30 could run so fast, just hit and relocate. Though the ZIS-30''s rate of fire wasn''t as rapid as that of the towed gun toon. A volley of concentrated fire brought all the tanks that had crested the hill to a stop. The tank operators bailed out and retreated. Wang Zhong burst intoughter, thinking it looked like there was no need for an armored countercharge until all the rocket artillery battalions had expended their ammunition. Chapter 294: Chapter 83 "I Still Have One Last Grenade" (12/12) On November 12, at 12:30 pm, the Prosen Army''s Second Armored Cluster Command. "The enemy''s defenses on Hill 391 are exceptionally strong. They''ve ced KV heavy tanks behind the hill; without direct firing power, we can''t destroy them from a distance. We''re forced into closebat where we''ll be attacked by anti-tank guns in the forest." The staff officer finished and paused, waiting for General Moochi to ask questions. General Moochi, "Have we identified the weapon that soldiers say ''howls like an evil spirit''?" Staff officer, "Artillery experts have observed the firing of that weapon and believe it might be a type of rocket. After reporting, the Imperial Academy of Sciences indicated they have a prototype called ''Smoker,'' which performs simrly to this weapon during tests." Moochi frowned slightly, "I''ve heard of the ''Smoker,'' but I thought it was a smoke generator device. Damn, the Imperial Academy of Sciences is keeping secrets from me too?" At this point, the adjutant spoke up, "I''ve seen Rocossov''s new weapon in action, and it truly fits the name ''Smoker.'' The ammunition it fires indeed trails smoke, leaving a clear trajectory." Moochi, "Smoker..." The staff officer continued, "The Imperial Military Science Academy also mentioned that the firepower density of this weapon is actually an illusion. Eachunch requires a significant amount of time to reload. Furthermore, auncher might have a dozen rockets on standby, like a dozen guns firing in a few dozen seconds, so that''s why it creates that terrifying firepower density." After the staff officer finished, the adjutant added, "And we have only encountered the ''Smoker''s attack yesterdaythe 11th, and the day beforethe 10th. Today, we haven''t encountered it again. Perhaps the enemy has run out of ammunition." Moochi thought for a few seconds then changed the subject, "What about the situation with the highway being blocked by artillery fire?" The staff officer flipped a page in his notebook and began to read, "The duration of enemy artillery coverage is uncertain. Initially, we suspected the enemy had artillery spotters near the highway, so we conducted a thorough search but found nothing. "Aside from scheduled shelling, the enemy asionallyunches sudden barrages. Sometimes it happens right after a scheduled shelling has ended, hitting our forces just in time. "Due to the enemy''s harassment, currently, only one division has managed to get through the fireblock, and the slower-moving heavy equipment hasn''t been able to pass." Moochi walked away from the map and paced around the tent three times before returning to the map, "Take the back roads. Let''s start calling this road Ye Fort Avenue." He picked up a pencil and wrote the words Ye Fort Avenue on the insignificant-looking path on the map. Moochi, "I personally reconnoitered this road. Motorcycles can travel it, half-track vehicles as well, though it will be quite rough. Tanks and assault guns can also get through. As for trucks, horse-drawn carriages, and mule carts, whether they can make it is not our concern right now. "Once the engineers tten the road, everything will get better! Take the back roads!" Frowning, the adjutant said, "Logistics will be difficult that way, and the heavy cannons really can''t get through on such narrow paths." Moochi, "Then we''ll rely on tank assault guns and the mortars on half-tracks to ovee this! Now we need to advance, advance, do you understand?" He turned towards the map, focusing on thergest name on it. "Advance! Advance at all costs! As long as we can get our big guns to the Summer Pce, I believe the enemy''s will to resist will surely crumble!" To the southwest of Karanskaya, to the city of Karaslyab Polyana, 35 kilometers from the center of Ekaterinburg Fortress, 15 kilometers from the outer ring of Ye Fort. Not yet upied by the Prosen Army. As usual, Takiyanna Bolyevna, a telephone operator, was having lunch at the telephone exchange. Karaslyab Polyana was practically a ghost town now, with only a few residents remaining, most having moved to Ekaterinburg Fortress or further east. Apart from the telephone exchange, the local government institutions had mostly evacuated, though the church continued to operate, offering the remaining residents ham and dairy products. However, these supplies were gradually diminishing, but since there weren''t many people left in the city, the little food avable was enough. The local priest constantly urged everyone to evacuate promptly, but there were always some who could not bear to leave their homes. Takiyanna Bolyevna was one of them. While she was eating, she heard the sound of a tractor in the street. Karaslyab Polyana was a small town without much industry, mainly serving as a center for the procurement and transportation of agricultural products, and also had a tractor station and seed station. But such a loud tractor noise was new to Takiyanna Bolyevna. She moved closer to the showcase window of the telephone exchange to see what was outside, then saw arge group of soldiers wearing gray uniforms marching down the street. The sound of the tractor was actually from Prosen half-track vehicles, which Takiyanna had seen at a science exhibition hosted by the church. Her mouth agape, she quickly moved away from the window and ran to the telephone exchange counter, crouched behind it, grabbed a telephone, and started dialing. The telephone lines at the exchange were connected to the Ekaterinburg Fortress telephone system, allowing calls to all units within Ekaterinburg Fortress simply by dialing. Takiyanna Bolyevna dialed the Ye Fort City Defense Command. It took a long time before the call was answered. "Hello, City Defense Command." "My name is Bolyevna, from Karaslyab Polyana! The Prussians have just invaded the city! The Prussians have just attacked the city!" No sooner had she spoken than the sound of machine gun fire came from the direction of the church. Instinctively, she stood up to look that way but suddenly noticed Prosen soldiers outside the window. Before she could scream, the Prussians opened fire, shattering the window ss with their submachine guns and hitting the young woman, causing her to slowly slump to the ground, her handset still calling out as the City Defense Command operator''s voice queried, "Hello? Hello?" The Prussian soldiers stepped over the broken ss and looked inside the counter. "Damn, it''s a young girl," one soldier remarked, "I thought it was the enemy; otherwise, it could have been fun." The church, since the city wasn''t a priority for defense and few civilians remained, the Guardian Army in Karaslyab Polyana consisted only of a squad with one heavy machine gun. Now, the heavy machine guns on the church loft were roaring, pouring bullets down onto the streets. The newly arrived Prussian Army had no tanks, only motorcycles and half-tracked vehicles, so they could only drive the half-tracks into the shadows of buildings, using the structures to shield the rear half of the vehicles as the gunners on board exchanged fire with the loft. As both sides fired fiercely, the Prussian Army had already begun to encircle them. The squad of Guardian Army only had rifles and were utterly unable to stop the Prussians. Especially after the machine guns of the Prussian infantry squads began firing. The Prussian infantry vaulted over the church''s low walls, entered the cemetery, and used the tombstones as cover to leap towards the church. Suddenly, a grenade was thrown from the church, exploding and knocking two advancing Prussian soldiers to the ground. Immediately, two Prussians went to check on their fallenrades while the submachine gunners aimed their weapons at the window where the grenade came from. A second grenade was thrown from another window,nding right in front of the submachine gunners. The submachine gunner quickly picked up the grenade, intending to throw it back, but it exploded before he could toss it. The submachine gunner''s entire right arm was torn apart, a bloody mess. He screamed and fell to the ground. But two other Prussian soldiers stepped over him and threw a grenade into the window. As the first explosion urred, the second grenade was also thrown. The two grenades put an end to all resistance on the first floor of the church; the Guardian Army inside were probably all dead. The Prussian soldiers who had been hiding behind tombstones now stood up, cautiously advanced to the back door of the church, and kicked it open to enter. Inside the church, the Ante soldiersy askew, and the church benches were blown to unrecognizable pieces by the grenades. Suddenly, there was a noise from the stairs to the loft, causing the Prussian soldiers to immediately raise their guns and fire, hitting a Guardian Army soldier trying to shoot with his rifle. The Guardian Army soldier tumbled down the stairs, rolling to the ground. The machine gun was still firing when the Prussian soldiers pulled the pins on their grenades and tossed them into the loft. After the explosion, the machine gun finally fell silent. The Prussian soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly, a blood-soaked Ante Guardian Army soldier sprung from the floor and rushed into the midst of the Prussian soldiers, detonating a grenade. After the st, the Guardian Army soldier fell, along with the four Prussian soldiers near him. The severely injured Prussian soldier shouted, "Mommy!" General Moochi looked at the soldier in front of him, furrowing his brow, "Repeat what you just said?" The corporal wounded soldier, "Be wary of the injured Ante peoplethey''ll charge at us with theirst grenade. They are not afraid of death; they are no longer human, they must have been turned into corpses by witchcraft because only the dead have no fear of death!" General Moochi''s brow furrowed even more, "That''s a rumor. In Carolingian, they also said something about witches in the woods controlling corpses, which turned out to be just tricks to deceive people. At most, witches could cast some spells to make our soldiers fall ill." The corporal, with a face full of fear, interrupted General Moochi, "It was corpses! They treat death like going home, and you can see a frenzied smile on their faces!" Just as General Moochi was about to deny it again, a doctor came over and said, "General, he''s traumatized and needs rest. This kind of reaction is typically due to the overwhelming bravery of the Ante people. Besides, this particr corporal had all four of hisrades killed by the same Ante person''s suicide st, so he''s suffered a psychological trauma." Moochi, "I need to understand the situation clearly... " "The situation is," the doctor interrupted the general, "the Ante people have begun to regard death as homing. Even if they are gravely injured and unable to wield weapons, they will still use grenades. After all, with Ante grenades, as long as one hand can move and teeth can bite, they can pull the pins. Even if they don''t have the strength to throw, they can lure our soldiers close before pulling the pin." Moochi, "Our strategy should have already broken their will to resist. Some army groups copsed after only a ten percent loss!" "How should I know! I''m a doctor! I''m just telling you the facts!" At that moment, General Moochi''s aide came in from outside the hospital, looking tense, "General!" Moochi turned around, "What is it?" The aide, "Come and see!" General Moochi reached out his hand to catch a snowke falling from the sky. It was so fine, it could not even leave a hint of chill in his palm. Countless snowkes fell from the sky. General Moochi, "What''s the temperature now?" The aide, "Minus five degrees, the troops can still withstand it." General Moochi, "How much winter gear has been distributed?" "Less than thirty percent." General Moochi, "Make it fast! Rush into Ye Fort city and we can warm up! Take Karanskaya, and we''re less than twenty kilometers from the center of Yeborg City! The big guns can reach the Summer Pce! Make it fast! Attack Karanskaya at all costs!" Chapter 295: Chapter 84: Fiery Golden Steel Over by Wang Zhong''s side. Seeing the snowfall, he felt like he had be a Disney princess, and the famous tune from "Frozen" yed in his mind, with a little girl spinning in his head and singing: Do You Want to Build a Snowman? Wang Zhong leapt off Bucephalus, opening his arms to wee the fine snowkes. He was here to personallymand the artillery blockade of the highway, but the Prosen were strange, having stopped using this road since yesterday. However, the direction of Karanskaya was still under enemy attack. Could the enemy have attacked from that small road? Can heavy weaponry even traverse it? After all, Wang Zhong had been fortifying this position for over twenty days, and had already ridden around the area, familiarizing himself with that worse-conditioned small road. It was precisely because he had personally inspected that road that he didn''t believe the Prosen would use it. If they did take that road, it would mean the Prosen were willing to risk everything, either securing the supply at Ekaterinburg Fortress or dying in the attempt. Wang Zhong caught a handful of snow and crushed it in his hands. The enemy was also making a desperate effort; there could be no rxation, he had to think of a way to strike at them again, to cut off their supply line. That was the thought, but in reality, Wang Zhong didn''t have many troops left at his disposal. He only had one division to begin with, and apart from Wang Zhong''s division which was in rtively good condition, other units on Kiriyenko''s side were battered and still had to guard such a vast defense area. Although Wang Zhong had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy in the past few days, he had also engaged in several bloody battles with Prosen soldiers who had advanced under cover of smoke, resulting in considerable losses. Major Eugene reported that after the enemy had been repelled, when they went to check on the fallen soldiers, they found that all the dry food and ham had been taken from the bodies. The Prosen soldiers'' food supply was likely also problematic. An enemy hungry but still strong enough to fight was even more dangerous. Wang Zhong pondered where he might draw some more troops from to make another push. November 12th, outskirts of Karanskaya. Themander of the 512th Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion, Major Koen, suddenly noticed a road sign ahead and loudlymanded, "Stop in front of that road sign!" The motorcycle rider immediately turned around and braked in front of the road sign. Major Koen climbed out of the vehicle, staring at the road sign, but he only recognized the number 25 on it, not the rest of the Ante script. "Trantor! Come here quickly, see what it says about something 25 kilometers away!" The trantor, brushing off the snow on him, came over and squinted at the sign, then answered, "25 kilometers from the city center!" Major Koen asked, "Is this city center the same as what we understand as the city center, or is there some difference in perception between our two countries?" "I think it''s the same," the trantor thought for a moment, then corrected himself, "25 kilometers from the Summer Pce, which is located in the city center." The motorcycle riders were alreadyughing, "The Summer Pce! Isn''t that the Tsar''s pce? We''re about to capture another emperor!" The others burst intoughter, and someone yelled, "I hear the Tsar has a daughter! We need to take a good look at what she looks like!" "Be careful though, the Commission for Istion might think you''re contaminating the racial gics!" "No worries, the Tsar has Prosen blood in him! At least a second-ss citizen, definitely beddable!" "That''s just too good, hahaha!" The Prosen Empire had already annihted several kingdoms in its previous expansions, and the Prosen Army had a special medal: the Royal Family Member Captive Medal. Receiving this medal was even more honorable than getting a Second ss Iron Cross! Major Koen shouted, "Come on, put up our sign to tell the following troops the good news. Then continue advancing! If we keep pushing forward, we might just make it into Ye Fort city!" As he spoke, Major Koen got back into the motorcycle sidecar and gave a grand wave of his hand: "Forward!" The motorcycle roared to life, continuing in the direction the sign pointed. The half-track vehicle following the motorcycle knocked down the road sign, rolling right over it. Another group of Prosen soldiers nted the new Prosennguage markers, jumped on their motorcycles, and followed the half-track. Then came Tank #2 assigned to the reconnaissance battalion, as the Prosen assault force continuously passed the new road sign. November 13th, western defensive position of Karanskaya, Prosen Army attacking. Lieutenant Hans turned to nce back at the skirmish line. The snow hadid down a thinyer, giving the ground a mottled appearance, mixed ck and white. This made it quite awkward for the Armored Troops wearing pure white snow capes. Lying on the ground in such capes was incredibly conspicuous. The logistics fellows said that once heavy snow began to fall, the situation would change, as the entire ground would be a in of silver white. Lieutenant Hans thought that the capes might then solve their problem, but what about their winter clothing issue? Lieutenant Hans already felt the cold, having drunk some liquor before setting out to warm up, but now that the effect had worn off, he felt even colder. There was no more liquor to drink, as what they had was taken from the Ante''s warehouse along the way. He could only hope to capture something good after taking the enemy positions. The Ante People had thick leather coats, but Lieutenant Hans dared not wear them for fear of being mistaken by his own men, as had happened to apanymander who was shot full of holes for wearing the enemy''s coat. So Lieutenant Hans could only take out the lining of the leather coat, wrap it around his waist secured by a belt, and wear the Prosen''s autumn coat over it. The advantage of this was, at least his stomach stayed warm. The problem is that nothing is warm except the belly. As long as they conquered the enemy''s position and rushed into the city, there would be warm fireces, hot meals, and perhaps a chance to loot some spoils of war and make a small fortune. After conquering Ante, they could settle here with a plot ofnd... Lieutenant Hans looked aheadsmokepletely obscured the enemy''s position. It seemed that firing so many smoke bombs topletely cover the enemy''s position was a disy of extravagance. In fact, this was because the heavy artillery couldn''t be brought up; they could only use smoke to cut off all the enemy''s firepower and then engage in closebat. In hand-to-handbat, the most important thing is the fighting will of the troops. Since Operation Typhoon began, Lieutenant Hans had yet to encounter any Ante troops with firm fighting resolve. This time, it should be smoothly taken as well, Lieutenant Hans thought. But a sense of unease hung over him; recently there had been rumors. One said that Ante''s wizards had cast ck magic on their soldiers, turning them into mindless zombies. Another said that Ante''s witches had fed their soldiers a magic potion that turned them into fearless killing machines. Every evening around the campfire, you could always hear such talk. By the way, the campfire waspletely useless. Having a fire in the wilderness is as good as having none at all. Lieutenant Hans gripped his submachine gun tightly. They were approaching the smoke now, and it would soon be clear whether the enemy was the same kind that shattered at the merest touch, or killing machines created by witchcraft and evil sorcery. At that moment, me-Thrower Tank No. 2 apanying the skirmish line opened fire. The main weapon of me-Thrower Tank No. 2 was installed in two small me-throwing turrets at the front of the vehicle. Two jets of me shot forward, then swung to the nks. The whole burststed five seconds. The enemy''s position was shrouded in smoke; the burning effect of the mes waspletely invisible. But the screams of the enemy could be heard. Themander of the me-thrower tank seemed to think the attack was effective based on the screams, and ordered another burst. Two jets of me shot forward again. This time the burst was short and ended quickly. Then this No. 331 me-Thrower Tank performed several more short bursts. Lieutenant Hans could already smell the scent of charred flesh. The enemy should be dead by now. He turned back to his soldiers and shouted, "Advance! Clear the trenches! Be careful not to get burned." Then, Lieutenant Hans took the lead and walked forward. This was actually not in line with military protocol. In fact, Prosen officers preferred to stay in the rear to grasp the situation, leaving themand of the frontlines to sergeants and exempted soldiers. Exempted soldiers were veterans amongst veterans who were not subject to general duties. Most sergeants were themselves exempted soldiers. But Lieutenant Hans still took the leadperhaps he wanted to verify for himself whether the war machines created by witchcraft really existed. He walked into the smoke. There was actually quite limited visibility in the smoke. Lieutenant Hans saw an Ante man lying on the ground, burnt to the verge of death, dressed in somewhat retro military uniform and wearing a hat made of some kind of leather. It was a pity the hat had been set ame by the mes from the tank and waspletely ruined. Otherwise, it would have made a nice gift for his wife Lieutenant Hans thought absently. Suddenly, the Ante man on the ground opened his eyes and burst into madughter. It was then that Lieutenant Hans realized that what was hidden in the man''s abdominal clothes was not his own intestines, but a grenade. The Ante man pulled the pin. Unable to stand, he bit the grenade in his mouth and used his hands to crawl on the ground, rushing towards Lieutenant Hans. The grenade exploded, and Lieutenant Hans screamed in agony. Although he did not feel pain, when Lieutenant Hans looked down, he saw that his lower body waspletely covered in blood. The Ante soldier''s whole mouth had been blown apart; his face was gone. But his expression just before he died was imprinted on Lieutenant Hans''s retina! As he fell, Lieutenant Hans wanted to scream: It''s witchcraft, definitely witchcraft! How could a person burned like that still have such willpower! He fell down. ---------- "The attack on Karanskaya is not going well," the chief of staff said seriously to General von Maqi,mander of the Second Armored Unit, "The reason is theck of heavy firepower. Our troops'' apanying self-propelled mortars are not enough to break through the enemy''s defenses." Von Maqi: "When can the engineering troops have that path levelled?" Chief of Staff: "It can be fixed by midnight today. Then the heavy artillery will be able to get through. From the results of our current meleebat, once the heavy artillery is in position, we should be able to take Karanskaya before November 16." Von MaqiMajor General Heinz Wilhelm von Maqi, Director of the Prussian Armored Forces, let out a heavy sigh: "The 16th. You''re telling me we can''t take it until the 16th!" Chief of Staff: "This is the most conservative estimate. By the 16th, you will definitely be able to ascend to the ancient castle of Karanskaya and overlook the Summer Pce in the center of Ye Fortcity." Chapter 296 : 85 Viewing the Summer Palace from Afar November 14, St. Ye Katerina Fortress, Summer Pce. Early in the morning, Tsar Nichs V burst out of his room, loudly demanding an exnation from his servant, "How could there be thunder at this time?" The servant looked troubled. Nichs V persisted, "Tell me! There shouldn''t be thunder in this season!" Only then did the servant nce at the windows in the corridor. Nichs V rushed to the window, ced his hands on the sill, and leaned forward as if to press against the ss. He stared at the source of the thunderous noise in the distance. The servant exined, "That''s the Eternal Fortress at Karanskaya, with a history of one hundred years. It was built by military engineers of that time after the Conqueror retreated from Ye Fort, intended to forever protect Ye Fort." Nichs V, with his hands braced on the windowsill, stared at the fortress being bombarded and murmured softly, "Forever protect Ye Fort... now it''s being destroyed by the enemy!" The servant immediately signaled to a maid nearby, urging her to quickly find Her Highness the Crown Princess. In recent days, with the Prussian Army''s approach, His Majesty the Tsar''s mental condition had be increasingly fragile, sometimes throwing tantrums, shouting uncontrobly, and only seeming normal in the presence of the Crown Princess. Of course, this is how others saw it; in Nichs V''s eyes, there was no Crown Princess, only his son Ivan Nikyevich Andronov. It was said that Crown Prince Ivan once dressed in drag and frolicked with others at a masquerade ball, and he himself had somewhat of an androgynous beauty. But generally speaking, no one would mistake Olga Nikyevna Andronova, the Crown Princess, for thete Crown Prince. After all, Olga''s height and physique were far different from her brother''s, and although her face bore some resemnce, it was just thata resemnce. Everyone knew that Nichs V was almost driven insane by the death of his son and the encroaching Prussian Army. Now with the Prussian Army''s artillery shelling the Eternal Fortress within sight of the Summer Pce, there was no doubt that this would exacerbate His Majesty''s "illness." Right after the maid left, Nichs V began to show hysteria, picking up a vase from the corridor and smashing it to the ground. Unsatisfied after smashing one, he charged towards a second, but two prepared maids lifted the table holding the vase and dashed away. Nichs V gave chase for a few steps before stopping, falling to his knees, his hands pressing against the carpet: "You liars! Liars! Saying the enemy would surely be stopped, that General Mud and General Winter would halt the enemy!" "Has the miree? It has, but has the enemy stopped? No! "General Winter has also arrived; what''s falling from the sky? Snow! But has the enemy stopped? No! The enemy artillery has reached the Eternal Fortress! Eternal Fortress! Or whatever fortress! The war has already been lost!" At that moment, Marshal Boris and General Tukhachev arrived. Marshal Boris said, "Your Majesty! The front line reports that the enemy is running out of shells, their offence is weakening. And although winter hase, it hasn''t reached its coldest yet..." "Liars, liars!" Nichs V interrupted Marshal Boris, "All of you are liars! You are deceiving me! Not a single word you said hase true! You are all liars! You''re a liar, Tukhachev is a liar, Belinsky is a liar, and that Rocossov, he''s a liar too! I want Rocossov executed, now, immediately!" Nichs V seemed to have thought of something and stood up, addressing everyone, "Where is Rocossov? He lied to me, said the mud would stop the Prussians, the winter would stop the Prussians, none of it happened! "This empire''s iron barrier has stopped nothing! Instead, he impregnated my daughter!" Marshal Boris: "As far as I know, the Crown Princess hasn''t conceived; she just had her period..." "Do you think I''ll believe what a liar like you says? The only truth you''ve told so far is that the enemy is getting closer! I want Rocossov executed! Execute him!" Just then, the Crown Princess Olga appeared; she spoke in a masculine tone, "Father, what''s wrong?" Nichs V looked at her and visibly calmed down. "You''re here, Ivan," he said softly, "Talking about your damned bad influence of a friend." His Majesty the Tsar gently took Olga''s hand,pletely oblivious to the fact that the girl''s hand was much more delicate and soft than the Crown Prince''s. Olga spoke softly, "Let''s go inside, it''s cold outside." "No, no, Ivan, I''d like to sit in your study, for us to have a good talk like old friends." As he spoke, Nichs V pulled Princess Olga along with him. In Ivan''s study, Nichs V slumped into the armchair by the firece, dejectedly staring at the ground. "The war is lost." Olga looked behind her, ensured the door was shut, then replied with a sense of relief, "Father, we haven''t lost yet, the enemy is at the end of its strength. Yesterday, their shelling across the entire line decreased significantly." Nichs V: "That''s a trick! The enemy artillery has reached that damn castle! That castle that''s always in sight! That castle has be part of the Summer Pce''s scenery, and now it''s under fire! Under fire!" After a brief outburst, Nichs V curled up in his armchair, looking at the floor, "It''s all over, how do the generals not see that? What''s the point in fighting? The war is lost..." Olga''s expression darkened. At the state funeral, her father had been invigorated by her brother''s death, but now that fighting spirit hadpletely dissipated. Olga thought to herself: If the spirit faded this easily, it cast doubt on her brother''s significance in her father''s heart. She observed her father as if seeing him for the first time, her expression involuntarily disdainful. He was ultimately just a puppet propped up by others. The old nobility and old powers rallied around him, not because of his abilities but because of the crown on his head. Suddenly, Olga realized just how terrifying and rebellious her thoughts had been. However, a voice whispered in her ear, "Isn''t that how female emperors have alwayse to power in history?" Olga shook off the thought and focused on ying the role of her brother, appeasing His Majesty the Tsar. In the neutral zone far from the battlefield, the port city of Sofia. The only agent of the "Krat Bureau," Fyodorovich, was reviewing thetest newspapers from both Prosen and Ante. The top headline on the front page of Plosenia Daily, the official paper of Prosen, caught Fyodorovich''s attention. The article conveyed a single message, that under the fierce offensive of the Prosen Army, the Ante Empire would soon surrender, just like Carolingian, and the citizens of the Prosen Empire could await the victory news. The great Prosen Emperor would hold a grand celebration. Fyodorovich pondered over the report. In reality, the Krat Bureau had no way to contact the remnants of the so-called Sanctified faction, and Fyodorovich didn''t even know if a Sanctified faction restoration organization truly existed. He only knew that he was indeed a remnant of the Sanctified faction. The copious intelligence issued daily by the Krat Bureau was actually all fabricated by Fyodorovich based on newspapers from various countries. Of course, as a writer, Fyodorovich, even when making things up, took care to avoid contradictions and sometimes even managed to make his stories corroborate each other. Besides, Fyodorovich paid great attention to align the intelligence with the preferences of his employer, the Prosen Empire. He studied the newspapers to gauge the views of the imperial highmand, and even the Emperor''s opinions. After seeing this front-page headline, he then took out an edition of a small paper from Ante, published in October, which mentioned that the Tsar''s health might be failing. After a moment''s thought, he began to write. November 15, Eagle''s Nest. Duke Redweitz entered Emperor Reinhard''s office with a buoyant step, saying to the Emperor who was studying maps with his generals, "Your Majesty! I bring great news!" Reinhard looked up, "What good news?" Duke Redweitz produced a document, "Our Krat Bureau has sent a new batch of documents, including three that corroborate each other. They are from a Sanctified faction supporter posing as a maid in the Summer Pce, a Sanctified faction supporter working as a furnace operator in the Summer Pce, and a Sanctified faction supporter infiltrated in Ante''s High Command. "By synthesizing these three pieces of intelligence, we know that His Majesty the Tsar of Ante has been bedridden due to the war situation and can no longer manage affairs!" Reinhard was startled, "Is that true?" "Yes!" The duke approached His Majesty and respectfully handed over the document. Reinhard snatched the document and quickly scanned it, then put it down and leaned on the edge of the map table, gazing over the vast territories of Ante, "This is excellent, excellent. The Tsar was merely a glue the Secr faction had pressed into power. Now that the glue is at its end, even if Ante doesn''t surrender, they will fall into chaos! Our opportunity hase!" The recently recovered Giles advised, "But the dire situation at the front won''t change." Reinhard, "As long as the enemy is in disarray, Von Maqi and General Hawk of the Third Armored Group will seize the chance! They will storm Ekaterinburg Fortress! "Von Maqi''s cannons are almost striking the center of Ye Fort city, nearly hitting the Summer Pce! Victory is within sight, Giles! Do you understand? Literally within sight!" Reinhard turned and paced beside the map, rubbing his hands together, "The remaining issue is dealing with the United Kingdom and the Federation. We''ll find a way, we surely will!" November 16, 1300 hours, in Karanskaya, under Prosen control. The divisionalmander of the Prosen Armored Grenadier Division personally led his team to await outside the Eternal Fortress. The snow on the ground had reached a thickness of three centimeters, and the world had mostly turned white, but a hint of ck still asserted its presence. Themander''s car of the Second Armored Group began its ascent to the gates of the Eternal Fortress but stopped halfway up the slope. The driver immediately got out, opened the hood, and began to inspect the engine. General Von Maqi alighted from the car and approached the engine. "What''s the matter?" The driver, "There''s an issue with the lubricating oil; our oil isn''t suitable for the severe winter." "Fix the fault as soon as possible." Maqi instructed, then strode towards the summit of the Eternal Fortress. The grenadier divisionalmander hastened to greet him, "General, we have the cannons ready for the bombardment of the Summer Pce, just awaiting yourmand." "Good, I want to take a look at Ye Fort, at the Summer Pce first." "Right this way, please." The divisionalmander hurried to lead the way. Twenty minutester, Maqi climbed to the highest tower of the Eternal Fortress and approached the window facing east. He lifted his binocrs and looked toward that city, which had haunted the souls of countless Prosen soldiers. Finally, the reticle of his binocrs aligned with the Summer Pce. Maqi, "I hear the Tsar is still in the Summer Pce; let''s send him a grand present. Fire." Chapter 297 : 86 Please Call Me Ekaterina III (Extra 14/33) November 16, Ekaterinburg Fortress, Summer Pce. At this moment, a strategic meeting was being held in the Summer Pce, with Grand Patriarch Belinsky and several important bishops in attendance. Marshal Semyon, who had been sent to serve as amander in the Western Front Army, had also rushed from the High Command to participate in the meeting. However, since he was no longer in office at the High Command or the Ministry of Defense, his seat was closer to the edge of the room. Marshal Boris was exining the current situation, "The enemy has upied most of Karanskaya, but the good news is, they have not yet cleared up the scattered Imperial Guard troops within the city. We surmise that the enemy is running out of steam. "Between us and Karanskaya, there is still a ten-kilometer fortified zone, and arge number of Guardian Army and provisional troops. "The good news is that the reorganization of the troops scattered in the previous enemy onught has beenpleted, and within the next week, we will have multiple fully equipped Army Groups joining the fight. "The second piece of good news is that the first batch of wounded soldiers has been discharged from the hospital and is about to rejoin their units. The young men conscripted at the end of June and in early July havepleted their entire military training and can now be supplemented into the troops. "We expect that within the next month, we will have at least one million fresh troops. Additionally, millions more young people are undergoing military training. "At the same time, we are also preparing tounch the second phase of the mobilization n, mobilizing veterans over thirty years old. We have a poption advantage over the Prussians, and the Prussians are currently engaged on multiple fronts. They have arge number of troops stationed on the western side of the country, on guard against naval attacks from the United Kingdom." Marshal Boris looked to Niki V, "Your Majesty, do you have any..." "How much of this is true?" His Majesty the Tsar asked. Olga: "Father! Trust the generals a bit more!" As soon as these words were spoken, the sound of howling came from the sky. All the generals in the room who had actualbat experience reacted, and General Tugenev even dived under the table. The next moment, all the window ss shattered simultaneously, as if the sky outside had burst through the windows. Olga''s mouth gaped open as she watched the window frame and ss flying toward her, about to be riddled like a ho''s nest. A huge figure stood directly in front of Olga; it was Marshal Semyon. He braced his hands on the table, always maintaining a distance between his body and the princess. His eyes fixed on the princess, tender as if looking at his own granddaughter. The sound of explosions followed one after another, and dust from the ceiling fell on Olga''s head. The chandelier suddenly fell off, crashing onto the conference table and shattering instantly. Suddenly, a minor cut appeared on the edge of Olga''s cheek. It was actually just a scratch from the chandelier''s broken ss, a minor injury that could be swiped with saliva and would heal in a week. The bombardment stopped. Outside the meeting room, the moans of injured soldiers could be heard. Marshal Boris stood up, "They stopped the bombardment so quickly, that means the enemy has run out of shells." The others also got up from the ground, and Chief of Staff Tukhachev asked loudly, "Check on the wounded, it seems they didn''t target the meeting room specifically." At that moment, Marshal Semyon, who had protected Princess Olga, used hisst strength to move away from the princess and fell backward. Olga''s eyes widened as she looked at him. Niki V suddenly burst into maniacalughter, "Haha! It''s all over, everything is over! Your lies have copsed! The war has already been lost! Hahaha! You deceive me here, perhaps you''ve already been negotiating peace with the Prussians behind my back!" Belinsky raised his head to look at Bishop Ravkid. Ravkid nodded silently and left the room. Tugenev saw this scene of Ravkid departing and frowned deeply. But Tukhachev had no spare energy to care about anything else; he tried to reassure His Majesty the Tsar, "Your Majesty! We have not been defeated! The enemy has stopped bombarding, and we are still alive, which means they are indeed running out of steam!" "Running out of steam! Running out of steam!" Niki V banged on the table and shouted, "How long have you been saying this? How many times? I''ll have you all shot and then negotiate peace with the Prussians! Maybe I can still be a king! I''ll start with shooting that ''imprable imperial iron wall'' that can''t block anything! Bring me Rocossov, his defensive zone is only thirty kilometers from here, call him over!" Although Olga was still shaken, she stepped forward, "Father!" She tried to make her voice more neutral, like that of a young man. Niki V stopped his hysteria and looked at Olga, "Ivan! You''re here. Wait, what happened to your face?" Olga raised an eyebrow. Niki V raised his hand, pointing at Olga''s cheek with trembling fingers. Immediately, Olga brought a hand to her face, and with that touch, she smeared blood on her cheek where the small wound was. Niki V recoiled in shock, stepping back, "No! My Ivan does not bleed! You are not Ivan, who are you? Who are you?" Olga tried to salvage the situation, "Father, do you not recognize me anymore?" "Pretending to be Ivan! Guards! Arrest him! He must be a damned Prussian spy! They''ve taken my Ivan away! I know it, Ivan has been captured, and they want to force me to surrender! As soon as I surrender, Ivan will be back! Ahahaha!" Olga stared dumbfounded at Niki V, who hadpletely lost his sanity. Tugenev looked at Belinsky, then stood up and looked out the shattered window. Niki V''s voice was loud, so loud that even the rescuers could hear it. But Tugenev was obviously not looking at these stunned civilians. He quickly saw what he was looking for. Trucks carrying troops with blue hats entered the gates of the Summer Pce. These were infantry divisions of the Judge, better equipped than regr infantry divisions. Upon seeing the blue hats, Tugenev retracted his gaze and turned towards Grand Patriarch Belinsky. Belinsky was also looking at him. Tugenev sighed, picked up his briefcase of top-secret documents, and from it he took out a pistol holster. A top-secret briefcase would naturally not be opened for inspection, who would have thought a gun holster would be hidden among the papers. Tugenev equipped the holster on himself, adjusted the pistol''s position, then opened the holster and drew the gun to check if the safety was on and the bullet chambered. At that moment, because Niki V was standing at the center of the stage, where all the spotlights converged, no one noticed Tugenev''s actions. Except for the newly appointed Defense Minister, Marshal Boris. Tugenev, having prepared his gun, looked towards Her Highness the princess. At that time, Olga was shouting at Niki V, "Father! You are an emperor! Don''t be so hysterical! You are undermining the very foundation of our resistance! You are shaking the bedrock of our fighting spirit!" Niki V, "Who are you? What gives you the right to lecture me! I just want to get back my son!" Olga, "Brother is dead! He''s dead! And now he must be very disappointed in you! He must be!" "No! My Ivan would never be disappointed in me!" Outraged, Olga strode forward, intending to p her disgraceful father. Tugenev seized the moment and intercepted Olga, "Your Royal Highness, this is pointless. Your Highness, when Ivan did not die for his country, you were always whiling away the time in my office. Haven''t I taught you? Always see the situation clearly around you, take the most advantageous and decisive action with the least consequences." He guided Olga a step to the side, clearing anyone else from the line of fire of the gun. Then he whispered, "Look outside the window." Olga looked outside. The blue-hatted Judges were dispersing the onlookers. At this instant, Olga thought of someone. Then she felt at her waist, only to find the stiff corset. Ever since Rocossov shot and killed General Skorobo, with the exception of the pce guards, soldiers entering the Summer Pce were not allowed to carry guns. Tugenev, "Observe your surroundings, Your Majesty." Only then did Olga realize Tugenev actually had a gun, and the holster was open. Without asking any questions, she drew the gun. In fact, Olga''s shooting experience wasn''t enough for her to tell by weight whether the gun was loaded. But she believed it definitely had bullets, and was even loaded. She checked the safety and then, before anyone else could react, aimed at Tsar His Majesty, who was shouting, "I will surrender to get back my son." At the sight of the gun, Niki V seemed to suddenly recover. He looked at the muzzle, then at Olga''s face and suddenlyughed, "It''s this room, where Rocossov killed Skorobo. You really are his" Olga fired. But she missed, after all, she had only practiced with hunting rifles, and had never even used a pistol before. Just then, Belinsky stepped forward, snatching the gun from Olga''s hand, "If you be a parricidal beast, we too will have a headache." At that moment, arge number of Judges burst into the room. Some Judges even climbed in through the windows blown out by the artillery shelling. Suddenly, the room was filled with blue hats everywhere. Belinsky checked the condition of the pistol and then aimed, "Niki Alexandrovich Antonov, you are guilty of treason, sentenced to death." Then Belinsky coldly and briskly shot through the head of Niki V. Belinsky picked up the Tsar''s Scepter that had been dropped on the floor during the shelling, turned, and ced it in Olga''s hands. Olga took a deep breath, "My fathermitted treason and has been righteously punished. From now on, please call me Ekaterina III." Belinsky was the first to kneel and salute, "God bless you, my Emperor!" Tukhachev nced at Boris and Tugenev and then led with the highest form of one-knee salute, eximing, "Long live the Emperor!" Everyone present joined in kneeling on one knee, shouting together, "Long live the Emperor!" Only Niki Vy there, his eyes lifelessly staring at the ceiling. Chapter 298: Chapter 87 The Prelude to the Counterattack (Extra 15/33) The instigator of everything on this side, General Moochi, was cursing, "Why has the bombing stopped? We should tten the Summer Pce!" "Report, General, we''ve run out of shells," said the Infantry Divisionmander with a face of helplessness, "this is ourst stock." Moochi cursed in Prosen, then changed the subject, "Can we enter Ye Fort by tomorrow?" Infantry Divisionmander: "No, General. You''ve seen it yourself, the area from here to Ye Fort, it''s all fortified zones, covered densely with Ante People." "But what I see are just militiamen! Their equipment is very rudimentary!" General Moochi eximed. Infantry Divisionmander: "General, in my personal opinion, the militiamenck onlybat literacy and equipment, but their fighting will is very strong. "Of course, under normal circumstances, we could beat these militiamen by ten to one. But this isn''t a normal situation, General, we only have enough ammunition for small arms now, all the artillery, even the ammunition for the 20mm machine guns is insufficient. "Moreover, the troops are very hungry and are lootingI mean, foraging. Unless we get resupplied, we can''t possibly attack Ye Fort." Moochi sighed: "Fine, send a message to headquarters, say that if we put in one more division of reserves, we could take Ye Fort!" After speaking, he turned around, facing the wintryndscape of Ye Fort outside the window, and fell silent for a long time before he picked up the binocrs, "Let me take onest look at this city. My veryst." At the Central Army Corps Headquarters of the Prussians, Field Marshal Von Bock and his officers were studying the map. Just then, the doors of the headquarters were opened by someone, and a staff officer came in with a sergeant who was holding a radio. The Field Marshal looked at the two curiously, "What is it?" Staff officer: "I think you should listen to this." He motioned with his hand, and the sergeant ced the radio on the table, then plugged it into the generator car''s power supply and pressed the switch. Amid the static noise, a voice could be heard reading something in Ante. Field Marshal Von Bock: "Do trante." The staff officer who brought the sergeant in tranted, "This morning, His Majesty the Tsar died of illness due to overwhelming grief for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The trantion made the old Junker nobility generals present frown slightly because the wording seemed too casual, even for an enemy emperor. But no one raised the issue. The staff officer continued to trante: "Given the current special circumstances, the Tsarina Olga Nikyevna Antonovna will seed the throne, with a simplified ceremony." The Prussian generals looked at each other. Field Marshal Von Bock took off his monocle, "This couldn''t be... killed in action, right? Contact the Second Armored Army Group immediately, confirm whether they have shelled Ye Fort!" Wang Zhong was currently trying to n a counterattack, so he approached Gunner Alexandria: "What''s the condition of the armored battalion?" Alexandria pointed at the tanks stopped in the woods, "You see for yourself, only eight can be deployed, the rest are being repaired. Although the enemy is in bad shape, counterattacking with just eight tanks is still a bit shabby, isn''t it?" Wang Zhong: "Did you guess that I want to counterattack?" "Why else would you ask how many tanks are avable?" Wang Zhong looked around and noticed Eugene roasting his leggings, so he went over to ask, "How''s the situation with the infantry?" "Defending is tough enough. We have a soldier who likes to collect arm badges from the Prussians he''s killed, from different troops. He has gathered nine different ones. We are sitting here now because the enemy''s artillery is not powerful enough," Eugene said, spreading his hands. Captain Andre, who was sent to act as a military advisor to Eugene, the miner, spoke up, "We''re all the same, any other troops would have copsed by now. Those Prussians are now advancing solely on a single obsession, extremely fanatical." Wang Zhong: "So you mean you can''t spare any troops to coordinate with the tanks for a counterattack, right?" Eugene pointed to the 31st Regiment''s 3rd Battalion which had juste up to rotate, "You can ask them, they''ve only withstood two charges and should still have some strength left." Wang Zhong shook his head, "No, you stay here and hold this position. I''ll head back to headquarters and see if I can get some troops from above." Saying this he whistled, and Bucephalus came galloping over. Wang Zhong jumped onto the horse and started to gallop at full speed. Truly, galloping at full speed on horseback in this weather was terribly cold. Even if one wrapped up the whole body tightly, the face was still exposed, and right now Wang Zhong felt his face was being struck by knife des, constantly being baptized. If this continued, he would certainly be weather-beaten. Upon reaching the division headquarters, Wang Zhong felt that the atmosphere was strange. He handed the reins to the Coachman, entered the division bunker, and saw everyone in the headquarters very serious, surrounding a radio that was broadcasting something. Wang Zhong joked, "What, is Ante disintegrating? Niki the Fifth has decided not to be Tsar anymore based on principle?" Pavlov: "More or less." Wang Zhong: "Sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you... Huh? More or less?" Vasily: "His Majesty died from missing the Crown Prince too much." Wang Zhong frowned, "This... was it from being shelled, or killed by a bomb?" Or was it... The phone rang at that moment. Pavlov reflexively reached for it but stopped himself and made a "please" gesture to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong picked up the handset: "This is Rocossov speaking, go ahead." "Alyosha!" On the other end was Olga, "Did you listen to the broadcast?" Wang Zhong: "I am listening. What exactly is going on?" From the other side came Olga''s voice asking someone else, "This call won''t leak secrets, will it?" Then a voice answered: "No, everyone along the line is one of ours." Olga: "Here''s what''s happening, my father has gone madhe''s ranting and raving that we can''t win anymore and wants to surrender. Just as the Summer Pce was being shelled, and many people came to the rescue, he began shouting like mad, and everyone heard him." There was a faint sound from Olga''s end as someone added, "At least two thousand people heard him, five thousand might have, it''s basically impossible to keep it secret." Olga: "So the strategy now is to first announce a death from grief, I''ll make a speechter to steady the troops'' morale. The most important thing right now is, will the counterattack you promisede?" Wang Zhong: "Give me troops, and I can counterattack right now. The enemy has even run out of shells; if weunch a counteroffensive now, we can annihte all the enemies in Karanskaya. When the temperature drops to minus forty degrees, the enemy''s condition will get even worse." Olga, sounding relieved: "You can counterattack? That''s wonderful! Once we''ve repelled the enemy from the gates of Ye Fort and gathered a significant number of prisoners, boosting morale by widely distributing photos of these captives, then we can formally announce my father''s cause of death." Wang Zhong: "The nobility aren''t opposing this?" "That''s exactly the problem, Ye Fort is now under martialw, and they are hunting down the surrender faction everywhere. Please, you must drive the enemy away from the gates of Ye Fort! As for the details, I''ll let General Tugenev speak with you." Central Army Corps Headquarters. Field Marshal Von Bock was full of spirit: "Gentlemen! Victory is in sight! Although more difficult than Carolingian, it is just a bit more challenging." "And this difficulty mainlyes from distance, bad weather, and cold. The Ante People are nothing to be afraid of. "Now we just need tomit ourst reserves, and the war will be over!" "We can pull three divisions from Walter Mendel''s Ninth Army Group to transfer to the Second Armored Army Group, they''re in the perfect position," the Army Corps'' Chief of Staff said. Field Marshal Von Bock nodded: "Even if Mendel is reluctant, we must pull these three divisions. When can these divisions be deployed for the offensive?" "The day after tomorrow afternoon," the Chief of Staff said. Von Bock nodded: "Good, the final blow. The oue of the war depends on whomits theirst reserves battalion, we are deploying three divisions, and Ante, currently in chaos, is definitely unable to resist!" General Tugenev: "We have two Army Groups here reorganized from routed soldiers, and as for armor, we have the newly formed First Assault Army Group. "Of course, in principle, a Major General shouldn''tmand so many troops, so we''ve decided to appoint you as the actingmander of the First Assault Army Group." Wang Zhong, a Major General, typicallymanded a division, or served as a staff officer or deputy for an army, but by adding an ''acting'' role, he couldmand an army. Incidentally, due to heavy losses among senior officers, the newly formed Army Group does not have an army-level organization; it''s all divisions. For Wang Zhong, someone on the verge of promotion to Lieutenant General, using the acting title tomand was no problem. But there was a problem. Wang Zhong: "Without my staff, I''d struggle tomand a division." "You don''t want tomand the First Assault Army Group?" Wang Zhong: "What I''m saying is, I don''t need so many troops. Just give me a tank division and an infantry division. We''ll use our artillery here. We guarantee that we''ll break through the enemy''s defenses and cut off the supply lines to the enemy entrenched in Karanskaya. "The remaining troops can be given to Kiriyenko; his staff is big enough to manage." Tugenev was silent for a second: "You''re more outstanding than I imagined, let''s do as you say. We were already nning to return the replenished Cavalry Army to him. The tank division you need will be sent to you, and as for the infantry division, use your own Guard''s First Red Banner Mechanized Infantry Division." Wang Zhong: "We''ve already suffered heavy losses in the meat grinder, and our division originally had only two infantry regiments." Tugenev: "Your division''s reinforcements will arrive tonight, remember to receive them at the train station. Good luck with your counterattack tomorrow. Also, I suggest you have an extra meal today, eat some potato stew with beef, so you can entertain an old friend tonight." Wang Zhong frowned slightly: "Old friend?" The line had already gone dead. Wang Zhong put down the phone, looking at everyone in the bunker. Vasily: "Are we supposed to salute you now? Your Highness the Prince." Wang Zhong: "No, stop messing around. Tonight, we''ll get reinforcements, and a tank division ising. I expect it''s the kind of division that has nothing but tanks. We counterattack tomorrow." As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, he frowned: "Why is the wind so strong? What''s up with this wind?" Vasily: "No, isn''t a strong wind around this time normal? After all, it''s the 16th." No sooner had Vasily spoken than a snowke the size of a goose feather drifted into the bunker and, as everyone watched, spun to the ground. Wang Zhong turned and ran out of the bunker, looking up at the goose feather-sized snowkes swirling in the sky. General Winter had arrived. Chapter 299: Chapter 88 Reunion of Old Friends General Tugenev said that the reinforcements for the Guards Motorized Infantry would arrive on the evening of November 16, so Wang Zhong decided to get some sleep early that night. But he woke up after only two hours, frozen stiff, and saw Nelly adding coal to the stove as soon as he got up. Just as Wang Zhong was about to speak, he sneezed several times in session. Nelly, "You''re not feeling cold because of the coal stove, the problem is this bunker was only designed for defense against artillery, not for keeping warm. I went to logistics to get a hot water bag, but they hadn''t been resupplied yet. They didn''t expect it to get cold so quickly." Wang Zhong, while blowing his nose with a tissue, said, "If we don''t have a hot water bag, you could juste under the nkets to warm me up!" Nelly stopped adding coal and looked at Wang Zhong with an expression that read "this useless master is spouting nonsense again." Wang Zhong added, "Ludm wouldn''t mind, she''d even thank you for not letting me catch a cold!" Nelly''s expression shifted slightly, just like the one she had when she was hitting flies with a flyswatter. Wang Zhong, "Why are you looking at me like that? I''m just proposing a solution. Forget it, give me my clothes." Nelly put down the small bucket of coal and the tongs, took off her soot-covered gloves, and brought over Wang Zhong''s clothes. She maintained a defensive posture, ready to unleash a groin kick at any moment. Wang Zhong simply put on his clothes with her help, sneezing a few more times in the process. Nelly, "Aren''t you going to take advantage of me?" Wang Zhong, "Should I?" Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelBin "No, you shouldn''t." Nelly replied, "That''s good, just like this." After she finished speaking, she took out a kettle, "Although we don''t have a hot water bag, I''ve filled this kettle with hot water, so make do for now. It will scald you if you put it next to your skin, but it''s just right between the wool coat and the outer coat." Wang Zhong, "Nelly, why don''t youe be my mother instead... Ah, hot, hot, hot!" Only then did Nelly take the kettle from Wang Zhong''s ungloved hands, "Too bad I can''t reach your face." You''re nning to scald my face? Wang Zhong grabbed Nelly''s waist with both hands and lifted her up, the position reminiscent of an old baboon holding up Simba, the Lion King. Since Nelly was also wearing a coat over her maid''s attire, her waist appeared twice as thick out of nowhere. Wang Zhong, "There, now you can reach... Ow, you''re really hot!" Wang Zhong, taken by surprise, let go, and Nellynded gracefully, every bit the perfect and graceful maid. Wang Zhong, "Is this appropriate?" Nelly, "It''s actually not that hot. Look, I''m holding it directly with my hands. If it would burn you, I wouldn''t do it." "Just because it won''t burn doesn''t mean it''s appropriate, does it?" "Educating a naive and ignorant master is also the duty of a servant, besides, you''re not my master anymore, I am hired by the Ante Army as a civilian porter, there''s no need to maintain those master-servant etiquette from before." Wang Zhong, "Is that so, well, then I don''t want you anymore, I want to rece you with an orderly who won''t scald me with the kettle!" Nelly who was just talking back now pursed her lips, looking at Wang Zhong. Seeing that this tactic worked, Wang Zhong immediately looked at Nelly with triumphant glee, "What''s the matter, not talking now? Hey, just now you were lecturing me, acting like you were so tough, but it turns out you''re just my little fangirl. Exposed now, aren''t you?" Nelly picked up the coal bucket and turned to leave the bunker. "Wait, give me the hot water kettle! Don''t go, I was joking! I don''t want to change, no change, no change! Nelly! Mama!" ... Five minutester, at the train station, Pavlov saw Wang Zhong and asked puzzledly, "Why do you look as frostbitten as an eggnt?" Wang Zhong looked up at the goose feather snow drifting all around, "Is that strange? Although I don''t know what a frostbitten eggnt looks like, I reckon a person caught in this blizzard should look like me, right?" Then he looked toward the rigidly standing Pavlov and Popov. "You two are Ante People, you don''t count!" he yelled. Pavlov and Popov exchanged nces, "Has he gotten frosty in the head?" Popov, "He seems to be in good spirits though." Wang Zhong stepped onto the tform and joined them, "Yeah, yeah, still good." "Stand up straight, slouching like that will cause your clothes to not fit snugly in some ces and let in the wind," Popov said. General Wang, "You should''ve said that earlier." He straightened his posture, and perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt a bit warmer. Then Nelly appeared again, holding a small canvas bag in her hand. Nelly, "I''ve put a thick canvas bag over the iron kettle and stuffed some cotton inside; it should be much better. Also, I''ve changed the water inside for freshly boiled water." Wang Zhong took the bag and indeed could feel the temperature of the kettle inside through the thickyer of cotton. Nelly, "You can tie that rope to your coat button, so you can hang it inside your clothes." Wang Zhong, deeply moved, quickly stuffed the improvised hot water bag into his coat following Nelly''s instructions. Now he truly felt warm. Pavlov: "Why do I feel like a mother taking care of a son who can''t take care of himself?" Popov burst intoughter. At that moment, the switchman finished checking the tracks and began signaling the train with a green light. But the people on the tform couldn''t see the train through the heavy snow. Wang Zhong, with his two-kilometer overhead view, could see the train, but even the heavy snow affected his perspective. In the blizzard, only the train''s headlight stood out clearly. The next moment, a whistle pierced through the wind and snow, reaching everyone''s ears. The train''s headlight also entered the range of visible sight; since there were no flights for aerial reconnaissance in this weather, there was no ckout restriction on the train''s lights. The train whistled again, then slowly slid into the station. Behind the lotive and coal-carrying cars were a series of armored freight cars. This train didn''t even have an anti-aircraft gun unit; it was entirely used for troop transport. The door to the first armored freight car was opened from the inside. The reinforcing soldiers, wearing greatcoats and fur hats, crowded at the door. Before the train even came to aplete stop, a burly man jumped onto the tform and let out a heartyugh towards Wang Zhong: "Ohoho hahaha!" Wang Zhong thought to himself, what''s this, are you about to start singing? In Peking opera, when a character with a painted faceughs like that, it usually means they are about to sing. The burly man limped towards Wang Zhong, saying as he walked, "General! I''vee to find you again!" Wang Zhong squinted and after looking for a while, recognized it was Yegorov. He had been shot in the leg during the breakout at Orachi, so he went back to recover. Just three months and his leg is healed? Wang Zhong went up to shake Yegorov''s hand: "Hello, old buddy, no wonder General Tugenev rmended I prepare a potato and beef stew tonight! It''s to wee an old friend like you!" After shaking hands, Wang Zhong stepped aside to give Pavlov his ce. Pavlov gave Yegorov a hug: "You rascal, back so quickly! Didn''t you say you wouldn''t return for half a year?" Yegorov: "It was supposed to be half a year, look at my leg, still limping. But I couldn''t stand it, man. Everyone says the war''s almost over, and this counterattack is going to push the enemies back home!" Wang Zhong frowned: "Who says that?" "Everyone''s saying it. The new wounded soldiers are saying that the Prussians'' firepower has weakened significantly, and the counterattack is destined to seed." Before Wang Zhong could answer, Popov butted in, hugged Yegorov, and then said: "Now this idea of a swift victory is verymon in the whole army; we here also have some contempt for the Prussians." Wang Zhong looked stern: "That''s not good." Yegorov looked puzzled: "Aren''t we about to counterattack?" Wang Zhong: "The counterattack is indeed destined to seed, but the war won''t end so soon. Prosen still has great war potential. They haven''t even started a total mobilization yet. We need to prepare for years of hard struggle." Yegorov paused for a second, then quickly said: "General, you indeed have your own insight into the war situation. I believe you. But others all think the enemy is done for, almost everyone feels this way. I''m afraid you can''t change everyone''s opinion." Wang Zhong nodded: "Well, anyway, you''re back. We''re about to counterattack, and you''llmand the iing infantry troops." Yegorov: "Great! Looks like chatting up the doctor paid off!" Wang Zhong hesitated, then asked: "Chatting up the doctor?" "Yes, chatted her up, got her to agree to my requests. How else could I get a discharge certificate? Didn''t you see how I just walked? I gritted my teeth and walked properly even before getting on the train from the hospital." Wang Zhong: "That''s not good, what if you end up permanentlyme?" "No worries! Doctor Katya said that at worst, my leg will hurt when the weather changes, but walking won''t be affected. See, as long as I grit my teeth and bear the pain, I can still walk normally, even march in step." Wang Zhong was about to sharplyment when Yegorov said: "Oh right, I also brought Doctor Katya for yousurgeon, exceedingly skilled." Wang Zhong then noticed a sturdy Ante woman standing not far away. Yes, the kind that can wrestle with bears. She wasn''t bad-looking, but she really could wrestle with a bear. Wang Zhong took Yegorov''s hand, weing her: "A pleasure to meet you, Doctor Katya. My boys will be in your care from now on." Just then, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered something and pulled Yegorov aside to whisper: "Didn''t you have a wife?" Yegorov: "Killed by the Prussians." All of Wang Zhong''s words got stuck in his throat. Yegorov: "You know why I''m eager toe back now, right? By the way, Katya''s husband was sacrificed, and her father died in an airstrike. We have a bit of a score...to settle with Prosen." As Yegorov spoke, his eyes were fixed dead on Wang Zhong. Even in the poor light, Wang Zhong could still see the bloodshot in his eyes. Wang Zhong: "I understand. You''ll get to thrash them with me." At that moment, a major ran over to Wang Zhong, saluted, and said: "The reinforcement troops for the Guard''s First Mechanized Infantry Division are assembled. Awaiting orders." Yegorov, pointing to the major and the neatly arranged soldiers behind him, said: "These are all battle-hardened veterans. When they heard they were being transferred to your unit, everyone was moring to join. We even had to be selective. Anyone whose battle involvement wasn''t fierce got cut. These are men returned from hell, just like you, General." Wang Zhong nodded, jumped onto a bench on the tform, and addressed everyone: "Men! Like you, I''ve returned from hell! Tonight you''ll join the various units, eat your fill, and tomorrow, we''ll give the Prussians, a taste of hell!" Together, everyone roared: "Hurrah!" Chapter 300: Chapter 89 Freeze, Dont Move November 17, 04:30 hours, bunker of the division headquarters of Ante Army''s 1st Red Banner Mechanized Infantry Division of the Guards. Wang Zhong had also arrived at the division headquarters bunker early. The bunker originally housed two bears, and now with Yegorov there, three bears were drinking tea by the fire, a ratherical scene. Vasily and the other staff were squeezed to one side, and although they too wore thick overcoats, they appeared more slender. Wang Zhong, "When will the blizzard stop?" Attacking in the snow would pose many problems, primarily due to poor visibility, and coupled with Ante''s terriblemunication capabilities, they might end up with a bunch of friendly fire incidents. Pavlov, "The weather forecast said it would stop today, at worst we''ll attack in the afternoon." Wang Zhong, "We can''t attack right now anyway. Have our armored divisions arrived?" "The railway is buried in snow. Even after it stops, we''ll still have to clear the snow. Hmm?" Pavlov lifted his head. The other two also turned to look out the observation window. The wind had be calmer. Wang Zhong, with his rudimentary knowledge of meteorology, determined that this meant the cold air front moving southward had already pushed further to the south. He approached the observation window to look outside; the feather-like heavy snow had stopped, although fine snow was still drifting in the sky. Wang Zhong, "Quick, make a phone call, find a way to clear the railways, bring up the tank division!" Yegorov, "Everything was normal when we came by car, but the train got stuck on the way back. This weather..." Pavlov picked up the receiver and said as he dialed, "Ante Mother Nature is fickle. You get used to it." November 17, 05:00 hours, headquarters of the Prosen Army''s 2nd Armored Cluster Command. General Moochi came out of the wooden hutbuilt overtime yesterday, as it would be terrible to stay in tents with this weather. Especially given the severe shortage of heating fuel for the Prosen Army. To keep warm, almost all the woods around the Corps Command had been chopped down for firewood. The general looked at the supply convoy that was stuck not far from themand post and demanded loudly, "Why aren''t we moving forward? Karanskaya''s troops need supplies!" Immediately, a captain from the logistics unit with the insignia on his arm ran over to salute and then reported, "The blizzard was too strong yesterday; the convoy had to stop, and today none of the vehicles can start. Some of them can''t even turn the crank; everything inside is frozen solid." General Moochi cursed, "Cannot you light a fire to melt the ice? Use wood to burn!" "Yes!" After the captain left, General Moochi looked up at the sky and asked his aide, "What''s the temperature now?" The aide, "Our thermometer has failed." "What?" "It''s failed, the temperature has dropped below the freezing point of mercury, and the mercury has frozen." General Moochi fell silent; his breath turned into ice crystals on his mustache. The aideforted him, "We''ve checked Ante''s climate records from previous years, and this is an astonishingly low temperature. In such cold, no one would maintain the will to fight." "Our march is long, where do ourrades look forward, our unit g flies high in the wind, and themanders are at the very front!" Apanied by the song "Departure," the railway workers risked their lives to crank the mechanical device of the snowplow train, while hand-cranked rail carts traveled along the railway, with the snowplow installed at the front sweeping all the snow on the tracks to the left side. Find adventures at m_v l|e-NovelBin Behind the small cart followed a group from the Guardian Army, responsible for using brooms to sweep the missed snow to the side. Further back, the train moved at human walking speed. When the train reached the station, it also sounded its whistle, as if to proim to everyone the arrival of the tank troops. Wang Zhong stood on the tform watching the train enter the station and shouted to the train driver as the lotive passed by, "What about the stuffy tank cars that were blocked on the return trip?" Driver, "We stopped at the side track to make way. General, I''ve brought the tanks for you!" After the lotive passed, the soldiers standing on the coal cars saluted Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong returned the salute with a hand gesture and then turned his gaze to the tanks on the tbed cars. Then he noticed that they were ordinary T34s, without either amander or radios. An officer with the rank of major general on his cor jumped down from the car, took a few steps to steady himself on the tform, and saluted Wang Zhong, "Your Excellency General! Commander of the 77th Tank Division, Ardalion Mikhailovich reporting to you!" Wang Zhong, "How many tanks do you have?" "Forty freight cars, eighty tanks! There is another train following with another eighty tanks; that''s all our division possesses." Wang Zhong, "Then what about infantry, artillery, and machine guns?" Mikhailovich spread his hands, "None. We have nothing but tanks; even division logistics need to be provided by you!" Wang Zhong, "Get your men to unload, and then go to the supply depot to get a couple of barrels of extra diesel to strap to the back of the tanks; we have a long way to rush!" As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, two railway workers emerged from a wooden hut at the station, one holding a phone and the other carrying a wire. The two approached Wang Zhong; the one with the phone said to Wang Zhong, "General, a call transferred from division headquarters." Wang Zhong took the receiver, "This is Rocossov." "Rocossov, this is Kiriyenko. Guess what? My cavalry army has been replenished and ising up again. When you attack, I''ll let them charge and cover you!" "They run faster in the snow than your tanks! Don''t believe me? Let''s race!" Wang Zhongughed, "Kiriyenko, you are not to leave the Army Group Command; you still need tomand the follow-up forces." Kiriyenko''s enthusiasm suddenly deted, "You rogue, charging about on your own and not letting us charge. I think you should quickly be a Front Armymander so you can only nurse calluses on your butt in themand headquarters in the rear!" Chapter 301: Chapter 89 Freeze, Dont Move_2 Wang Zhongughed heartily, "Even if I be a Front Armymander, I will still personally go to the front line when necessary!" After all, one has to make full use of the cheats, so it''s possible that I might even take to the skies for a reconnaissance myself. Kiriyenko said, "Then I''ll leave it to you. See you in Plosenia!" "Mm, see you in Plosenia." After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong looked back at the tracks and noticed that the soldiers from the tank division wereying auxiliary steel tes in preparation for unloading. Wang Zhong suddenly remembered and asked Division Commander Mikhailovich, "Why are all T34s equipped with two-man turrets? Doesn''t your division have any T34Ws?" Mikhailovich replied with a wry smile, "The T34W is in high demand. Many units don''t choose tanks for their quality but believe the tanks you drive must be good. Some even think these are specially produced by the Royal Family''s production n, so the quality must be better than ordinary T34s." Wang Zhong asked, "Are the qualities of regr T34s not good?" Mikhailovich said, "There are no major issues, but loads of minor ones. These T34s here are brand new. Don''t expect to hit anything beyond 500 meters, as the gunners haven''t mastered the temperament of the cannonsanyway, the shells are unlikely to hit anywhere near the crosshairs." Are the quality issues really that severe... Wang Zhong responded, "I''ll have to protest about this issue with the manufacturing nt, but it''s toote for changes now. Make do with what we have, I''ll try my best to ensure we fire within 500 meters." "Thank you for that." At 1300 hours on November 17, in the Guards Motor Rifle Division''s bunker. Pavlov looked at his watch, "It''s time." He picked up the handset, "Connect to the artillery position, open fire." As he put down the phone, Popov said, "The time for our counter-offensive has finally arrived. Honestly, I even imagined the enemy reaching near the divisional headquarters bunker, and I would have to personally lead the troops tounch a counterattack." While saying this, Popov patted the pistol on his waist, "The gun is prepared for that very moment. The enemy just made a push against our positions and then changed targets, not daring to attack our positions. At that moment, I truly felt that they were just ordinary people who could be defeated." Pavlov said, "We''ve known all along that the enemy is just ordinary people, right? They die if they get killed, and they wail like ghosts and howl like wolves when shelled." Saying this, Pavlov looked up towards the direction from which the sounds of artillery were constantlying. "Now, the enemy is wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves." Readtest stories on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin Wang Zhong sat in his assigned seat on Tank 422, and as he saw Yegorov riding his horse along the front checking the skirmish line, he shouted, "Yegorov, you''re almost ttening that horse!" "Nonsense!" Yegorov cursed back, "How can I be that heavy? This horse is a fine breed; it weighs half a ton! Compared to it, I''m nothing!" At this moment, the tank units'' attack formation was fully deployed with Wang Zhong''s Tank 422 at the forefront, the reason being that he wanted to locate the position of the 88mm guns first. Wang Zhong estimated that the enemy''s 88mm guns probably still had ammunition, so this time he brought a lot of smoke bombs, nning to unleash them at the sight of the 88mm guns to blind them with smoke, avoiding a direct firefight and instead swiftly blocking their fire. It was because the Federation had not yet passed the Lend-Lease Act and had not provided aid to Ante. Otherwise, Wang Zhong would have definitely loaded up with half a load of white phosphorus shells, sting them at the enemy to make them start burning, and the gun would then be his. Thest 88mm gun looked fine on the outside but was actually damaged, so it could only be taken back to the rear factory for study. With white phosphorus shells, he was bound to confiscate a gun for use. When Wang Zhong yed Company of Heroes 2, he liked tomand the Eastern Front German army with themander that had the 88mm gun to fight a war of positions against the enemy. It seemed that in these games, they liked to make the 88mm gun''s firing sound very loud, full of oppressive force. ying as the Allies and hearing the sound of the 88mm gun made his heart skip a beat. This led to Wang Zhong''s continued desire to capture an 88mm gun toonno, better yet, a battalion! There might be a chance in this offensive! As Wang Zhong was daydreaming, Yegorov rode his half-ton horse over, "The skirmish line for the forces is all set up! The preparation for artillery fire seems to be ready as well, we can move out!" After speaking, Yegorov saluted Wang Zhong on his horse. Wang Zhong returned the salute. Just then, a soldier wearing a white cloak and riding on skis came rushing from afar, sliding to a halt in front of Tank 422, kicking up a spray of white. The soldier saluted, "General, the ski reconnaissance troops report that there are no mines ahead, the path is clear!" Hearing the report, Yegorovughed and said, "This weather doesn''t allow for burying mines, okay? Unless you bury them in the snow, not the ground. An artillery strike would just blow them up, and then they''d explode." Wang Zhong saluted the ski reconnaissance squad, "Thank you for your efforts. Please continue to lead the armored units." He paused for a moment, then added, "See you in Plosenia." Like a magical incantation, the soldier''s morale visibly soared. After saluting back, the two skiers returned the way they came. Wang Zhong straightened up in his seat, raised his right hand high, and as he did so, he looked up at the red banner atop the antenna. The soil of Kazarlia at his waist seemed to be warming. Clearing his throat, he shouted, "Tank division, advance!" He heard a familiar duang sound. Come on, even after a trip back to the factory, the problem with having to hammer the control stick with a wrench hadn''t been fixed! What exactly did they repair at the factory! Smoke billowed from the dual exhaust pipes at the rear of Tank 422 as it lurched forward before picking up steady speed. The newly arrived 77th Tank Division hadn''t had the chance to train with Wang Zhong, yet they managed to form up quite neatly behind his eight T34Ws. Behind the tank units, the infantry line spread out with Yegorov leading them on horsebackhe really wasn''t afraid of attracting bullets! But then Wang Zhong thought about it and realized he had no right to criticize. With the Tank 422 at the forefront, bearing the red g, all enemy anti-tank firepower would definitely concentrate on it. By now, Wang Zhong could see the enemy positions. The ground was too hard at this time. The enemy had no proper defense works, resulting in heavy casualties. Nevertheless, the remaining troops were still trying to man their defensive positions. It was a pity that the Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade had already left; otherwise, Wang Zhong could have called in another rocket barrage. Suddenly, Wang Zhong saw an enemy machine gunner struggling to pull open the lock of his gun. Goodness, these guys had no experience dealing with the bitter cold. They didn''t know to warm up their guns, and now the machine guns were frozen solid! Who needs rocket cover then! Wang Zhong immediately had an idea and turned to shout at Yegorov, "Yegorov, sing a song!" Yegorov, "What song? I Still Have One Last Grenade?" Lay off, it''s not called that, it''s called The Last Courage, okay! Wang Zhong, "That won''t do, too tragic! The Holy War won''t work either, it''s too much like a hymn. Sing ''Tanya Tanyusha'' instead!" "Are you sure you want to sing that one?" "I''m sure!" On the battlefield, to sing of love, to scorn death, nothing could be more fitting. The infantry began to sing, "I remember a little provincial town, Lonely, remote, deeply moving. There were tree-lined paths, a marketce, and the church, And a swirling mist of mncholy waters. I see "Dear familiar figures, Blue caps, Blue tunics; Dark skirts, the silhouette of a girl, My love, fleeting as an evening flower!" Prussian machine gunner Johann was frantically trying to pull open the frozen lock of his gun. The roar of enemy tanks shook the snowy ins. At that moment, he heard a songing from afar, at first like a breeze, as if a maiden whispering tenderly in his ear, pleasing to the mind. Even Johann stopped his struggle with the jammed lock, looking bewildered at the enemy. Suddenly, the sing-song turned fierce (actually, they were just entering the chorus), with the enemy shouting battle cries (actually calls of love to the girl), ferociously charging forward. Johann heard someone scream, "The red g! It''s the devil''s red g! They''ll kill you and then urinate on you, branding you with the mark of hell with their urine!" The shouter stood up and ran, like a startled rabbit. Everything fell apart at that point. The frontline copsed instantaneously, and everyone began to run in panic. The ones who couldn''t move were the ones who''d suffered frostbite the night before. Johann, too, abandoned his machine gun and started running. Then the tank''s machine guns began to fire, tracers forming a lethal whip, efficiently mowing down the retreating Prussians. And the song, like whispers from a demon, grew ever louder, shaking Johann''s eardrums. All of a sudden, it felt as if he''d been punched. Realizing something was wrong, he touched his chest, only to find a gaping hole left by the bullet that had gone through, then with the impact''s force, he toppled forward into the ground, his mouth wide open and filled with mudden snow. Chapter 302: Chapter 90: The Lost Victory (Extra 16/33) Wang Zhong was ready for a desperatest stand against the enemy, but when they started to flee, he was taken aback. He had never expected the enemy to turn tail and run like that. It seemed that thebat scenes in the movie about the Battle of Moscow, where the Soviet forces counterattacked, were conservatively shot. In the movie, the Sturmtigers knew at least to resist with their machine guns for a while. Wang Zhong operated the anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the turret, starting to use it for target practice. After firing a few shots, gunner Alexandriained, "General, you can keep shooting, but what about us? We''ve got nothing to do!" As if to mock the idle duo in the turret, the mechanic-driver happily rattled away with the hull''s machine gun. Alexandria cursed, "Are you doing this on purpose? Save some ammodon''t end up needing to reload when enemy infantry suddenly appears up close!" The mechanicughed heartily; usually, it was the turret duo in the thick of the action while he could only watch. Now it was his turn, and he was eager to make the most of it. Meanwhile, driver Beliyakov steered the tank straight into the enemy''s machine gun position, ttening both the machine gun and its tripod into the ground. Alexandria continued toin, "Where are the enemy''s 88 guns? I loaded smoke bombs as per your orders, General, just waiting for the 88s to show up! Where are they?" Wang Zhong replied, "I''ve got no idea!" With the aid of his binocrs, Wang Zhong''s search range was roughly 2400 meters, a distance where even elite 88 gun crews would struggle to score a first-round hit. The ace tank crews of Sturmtigers were known to achieve first-round hits with their 88 guns at distances between 1200 and 1700 meters. Of course, even this kill range was terrifying under World War II conditions. Wang Zhong shot down several more fleeing enemies, starting to find this ughter a bit dull. Just then, over the radio, someone shouted, "Cavalrying!" Without looking back, Wang Zhong switched his view and saw the snow dust rising behind the skirmish linethat was arge cavalry unit charging. Soon, Wang Zhong could see the cavalry draped in ck cloaks. There were passages left between the skirmish lines for vehicles, and the cavalry surged through them, spreading out to the nks to form a wall after passing through the frontline skirmish line. They looked like waves, catching up with the tank formation from behind. Kiriyenko had said that under these conditions, cavalry could be faster than tanks; turns out, he was right. The cavalry surpassed the tank formation and charged toward the disintegrating Prosen soldiers, doing what they did best: slicing off enemies'' heads with sabers as if they were watermelons. An outdated branch of the armed forces was reaping what might be Europa''s most modernized military like the Grim Reaper! Indeed, there were no useless branches of the military, onlymanders who didn''t know how to use them. With the cavalry at the forefront, Wang Zhong couldn''t fire his machine gun without risking hitting his own troops. So he adjusted the radio frequency to one that Prosen soldiers would useVasily often monitored on this frequency. Wang Zhong asked, "Musician, how do you say ''Now who''s the prey and who''s the hunter'' in Prosen?" There was no response. Watching the cavalry''s easy ughter at the front, Wang Zhong, bored, asked again, "Musician, in Prosen..." "Are you sure you want to use the radio for such boring stuff, Illiterate Maestro?" It was Vasily''s voice. Wang Zhong, "Musician, since when am I illiterate?" "To distinguish you from Beethoven. And you indeed can''t read music sheets." Damn you, Vasily, I think you''ve picked out too little dung! Wang Zhong persisted, "Musician, answer my question. How do you say ''Now who''s the prey and who''s the hunter''?" Vasily reluctantly tranted Wang Zhong''s line. Just then, Wang Zhong spotted some Prosen soldiers kneeling, hands raised above their heads. Taking immediate action, he questioned them in Prosen, "Now who''s the prey, and who''s the hunter?" The questioned man was a veteran, with an insignia of exemption on his arm. He stared wide-eyed at Wang Zhong. From his angle, the red g on Wang Zhong''s tank antenna was perfectly framed behind Wang Zhong. The Prosen soldier''s mouth fell open. Just then, a cavalry officer with the rank of major general came beside Wang Zhong''s tank, reined in his horse, slowing it down, saluted Wang Zhong, and then asked, "General, how shall we deal with the prisoners? I''ve heard of your methodcapturing officers of captain rank and above and shooting the others in the shoulder" Wang Zhong suddenly thought of Olgathe Tsar''s words: Capture as many prisoners as possible, to take photographs and to spread in newspapers and leaflets. So Wang Zhong said, "No, the situation has changed, we must capture all the prisoners and send them back to Ye Fort! Ensure they''re alive and receive kind treatment." The lieutenant general hesitated: "Kind treatment?" "Yes, kind treatment! We need to parade them through the streets to prove to the world that we have won the defensive battle." "Understood. Long live Plosenia!" The lieutenant general saluted Wang Zhong, a major general, spurred his horse into a gallop, and shouted as he charged, "Do not kill the prisoners; we need to take them to the rear for a purpose!" No, that message could easily be misunderstood. Putting prisoners to work repairing the Guihe Bridge is also a purpose. Wang Zhong sighed and said, "I always feel like my two offensives have been too easy, as if the enemy is like ss, shattering at a single blow." Vasily: "Beethoven, you still have the transmit function of the radio on." Wang Zhong was shocked to realize that he had been too excited upon seeing the surrendering prisoners and had applied what he learned without switching off the radio''s transmit function, mistakenly thinking he had turned it off. He quickly turned it off. But on second thought, he felt it was inappropriate, turned on the radio again, opened his mouth to speak, and then hesitated. He originally wanted to say: "I know, musician. This is to mock the enemy, a sophisticated tactical strategy." But saying that would seem too deliberate, like an idiot. So Wang Zhong said, "Musician, thank you for the reminder, I forgot to switch it off." Well, that''s enough, admitting candidly that he forgot to turn it off. I can''t control how the enemy thinks. General Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch mmed his fist on the table, making everything on it jump. "Damn it! I must counterattack! Where are the three divisions promised to me?" Themunications staff officer immediately replied, "They''ve been forced to halt their advance due to the blizzard and are now frozen in ce." Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin "Is it so hard to build a fire for the engines? What do you mean they are frozen in ce?" At that moment, the adjutant cautiously suggested, "Perhaps we should retreat. Based on current frontline reports, the enemy''s vanguard is only ten kilometers from us. Rokossov''s artillery could strike headquarters at any moment." General von Mauch red at the adjutant: "I have three armored divisions and four grenadier divisions that might be encircled! You want the headquarters to retreat?" Adjutant: "If you''re injured by Rokossov''s artillery strike, more than seven divisions might be encircled. We should retreat now. Once the three divisions from the Ninth Army Group arrive, we can attempt a breakout to try and rescue the encircled troops." At that moment, the Army Group Chief of Staff said, "The troops at Karanskaya may not necessarily be encircled. To their west is permafrost that has frozen solid, and because there''s been no fighting, they can move even without roads." General von Mauch: "But they have no logistics!" Chief of Staff: "That''s still better than being encircled. Besides, the Air Force has promised to airdrop supplies. Now is the time for the Air Force toe into y, as the weather is clear, isn''t it?" General von Mauch, however, shook his head: "No, we haven''t repaired the airfields, the Air Force bastards will hold a grudge against us." Adjutant: "Not necessarily, General, the Air Force might perform the airdrop to gain favor in front of His Majesty and provide supplies to our troops." Von Mauch hesitated for a long time before nodding: "Okay, send a telegram to the Air Force. Also order the troops at Karanskaya to leave volunteers to cover their retreat and head west over the frozen ground." Central Army Corps Headquarters also heard the radio transmission, and the imperial Household Ministry''s radio department even recorded it, preparing to report it to the Eagle''s Nest. Field Marshal von Bock''s expression was ashen: "Now, even if Ante had considered surrendering before, he certainly won''t surrender now. Our captured soldiers'' photos will surely spread widely, and the war will be a protracted, total war." He sighed, "This General Rokossovsky might really have changed the course of history. Now what we urgently need to prevent is aplete panic like the failure of the Rudendorf offensive twenty years ago. "All units must reaffirm to the soldiers that our army was only defeated by winter. Additionally, we should set up troops and ample supplies in the far rear and begin constructing defensive fortifications." Field Marshal von Bock picked up a pencil and drew a line on the map. Despite being hand-drawn, the line precisely crossed several critical points that could serve as defensive pirs, including Shostka. "This is the line. We must stop the enemy''s counteroffensive near this line and ensure we control the territory we held around October 20th. This is the most important matter; all other affairs must yield to this one." Field Marshal von Bock looked at the Chief of Staff: "Carry this out to the letter." At that moment, themunications staff officer came in: "Urgent telegram from the Second Armored Army Group." "Give it to me." Field Marshal von Bock gestured, and the staff officer stepped forward to hand over the telegram. After carefully reading the telegram, Field Marshal von Bock said, "General von Mauch''s understanding is clear. He''s preparing a two-pronged approach: allowing the encircled seven divisions to break out over the permafrost and simultaneously deploying the Air Force to airdrop supplies. "He''s also ready to use the three newly assigned divisions to conduct a relief operation. This provides a good exnation for the soldiers and to His Majesty." Chief of Staff: "An exnation?" "Yes." Field Marshal von Bock removed his monocr sses, "Now what we can do is to give His Majesty an exnation, isn''t it? The effort to end the war quickly has failed. But whether we have lost victory is still not a settled matter." He paused, tapped the pencil in his right hand against his left palm, and emphasized after a few seconds of thought, "It''s still not a settled matter!" Chapter 303: Chapter 91 Karanskaya Encirclement (Additional 17/33) Wang Zhong suddenly saw the 88mm gun he had been dreaming of. The gunners had already been chopped up like melons and vegetables by the cavalry, with only a few left trembling on their knees with their hands raised. These four guns were even still aimed skyward. Upon seeing the guns, Wang Zhong urged Beliyakov, "Turn left 30 degrees, see that gun? Hurry over, no, not too fast! Don''t damage it! And Alexandria, don''t fire, if you damage that gun, I won''t let it go!" Tank 422 thus approached the enemy''s 88mm gun position, and when it finally stopped, it knocked over the sandbag wall protecting the gun. Beliyakov: "I didn''t touch the gun! I didn''t touch it! The sandbags can''t be my problem, can they?" Wang Zhong: "Alright, alright, you did well!" After saying that, he took off his headset and the microphone around his neck, climbed out of the tank, and jumped down in two steps, only to hurt his legs uponnding. He stood still for a few seconds before he could move his numb legs towards the 88mm gun. Alexandria poked out his head and asked, seeing Wang Zhong like this, "What''s wrong, General?" Wang Zhong: "You stomp, your legs will also be numb." "What?" Alexandria looked puzzled, full of question marks. After walking a few steps and finally recoveringpletely, Wang Zhong briskly made his way to the front of the big gun. The Prosen soldiers on the ground surrendering saw Wang Zhong and then the red g on the tank behind him; they were so scared they started to run to the side. The guards from the Guards First Motorized Rifle Division Private Second ss roared: "Don''t move! Stay put on your knees!" Wang Zhong looked at these men in confusion: "What are they afraid of?" The Private Second ss nearby shook his head: "I don''t know, General. We don''t understand Prosen. Don''t you either?" Wang Zhong: "I''m the absolute worst, how could I understand that stuff." Actually, the armored troops inside the tanks with radios should all know by now that Wang Zhong doesn''t understand Prosen, but the infantry can''t hear the conversations over the radio. The Private Second ss had a very strange expression upon hearing "the absolute worst," and one could imagine he''d have quite the story to share around the campfire tonight. Wang Zhong''s reputation was skewed by these folks, and as an Ante person, not drinking was impossible; at most, they would just keep it to a level where the Priest wouldn''t catch on. Therefore, Wang Zhong''s legend grew more and more distorted each day. Wang Zhong didn''t care about these things, walking straight up to the big gun, and then he finally understood why it was still in an anti-air configurationits mount had been frozen! The lubricant had frozen solid, and the entire rotation mechanism of the gun mount had turned into a block of ice. Next to the spade at the bottom of the gun were several pioneer shovels, apparently the artillerymen had nned to use the shovels to chip away the ice to rotate the big gun. That scene, just thinking about it, made you feel sorry for themthe enemy tanks and cavalry were charging at them, and then their all-powerful gun was frozen. Wang Zhong nced at the machine gun covering the big gun, and without going closer, he knew the machine gun was most likely frozen too. The Prosen Army never imagined it would get this cold, so they werepletely unprepared for anti-freeze lubricants. Or perhaps they were prepared, but not for anti-freeze lubricants that could withstand negative 40 degrees Celsius. After all, this winter was exceptionally cold. Wang Zhong had personally observed the tank troops switching to anti-freeze oil, and knew that different oils'' performance varied greatly at different temperatures. Satisfied after inspecting the four guns bound in ice, Wang Zhong ordered, "Make fires next to the guns to melt the ice, then drag them back. Beliyakov! Do you have any spare anti-freeze oil? Find a way to solve this freezing issue." Beliyakov gave a thumbs-up: "I brought two buckets of spare oil, they''re both hanging on the tank chassis." Wang Zhong: "Good! Take them down, restore the joints of these guns, then change the oil. We''re going to haul them all back." Just then, T-34 with tactical number 4221 arrived in front of the 88mm gun position. Themander of the 77th Tank Division jumped down from the tank and saluted Wang Zhong: "General, congrattions on your great victory." Wang Zhong: "It''s too early to congratte a victory now. We have almost no losses and can continue to move forward,pleting arge encirclement!" Suddenly, Wang Zhong had a hallucination, seeing Ivan and Count Rocossov smiling at him. The illusion was fleeting, and to others, it looked like he merely stammered. He continued, "Just like how the enemy did to us at Argesukov!" Mikhailovichughed: "Of course we can. We still have one hundred and forty-five tanks that can move; we will surelyplete this encirclement!" Wang Zhong was shocked: "How many tanks?" Mikhailovich was stunned, then quickly corrected himself: "Actually, it''s just the aggregated data reported by the toonmanders, but there shouldn''t be too big of an error. At least 140 tanks can move." Wang Zhong: "Why has the number decreased? The enemy is in such condition; look at this gun, it''s frozen like an ice lolly! How were these 20 tanks lost?" Mikhailovich looked puzzled, as if wondering why Wang Zhong was angry. That''s when Alexandria, the gunner of tank 422, an old tank operator as well as a tank instructor, spoke up: "It must be mechanical failures. The mechanical failure rate of T-34s is much better than KVs, but it''s still not great." ``` "We motor-marched from Suhayaveli to Hill 391 for 11 kilometers, and then retreated here, which should be almost 40 kilometers, and only 20 vehicles broke down, indicating good maintenance." Wang Zhong frowned; he remembered the T34 as being rugged and robust. Wasn''t it said that it could motor-march 400 kilometers without breaking down? The Sturmtiger''s generals also highly praised the T34 as an exceptionally outstanding tank. Of course, Wang Zhong had also seen opposing data, such as tranted Russian documents indicating that the T34 actually had a terrible power system, and was even an oil destroyerit would burn through its oil after just 145 kilometers and need to be refueled. But Wang Zhong didn''t take this data seriously. Could it be that those documents were the truth? However, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered he was also a T34 user. His own Tank 422 definitely fit the rugged and robust description. So he hastily asked, "But we''ve never had problems, and we''ve driven everywhere without issues!" Alexandria: "Because you''ve always conducted short-distance defensive operations. In Loktov, you led us out of town for a single sortie, and the one that went the farthest was your ownmand, Tank 422. "In Orachi, we hardly maneuvered during the defensive battles, just moving between defensive positions, and even then, so many broke down. The tanks thatter retreated to Shepetovka were selectively good vehicles." Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, uniquely interpreting Alexandria''s words: those that broke through Orachi were vehicles with spirited engines. Of course, it could also just be pure luck. Wang Zhong: "That''s not right though, there was one vehicle that didn''t have any major breakdowns and kept on running! That''s my ride, Tank 422!" Alexandria and Beliyakov exchanged nces; thetter, as the person specially in charge of handling machinery, answered: "Because that one is a royal review vehicle. Its engine isn''t the V-2 but the V2K engine, where ''K'' stands for ''royal.'' The production time for this vehicle was about three times that of a regr T34. "After all, it wouldn''t be good if the review vehicle constantly broke down, especially since you and the Crown Prince, as well as your friends, liked to go tank racing." Wang Zhong''s mouth fell open. So the ruggedness and robustness of his vehicle were due to him and his buddies wanting to go for joyrides? And the rest of the T34s weren''t actually that rugged and robust? No, that''s not right. Wang Zhong thought to himself, real knowledgees from practice. Up to now, the T34s in this timeline had never conducted long-distance maneuvers since they were always destroyed right out of the gate. We need a long-distance maneuver to test and see if they are truly rugged. Just then, Yegorov and the new Major General of the cavalry came over, so Wang Zhong said: "Yegorov, assign reliable people to guard these four guns. I must capture them intact along with all their ammunition. Also, leave enough people to guard the prisoners. I think Kiriyenko''s follow-up troops will arrive soon." Yegorov smiled: "nning to continue the offensive?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, the cavalry will advance with us. Today we''re going to race too." At that moment, a Prussian Communication Vehicle painted in Ante colors and bearing the Ante g drove up, and Vasily jumped out from the van saying, "Chief of Staff Pavlov has asked me to keep up with you. I''ve brought the cryptographer and the Judge overseeing the codebooks, so we can send telegrams." Wang Zhong: "Perfect timing, Vasily, take this down." Experience more content on m v|l e''-NovelBin Vasily took out a notebook. Wang Zhong: "To Army Group Commander Major General Kiriyenko: After my unit advanced 20 kilometers, we found the territory empty of the enemy, who had scattered like birds and beasts. I assess that my unit should execute a northward enveloping maneuver to surround the enemy concentrated near Karanskaya. All units of the Army Group, as well as the reinforcements ced under yourmand, should follow up as quickly as possible. Over. Rocossov." After finishing, Wang Zhong frowned himself: "Doesn''t sound much like a suggestion, does it?" Vasily: "It sounds like an order." Wang Zhong: "Revise it to add words like ''request'' and ''suggest'' and simr." Vasily quickly made the revisions and read aloud: "To Army Group Commander Major General Kiriyenko: After my unit advanced 20 kilometers, we found the territory empty of the enemy, who had scattered like birds and beasts. I believe there is an opportunity for my unit to execute a northward enveloping maneuver to surround the enemy forces concentrated near Karanskaya. However, this requires prompt follow-up by all units of the Army Group as well as our fellow troops to prevent being surrounded on all sides. I hope for your approval and cooperation. Over. Rocossov." Wang Zhong nodded: "Good, send it like that." Vasily immediately tore the page out of his notebook, handing it to the cryptographer, who converted the message into an encrypted code, with the Judge watching on sternly. Wang Zhong then turned to Yegorov and Wang Zhong asked the new armymander of the cavalry: "How may I address you?" "Major General Niki Andriyevich Oskov," he replied. Wang Zhong: "Let''s execute a grand encirclement! All units eat immediately, we set out tonight, we can''t afford to waste time! Get the torches ready!" Yegorov: "I suggest leaving our infantry behind to defend, to prevent a counterattack from the enemy. You''ll have enough with the cavalry. If the tanks charge, our infantry might not be able to keep up." Wang Zhong: "Makes sense. Also, have Pavlov bring up the anti-tank guns to ensure absolute security." At this point, Niki Andriyevich asked: "What about the captured enemy divisionmander and the divisional staff officers? We have two of the divisionmanders alone." Wang Zhong: "Have someone escort them to Suhayaveli, put them on a train, and just say they are gifts from me, Rocossov, to Her Majesty the Empress." ``` Chapter 305: Chapter 93 Completion of Encirclement Wang Zhong fought until all of his ammunition drums were empty; by then, there were no resisting enemies left on the battlefield. Apart from the dead, there were only soldiers who had surrendered. Wang Zhong stopped, the massive amount of adrenaline made him want to shout "Who else is there?" Was this really a natural reaction... However, as the battle drew to a close, the effect of adrenaline visibly subsided at a rapid pace. Wang Zhong calmed down again. During the heat of battle, he hadpletely forgotten about the bird''s-eye view and was solely relying on his eyes to spot enemies. Luckily, under the influence of adrenaline, it seemed as though his eyes had be as sharp as a hawk''s, allowing him not to miss a single foe. He checked his Suomi submachine gun and then looked at the board on the inside of the turret used for storing "life''s little necessities." Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin The T34''s turret was extremely cramped, leaving hardly any room to store personal belongings. The size of the turret could actually be intuited from the diameter of the turret ring, as a portion of the bodies of those inside the turret would be in the hull, so the ring sat around their waists like a band. The diameter of the turret ring for the two-person T34 turretnote that it is the diameterwas only 1420 millimeters. This turret ring size definitively ruled out the possibility of cramming in a third person. Inside this ring wasn''t just space for human bodies, but also all kinds of mechanical devices. Inparison, the parade model of the T34W had a turret ring diameter of 1670 millimeters, basically on the same level as America''s Sherman tank (Sherman ring diameter was 1753 millimeters). If it wasn''t for therger size of the T34W turret, Wang Zhong would not have been able to have so many "little necessities of life" by his side. At least the two-person turret T34s of the 77th Division definitely couldn''t fit them. In a two-man turret T34, it would be pretty decent to have even just a Papasha submachine gun. Wang Zhong surveyed the entire battlefield to confirm that the position had been thoroughly captured. Cavalrymen were pursuing the fleeing enemies, while the tank units that had been maneuvering on the nk were now turning back towards the main position. After observing the situation, Wang Zhong called to a cavalry lieutenant colonel passing by, "Wait a moment! Lieutenant Colonel, dispatch a cavalrypany to dismount and secure the equipment on the position. The enemy left so much behind; it would be bad if they came back to reim and use it against us." "Yes, General." The lieutenant colonel saluted and added after seeing the Suomi in Wang Zhong''s hands, "Happy hunting, General." Wang Zhong: "Thank you." The lieutenant colonel turned back to his subordinates and ordered, "First Company dismounts, takes custody of prisoners, manages the spoils of war, and awaits the arrival of reinforcements to take over." Wang Zhong: "Have them look for themander of this position. I want him alive or his body if he''s dead." "Yes, General." The enemymander was quickly brought before Wang Zhong; he was a major with an injured leg, sitting on a stretcher and looking at Wang Zhong, who was loading submachine gun magazines, with an awed expression. Perhaps it was while looking at the red g fluttering above Wang Zhong''s antenna. Wang Zhong: "Do you speak Antian?" Although the enemy major looked puzzled, he seemed to guess what was being asked and shook his head. At this point, the lieutenant colonel who had spoken earlier said, "I speak Prussian, I can trante for you." "That would be excellent," Wang Zhong was delighted, "Which division and what unit are you from that''s defending this ce, and where is your main force?" After listening to the trantion, the major began to speak, and the lieutenant colonel beside him started to "simultaneously interpret," "We are from the 37th Armored Grenadier Division, the 331st Infantry Battalion, and the 204th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. We were ordered to dy your forces here until the main body of the division could retreat." Wang Zhong was taken aback, "Where else could you retreat to? I''ve cut off the only road." The major waited to hear the lieutenant colonel''s trantion before replying, "West, across the permafrost." Wang Zhong looked towards the boundless snowfields to the west, "Are you mad?" Under such harsh conditions, and with the Prussians not having enough winter gear, it''s likely they were short on provisions as wellgoing out across such snowfields? If one out of ten made it out, it would be a show of General Winter''s mercy. The major''s expression was solemn, "That''s why many volunteered to stay and resist. You can surround us resisters." He paused, waiting for the lieutenant colonel to finish tranting before he added another sentence, "I haven''t eaten since yesterday; do you have any food?" Wang Zhong pulled out one truly mundane "little necessity of life" from his own stash: a quarter of a Doctor''s sausage and tossed it to the Prussian. "It''s frozen solid, warm it up and eat it with water." However, the Prussian bit a chunk off the rock-hard sausage and began to chew it vigorously. Wang Zhong knew this was an enemy and reminded himself not to feel pity. This was all to boost Antian morale, for the legitimacy of the princesslegitimacy ensured there would be no rebellion. As a seasoned yer of "Crusader Kings," Wang Zhong had a rather intuitive understanding of legitimacy, as each time an heir in the gamecked enough legitimacy, there would be massive revolts. Of course, the Russians had a simpler take on this matter; basically, whoever had the biggest fist and won was legitimate. This victory could be over their own people or foreigners, as long as you won. And Wang Zhong had just won a victoryhow convenient! Victory belonged to the great Catherine the Third! Wang Zhong had initially fought not for personal glory but to survive; now, his goal was to damn the Prussians. As long as it was against the Prussians, he was willing to do any job. Of course, what he loved most was what he had just been doing: riding a tank through forests and across snowfields, personally bing a powerful punchnded on the teeth of Prussian invaders. Wang Zhong nced at the Prussian major gobbling the food and told the cavalry lieutenant colonel, "Keep a close eye on him; he''ll need to be sent to the rearter. I''m off to catch some more. Also, ask him where their division headquarters is located." The Prussian major, who was busily gnawing on a ham, used one hand to unfasten the map case from his body and handed it to the lieutenant colonel. The lieutenant colonel opened it, took out the map to look, and said pointing at a symbol, "The division headquarters is three kilometers to the northeast of this position." Wang Zhong: "Let''s go! Beliyakov, stop checking the engine, we''re moving out!" Beliyakov revealed a bitter smile: "General, it wasn''t me who stopped the tank just now. If I had stopped it, I wouldn''t have left it leaning to one side." Only then did Wang Zhong notice that the tank was indeed slightly tilted. On closer inspection, one side of the track was on the enemy''s sandbags, which had copsed under the weight, but notpletely, leaving the tank at an angle. Great, the tank was broken! But when he thought about it, it made sense. They had covered nearly a hundred kilometers of motorized movement that day, and had been fighting continuously for over a week, driving back and forth across the battlefield. It was fair to say that it was doing well just to break down now. After all, field maintenance in Ante relied solely on individual Tank Operators. There were no field maintenance factories, no repair or maintenance vehicles, and the tractor factory workers Wang Zhong had previously recruited were all taken by the factories to produce tanks. Wang Zhong scratched his head: "I still need to catch a divisionmander!" Alexandria: "You''ll have to switch to another tank. But... I suspect they''ll be breaking down soon too. The tanks of Division 77 are new, but... uh..." He nced at the three T-34s stopped near the 88mm gun position. The enemy had beenpletely obscured by smoke; surely the tanks hadn''t been stopped by enemy machine-gun fire, right? Wang Zhong: "These tanks don''t have amander''s position either. The turret is so cramped, it can''t fit a third person." Now that the weather was so cold and everyone was wearing thick military coats, the problem of the T-34s'' limited space was even more pronounced. At that time, the cavalry lieutenant colonel suggested, "Ride a horse. We''ve captured the Prussians'' radio. I''ll have a staff officer who understands it bring the radio with him, along with apany to follow you." Wang Zhong: "Fine, I can ride a horse, and I willplete the encirclement on horseback! Someone bring me a horse" Suddenly, Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows, a thought crossing his mind: Could it be? He put his hand to his mouth and whistled sharply. Then from a great distance, a horse''s whinny echoed back. He looked in that direction, but as far as he could see, the forest and snowfieldy calm and peaceful. Suddenly, something burst through the piled-up snow, leaping up high. A white figure dashed forward like lightning, carrying a cloud of billowing snow. It was the king among horses, Shadowswift. No, wait, not Gandalf''s steed, but my nipoop Bucephalus! Bucephalus dashed past many of the cavalrymen, whose mounts seemed to shy away from it, making room as it passed. In this way, Bucephalus ran all the way to the disabled Tank 422, gave its tracks a kick, and then bared its teeth at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong facepalmed: "You could have brought your saddle." He had already guessed that likely, the Stables had been bombed again, it had survived unaffected, and had followed them here on its own initiative. The cavalry lieutenant colonel said, "We can spare you some tack." "Alright, hurry up, I still need to catch that divisionmander." Mounted on Bucephalus, Wang Zhong galloped across the in as the night began to fall. The staff officer carrying the radio asked worriedly, "Shouldn''t we rest first? It''s getting so dark, what if we''re ambushed?" Wang Zhong switched to a third-person perspective and thought to himself that it couldn''t be; the enemy was highlighted two kilometers away. What ambush? So he said, "The enemy is already like a startled bird, there''s no chance they''re lying in ambush. Move out!" The three kilometers were covered in no time, but all Wang Zhong found were discarded equipment and vehicles. Strangely, they were all half-tracked vehicles with not a single wheeled vehicle in sight. Wang Zhong walked to thergest tent, dismounted, and rushed inside to see a group of officers huddled around a barrel, filled with burned documents. The enemy divisionmander had even changed into full dress uniform and stood up to salute Wang Zhong, then said in clumsy Antean, "General Rokossovsky, I have long admired your name." Wang Zhong: "Aren''t you going to put up a fight?" "The units that could have fought you have already been destroyed. We have fulfilled the mission assigned by the empire, and now we choose to be responsible for our own lives." Wang Zhong felt his nostrils re with anger; damn it, they had killed his good buddies and family, and now they wanted to be responsible for their own lives? Be responsible by not invading! But these people were needed for disy, and it wouldn''t look good if they had scars on their faces. And personally hitting them didn''t seem right, either. So Wang Zhong said, "Alright then, after you." As he stepped aside, he caught sight of Bucephalus and gave the horse a look that said: go easy. Bucephalus chomped away, seemingly chewing on something. Just then, themander of the 37th Armored Infantry Division emerged from the tent. Bucephalus gently raised its front hoof and sent him tumbling back into the tent. Wang Zhong burst into heartyughter. He had neverughed so freely since the start of the war. Chapter 305: Chapter 93 Completion of Encirclement Wang Zhong fought until all of his ammunition drums were empty; by then, there were no resisting enemies left on the battlefield. Apart from the dead, there were only soldiers who had surrendered. Wang Zhong stopped, the massive amount of adrenaline made him want to shout "Who else is there?" Was this really a natural reaction... However, as the battle drew to a close, the effect of adrenaline visibly subsided at a rapid pace. Wang Zhong calmed down again. During the heat of battle, he hadpletely forgotten about the bird''s-eye view and was solely relying on his eyes to spot enemies. Luckily, under the influence of adrenaline, it seemed as though his eyes had be as sharp as a hawk''s, allowing him not to miss a single foe. He checked his Suomi submachine gun and then looked at the board on the inside of the turret used for storing "life''s little necessities." Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin The T34''s turret was extremely cramped, leaving hardly any room to store personal belongings. The size of the turret could actually be intuited from the diameter of the turret ring, as a portion of the bodies of those inside the turret would be in the hull, so the ring sat around their waists like a band. The diameter of the turret ring for the two-person T34 turretnote that it is the diameterwas only 1420 millimeters. This turret ring size definitively ruled out the possibility of cramming in a third person. Inside this ring wasn''t just space for human bodies, but also all kinds of mechanical devices. Inparison, the parade model of the T34W had a turret ring diameter of 1670 millimeters, basically on the same level as America''s Sherman tank (Sherman ring diameter was 1753 millimeters). If it wasn''t for therger size of the T34W turret, Wang Zhong would not have been able to have so many "little necessities of life" by his side. At least the two-person turret T34s of the 77th Division definitely couldn''t fit them. In a two-man turret T34, it would be pretty decent to have even just a Papasha submachine gun. Wang Zhong surveyed the entire battlefield to confirm that the position had been thoroughly captured. Cavalrymen were pursuing the fleeing enemies, while the tank units that had been maneuvering on the nk were now turning back towards the main position. After observing the situation, Wang Zhong called to a cavalry lieutenant colonel passing by, "Wait a moment! Lieutenant Colonel, dispatch a cavalrypany to dismount and secure the equipment on the position. The enemy left so much behind; it would be bad if they came back to reim and use it against us." "Yes, General." The lieutenant colonel saluted and added after seeing the Suomi in Wang Zhong''s hands, "Happy hunting, General." Wang Zhong: "Thank you." The lieutenant colonel turned back to his subordinates and ordered, "First Company dismounts, takes custody of prisoners, manages the spoils of war, and awaits the arrival of reinforcements to take over." Wang Zhong: "Have them look for themander of this position. I want him alive or his body if he''s dead." "Yes, General." The enemymander was quickly brought before Wang Zhong; he was a major with an injured leg, sitting on a stretcher and looking at Wang Zhong, who was loading submachine gun magazines, with an awed expression. Perhaps it was while looking at the red g fluttering above Wang Zhong''s antenna. Wang Zhong: "Do you speak Antian?" Although the enemy major looked puzzled, he seemed to guess what was being asked and shook his head. At this point, the lieutenant colonel who had spoken earlier said, "I speak Prussian, I can trante for you." "That would be excellent," Wang Zhong was delighted, "Which division and what unit are you from that''s defending this ce, and where is your main force?" After listening to the trantion, the major began to speak, and the lieutenant colonel beside him started to "simultaneously interpret," "We are from the 37th Armored Grenadier Division, the 331st Infantry Battalion, and the 204th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. We were ordered to dy your forces here until the main body of the division could retreat." Wang Zhong was taken aback, "Where else could you retreat to? I''ve cut off the only road." The major waited to hear the lieutenant colonel''s trantion before replying, "West, across the permafrost." Wang Zhong looked towards the boundless snowfields to the west, "Are you mad?" Under such harsh conditions, and with the Prussians not having enough winter gear, it''s likely they were short on provisions as wellgoing out across such snowfields? If one out of ten made it out, it would be a show of General Winter''s mercy. The major''s expression was solemn, "That''s why many volunteered to stay and resist. You can surround us resisters." He paused, waiting for the lieutenant colonel to finish tranting before he added another sentence, "I haven''t eaten since yesterday; do you have any food?" Wang Zhong pulled out one truly mundane "little necessity of life" from his own stash: a quarter of a Doctor''s sausage and tossed it to the Prussian. "It''s frozen solid, warm it up and eat it with water." However, the Prussian bit a chunk off the rock-hard sausage and began to chew it vigorously. Wang Zhong knew this was an enemy and reminded himself not to feel pity. This was all to boost Antian morale, for the legitimacy of the princesslegitimacy ensured there would be no rebellion. As a seasoned yer of "Crusader Kings," Wang Zhong had a rather intuitive understanding of legitimacy, as each time an heir in the gamecked enough legitimacy, there would be massive revolts. Of course, the Russians had a simpler take on this matter; basically, whoever had the biggest fist and won was legitimate. This victory could be over their own people or foreigners, as long as you won. And Wang Zhong had just won a victoryhow convenient! Victory belonged to the great Catherine the Third! Wang Zhong had initially fought not for personal glory but to survive; now, his goal was to damn the Prussians. As long as it was against the Prussians, he was willing to do any job. Of course, what he loved most was what he had just been doing: riding a tank through forests and across snowfields, personally bing a powerful punchnded on the teeth of Prussian invaders. Wang Zhong nced at the Prussian major gobbling the food and told the cavalry lieutenant colonel, "Keep a close eye on him; he''ll need to be sent to the rearter. I''m off to catch some more. Also, ask him where their division headquarters is located." The Prussian major, who was busily gnawing on a ham, used one hand to unfasten the map case from his body and handed it to the lieutenant colonel. The lieutenant colonel opened it, took out the map to look, and said pointing at a symbol, "The division headquarters is three kilometers to the northeast of this position." Wang Zhong: "Let''s go! Beliyakov, stop checking the engine, we''re moving out!" Beliyakov revealed a bitter smile: "General, it wasn''t me who stopped the tank just now. If I had stopped it, I wouldn''t have left it leaning to one side." Only then did Wang Zhong notice that the tank was indeed slightly tilted. On closer inspection, one side of the track was on the enemy''s sandbags, which had copsed under the weight, but notpletely, leaving the tank at an angle. Great, the tank was broken! But when he thought about it, it made sense. They had covered nearly a hundred kilometers of motorized movement that day, and had been fighting continuously for over a week, driving back and forth across the battlefield. It was fair to say that it was doing well just to break down now. After all, field maintenance in Ante relied solely on individual Tank Operators. There were no field maintenance factories, no repair or maintenance vehicles, and the tractor factory workers Wang Zhong had previously recruited were all taken by the factories to produce tanks. Wang Zhong scratched his head: "I still need to catch a divisionmander!" Alexandria: "You''ll have to switch to another tank. But... I suspect they''ll be breaking down soon too. The tanks of Division 77 are new, but... uh..." He nced at the three T-34s stopped near the 88mm gun position. The enemy had beenpletely obscured by smoke; surely the tanks hadn''t been stopped by enemy machine-gun fire, right? Wang Zhong: "These tanks don''t have amander''s position either. The turret is so cramped, it can''t fit a third person." Now that the weather was so cold and everyone was wearing thick military coats, the problem of the T-34s'' limited space was even more pronounced. At that time, the cavalry lieutenant colonel suggested, "Ride a horse. We''ve captured the Prussians'' radio. I''ll have a staff officer who understands it bring the radio with him, along with apany to follow you." Wang Zhong: "Fine, I can ride a horse, and I willplete the encirclement on horseback! Someone bring me a horse" Suddenly, Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows, a thought crossing his mind: Could it be? He put his hand to his mouth and whistled sharply. Then from a great distance, a horse''s whinny echoed back. He looked in that direction, but as far as he could see, the forest and snowfieldy calm and peaceful. Suddenly, something burst through the piled-up snow, leaping up high. A white figure dashed forward like lightning, carrying a cloud of billowing snow. It was the king among horses, Shadowswift. No, wait, not Gandalf''s steed, but my nipoop Bucephalus! Bucephalus dashed past many of the cavalrymen, whose mounts seemed to shy away from it, making room as it passed. In this way, Bucephalus ran all the way to the disabled Tank 422, gave its tracks a kick, and then bared its teeth at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong facepalmed: "You could have brought your saddle." He had already guessed that likely, the Stables had been bombed again, it had survived unaffected, and had followed them here on its own initiative. The cavalry lieutenant colonel said, "We can spare you some tack." "Alright, hurry up, I still need to catch that divisionmander." Mounted on Bucephalus, Wang Zhong galloped across the in as the night began to fall. The staff officer carrying the radio asked worriedly, "Shouldn''t we rest first? It''s getting so dark, what if we''re ambushed?" Wang Zhong switched to a third-person perspective and thought to himself that it couldn''t be; the enemy was highlighted two kilometers away. What ambush? So he said, "The enemy is already like a startled bird, there''s no chance they''re lying in ambush. Move out!" The three kilometers were covered in no time, but all Wang Zhong found were discarded equipment and vehicles. Strangely, they were all half-tracked vehicles with not a single wheeled vehicle in sight. Wang Zhong walked to thergest tent, dismounted, and rushed inside to see a group of officers huddled around a barrel, filled with burned documents. The enemy divisionmander had even changed into full dress uniform and stood up to salute Wang Zhong, then said in clumsy Antean, "General Rokossovsky, I have long admired your name." Wang Zhong: "Aren''t you going to put up a fight?" "The units that could have fought you have already been destroyed. We have fulfilled the mission assigned by the empire, and now we choose to be responsible for our own lives." Wang Zhong felt his nostrils re with anger; damn it, they had killed his good buddies and family, and now they wanted to be responsible for their own lives? Be responsible by not invading! But these people were needed for disy, and it wouldn''t look good if they had scars on their faces. And personally hitting them didn''t seem right, either. So Wang Zhong said, "Alright then, after you." As he stepped aside, he caught sight of Bucephalus and gave the horse a look that said: go easy. Bucephalus chomped away, seemingly chewing on something. Just then, themander of the 37th Armored Infantry Division emerged from the tent. Bucephalus gently raised its front hoof and sent him tumbling back into the tent. Wang Zhong burst into heartyughter. He had neverughed so freely since the start of the war. Chapter 306: Chapter 94: The Final Gambit November 18, The Prussian Army''s Second Armored Cluster Command Headquarters. Walter Mendel dismounted his horse, handed the reins to a guard, and then strode briskly toward the headquarters, turning left after entering the door, heading straight for the hall now serving as both the map room andmand center. Upon entering, Mendel nced at the firece and said, "You actually dare to stay in an intact house, aren''t you afraid that Rokossovsky will open fire?" Von Maqi replied, "Unless his artillery can hit at twenty-five kilometers. Right now, he''s busy dealing with our troops in the encirclement. Currently, it looks like we have approximately one hundred thousand troops still capable of fighting and resisting." Mendel raised his voice, "Isn''t that all of them inside? These seven divisions have already suffered heavy losses after two months of depletion, and more than half of thebatants have been sent back to the hospital!" Von Maqi frowned deeply, "That''s because most of the units volunteered to stay behind to cover the retreat of the main forces. They actually refused the n to retreat from the frozen ground, which is why we have to initiate a breakout operation." Mendel retorted, "With my division!" "It''s the emperor''s division," Von Maqi corrected him. Mendel argued, "But it was pulled from my army group, I know their situation. Although they didn''t suffer in the vanguard assault, which means their supply state is rtively good and every person received a nket, they arecking ammunitionno, theyck everything! "I am opposed to the counterattack, and I want this on record!" With that, Mendel looked toward the staff officer responsible for recording the various decisions made by themand. Von Maqiughed dryly, "Your behavior reminds me of my old rival, Duke Xiplin. He always does this, as soon as there''s a defeat, it''s never his fault." Mendel countered, "Do you think I''m passing the buck? No, I''m just telling you that attacking at this time is meaningless, it won''t make an impact. The opposition are experts in defense, and our current supply state is a mess; we simply cannot make progress! "And you, youunch an attack just to have an excuse for the emperor, isn''t that so? How are you any different from him? Not at all!" Von Maqi turned to his adjutant, "It seems that General Mendel is tired from his journey..." "No! I won''t be staying overnight! I just came to express my opinion, and now that I have, you should retreat quickly too. The Ante People are going tounch arge-scale counterattack, my reconnaissance units have detected more and more unit numbers, and I believe a massive offensive is about to arrive. The key now is not offense, but defense! Understand? Defense!" After finishing his words, Mendel turned and briskly walked away. The others in themand looked at Von Maqi. The general sighed, "Proceed with the attack as originally nned." After the Prussian artillery barrage preparation ended, Yegorov got up, "Wasn''t that too quick? Are the enemy actually determined to attack?" Vasily, who was sent here to establishmunications, said, "I don''t know, it could be that the enemy knows we can''t dig any significant fortifications in this ground within a day and night, so they just bombarded us haphazardly to finish the job." At that moment, an artillery observer yelled, "Enemy tanks, southwest direction!" Yegorov quicklyy down at the edge of the makeshift cover made of wood and sandbags, lifted his binocrs, and while observing, said, "About sixty tanks, but there are a lot of infantry. What''s going on?" Vasily suggested, "Maybe they''re all broken. We have so many tanks that have broken down, and even if the enemy''s maintenance and support are good, it''s not possible to ensure the condition of the tanks under these circumstances." Yegorov clicked his tongue, "Regardless, our tactic doesn''t change, cut off the infantry first, order the mortars to fire." Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e''-NovelBin After speaking, he turned around to look at the 88mm k gun position right next to themand post in fact, thismand post was originally a Prussian built supportive fortification, which had a threeyer wooden roof that had been blown off by Ante artillery preparation. Then the position waspletely taken over since the 88 guns and machine guns had been frozen. Of course, now these guns and machine guns had been properly thawed by fire and could be used normally. The first wave of mortar shells had already fallen among the enemy lines. At this time, an observer with the range finder shouted, "Passing the one thousand five hundred meter mark!" Dmitri Ivanovich, who was temporarily in charge of this anti-aircraft position,manded, "Aim at the target, fire!" The gunners, who had been transferred from the anti-tank gun units, didn''t have a high level of education among the ordinary Ante infantry, so operating big guns required a longer learning period. Due to unfamiliarity with the big guns and short-staffedness, the four 88 guns fell silent temporarily after the first round of firing. Yegorov observed the impact points through his binocrs, only to see the shells bouncing off the ground like ping pong balls. Not a single Prussian tank was hit. At this moment, an even more intense barrage of mortar shells separated the Prussian infantry from their tanks. And finally, the 88 gunsunched their second round of attack. Yegorov saw a hole appear in the front of a Prussian tank''s body, then mes burst from the engine hood, and two tank operators climbed out of the tank, rolling on the ground. Yegorov eximed, "Good! Well done! Continue!" At this time, the Prussian smoke finally settled. Yegorov: "This is what I call normal, this is the Prussian Army I know." He had just finished speaking when he heard the sound of engines from his own position, turning around to see the ZIS-30 battery, previously hidden from his view, beginning to move. "Oh, those things really move fast. Can they maneuver around the enemy''s smoke to provide fire support? That would be great." Yegorov, with a look of delight, said: "Things have changed, all changed. We''re not the same old army that begged for equipment everywhere." After finishing, Yegorov himself drew his pistol and said to the infantry: "You lot need to perform well, too! Back when we had no equipment, we still won battles purely with infantry! Show the spirit of the 31st Guards Regiment!" "But we are from the 5th Belinsk Regiment," someone said. "It''s all the same! The 5th Belinsk Regiment also fought hard battles in Loktov! Don''t dishonor our fallen predecessors! Let them see what we''re made of! Machine guns, open fire! Form a firework!" The machine guns on the position immediately opened fire. These machine guns were grouped ording to the method of fire zones proposed by General Rokossovsky, creating a fire without any dead angles, which could effectively organize against enemy attacks even in smokeit was just quite ammunition-consuming. General Rokossovsky''s style was to bury the enemy in ammunition, whether it was bombardment or "fire zones." At this moment, the ZIS-30 that had moved into position opened fire again. Yegorov couldn''t see the effects of the ZIS-30''s fire and could only crane his neck in frustration: "Damn it, I can''t see anything through this annoying smoke." It was then that Vasily said, "I don''t know if it''s just my impression, but I always feel like General Rokossovsky can see through the smoke." Before Yegorov could reply, Popov, who hade to the front line to supervise the battle, spoke up: "It''s understandable that you think this way. When a general stands out so much, your perception of him changes, and you keep idealizing him. That''s what Saint Andrew said; he imed he''s just an ordinary person, but we''ve mythologized him. "Saint Andrew was very against being mythologized his entire life." Vasily frowned: "But... I really feel like the General can see things I can''t. Even though we''re looking from the same observation post, he seems to have control over the whole situation." Yegorovughed: "Isn''t that obvious? The man attended advancedmand courses, graduated from the Suvorov Military Academy. You only went through the Warrant Officer course. If you want to be a senior staff officer, you''ll have to attend further studies at the Suvorov Military Academy. "I don''t even understand the things the General studied!" Vasily opened his mouth to speak but ultimately didn''t say that General Rokossovsky was at the bottom of his ss. ------------- November 19, at 0800 hours, the Prussian Army Central Army Group Headquarters. Field Marshal von Bock looked at themunications officer who had entered: "How''s the situation?" The staff officer looked at the telegram in his hand: "The readiness rate of the armored vehicles for all units has beenpiled. Should I start from the beginning?" Field Marshal von Bock nodded: "Please do." Staff officer: "The 1st Armored Division, number of tanks ready forbat, 1 Panzer III, 1 Panzer IV. The 2nd..." "Hold on!" Field Marshal von Bock raised his right hand, "The 1st Armored Division only has two tanks that can move out?" "Yes, the severe cold has destroyed the drivetrains of the tanks, and even after defrosting, they don''t operate perfectly. All armored units have reported a surge in fault rates. The good news is, more than half of the tank operators are alive." Field Marshal von Bock waved his hand: "That''s enough, no need to continue. We must retreat, else we can''t even protect these tank operators. Experienced tank operators, just like pilots, are a precious asset. It''s time for a full retreat." Chief of Staff: "What about the hundred thousand men who are surrounded?" Field Marshal von Bock gazed at the small patch of blue on the map, surrounded by the markers of the enemy. "I actually... doubt if there are any units still resisting inside the encirclement. The enemy hasn''t devoured this force in order to bait us, so that their troops can be ready tounch arge-scale counterattack, and then devour more of our forces." ------------- Wang Zhong, holding the phone receiver, said to the other side: "As long as the enemy is still attacking, still attempting to break the encirclement, we should encircle them but not annihte them. We can even shout out to the Prussians within the encirclement, inviting them over for food, keeping them here, so that when our forces are ready, we can carry out arge-scale annihtion operation." Belinsky: "Your idea is good, but right now we urgently need to showcase the results of a counterattack. This matter can''t be considered purely from a military perspective." Wang Zhong: "Then why notunch the attack as soon as possible?" Belinsky: "The severe cold affects us as well. Discuss the specifics with Chief of Staff Tukhachev." Wang Zhong frowned slightly, wondering how this bootlicker of the Tsar was still herecould it be... to ensure overall unity...? At that moment, Tukhachev''s voice came through the receiver: "The forces we''remitting to the counterattack are already all we have. Other units won''t be ready until December 5 at the earliest. Plus, you''ve used almost all of our ammunition. We have logistical issues... er, General Tugenev will tell you." What, are you ying hot potato? A momentter, Tugenev''s voice came on: "The impact of the factory evacuations is severe, we are now running short on even the chemical raw materials to produce explosives since the factories have been relocated. We are short on everything and need to show results soon. This is... for diplomatic considerations." I get it, we need the Federation to pass the lend-lease act, or else we can''t continue fighting here in Antwerp. Wang Zhong stood up straight: "Tomorrow, that is, November 20, I willunch aprehensive attack and annihte the enemy within the encirclement." Chapter 307: Chapter 95: Today We Drink in Celebration of Our Success (Makeup 18/33) On November 20th, 914, Wang Zhong looked at his watch. Army Group Commander Kiriyenko, standing by his side, teased, "It''s strange that I am the suprememander, yet you''re the one checking the time." Wang Zhong gestured invitingly, "Then please, take over!" Kiriyenko shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no. You made the n, you get the credit. You do it, I don''t want to go down in history for this." At this moment, Niki Andriyevich Oskov, the newmander of Kiriyenko''s old unit, the Seventh Cavalry Army, cautiously asked, "Has General Rokossov always been so approachable?" Wang Zhong replied, "What else? I''m just an ordinary person." Andriyevich seemed as if he had stumbled upon a profound mystery in Wang Zhong''s words and fell into deep thought. When the minute hand pointed to twelve, Wang Zhong said, "Fire." At exactly eight in the morning on November 20th, the Western Front Army of the Ante Empire began the annihtion battle against the heavily fortified Prosen troops in Karanskaya. One minute into the barrage, amunications staff officer entered the wooden cabin serving as the temporary attack group headquarters, "The encircled Prosen army is sending a telegram using international aviation codes." Wang Zhong looked at themunications officer. Everyone in the room looked at him. Wang Zhong dered, "Ah, am I to give this order? No, no, let''s have Major General Kiriyenko do it!" His tone was reminiscent of a ssic Soviet joke: Pleasee up to the stage, so-and-so. Amazed, Kiriyenko simply waved his hand and concisely ordered, "Read!" Themunications officer read the telegram, "Major General Joseph,mander of the Fifth Armored Division, on behalf of all Prosen troops in Karanskaya, extends sincere greetings to Prince Rokossov and wishes to surrender to such a hero." Wang Zhong snorted, "Reply with, there is no Prince Rokossov in the Ante Empire, no such person exists. Just like that... uh..." Wang Zhong thought it over, with the enemy specifically naming him for their surrender, it seemed unnecessary to keep up appearances. So, he waved his hand, "Reply just like that! No need to polish the sentence, keep it as is." Themunications officer took the message and left. Pavlov questioned, "Is this okay? If they surrender en masse, wouldn''t we have more prisoners to show off alive?" Wang Zhong replied, "You don''t understand. There is no such person as Prince Rokossov. It doesn''t exist. You should also forbid such random talk, it''s bad for His Majesty''s reputation. And it''s bad for Ludm, too, as she is my fiance." Your adventure continues at m v|l-e''-NovelBin Vasily chimed in, "But His Majesty obviously fancies you. Everyone saw her passionately kissing you at the station." Wang Zhong was very calm, having already thought of a response, "I''m like a brother to her, that was her way of expressing longing for a family member." "Like that?" Vasily asked, surprised. Just then themunications officer came back, "The enemy has replied." Wang Zhong asked, "That was quick, wasn''t it?" Themunications officer exined, "Because it doesn''t need decoding, just sent directly using international aviation codes." Wang Zhong inquired, "What does the enemy say?" "Major General Joseph,mander of the Fifth Armored Division, on behalf of all Prosen troops in Karanskaya, extends sincere greetings to General Rokossov and hopes the general will ept their surrender." Wang Zhong bypassed protocol directly, "Reply that they can and only may surrender to the Ante people, or else we''ll st them to pieces." As themunications officer was about to leave, Wang Zhong stopped him: "Can the whole world receive this message, or only us?" Themunications officer replied, "Judging by the signal strength, only radios within two hundred kilometers can receive it. The signal wavelength suggests the same." Wang Zhong queried, "Then with our equipment here, how far can broadcasts reach?" Themunications officer thought for a moment and answered, "We can cover Saint Andrew Fort. If we transmit using this setup, some provinces within Prosen will also be able to receive it." Wang Zhong said, "Then change the message to this: The defeated Prosen soldiers within the Karanskaya encirclement can and only may surrender to the Ante people; otherwise, we will kill every single one of you. "Then I will write a song called ''The Monsoon of Karanskaya,'' telling people there were tens of thousands of Prosen soldiers cowering in Karanskaya and now with the heavy rain falling, only lost souls can listen." "Every time I take a Prosen city, I''ll y this song to tell of your dire fate." After themunications officer finished writing the long message, he asked, "Should I send all this?" "Yes, go ahead, make sure the whole of Ante can receive the message." Themunications officer left. Priest Popov muttered, "They can and only may surrender to the Ante people? You even have the talent to be a Military Chain, huh? No, I''ve known you had this talent all along. You never needed me to inspire the soldiers'' will to fight, making me feel useless." Vasily followed up with, "You''ll get used to it." Popov gave Vasily a malicious look. Meanwhile, Wang Zhong listened to the distant artillery fire, confident there was nothing to worry about; the enemy was poorly clothed, short on food, and low on ammunition. After the bombing, they would likely surrender. Wang Zhong started to use his transmigrator''s privilege to contemte future matters. After eliminating the enemy at Karanskaya, it would be time to pursue them, and then he would encounter a new weapon of the enemy: the PAK40 anti-tank gun. Though only a prototype model, it was indeed put into use at this time. This tank gun could potentially prate a T34 from 1500 meters away, and with their consistently excellent sights and the quality of the crew, it could inflict serious damage on the counter-attacking Ante Army. As the enemy retreats, logistical problems will gradually vanish, and the new anti-tank guns, supplied with ample ammunition, shouldn''t be underestimated. Chapter 308: Chapter 95: Celebrating with a Toast Today (Make-up 18/33)_2 And what''s more fatal is that in March of the second year of the war, the enemy will deploy the Panzer IV F2, which can prate the T34 from a long distance. The enemy''s armored troops are of high quality, and then their sights are a notch more advanced. Rookie T34 crews are often easily picked off for achievements. Then in September of the second year, the Tiger tankse into action. At first, new tanks have a high rate of mechanical failures, so theirbat effectiveness is not so high, but once the ws are mostly fixed, they be the dominant force on the battlefield. On Earth, thest Soviet Union won with heavy casualties. But in this timeline, the Prussians are stronger than the Sturmtigers, and these new weapons might lead to the copse of the front lines, ultimately losing the war. After all, just like on Earth, this timeline''s Prussians have not mobilized nor have they adopted a wartime economy. Wang Zhong thought about future events and realized more and more that what he urgently needed to do was not to achieve many victories at the front, but to quickly carry out an industrial survey, interfere with military-industrial production, and preferably even influence theposition of the troops and even thebat regtions... He was thinking when themunication staff officer came in: "The enemy''s open coded telegram." Wang Zhong: "Read it." Communication Staff Officer: "All Prosen soldiers in Karanskaya request to surrender to the Ante people." Wang Zhong nodded: "That''s more like it, but they have to send it at maximum power, repeatedly until tonight at 20:00. We can stop the artillery bombardment, and send envoys to discuss terms of surrender, but the transmission must not stop. If it ceases, our army willunch a strong attack. Inform the enemy of this." It wasn''t long before themunication staff officer came back: "Report, the enemy has agreed." Wang Zhong: "Then stop the artillery bombardment. But the artillery troops should remain on alert." Pavlov: "I think the enemy won''t y tricks anymore. How about we drink to celebrate the victory? This is the first time we have truly defeated the enemy since the war began half a year ago, and it''s not the start of another retreat." Yegorov perked up at the idea: "Good!" Wang Zhong thought for a moment and nodded: "Indeed, today we shall drink deeply to celebrate our victory!" November 20, Saint Andrew Fort, Ante Army Saint Andrew Front Army Headquarters. General Golikov, themander of the Front Army, was discussing the enemy''stest movements with senior officers when suddenly the door of the headquarters was flung open and themunication staff officer came in: "We received a telegram sent using international aviation code. It reads: ''All Prosen soldiers in Karanskaya request to surrender to the Ante people.''" Upon hearing this, Golikov immediately turned to check the full map of the front lines and then asked: "Why has Rocossovunched an attack? Shouldn''t he be encircling the enemy, waiting for them to attempt a breakout? Now the enemy will run away!" Front Army Chain: "It could be for political... and diplomatic reasons, General Golikov Konstantinovich. Especially this telegramif we can receive it, the meteorological stations in the northern Arctic regions of the United Kingdom and Federation can too. It''s a message to the world that we''ve won." General Golikov stared at the map for a few seconds and said, "Did you see the statement Rocossov made that we cannot win swiftly?" "Of course. Actually, the Church has been actively spreading this view; I think it has already be the official stance of the Grand Patriarch and the entire College of Cardinals." General Golikov nodded: "Some foresight there, but how will he respond to the demands of the faction that wants a swift victory? Promoting him to Commander of the Western Front Army out of turn has already sparked a lot of dissatisfaction. He can only attack, but what if he wins the attack? As much glory as he has now, he will be criticized just as miserablyter on!" Unlike the stern-faced General Golikov, Staff Commander Ivan Stepanovich went to the liquor cab: "Let''s worry about thatter, for now, let''s toast to the victory!" Golikov thought for a moment and nodded: "Right, to the iron wall of our empire, Rocossov, and to his crucial, first victory of annihtion, cheers!" Inside Prosen territory, Eagle''s Nest. "All Prosen soldiers in Karanskaya request to surrender to the Ante people." After the private secretary read this line, he looked at the emperor with a shrinking neck. The emperor waved his hand: "You all leave." The people crammed in the room looked at one another, then turned to walk toward the door. "Siegfried, you stay," the Emperor said. So Siegfried Gis stayed behind. After everyone else had left, Emperor Reinhard suddenly pounded the table, "How could they do this! Even if we surrender, can''t we do it quietly? Now we''ve be passive in the internationalmunity! "Our spywork in the Federation is working hard to stop the passage of the Lend-Lease Act! This telegram is going to turn all those efforts into nothing! Into nothing! "If they were honorable Prosen soldiers, they should have died for the empire! Fought to the death!" After his outburst, the Emperor of the Prussians, the Conqueror of Europa, slumped in his chair in defeat. Siegfried: "They''re also human, and they want to live. I think there''s nothing wrong with that." The Emperor looked up, gazing at his friend: "Nothing wrong, you say?" Siegfried: "The fault lies with us, who underestimated the enemy. I believe if we start total mobilization now, with all factories entering wartime production and all civilian factories switching to war production, we still have a chance." The Emperor was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head: "No, we still have some new weapons that we haven''t had a chance to deploy in the war, like the 88mm gun carrier developed after our B1 heavy tanks were brutally defeated by the enemy in Carolingian. I''ve seen the prototype tests; there''s no need for mobilization yet." Siegfried sighed. At that moment, Reinhard stood up: "Bring the wine, Siegfried. Although he''s an enemy, he indeed won the battle. ording to your ount, I recognize him as an excellent defense expert. Let us drink on the deck after the battle, like the captains of the sailing warships a hundred years ago." Siegfried Gis nodded: "Yes, we certainly should have a drink." United Kingdom, 10 Downing Street. Prime Minister Leonard Spenser was reading a daunting document provided by the Admiralty, discussing the feasibility of anding operation behind the Mamluk battlefield. At that moment, his Principal Private Secretary Bernard and the Cab Secretary Sir Apby walked in together. Bernard ced a document in front of Leonard. "What''s this?" the Prime Minister asked, looking up. Sir Apby said: "We''ve just received an unencrypted cable from the Prosen Army, ''All Prosen soldiers in Karanskaya request to surrender to the people of Ante.'' Prime Minister Leonard was visibly delighted: "Have you confirmed its authenticity?" Bernard: "Sir Camin''s department has analyzed the intelligence currentlying from inside Prosen and believes it is very likely true." Leonard was overjoyed: "Bring the wine! We must have a good drink! This is great news indeed!" Sir Apby: "However, just now, the Federation''s upper house rejected the Lend-Lease bill, meaning they won''t provide us and Ante with material support for free, at least for the time being." Leonard''s enthusiasm abruptly waned: "Damn those Prosen lobbyists!" Secretary Bernard: "Do you still want the wine?" Leonard gestured dismissively: "Yes! More so now than ever! Bring it!" Chapter 309: Chapter 96: Rocossovs Triumphant Return (Extra 19/33) November 22, St. Ye Katerina Fortress, on the outer west entrance of the city''s outer ring. Nelly checked Wang Zhong''s attire and nodded, "Now you certainly won''t lose face because of your clothes." Wang Zhong, "I have never lost face, okay!" Nelly immediately showed that expression of pity and affection a mother has when looking at her mentally challenged son. Honestly, because Nelly is super cute, Wang Zhong thought that this expression of hers was also very cute. But there are more important things to do now. Wang Zhong nced at the prisoners'' formation which had already been arranged. The Prussians really were disciplined; despite being prisoners, they could still form such neat lines. The first 20 people walking at the front all had red badges, signifying they were Prussian generals. Further behind were prisoners with the rank of general but without red badges due to their branch of service, and after them came the field officers. In a line of one hundred thousand prisoners, the enlisted men were all at the back, with several thousand officers in front. And with malice, Wang Zhong had them dressed in their best uniforms and wear their most beautiful medals but forbade them from shaving orbing their hair, and from washing their faces. This was all about presenting a well-dressed appearance paired with disheveled looks. Handpicked Ante Army officers who understood Prussian were scattered along both sides of the long column. Continue your adventure at m|v-l''e -NovelBin Because there were so many people, to ensure order during the march, many clerical staff who typically worked at division and army headquarters were also chosen to serve as trantors. A line with one hundred thousand people, including many supporting themselves on crutches or lying on stretchers, even if formed into columns of four, was still incredibly long. This gigantic column would travel along the main artery of Ye Fort, crossing through Ye Fort, passing the central square where the parade had been held, then past the main entrance of the Summer Pce, before finally entering the specially set up POW camp on the outskirts of the city. Wang Zhong suggested that this POW camp be named Merit Woods, but Belinsky didn''t approve. What a good name it was! But it seems that name was actually somethingizens came up with as a joketer on. At that moment, Bucephalus neighed. Wang Zhong turned to look at the horse but saw a majoring over and saluting him: "General, we can begin the victory ceremony now." Wang Zhong nodded, mounted Bucephalus, and then raised his hand. Before he could even swing his hand down, the military band began to y! Wang Zhong had to pretend that his raised hand was the signal, putting on a satisfied expression as he lowered it. Shit, this is what happens when you fail tomunicate properly. The military band was ying that song again, "Ante Women''s Farewell." Wang Zhong gently nudged Bucephalus''s belly, and the horse began to walk with an air of pride, actually quite imposing. Actually, many Ante civilians had already gathered along the outer ring, and the moment they saw Wang Zhong mount the horse, they started cheering. Wang Zhong nodded to them in acknowledgment and gently waved his right hand. At this time, Wang Zhong spotted the familiar journalist from the Federation, Mike, and his partner, the photographer Robert Capa. However, this time they were mixed in with arge group of journalists. Wang Zhong could clearly tell that several of these journalists were not Ante People and guessed they must be from various countries around the world. There might even be Prussian spies disguised as journalists. Wang Zhong smiled at the cameras, and the next moment countless shbulbs exploded into smoke. The Judges wearing blue hats surrounded the journalists, obviously having checked all their shlights and cameras, ensuring they were not firearms. As Bucephalus slowly advanced, a portion of the journalists walked along, seemingly having made Wang Zhong the focus of their report. Other journalists turned their cameras towards the Prussian prisoners. No sooner had Wang Zhong walked a distance than a girl broke through the cordon formed by the Priests and the Guardian Army, carrying flowers to present to Wang Zhong. But Bucephalus ate the flowers in one bite. The girl was stunned and then swiftly pinned to the ground by a burly female Judge. Wang Zhong, "She was just nning to offer flowers, be gentler." His words triggered a wave of cheers. Wang Zhong looked to the other side of the road and realized that many onlookers there were actually staring over here, changing to a bird''s-eye view to zoom in on the camera, clearly seeing their envious expressionsenvious of the crowd on the opposite side of the street who could interact with Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong nced at the marching military band and prisoners in the middle of the road, realizing he couldn''t cross the road to interact with the crowd on the other side. So the other side''s audience could only envy them, and I''m powerless to do anything. While thinking this, Wang Zhong suddenly realized something: these prisoners were animals on disy for everyone to see, and I, aren''t I the same? Fuck, I only thought it seemed cool before, so I agreed, but didn''t consider this! No wonder Ludm didn''t attend, she didn''t want to be exhibited! What a blunder! Eight hourster, Wang Zhong, utterly exhausted, finally arrived at the Summer Pce by car. Ludm came with him this time and teased him upon seeing his state, "How do you feel about the victory ceremony? If this were ancient times, they''d have to build a triumphal arch for you and put up a statue of you riding a rearing horse in front of it." Wang Zhong, who had been on disy for eight hours, could only offer a wry smile. By the way, because he had ridden a horse for eight hours, his buttocks were quite sore now. Logically speaking, when he rode Bucephalus for scouting or something, covering tens or hundreds of kilometers at a stretch, his buttocks didn''t hurt, but for some reason, just looping around the city in Ye Fort for eight hours, they felt like they were about to split open. Perhaps it was because this time he was riding at a slow walk, maintaining the same position constantly, and he couldn''t dismount to rest in the meantime, so that''s probably why. Chapter 310: Chapter 96: Rocossov’s Triumphant Return (Extra 19/33)_2 Entering the Summer Pce courtyard, the remains of shattered walls and broken bricks came into view. It seemed these were the traces left by that famous cannonade. From the ruins, the caliber of the canons appeared to be about 15CM, not the 17 or 21CM heavy artillery. Wang Zhong did not find either of these two types of heavy artillery within the Karanskaya encirclement either. Upon reflection, it would have been quite impossible to transport such heavy artillery to Karanskaya at that time. Ludm asked curiously, "Why not clean up these remnants of destruction?" Wang Zhong, "They have been cleaned up. Haven''t you noticed that many of the smaller stones have been removed? These ruins have been deliberately preserved. Whenever I see them, I think that Prosen must be destroyed. One day I will bombard their centers of power with heavy artillery on the main streets of the Prosen capital." Ludm nced at the debris again and said, "Well, that''s what I anticipate too." At this moment, the car arrived at the front entrance of the pce. His Majesty the Tsar stood at the top of the steps, smiling warmly at the iing guests. As soon as Wang Zhong got out of the car, Olga ran down the steps, lifting her skirt, and cried out, "Alyosha!" Wang Zhong immediately knelt on one knee, "Your Majesty." Never underestimate the empire''s bulwarks! Ludm, seeing Wang Zhong, offered a saluteshe was also in military attire, and strictly speaking, saluting was the most appropriate protocol. Olga stopped, her smile fading, as she adopted a stately demeanor and extended her hand to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong kissed the back of her hand and then stood up. Olga, "You have a weak spot!" "Your Majesty!" General Tugenev''s voice came from behind. Olga abruptly halted the body that had been poised for a stealth attack, and with a stern face, announced, "Congrattions on your triumphant return. In recognition of your merits, I grant you the right to carry weapons into the pce and also to ride horses within it." The moment hade to ride Bucephalus into the reception hall. Wang Zhong, "Thank you, my respected Ekaterina the Third." Olga''s expression dimmed, "They won''t let me take the name Ekaterina the Third, won''t let me change it. So I can only be called Olga the First now." Wang Zhong, "The First isn''t so bad, Your Majesty." Olga smiled and said, "Come in, General. Everyone is waiting for you. "I had to push hard to get them to agree to let me greet you alone. "They said there''s no precedent for His Majesty to greet a Major General alone. I told them you''re like my brother. No, you are the one who looked after me in my brother''s ce. If a brother returns victorious, could he stop his sister from greeting him?" Wang Zhong was in no position to argue, for he did indeed intend to be a good brother and take up that role. He could only respond, "Your Majesty, you must be mindful of the influence of your actions in the future." "I know. This way, please. Don''t keep the generals waiting." Read thetest on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin The General Staff''s map room had moved to another location, and from the intelligence Wang Zhong gathered from an overhead perspective, the room where Major General Skorobo had been killed was sealed off. Wang Zhong asked Olga curiously, "Why move the room?" Olga, "Because in that room, my fatherthe traitor from Antemet his end. Plus, you killed Major General Skorobo there. Two high-ranking traitors have died there." Wang Zhong responded with an "Oh." Olga, "Also, the windows were shattered by the st wave during the bombardment. So it was moved to a new room, since with this weather, it''s unbearable without windows." As they spoke, the servants opened the doors to the new meeting room and loudly announced, "Her Majesty Tsar Olga the First, the hero of Ante, General Rokossovsky has arrived!" Just the title of Ante''s hero? Isn''t that title a bit briefalthough I didn''t fight for a lengthy title. All the generals in the room stood up. Wang Zhong swept his gaze across the room, feeling as if all the high-ranking generals of the capital were presentalong with General Tugenev, who was always following behind him. If a bomb went off here and then, the Ante Army would possibly crumble. Belinsky was also sitting in the observers'' area. As Tsar, Olga sat in the seat of honor, and Wang Zhong also took a seat at the conference table on the right side, ranking just behind the Chief of General Staff Tukhachev and Field Marshal Boris. Ludm sat in the area designated for adjuncts, in the corner. Once everyone was seated, Tukhachev stood up, took a long stick, and stood in front of therge map. Seeing a huge map that covered an entire wall now triggered in Wang Zhong an involuntary association with "Xuzhou, a ce historically known for battles..." Tukhachev began, "Gentlemen, in December, our forces willunch aprehensive counterattack against the Prosen army within Ante territory, with the aim ofpletely eliminating the Prosen threat. "Many years ago, a Conqueror suffered defeat below the walls of Ye Fort, and at that time we were also ruled by a female monarch. That time weunched a staunch counterstrike and quickly defeated the Conqueror. "Now we believe that history will repeat itself." Wang Zhong, "How could it! Is now and a hundred years ago the same thing?" Tukhachev, "Of course we know the differences between now and a hundred years ago, but the counterattack is imperative. I propose that General Rokossovsky, who has just returned from a great victory, takemand, and I presume no one will object. In fact, in the recently concluded Karanskaya-Suhayaveli campaign, the general alreadymanded forces far beyond his rank. "I hear that even Major Generals Kiriyenko and Kashuk followed your orders. Now, being granted the rank of full general andmanding this glorious offensive, no one will object." Wang Zhong stared at Tukhachev''s face, thinking that evidently, many would have objections to this arrangement. He looked toward Belinsky. Now with the Tsar deceased and the new Tsar not yet established in prestige, the old nobility and the Secr faction''s church were already at odds, and the army was riddled with noble officers Chapter 311: Chapter 96: Rocossovs Triumphant Return (Extra 19/33) _3 If I''m promoted to general by skipping several ranks right now, I''m afraid I''ll be roasted on the fire. Wang Zhong thought again about the things he had considered beforeunching the attack. Looking at the past six monthsthese five months of battle, it''s clear that Ante has significant problems, from troop organization to tactical operations, then to military thinking, and finally equipment, all are problematic. If we don''t properly resolve these issues, by next year when the Tiger tanks roll onto the battlefield, I estimate the situation will be even worse. Wang Zhong always saw himself as a war general, but now it seems he''ll also have to do the work of a paperhanger. The opponent is Jude, with the Fritz X that was battle-hardened in the first year of Operation Barbarossawho knows what kind of monsters and demons will appearter. On Earth, the Tiger tanks'' feats of arms were frightening enough, easily knocking out several Soviet tank brigades with just onepany of Tigers. If Judees up with something like an E50, E75, or even the fictional E79 tanks from the games... that would be a real headache. Thinking of this, Wang Zhong stood up and said, "Please allow me to refuse this appointment. First, being promoted directly from a rear admiral to a general does notply with the rules. I''ve already been promoted from colonel to brigadier general, another promotion like this is not appropriate. "Secondly, I don''t believe this offensive can end the war. I think we should cautiously reim the lost territory and not underestimate the enemy. "Furthermore, during battle, I discovered that our current military organization, tactical thinking, operations, and equipment design are all unsuitable for the realities of the present war. "In the future, I hope to spend about half a year correcting these errors as much as possible." Tukhachev''s expression was stern, likely because he was one of the contributors to the erroneous tactical thinking, operations, and equipment designs. At this moment, Marshal Boris stood up to mediate: "Then can the general take up a post at the Military Command? Your brother has demonstrated remarkable work capacity in the Logistics Command. I think..." At this point, Wang Zhong noticed that Belinsky nodded slightly to Olga. Then Olga stood up with a resolve as if it took great determination, and said, "Gentlemen!" Her voice was clear and authoritative, the voice of the Tsar. Olga: "I''ve decided to promote Rocossov to lieutenant general and appoint General Rokossovsky as the dean of the Suvorov Military Academy. I believe that there he can fully address the errors he just mentioned." Wang Zhong was stunned: "OlgaYour Majesty, I graduatedst in my ss from there." Olga smiled slightly: "Look at your military achievements, my dear general. Isn''t the fact that you were only thest proof that there are problems with our military education? Where are all your peers who did well in their exams?" Tukhachev interjected: "They were all killed in action, isn''t that obvious?" Olga remained unmoved: "The dean of the Suvorov Military Academy is traditionally appointed by me. I''ve made my decision and will not change it." Wang Zhong thought about it and agreed that it was a good idea; at least errors in military doctrine, strategic thoughts, and even tactical operations could be rectified. So he stood tall, and said to Olga: "As youmand, I will not disappoint Your Majesty." "I know you won''t." Olga revealed a smile that others might have missed, but Wang Zhong saw it clearly. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Blue Star. Near the sea around Wahumana, thest state to join the Federation in the Federation. Wahumana is an archipgic state, where all the locals make their living from the sea, until a few decades ago when the Federation built arge military base here. Ever since, locals found an additional means of earnings: making money from soldier''s pockets. Still, many people prefer to go out to sea to fish. That day, the old fisherman Santiago and his son set out to sea in their boat in pursuit of a school of fish. Just then, from the radio filled with static noise, a strange voice suddenly transmitted, saying: "Dora dora dora." Explore stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin Santiago frowned and tapped the radio, but no simr voice came out again. The old man shook his head, focusing on steering. Yet, his son suddenly stood up at the bow, staring nkly in the direction of the naval base. Santiago turned around and saw, bewildered, a plume of thick smoke rising from the direction of the naval base. A new page in the course of history was turning. Chapter 312: Chapter 1 Rocossovs New Appointment November 23, Military Orders Department. "Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is hereby promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, with the order taking immediate effect upon its issuance," General Tugenev put down the first order and picked up the second. "Lieutenant General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is concurrently appointed as the Commander of the First Guard ''Red g'' Mechanized Division." Standing in front of General Tugenev''s desk, Wang Zhong frowned slightly. Hadn''t they agreed to appoint me as head of the Suvorov Military Academy? Did Olga change her mind? General Tugenev put down the second order and said, "Don''t get distracted." "Yes, sir," Wang Zhong straightened up. Tugenev picked up the third order, "The First Guard ''Red g'' Mechanized Infantry Division, distinguished in service, shall henceforth be stationed at the Kubinka training ground and simultaneously transferred to the Capital City Defense Command." Wang Zhong was itching to ask two things. First, what happened to my appointment as the head of the academy? Second, for a division with such a status and a Lieutenant General in charge, what kind of City Defense Commander would be formidable enough tomand it? But with Tugenev''s stern expression, Wang Zhong didn''t feel it was appropriate to ask questions. He could only watch as he put down the third order and picked up the fourth. "Lieutenant General Aleksei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is appointed as the Commander of the St. Ye Katerina Fortress City Defense Command." Wang Zhong''s eyebrows twitched. Well, my own troops in a key position next to the capital, appointed as themander of city defense. This clearly was to prevent others from causing trouble. Seizing the moment while Tugenev put down the orders, Wang Zhong asked, "Is this the will of OlgaHis Majesty the Tsar?" General Tugenev replied, "It was my suggestion. Do you understand what I mean?" Wang Zhong said, "I understand." Tugenev picked up a new order, "Appoint Lieutenant General Rokossovsky as the head of the Suvorov Military Academy." Well, the second-tost prediction became true: I really am the headmaster of the military academy. I wonder what expression the professors will have. Tugenev put down that order, then picked up another one. Wang Zhong couldn''t help but ask, "Is there more?" General Tugenev nced at Wang Zhong, "I am fulfilling your request. If you''re unwilling to ept, I can change the orders right now." Wang Zhong said, "Let''s hear it first." Only then did Tugenev look down at the order, "Appoint Lieutenant General Rokossovsky as the Chairman of the Special Committee for Military Equipment Review." Great, headmaster and chairman, and I will still micro-manage the troops. It looks like my head of hair is in jeopardy. Wang Zhong looked at General Tugenev and asked, "Is there more?" Tugenev stacked all the orders, straightened them out, then picked up a pen and asked, "Do you have any other appointments in mind that you''d like me to write?" Although Wang Zhong didn''t have much social experience, he knew it was too much to ask for at this moment. Besides, he had noints. He could intervene in anything. With all these appointments, even if he wasn''t a prince, he was nearly the same. At least in Ye Fort, that was the case. General Tugenev took that stack of orders, came around from behind the desk, and handed them to Wang Zhong, "I was considering having you attend the future General Staff meetings, but Staff Chief Tukhachev looked very unhappy. It''s His Majesty''s intention to put him in charge of the counteroffensive. She trusts your judgmentpletely and ns to use it as a reason to rece Tukhachev if there are any issues." Wang Zhong said, "It seems the new His Majesty the Tsar is not yetpletely epted by the military." "After all, she is a girl, and she is too close to the Church," responded General Tugenev with a sigh, continuing, "The civil war was twenty years ago, after all. The Church has been expanding its power among the lower sses, while the nobility has been doing so within the army. "Didn''t you say that many of our weapon designs are very poor? I''ve ryed your opinion to His Majesty. The fundamental reason they are so poor is because of the old nobility factionalism and self-serving actions. Not every noble has the same rity of thought that your father has." Tugenev clearly had more to say, but the adjutant opened the door and announced, "Report! Emergency situation!" General Tugenev frowned, "What''s going on? Has someone finally decided to oppose the new His Majesty the Tsar? The new City Defense Commander just happens to be here..." "No, please allow me to turn on the radio," said the adjutant, who proceeded to operate the radio. Tugenev seemed to be quite easygoing. He didn''t mind his staff being a bit disorderly. Once the radio was on, Englishknown in this world as Anglo-Saxoncame through. Wang Zhong''s grasp of English was basically at the level of how to do you do, understanding only simple speech and stammering endlessly when speaking. The adjutant tranted, "Up next, the president of the Federation will deliver a speech at the congress, which we will broadcast in its entirety." Wang Zhong took a nce at the morning sun outside the window, estimating the current time in the Federation. Well, this is quite the time for a speech... He then nced at the calendar. It''s two weeks earlier than on Earth, but it''s still a Sunday surprise attack. At this point, the speech began. In fact, Wang Zhong had heard this speech many times in various contexts. For instance, mods in Hearts of Iron had incorporated the original speeches into the game, allowing yers to listen to them once a resolution was clicked. Of course, with Wang Zhong''s level of "good reading but poor speaking" English, he couldn''t understand every line, but he definitely wouldn''t mishear thest line, "God help us." The adjutant tranted, "I believe I have expressed the will of the Congress and people of the Federation; I am convinced that we must not only fully defend our homnd but also ensure that the Federation is never again threatened by such treacherous acts." "The enemy is right in front of us, and our people, ournd, and our interests are in great danger; we cannot ignore this fact. I have absolute confidence in the Federation military and the people of the Federation. Victory will surely be ours; God be with us." The staff officer''s trantioncked the original speaker''s fury. In a calm voice, he concluded to General Tugenev and Wang Zhong, "The Federation and the Empire of Fusang, as well as their ally the Prosen Empire, are now in a state of war." At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly understood what it meant to need a good sleep. Especially since just yesterday he had heard that the Federation, incited by the Plorsen Lobby Group, had vetoed the lease-lend bill. Well, now there was no need for a bill. I''m entering the fray myself. M3 Lee tanks, M4 Sherman tanks, and even P39 Airacobra fighters were now up for grabs. More importantly, the trucksafter the Federation''s production explosion, there were trucks to spare. With Federation trucks, logistics could be improved, divisions could have more support units assigned, and tank units could be provided with maintenance vehicles, tow trucks, and other things Wang Zhong''s mental list immediately spanned three pages and was still growing. General Tugenev nced at Wang Zhong, "How about some wine to celebrate?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, that''s needed!" Sensing the mood, the operations officer turned off the radio and quietly slipped away. The general went over to his liquor cab, took out a bottle with intricate decorations, uncorked it, and poured two sses. Wang Zhong went over to grab a ss and raised it, "To celebrate the Federation joining the war!" General Tugenev: "To the imminent aid!" The two clinked sses. After drinking, General Tugenev said, "This afternoon, make an appearance at the Suvorov Military Academy. I''ve already notified the school that you will be going. Also, your safety in Ye Fort will be the responsibility of the Church''s Tribunal. You can also arrange some troops you trust." Wang Zhong: "I''ll make arrangements." General Tugenev continued, "As for the City Defense Command, you can go there tomorrow." Wang Zhong: "What about Ludm''s appointment? Where has she been assigned?" The general: "The Divine Hand and Divine Arrow Company were never really under ourmand. "Besides, ever since you changed the use of Divine Arrows, the front lines have not been as desperate for Divine Hands, and the casualty rate among them has decreased. "Now, most of the Divine Arrow Company are paired with anti-aircraft artillery, responsible for defending important locations. I suspect Belinsky won''t send your fiance to the front lines alone, so you two can fully enjoy family life in Ye Fort." Wang Zhong: "If only that were the case." General Tugenev: "Alright, get going. The imperial meeting is about to end, and it will be hard to leave once Her Majesty arrives." Yes, indeed. If His Majesty the Tsar said, "I want to understand the situation at the front," there was indeed no escaping. Wang Zhong nodded, packing a stack of documents into his briefcase. General Tugenev: "Get an adjutant. It''s unseemly for a major general to carry a document bag himself." Wang Zhong didn''t like thatment; he came from China and didn''t like such pretensions. General Tugenev: "I know you''re close with the Church and even deliberately want to shed your image of frivolity." So, the habits he brought from another world are seen like that here. General Tugenev: "I don''t know what the Church ns to make of you, but I''m speaking from a functional standpoint; you have orderlies to handle mundane matters of daily life, and you should have an adjutant for official business, essentially a secretary." Wang Zhong: "Fine, if I find someone like Bernard or Humphrey for a secretary, I will make them my adjutant." General Tugenev: "Who are they? Rakes from Ye Fort? Choose wisely. Someone without sufficient capability cannot be your adjutant, I assure you." Wang Zhong: "I''ll keep that in mind." General Tugenev nodded, "Go on, the imperial meeting is almost over." Wang Zhong turned and left the room. General Tugenev moved to the window, gazing out at the morning sun. He stood there for a long time, maintaining the pose of someone enjoying the sunrise. Then the door opened, and Her Majesty Olga I pushed through, "Alyosha! Eh? He''s gone? Why did he leave so quickly? I wanted to ask him about the situation at the front!" General Tugenev turned, "Your Majesty, he''s just taken on so many appointments; he must be extremely busy. It''s best not to disturb him all the time." Her Majesty Olga I pouted like a young girl. The general: "Your Majesty, even though the coronation hasn''t taken ce, you are already the ruler." Her Majesty Olga I sighed, "I know. I know. I will take over from my brother and get everything in order!" Chapter 313: Chapter 2: The "Inferior Student" of the Military Academy ``` Wang Zhong here. As soon as he exited the Summer Pce, he saw Grigori leaning against a jeep with a captured submachine gun in his armsthat must be his ride in the capital. Ever since yesterday''s victory parade, Wang Zhong hadn''t wanted to ride a horse. Just thinking about horseback riding made his buttocks phantom-ache. Wang Zhong, holding his briefcase, walked towards Grigori, and only after taking a few steps did he notice a car filled with Judges parked in front of his own vehicle. Well then, in the future, there would always be Judges following him wherever he went in Ye Fort. Though it was indeed safe, wouldn''t it frighten themon people? He approached Grigori and nced at the driver, asking, "This driver is..." Grigori responded, "Assigned by the court etiquette department, the Judges said he''s not a problem." Great, they even began topete over who has control over his personal security forces. Wang Zhong shook his head, deciding not to meddle in these affairs, focusing solely on contending with the Prussians. He got in the car and said to the driver, "Go to the Suvorov Military Academy." The driver nodded. The car filled with Judges heard and started first. Grigori seated himself in the co-driver''s seat and the vehicle started moving before he even closed the door, directly following the Judges'' car. One car after another left the Summer Pce, driving along Officers Streetmost of the officers working at the High Command lived on this street. Wang Zhong observed the sides of the street and could clearly see that the number of guards was more than before the state funeral. In addition to the guards, there were Guardian Army troops, each group distinctly separated across the street, facing each other. Of course, this might be because the enemy had just been repelled from near Ye Fort. Wang Zhong asked the driver, "How long will it take to reach the Military Academy?" The driver replied, "Given the current traffic conditions, we''ll get there in half an hour. After all, it''s impossible to encounter traffic jams now, and the cars on the road will give way to us." Wang Zhong nodded, leaned back in his seat, and started to rest with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was thinking about the future. If everything on Earth was simr, next March the enemy would have the Panzer IV F2. But on Earth, the Sturmtiger wasn''t really provided to the old Armored Divisions on the Eastern Front after the Panzer IV F2 came out. Instead, the organization size of the old Armored Divisions was reduced, with some even downsized to just one Armored Battalion, with the rest bing Grenadier Battalions. A few Panzer IV F2s were sent to the Eastern Front, and they all yed a significant role. Whereas arge number of Panzer IV F2s were used to reequip three Armored Divisions resting on the Western Front and to form new Armored Divisions and Battalions. The Panzer IV F2''s defense didn''t increase much. The main change was the use of a long-barreled 75mm gun, which suddenly improved its armor-piercing capability. Then the Prussian Armored Troops, relying on their high quality, contended with the T34 using their existing equipmentthe second year the overall quality of Prussian Armored Troops decreased somewhat, but they still overpowered the Soviet armored forces. It wasn''t until September that the Tiger King began to appear on the battlefield. Wang Zhong, having read many memoirs of old Prussian soldiers, knew that the true strength of the Tiger King waspletely different from its portrayal in various movies and TV shows. Such works always highlighted the Tiger King''s strong armor defense. But in reality, the real power of the Tiger Kingy first in its firepower, and second in the people who operated it. On Earth, the Tiger Kings on the Eastern Front could go on a rampage. Most of the time, the armor wasn''t necessary. Instead, a pair of Tiger Kings at distances over 1000 meters scored first-hit, first-kill, and then they just pumped out around 20 kills of T34s, directly crippling the attacking tank brigade to the point where it had to withdraw. And usually by then, the T34s wouldn''t even have spotted the Tiger Kings. Because the elite Tank Operators always carefully surveyed the terrain, picked good positions, and were very concealed. This was like ying a game where veterans enter low-level rooms to dominate, hiding in all sorts of tricky spots to decimate new yers until they run out of ammunition, achieving astonishing kill-death ratios (K/D). Moreover, the Tiger King''s 88mm gun was truly powerful. Looking at thebat cases against the Tiger King, the T34s that got farmed basically were all destroyed, and ny percent of them caught fire and burned. This was something Wang Zhong had experienced firsthand inbat, and his understanding was profound. With tank guns, in most cases, you couldn''t tell if you had destroyed the enemy. Normally, you''d keep firing until the target caught fire or crew bailed out, and only then you''d switch targets. It was only Wang Zhong, who was like a cheater in that respect, as he could tell at a nce the effect of the attack, directing the Gunner to switch targets instantly. With the Tiger King''s 88mm gun, ny percent of the time a hit would set the enemy on fire or even cause the ammunition to explode. This allowed the Tiger King to switch targets quickly, greatly increasing kill efficiency. So, the Tiger King''s prowess was mostly due to the strength of its 88mm at-all-ranges gun. The Tiger King could actually be called an "88mm gun armored transport." Your next read is at m v|l-e''-NovelBin On Earth, the tactics employed both on the Eastern and Western Fronts to counter the Tiger King were not to destroy it directly, but rather to disrupt Prosen''s logistics, breaking down forces that didn''t receive Tiger King support and gradually eroding the front lines. Even someone jokingly said that the Soviet method of dealing with the Tiger King was to deplete its Armor-Piercing Shells with T34 numbers, forcing the Tiger King to retreat. Wang Zhong didn''t want such a thing to happen in Ante. Therefore, a tit-for-tat approach was necessary. They needed a vehicle capable of destroying the Tiger King at long ranges and then to entrust these to the most elite tank operators. These vehicles should be modeled after Prosen''s heavy-armored Tiger Kingpanies, organized independently intopanies,plete with ample support troops and logistics, ready to be dispatched wherever a Tiger King appeared. If you use the Tiger King as a fire brigade, I will specially form a Tiger-hunting team. The question then was, in Ante''s arsenal, which weapon could precisely hit a Tiger King at 1500 meters and guarantee a first-hit kill? Wang Zhong, considering the knowledge he had brought from Earth, thought for a moment; it seemed there truly wasn''t one, especially with the stiption of 1500 meters. At 1000 meters, there were indeed weapons capable of pration, but they required specific entry angles. In some more realistic World War II games, when facing the Tiger and Tiger King, Wang Zhong typically used 152mm high-explosive shells to stun the crew and capture the equipment. But obviously, that was not practical in reality. ``` Moreover, Tiger tanks mostly did not act alone; they were always coordinated with other units. "Tiger King" Carius emphasized in his memoirs that it was crucial to maintain a good rtionship with the apanying infantry and to cooperate with them inbat. Wang Zhong was pondering over his grand strategy to defeat the Tiger tanks when suddenly the vehicle came to a stop. The driver turned around and said, "General, we have arrived." Only then did Wang Zhong notice that the car had stopped in front of a grand building. To the right was the staircase leading to the main entrance, and to the left stood a statue of a general from over a hundred years ago mounted on a majestic horse. The statue was presumably of Suvorov. As he continued to look at the statue, a group of people in military uniforms emerged from the building''s main entrance, squeezing out smiles as they walked towards the car. Wang Zhong knew that they must be professors from the Suvorov Military Academy. He got out of the car, waiting for the group of professors to approach him. The leading professor reached Wang Zhong and immediately extended his hand, "We have been waiting for you for a long time, General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong didn''t actually recognize any of these people and had to rely on an "external helper" to see their names and titles. The one greeting him now was named Valery Nikyevich, a professor who taught infantry tactics, and also the vice principal. Wang Zhong shook his hand, "Professor Valery, I still remember yourments about me." The professor''s hand trembled slightly, "This... " Wang Zhong immediately confirmed that this guy had criticized him in the past, otherwise he wouldn''t be scared like this! However, since he didn''t remember which of the professors had taught what, and he wasn''t sure which one to dismiss, Wang Zhong made up for it by saying, "Your teachings have benefited me greatly!" Huh? Why does it sound even more sarcastic? Hopefully, the professor wouldn''t drop dead like the character in Chekhov''s short story "The Death of a Government Clerk." Forget it, if he dies from this, it shows he has a guilty conscience. Wang Zhong, "I''m new here and not familiar with the academy''s situation. Introduce me to everything." Professor Valery immediately responded, "Of course, of course, we are here to give you a tour of the campus. The heads of each subject are all here, and we will make sure you get aplete and clear understanding of the school. Let''s start by showing you around." Wang Zhong, "Good, lead the way." Valery then turned and pointed at the building behind him, "This is our school''sprehensive teaching building, which houses the school''s main lecture halls and most of the theoretical ssrooms" Wang Zhong, "Howe I can''t hear any students?" Valery, "Because the war has broken out, aside from allowing the students in the two grades closest to graduation to graduate early, the school has also rearranged the curriculum of the other grades and reduced the theory sses. Now, most of the students are in the war-gaming building, conducting war games to understand the Prosen tactics as quickly as possible." Wang Zhong became interested, "Good, take me to see them." Professor Valery looked slightly embarrassed, "Not going to take a look here?" Wang Zhong, "We''ll talk about thatter. I want to see what the students are up to." "Alright, this way please..." As he spoke, Wang Zhong saw a dozen trucks full of military officers enter the school, circle around the fountain, and stop between the statue of Suvorov and the building. Only then did Wang Zhong notice that the officers on the trucks were all young lieutenants and majors, with very few lieutenant colonels. "What are these?" he asked Valery. Valery, "You don''t know? The Military Orders Department instructed all officers recovering from injuries who are about to return to their units to attend a two-month training course here." Wang Zhong, "What course?" Valery looked at Wang Zhong with a puzzled face, "The Military Orders Department said you would personally teach the course." What the hell? I wasn''t told I would have to teach personally, was I? Wait, there was something like a knowledge-sharing session before, but those who came were generals, at least colonels. This time they''ve setup a low-end version? And they came in more than a dozen trucks? There must be a few hundred people at least, right? But the catch is, Wang Zhong hadn''t nned what to teach; all he had been thinking about was how to fight the Tigers. At that moment, the excited cadets started to notice Wang Zhong. Someone asked, "Excuse me, are you Principal Rokossovsky?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, I am Rokossovsky." After responding, he felt there was something missing, so he added, "Hello, students!" As a result, the officers who were whispering among themselves all looked his way. "Could it be General Rokossovsky?" "I heard he was going to be the principal of the Suvorov Military Academy!" "He''s be the principal even though he wasst in the ss!" When the remark about beingst came up, Wang Zhong noticed Valery''s eye twitch slightly, revealing obvious distress. Wang Zhong, "Students!" Havingmanded tens of thousands of troops before, his voice was absolutely loud enough. The officers all fell silent. Wang Zhong, "You are here to attend a temporary training program, and technically, I should be instructing you. However, I have not yet decided what to teach. I assure you that I will figure it out by tomorrow! For today, feel free to mingle and share with the cadets your experiences at the front and what war is all about, consider it a favor to me!" Chapter 314: Chapter 3 The Weight of Being Last (Extra 20/33) After dismissing the officers, Wang Zhong started to think about what to teach the students that had been thrust upon him. He walked alongside a group of professors while pondering. He thought carefully and realized there were too many issues with the Ante Army, feeling that whatever he lectured on wouldn''t make an immediate impact on the situation of the Ante. Professor Valery: "This is our wargaming building, and the first wargame room is currently reying the defense of Ye Fort." Wang Zhong: "Ah? Oh." He was intending to continue thinking about tomorrow''s lecture, but suddenly realized that everyone was looking at him with expectant eyes. It was obvious they were hoping Wang Zhong would say something. Professor Valery introduced dutifully, "Currently, students specializing in infantrymand are ying the role of our army, while the students of the Armored Troopsmand are ying the Prosens." Wang Zhong didn''t think much and said, "The Prussians are also very strong in infantry. In fact, their infantry''s offensive under artillery cover is a significant threat; we shouldn''t naively think of them as only good at armored troops rushing forward." The students on both sides looked at each other in confusion. A student suddenly remembered to apud and raised his hand to p once But Wang Zhong continued to speak and the student could only quiet down. Wang Zhong carefully examined the map of the exercise and shook his head. "You have obviously oversimplified the Prussian forces. In truth, the Prussians were able to defeat us not because their armored troops were so formidableour propaganda always focuses on this, but neglects the real situation," Wang Zhong said as he repeatedly waved his hand and walked over to a student holding a two-meter-long pole. Taking over the pole, he began to adjust various chess pieces on the map for the confrontation while saying, "The Prussian forces could win against us mainly because of their high level ofbined arms. "This is their real advantage. Take the Prussian Armored Divisions for example; in fact, they only have two armored battalions, and it''s rare to even see a division with three armored battalions. "But most of their armored divisions besides the two armored battalions will have an Armored Grenadier Corps, artillery battalions, anti-aircraft battalions, logistics support battalions, motorized reconnaissance battalions..." As he spoke, Wang Zhongpleted the map by adding the Prussian Armored Division''s subordinate units. "And us, some high-ranking officers have a superficial understanding of the enemy. Without a detailed investigation, they make decisions off the top of their heads. We lost ten thousand tanks in just 18 days of fighting, ten thousand! And although most of these tanks were the likes of BT and T26, there were also a considerable number of T34 and KV tanks, which were likewise lost. "I''ve exchanged thoughts with severalmanders of our tank divisions. These tank forces have nothing except for the tanks, naively thinking that with tanks, they''re invincible! "And the result? These tank divisions and corps, whichcked coordination with other troops and had nothing but tanks, vanished like bubbles under the sunlight. "Who was leading this foolish expansion? One of them was General Skorobo, whom I''ve already killed. Facts proved he was a Prussian spy. Another was Tsar Niki V, who died pining for Ivanthe Crown Prince. "There''s still one left, and that is Chief of Staff Tukhachevnow the Commander of the Western Front Army. He will be given the opportunity to prove his loyalty to the mother of Ante." When Wang Zhong mentioned "loyalty to the mother of Ante," he noticed several students frowning. Probably nobles; ording to noble terms, one should prove loyalty to the Tsar. Wang Zhong disregarded them: "These digressions are not our main topic for today''s discussion. What we need to discuss is how tanks should be employed. "Currently, who has achieved the most with tank usage among all Ante''s forces? It is I, Rocossov. "And my tank forces never operate alone. In fact, my division is a mechanized infantry division. I only have one tank battalion, but this battalion consists almost entirely of decorated tank operators, each crew averaging over ten Prussian tank kills. "Tanks can only perform best whenbined with infantry, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-tank gunners, and howitzers. The Prussians realized this early on, which is why their tank divisionsor rather armored divisionshave so many non-tank units." Wang Zhong stopped, as his mouth had be dry from speaking. At that moment, a female student came up with a tray holding tea. Wang Zhong picked up the teacup, finding its temperature just right to drink, thanked her with a "thank you," and drained the cup in one go. After putting the cup back on the tray, he continued, "Our tank forces not only have issues with organization, but also with their use. Manymanders only know how to charge blindly, which is incorrect. The key to tank deployment, in fact, is to exploit their firepower. "Whether it is during tank battles against enemy tanks or providing cover for infantry attacks, it is most important to utilize the firepower. "This requires the tank to have as good observation and search capability as possible. The Prussian tanks all have a tankmander, andmanders like to pop their upper body out of the tank to scout. Their tanks generally have very good scouting abilities, and thetest model, the Type III G tank, evenes equipped with amander''s observation turret... Any pictures?" Since the room contained students specializing in armoredmand, Wang Zhong wanted to show them to give them a concept of the observation turret. However, the lecturer in charge of the wargame shook his head, "Not yet." Wang Zhong: "No problem, I also captured many intact Mark III G-type and Mark IV E-type tanks in this campaign. Students of the armoredmand program will be able to personally drive them soon and experience the advantages of these tanks." "The Prosen people are very good at utilizing the firepower advantage of tanks, their tanks have the best targeting devices in the world, and the precision of their cannons is also very high. The first time I won a defensive battle was at the small vige of Peniye. Prosen tank operators actually hit the window of the vige bell tower with their cannon from a distance of two kilometers." "Two kilometers! At that time, themander of my Divine Arrow Company was Monk Yeca Neiko, who initially insisted on setting up a firing position in the bell tower, but changed location after my opposition." "If I hadn''t opposed it, my fiancethe prayer hand of Divine Arrow, Ludm, would have died under the enemy''s precise artillery fire." Wang Zhong stopped and looked at the students. From the expressions in their eyes, it was clear they were listening very intently. This pleased Wang Zhong immensely: "Do you understand? Utilize firepower! And the role of armor is mainly to allow the tank to sustain firepower for a longer duration! Firepower! Search for the enemy, hit on the first shot, that''s more reliable than any armor!" The reason Wang Zhong was saying this was because he had just been pondering how tobat Tiger tanks, and had then gone through a full round of thinking about the characteristics of the Tiger. As a result, he was now directly sharing some of his thoughts at the time as "actualbat experience" to the students. Wang Zhong: "But what about our tanks? Our tanks don''t have amander! Because those who led the development and those responsible for the review at the time believed that amander was useless, a waste of manpower! That is simply ludicrous!" In reality, the one who ultimately approved the design without amander was the former Tsar Nichs V, but he was dead. Wang Zhong: "Because our tanksck amander, or rather, themander must also serve as the gunner, this results in very poor scouting ability duringbat. If ourmanders, like their Prosen counterparts, were to stick their upper bodies out of the tank, the tank would not be able to fire." "This is the most ridiculous design I have ever seen." "Also, with our tank guns, once you have personally driven a T34, you will know that the cannon of this vehicle can''t hit anything at distances over 1000 meters, with most effective hits achieved within 500 meters." "Compared to the firing distance of the Prosen people, it''s absolutely inconceivable!" At this moment, a student raised their hand: "But the newspapers say that the T34 is invincible, beating any Prosen demons and monsters!" Wang Zhong: "Bullshit! Yes, the Prussians cannot effectively prate the armor of the T34 right now, but they quickly found countermeasures. As I''ve just said, the scouting ability of the T34 is poor, to put it inly, the T34 is like a blind man! "The Prosen people just have to circle around from the front to the side of the T34, and the T34 would then be unable to find it! Regarding this point, we can bring over the Prosen Mark III G-typeter and have a confrontation with the T34. "Although the Prussians are unable to prate the main armor of the T34, they can target the turret ring and break the tracks!" "My troops first got their hands on the T34 during the defense battle at Loktov, and at that time the Prosen''s ace tank operators dealt with our T34s just like that. If I hadn''t returned and discovered this ace crew that had already taken out several T34s and destroyed their tank, our army would have suffered immense losses." General Wang stopped. The girl who thought he might be thirsty again promptly came up with water, but Wang Zhong waved her off and instead surveyed the entire room. Wang Zhong: "Do you understand now? For tanks, two things are important: First, the long-range scouting ability to fully utilize firepower, and second,bined arms cooperation. "Armor is also important but not as crucial as it is made out to be in propaganda! We have some generals who think that as long as tanks have thick armor, everything will be fine; they think that just having tanks means they can win any battle, which is a mistake." Wang Zhong paused, feeling that he had said enough, especially since he hadn''t even prepared a draft for today''s talk. So he concluded with, "Any questions?" Immediately, a student raised their hand. Wang Zhong: "Go ahead." Student: "General, is it because of this that you came inst? Because our military theory is wrong?" Wang Zhong nced at the professors apanying him for the tour. Sweating yet? Wang Zhong: "Of course. And I am here to correct these mistakes! Fundamentally correct them! If we do not reverse this situation and eradicate the bad influence of incorrect military thinking, more Ante soldiers will bleed and die for nothing in the future! "These sacrifices are avoidable! This is why I personally requested from His Majesty Tsar Olga I to be the head of the Suvorov Military Academy!" After Wang Zhong spoke, he pounded heavily on therge wooden table used for tactical exercises. The students erupted with thunderous apuse, making the ceiling hum with vibration. The professors huddled in the corner exchanged nces. Chapter 315: Chapter 4 Prediction (21/33 added) As the apuse subsided, all eyes turned towards Professor Valeri. With a sigh, Valeri stood up and said, "General Rocossov, topletely dismiss our theories like that may not be appropriate. Our theory primarily focuses on offense, and it''s normal to encounter some issues during defense. If we were attacking..." Wang Zhong looked towards the Vice Chancellor, "Regardless of offense or defense, tanks require substantial support troops. Modern warfare is abined arms conflict, and it''s also a logistical battle. "Our tank division, with 80 tanks, is equipped with only three tractors for towing, and we don''t have a single professional maintenance person. I''ve seen far too many tanks abandoned by the roadside for minor faults, without a tractor to tow them back, nor a professional mechanic to repair them. "If such a force advances, even without any resistance from the enemy, all our tanks will break down on their own in the process." While making these points, Wang Zhong kept his gaze fixed on Professor Valeri, leaving him no choice but to lower his head. Seeing that the professor had no rebuttal, Wang Zhong turned to the students and continued, "If you''ve ever been on a battlefield, you''ll know that aside from tanks that arepletely destroyed by fire, many can actually be repaired. The Prosen armored forces perform exceptionally well in all respects, especially their battlefield repairs. "If we lose control of the battlefield, their repair units could potentially fix a significant portion of the damaged tanks. That''s one of the reasons their tanks never seem to run out. "In the future, our armored forces must not only have various auxiliarybat units but also repair units. It takes much less time and cost to fix a tank than to build a new one, which is extremely important in this kind of total war." In reality, Wang Zhongor rather, "Rocossov"shouldn''t be able to know the enemy''s repair capabilities. But Wang Zhong, before his time-travel and as a military enthusiast, had read much information and had long noticed an interesting fact. Sturmtigers sometimes increased in number without receiving reinforcements. For example, at Kursk, the Imperial division reported on July 11 that they had 18 operational long-barrelled Panzer IVs (possibly F2s or Hs), and by July 13, they had 20 operational long-barrelled Panzer IVs. The additional two were the ones repaired. The long-barrelled Panzer IIIs were even more outrageous. On the 11th, they had 34 operational long-barrelled Panzer IIIs, and by the 12th, the number increased to 43, the repaired tanks outnumbering those lost in battle by a considerable margin. So the game Wars of Men is actually quite realistic in some respect; tanks on the battlefield can be repaired. The fantastical part lies in the fact that in the game Wars of Men, just about anybody can fix a tank. At this moment, Wang Zhong had already resolved to establish a repair capability within the Ante forces that wouldn''t be outdone by that of the enemy Prosenat least a local repair capability of that standard. That''s why he made such statements. Then, a student raised his hand, "But the Prosen people are about to lose the war, aren''t they? My father is an Army Group Commander, and they say that once the counter-offensive begins in December, the Prosen will lose the war. We will rapidly advance to the Prosen homnd to fulfill the agreement made in Prosennia." The students around him chimed in, "Yes, my father also said the same." "And so did mine." Wang Zhong saw that this was a small clique, probably all sons of military nobility. The first speaker continued, "Your Excellency, General, I heard that you were supposed to takemand of the Western Front Army and be promoted to full General, but you refused. Why decline such a post that could bring you a mass of military merits? My father never understood." Wang Zhong asked, "Did he also say that mymand abilities are not sufficient to lead a Front Army?" Joking aside, I havemanded millions of troopswithin the game Hearts of Iron. The student was somewhat embarrassed, "Well... I had an argument with my father because I greatly admire you. Um..." Wang Zhong turned to the instructor overseeing the opposition and said, "Switch to the map west of Ye Fort." The instructor immediately operated the mechanical device, causing the map on the wall to roll up and a new map to unfold with the sound of motors. Wang Zhong took the two-meter-long rod in his hand and drew a line on the map, "I believe the enemy will stop our winter counteroffensive here." Immediate buzz filled the room, and even the most reclusive students couldn''t help but join the discussion. "What''s the reason?" the son of the Army Group Commander asked loudly. Wang Zhong replied, "First, state your name, and then we can discuss this matter." "Maslo Boyev." Hearing this name, Wang Zhong''s brows furrowed slightly, "Aren''t you a noble?" The construction of that name didn''t seem like that of an Ante person since itcked a patronymic. Maslo Boyevughed, "Why would the nobility admire you? To them, you''re a traitor. Can you answer my question now?" Wang Zhong said, "Your father is..." Maslo: "Lieutenant General Bayev, Commander of the 21st Army Group." Wang Zhong: "I''m d to meet you, Maslo. I''m here to tell you why I think we can only advance this far. First is logistics. If the enemy were to establish arge logistical node, it would be along this line. By the time we reach this line, the enemy''s supply situation would greatly improve. "Next, this line has terrain suitable for defense, with the Duva River to the south. The north, although t ins with no rivers, is home to our defensive fortifications. These structures didn''t stop the enemy, but they will block us in turn. "The Prosen Army, even when the Karanskaya encirclement was closing in, still had the will to resist. At that time, they were starving, short of ammunition, and without antifreeze lubricant, yet they still caused us considerable casualties." After finishing his exnation, Wang Zhong took a two-meter pole, held it as a rifle, and asked, "Any questions?" Professor Valery: "At this time it''s best not to say things that elevate the enemy''s morale and undermine our own prestige" Wang Zhong: "I am a military man. If I were naive, it could lead to thousands of casualties." Maslo: "Are you suggesting that General Tukhachev, Commander of the Western Front Army, is naive?" Wang Zhong: "What I am saying is that anyone who thinks they can quickly defeat the Prosen Empire is being naive. This will be a protracted war." After Wang Zhong spoke, the entire room fell quiet, in stark contrast to the thunderous apuse from earlier. At that moment, another student spoke up: "So, bearing the titles of the Empire''s Iron Wall and Imperial War God, you''ve receded to the rear? Are you nning to re-emerge when victory is near?" With that contemptuous tone, Wang Zhong boldly guessed that this young man was from the Aristocratic faction. Wang Zhong: "State your name." "Alexei Petrovich Valkov, son of Duke Peter Alexandrovich Valkov." Read chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin Wang Zhong: "I have temporarily left the front lines to solve identified problems. My Guard''s First Mechanized Infantry Division has already gone to the Kubinka training base. I hope to use it as a temte to establish a series of new divisions, so that they are not cut open and prated by the Prussians like cutting tofu. "I also n to correct the design ws of the T34 and develop a more powerful tank. Additionally, I have quite a few opinions on our Air Force''s equipment." Valkov challenged: "Even you must admit that our T34s are already good enough, right?" Wang Zhong: "Good enough? No, it is only good when facing the enemy''s short-barreled tanks like the Mark III and IV. Once the enemy upgrades to long-barreled guns, they will not be good enough. Particrly, the poor long-range firing capability will lead to the massive sacrifice of our tank operators, and then we will never amass a sufficiently experienced group of ace tank operators." In fact, we could build such a group, but not enough, and they live by a thread, with only extremely lucky vic supermen surviving post-war. Valkov: "Do you also believe in that theory that Prussians are a superior race, to make such a definitive im that they will develop better tanks?" Such a heavy usation! Wang Zhong: "The T34''s ability to win an anti-tank shell confrontation is due to its excellent shape. That shape can be learned; anyone can learn it. It has nothing to do with the superiority of a race. Of course, I question when the enemy will be able to learn it. "Before that happens, I believe they will first try to equip their tanks with longer-barreled guns. This is easy to do." Valkov: "It''s surprising that you, our Highness, are so afraid of the Prussians. No wonder you said we could win only thanks to General Mud and General Winter." Wang Zhong: "Using the climate to our advantage is an important ability for a general. I don''t think there''s anything shameful about that. But we can only use this once; by next year, the Prussians will be prepared. "Therefore, we also need to prepare for a more severe battle situation. By the beginning of next year, when the muddy conditions subside, the Ante Army may have to pay a heavy price to stop the enemy''s summer offensive. I don''t want to see soldiers dying in vain again due to errors in military doctrine and stupidity in equipment design." Valkov: "But that design was approved by the former Tsar himself!" Wang Zhong: "Yes, and then that design caused the death of a lot of people, including my father and my good brothers. Whether the former Tsar died from missing the fallen Crown Prince or from guilt, I think is questionable." Actually, many in Ye Fort knew that the Tsar died a traitor, but nobody openly talked about it. Alexei Petrovich Valkov snorted: "Let''s see then; given the enemy''s current state, their counterattack will soon reach the line you''ve drawn!" Wang Zhong: "Yes, I hope we won''t suffer too heavily in front of the enemy''s new defensive line." After speaking, he turned around and looked at the traces he had pressed into the map with the long pole. A few secondster, he decided not to dwell on things he couldn''t influence and instead focus on finishing the tasks at hand, one by one. After visiting the school today, he would go directly to the Ordnance Department. After all, Wang Zhong was still the chairman of the Special Military Equipment Review Committee, which currently had no office location or structure, meaning he was the solemander without support. But ording to themittee''s functions, it was responsible for reevaluating current equipment production based on the actual needs of the battlefield. That description implied significant authority. Wang Zhong intended to rush to the Ordnance Department and use his title to force improvements in the equipment currently in production. Chapter 316: Chapter 5: Delighted to Obtain a Level 5 Clerk Position Having decided to visit the Ordnance Department, Wang Zhong nned to finish the school''s procedures quickly. So, he scanned the entire tactical training room and asked, "Any more questions? Feel free to ask, my gun is on safety." Many students began tough. From their appearance, it was impossible to tell whether they were nobility ormoners. However, Maslo Boyev and the group of students around himughed most uninhibitedly, leading Wang Zhong to surmise that they were ofmoner origin. Students with grim expressions, on the other hand, were gathered around Duke Aleksei Petrovich Valkovif one was an heir, ording to Ante''s custom, they would be referred to by their father''s title as long as the father was still alive. Wang Zhong, observing the scene, immediately grasped theplexity of Ante''s current situation. He decided that when the visit ended and he returned to the principal''s office, he would have a thorough discussion with Vice Principal Valeriy about the tensions between the noble andmoner students. Wang Zhong: "No more questions?" At that moment, Maslo Boyev raised his hand: "General! Did you really kill that many enemy generals?" "No. I can confirm two that I killed, one that was wounded, and the rest were prisoners taken during a series of counter-attacks I led in November. I haven''t killed many enemy generals, but I''ve caught quite a few," Wang Zhong replied, then added after a pause, "When we encircle and annihte them by the hundreds of thousands, there will be even more of their generals taken prisoner. Eventually, we''ll also have to capture their Emperor Reinhard." Excitedly, Maslo Boyev asked, "Will you execute Emperor Reinhard with a firing squad?" Wang Zhong instinctively wanted to say that Reinhard would be publicly tried and then executed upon capture, but in the moment before he spoke, he remembered the faces of many who had passed away. He then recalled a movie he loved as a child called "The Guerris of the ins," which featured a child who always yed with a bullet until the child was brutally killed by the enemy. The protagonist, Li Xiangyang, kept that bullet until the end of the film, when he finally loaded it into his shotgun. Wang Zhong was always deeply impressed by this scene and did not forget it even as he grew up. Reinhard, you''d better resist to the very end, and then let me personally put an end to you, son of a bitch. To hell with procedural justice; this is a matter of national and personal vendetta, as well as my own private hatred. "Yes," he said, "I will personally finish him off." As his words fell, thunderous apuse broke out, even the noble-born students pped. Wang Zhong: "Any other questions?" "General, will you marry Her Majesty Olga I?" "No," Wang Zhong denied decisively, "My fiance has been fighting alongside me until now, and I would not betray her, just as I would not betray Mother Ante." Instead of apuse, there was a buzz of whispers as it seemed that these children, who had never been to the frontlines, were still very interested in gossipno, those who had been to the frontlines liked gossip too. Wang Zhong pped the table: "Any other questions? Military-rted!" However, everyone seemed only interested in the general''s family life. Wang Zhong thought for a moment, feeling that there would be plenty of timeter to pass on his realbat experiences to them, then said, "Since you have no more questions, let''s call it a day. Continue with the map exercises, following the enemy characteristics I just described!" With that, Wang Zhong turned and headed straight for the door, with the professors hurriedly following. Just as Wang Zhong stepped out, a Judge approached and saluted, "Respected Principal, I am a representative from Tribunal at the Suvorov Military Academy. Regarding the young Duke Alexei Petrovich Valkov and his father, they have been under our close watch. "However, as we have recently executed many of those in the surrender faction, the higher-ups have judged it best to dy any action to avoid further loss of control of the situation. Therefore, we are only to take action when we find definite evidence of their coboration with Prosen." Wang Zhong nodded. He could already imagine what capturing the surrender faction had been like; after all, he had personally executed General Skorobo, who had not been gged in red by an external mark, so he probably was not a spy. But now he was. Professor Valeriy, who hade out with him, heard the words of the Tribunal representative and immediately took a step back. The representative grinned at him and said, "Vice Principal Valeriy, we can be sure of your loyalty." Valeriy breathed a sigh of relief, then regained hisposure and said to Wang Zhong, "Shall we continue the campus tour?" Wang Zhong nodded. Afterwards, Wang Zhong visited the entire campus, where he discovered that the Armored Troops training grounds at the Suvorov Military Academy were quite small, and their training equipment was the T35 tanka multi-turret, vulnerable machine. When Wang Zhong inquired about the training equipment, Vice Principal Valeriy assured him that T26 and BT7 tanks would soon be delivered. Compared to the modest armored training facilities, the Military Academy had veryprehensive cavalry training infrastructure, with courses covering everything from quality horse breeding to cavalry tactics. Although cavalry had indeed yed a significant role in the recent Karanskaya counteroffensive, and Wang Zhong himself had been helped by cavalry twice, this branch''s utility was essentially on an "if needed" basis. When Wang Zhong asked about the cavalry, Vice Principal Valeriy said, "Our emphasis on armored troops only started after Tukhachev became the Chief of Staff. Before that, our main military thought was that cavalry was the decisive factor and tanks were like enhanced versions of the armored cars used during the Civil Warjust fortified machine-gun carts." Well, Ante was even more behind the times than I thought. Thest stop of the visit was the principal''s office. As soon as Wang Zhong entered the principal''s office, he saw arge empty space on the wall, and the color of the ster in that spot was clearly lighter than the surrounding area, indicating that a painting had once hung there. So he pointed to the empty space and asked, "What happened here?" Professor Valery replied, "Well, normally, a full-length portrait of the principal would hang here. Your predecessor and you were not on good terms, and he refused the offer to continue teaching, so he retired and returned home." Wang Zhong questioned, "How can this be allowed? Was he a level six bureaucrat?" Professor Valery replied with some embarrassment, "We are all soldiers." Wang Zhong pressed, "Then he is retired now, isn''t he? Does he have a job locally? What level is that job?" Valery looked up at the ceiling as if trying to recollect the bureaucratic ranking, and after a moment said, "I really don''t know. ording to the ranks, the former principal should have been a level five bureaucrat." Wang Zhong was pleased and said, "That''s even better. Quickly invite him to my City Defense Command to serve as a bureaucrat! No, my Ordnance Committee also needs bureaucrats C get him toe over." After the old school director had joined Wang Zhong''s staff office, Pavlov''splexion visibly improved. These old guys with a lot of bureaucratic experience were treasures, all of them brought in to handle documents and stamp approvals. Continue your journey on m|v-l''e -NovelBin If he wasn''t cut out for military affairs, they simply wouldn''t let him deal with military matters. Professor Valery was clearly embarrassed, "Really, should we do this? Wouldn''t this be too insulting?" Wang Zhong replied, "How can serving the mother of Ante be an insult? Watch your words!" Professor Valery then said, "But... please don''t send a Judge to ''invite'' him..." Wang Zhong countered, "If I don''t send a Judge, will hee out of retirement?" Valery fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Let me write him a letter to persuade him first, may I?" Wang Zhong spoke slyly, "Write a letter, and I''ll have the Judge bring it with him to invite the man." Vice-Principal Professor Valery requested, "Then... please allow me to make a phone call to him first." Wang Zhong agreed, "Make sure you tell him, if he runs, then it''s confirmed that he''s a traitor, a Prosen spy. Tell him to wait at home." Wang Zhong wasn''t returning triumphantly to bully others; he mainly wanted to see just how capable a level five bureaucrat was. A level six was already capable of sorting out all the misceneous things in a division, directing the entire staff office. He couldn''t even begin to imagine what a level five would be like. Professor Valery looked worried, seemingly having misunderstood. His expression even carried a hint of sorrow for the misfortune of another. Wang Zhong pretended not to notice and pointed to the empty space where the frame had been, "What about this? It doesn''t look good empty." Professor Valery responded promptly, "We could have a portrait painted for you. We have already contacted an artist; as soon as you have some free time, he can start." Wang Zhong shook his head, "I don''t have the time. Instead, have the artist go to my division headquarters at Kubinka, find my official car and my beloved horse Bucephalus, and paint the two of them together to hang in this room." "Certainly, I will notify the artist," said Professor Valery. Wang Zhong turned his attention to the other decorations in the room, but soon found them boring, and suggested, "Take away all these paintings, and hang a map for me instead, aplete map of Ante, and it would be best to include the entirety of Prosen." "Yes," answered Valery. Wang Zhong looked southward, observing the vast equestrian grounds of the Suvorov Military Academy through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, and beyond that, the royal woonds. Wang Zhong dered, "The equestrian field outside should bepletely converted to an armored training ground, with all horse riding and cavalry-rted courses moved to a nearby horse farm. There is a horse farm nearby, isn''t there?" "Yes, we have one specifically for supplying us with horses," replied Valery with utmost respect. Wang Zhong nodded, then approached the desk and saw three telephone sets. He inquired, "What does each of these telephones correspond to?" "The red one has a direct line to the Summer Pce..." Wang Zhong watched the red telephone, as if fearing it might suddenly ring. Valery continued, "The two ck phones are ordinary lines, using two different lines so you won''t miss any important calls." Wang Zhong asked, "I see there''s a dial on this telephone; do I have to dial the numbers myself?" "No, you can simply ask the operator to connect you to the ce you wish to call." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong immediately picked up the receiver of the ck telephone, "Operator, connect me to the headquarters of the 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division at Kubinka." "Certainly," a pleasant female voice responded. Shortly after, Pavlov''s voice came through, "1st Guards Motor Rifle, go ahead." Wang Zhong spoke, "It''s me. Do we still have any of the enemy''s Mark III G and Mark IV E tanks that we captured?" Pavlov replied, "Yes, General. We also have the Mark III assault guns. We sent three of each model to the Ordnance Department as is, and we''ve kept the rest. Did I do the right thing?" Wang Zhong affirmed, "You did exactly right. Now, send one of each to the Suvorov Military Academy. I need them tomorrowno, the day after tomorrow. I want to personally show the cadets the excellent tank design of the enemy. Also, send over one T-34 and one T-34 W." Pavlov acknowledged, "Understood. They will be delivered before the day after tomorrow." Chapter 317: Chapter 6 Rocossov Makes a Scene at the Ordnance Department ``` After hanging up the receiver, Wang Zhong nced at Professor Valery: "I''ll leave the task of calling and writing to the former principal to you. Once you''ve handled it, give me the letter and I will have the Judge invite him to mymittee." Valery nodded in agreement. Wang Zhong pondered for a moment, recalling what he had thought of during his visit, and then asked, "Is the conflict between the students of noble birth and those ofmon birth in the school very severe?" "Extremely severe. When you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were at the school, you could somewhat ease the tension. But now..." The two of us, one a great noble and the other the Crown Prince, were actually able to ease the conflict with themoners? Are these two really profligates? No, that''s not important. They''re both gone now. Wang Zhong: "Has this tense situation persisted for a long time?" Professor Valery nodded: "Yes, it started after the civil war. The rules set by the Church state that at least half of the students at the academy each year must be ofmon birth. "At first, the nobility purposely rmended unintelligentmoners to enter the school. After the Church discovered this, they began making the rmendations for enrollment. "Since then, the conflict has never stopped and has even extended into the army. By the way, in recent years, the higher the technical requirements of a branch of the military, the higher the proportion ofmoners. You see, there are quite a fewmoner officers in the Armored Troops." Wang Zhong was shocked: "Why?" Professor Valery''s expression could be summarized in one sentence: "How do you not know?" Wang Zhong guessed: "Is it because the nobility spend too much time on pastimes like balls and horse races?" Professor Valery nodded: "Exactly. Incidentally, the cavalry has the highest proportion of nobles among its officers." Wang Zhong: "After all, they spent a lot of time on horse racing, it''s understandable." Having said this, Wang Zhong thought for a moment and realized that after asking about this matter, there really weren''t other things for him to do at the school, so he swiftly decided to head to the Ordnance Department! At that moment, Valery asked: "Do you intend to undertake military reforms for the Ante Army?" Wang Zhong: "I suppose so. I don''t have aplete concept yet, but my current thought is to start with specific tactics and armaments, and then to establish some elite divisions modeled after the structure of the guards'' mechanized infantry." Valery deliberated for a moment before speaking up: "Then you should start writing a new tactical manual while you work on specific tasks. After all, you can only teach those whoe to the school here, but a manual distributed throughout the army would enable many more to learn." Wang Zhong had also thought about writing one before; in fact, when he had arrived at Ye Fort in August, he had written a booklet. The impression he had at the time was that the manual was almost written off in haste, but thankfully Ludm had helped. Seeing that Wang Zhong was seriously considering this, Valery quickly said: "You should hire a typist toplete these manuals through dictation, and if possible, pair them with an editor who understands the military to assist with illustrations." Wang Zhong: "Are you suggesting I find someone?" "Yes, while you''re still in the rear." Wang Zhong: "Hmm, this is good advice, I''ll think about it." After saying this, he checked the time and said, "I''m off to the Ordnance Department now, we can talk about thister." When Wang Zhong entered the Ordnance Department, he attracted the attention of all those entering and leaving. Suddenly, a man dressed like a worker but wearing sses thick as the bottom of a wine bottle charged at Wang Zhong. The Judges immediately sprang into action, two of them stepping forward to intercept the man while another took up a shooting position. "I''m a designer! I''vee today to participate in the Ordnance Department''s tender! In my hands are the design ns for a reduced-charge bullet rifle that can fire continuously, with decent uracy even at 700 meters!" Wang Zhong: "Then how much does your rifle weigh?" "The rifle weighs six kilograms when unloaded, much lighter than a machine gun!" Wang Zhong: "Reduce the effective range to 400 meters, and as long as it can hit a half-body target at 400 meters with semi-automatic fire, it will be deemed eptable. Then, bring thebat weight of the gun with a 30-round magazine down to 4.5 kilograms. Also, the failure rate must be low, even if it hasn''t been oiled, or if it''s been buried in sand and left in the sun for a day, it should fire immediately after being dug out." Actually, the reliability of an AK was not as exaggerated as implied; it still required careful maintenance, cleaning, and oiling. However, making excessive demands while setting requirements was fine. After all, as Lu Xun said, to open a window, one might first suggest lifting the roof. At that moment, many designers sitting on the benches in the hall lowered their heads to their own designsit seemed they were all there to respond to the call for a new model of rifle. It must have been Olga who conveyed Wang Zhong''sst request to the Ordnance Department, and then she essentially took on the role of Tsar, prompting the Ordnance Department to hurry and initiate a project and start the tendering process. Wang Zhong heard a designer mutter, "These requirements are pure fantasy, impossible to achieve." ``` The designer muttered to himself, "Sacrificing long-range performance in pursuit of firepower, and with this weight, it''s intended for individual soldiers to carry. So the whole approach of treating this project like a light machine gun is fundamentally wed. We need aplete redesign." Wang Zhong paid no attention to these firearms designers and headed straight for the innermost elevator. His target was Sergey, the General Director of the Ordnance Department. The office of the Director of the Ordnance Department, like those of other Ante department heads, was spaciousWang Zhong''s own office as principal was alsorge, with a desk big enough to y pool on. As Wang Zhong entered the room, besides General Sergey with the five stars on his epaulettes, there was another guy whose hair and the thickness of his sses made him look very much like an engineer. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, the first thing General Sergey asked was, "I wasn''t informed that anyone wasing for an inspection today?" Wang Zhong replied, "That''s because the Equipment Review Committee hasn''t been set up yet. No one notified you." Sergey put down the photo he was holding and said, "Then, Your Excellency the Chairman, what brings you here?" Wang Zhong answered, "Mainly to say hello. After all, I''m sure I will cause a lot of trouble for the Ordnance Department in the future. Please believe this is to avoid more Ante soldiers dying in vain because of poor weaponry." Before Sergey could respond, the engineer-looking fellow interjected, "What a thing to say! I admit that there are problems with the BT series and the T26, causing a lot of casualties, but isn''t the T34 a masterpiece?" Wang Zhong retorted, "Are you talking about the masterpiece that can''t hit an enemy beyond 1000 meters?" The engineer argued, "That''s because the sights were designed for engaging the enemy at distances between 600 and 800 meters. If you''re shooting at 1000 meters, you clearly don''t understand the weapon." Wang Zhong furrowed his brows in frustration. It was the first time he heard that the T34''s sights were primarily forbat within 800 meters. He wondered whether this was a characteristicmon to both worlds or a problem specific to Ante''s supply. 800 meters? The ace tank operators of Prosen can hit a bell tower window from 2000 meters away, and here you''re telling me the design engagement range is only 800 meters? Wang Zhong could not help but curse out loud, "What kind of idiot designed this?" The engineer stood tall and proud: "I designed it. I studied Castilian tank warfare and found that most tank firing distances are within 800 meters, so the sights are sufficient for that range." Wang Zhong strode over and pped him across the face, knocking the man to the ground, then drew his pistol, "You damned Prosen spy, you''ve caused the death of our best-trained tank operators!" General Sergey said, "Major General, if you wish to improve the T34 tanks, there''s no better designer than Valentin. If the actualbat range is further than he anticipated, you could just say so." Wang Zhong replied, "It''s true that our forces rarely destroy enemy tanks beyond 800 meters in actualbat." The engineer, lying on the ground despite facing the pistol, let out a self-satisfiedugh. Wang Zhong continued, "But the enemy often takes out our tanks at distances of 1000 meters. We''ve captured their tanks, intact, and you should see how excellent the enemy''s sights are! "In Orachi, when I ambushed the enemy, we only achieved a one-third hit rate, and the main reasons were these terrible sights and the poor calibration of the main gun! "This man ims to have studied Castilian tank tactics, so why did the Prosen designerse to a different conclusion? He''s either a spy with an agenda or an idiot. Either way, he should no longer be the designer of the T34; he should be dismissed!" General Sergey''s face turned ashen. He said to Wang Zhong, "You have the right to make such a demand. But I must remind you, we need tanks now, and it would take a long time for the factories to switch to a different product line, with a significant drop in efficiency at the start." The General nced at the charts on the desk, "When Raoul''s factories resume production, we could reallocate more resources to produce your T34Ws, provided we get enough radios. Currently, our radio production capacity is almost entirely taken by the Air Force." Wang Zhong replied, "The T34W isn''t enough! The enemy has suffered in armor-piercing round resistance and will want to change that." The General continued, "Yes, but that will take time. I estimate it will be three years before the enemy''s tanks designed against the T34 enter the battlefield. By then, the enemy will have already lost. Oh, sorry, I forgot you''re of the opinion that Prosen won''t be quickly defeated." Wang Zhong said, "We need a new weapon, one that when entrusted to experienced crew, can detect the enemy and fire at 1500 meters, achieving a first-shot hit rate of 33% or higherthe higher, the better!" Wang Zhong had actually seen how big the Mark III and IV were at a distance of 1500 meters, so he didn''t set the hit rate too high. Hitting one out of three would actually be quite good. Continue your adventure with m|v-l''e -NovelBin Perfect uracy was the hallmark of battle-hardened elites; training alone probably wouldn''t achieve that. General Sergey shook his head, "I understand your desire for better sights, but... our best optical ss factory was lost in the first week of the war, and engineers and workers had no time to evacuate. "Now we can only produce the kind of sights currently installed on the T34, even though the ss for these sights has many ws, even bubbles, I mean, right in the middle of the ss." Wang Zhong''s mouth formed an ''O'' shape. General Sergey added, "So, we can discuss the problems we''re encountering with military production. Could you let go of my son-inw first?" Chapter 318: Chapter 7 Dilemma (Makeup 22/33) Wang Zhong looked down at the clearly unconvinced engineer and said, "No, I have thought of a better solution. You will take part in tank crew training and then be deployed to the front lines to drive a T34 tank without radio. Today is November 23, 914. If you fight on the frontline until November 23, 915, then you cane back and talk to me about your tank designs." Having said that, he stood up, turned off the safety of his pistol, and looked at General Sergey, "Do you have any objections?" General Sergey: "Personnel reassignments require orders from Military Command..." "There will be orders from Military Command. Letting him experience firsthand what he has designed will help him establish a correct understanding. If he doesn''t go, General Sergey, I''m sure you know that without my approval, none of your new products or improved models of existing ones can go into production." General Sergey: "Fine, let my son-inw experience his own creation then. But I must remind you that he is..." Wang Zhong: "He is an idiot; if not an idiot, then he is a spy. Now let''s talk about the ss issue. Can''t we produce optical ss now?" General Sergey: "We can produce it, but the quality is very poor. If you want a scope with performance as good as the Prussians'', we can only use the ones we''ve captured. Binocrs and gunner''s scopes are also affected." Wang Zhong: "What else is affected?" General Sergey disyed a rueful smile: "Everything is affected, especially explosives; we''ve lost twenty percent of our explosives production capacity." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: "That seems manageable? The loss isn''t so great." General Sergey: "But our fertilizer production capacity has dropped to twenty percent of its original output. Do you understand what I mean?" Wang Zhong''s mouth gaped open; wartime expansion of explosives production mainly relied on converting fertilizer production capacity, and without the fertilizer capacity, conversion was impossible. Furthermore, during peacetime, the consumption of explosives wasn''t high, being used mainly for mining and such, so explosives production should have been scaled up for war. Otherwise, there wouldn''t even be enough for ammunition filler. The Prussians had trouble delivering shells, while Ante had its production capped. Both the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix. General Sergey continued: "What''s worse, with the fertilizer production capacity reduced to this extent, agriculture will definitely be affected next year. But the good news is that we don''t have that muchnd left to cultivate. Considering only the high-quality agricultural areas, we only have forty percent left, so the shortfall isn''t toorge." This is supposed to be good news? This is clearly a joke from hell! With that, Sergey pushed a thick binder full of tables towards Wang Zhong: "For other reductions, please refer to this table." Wang Zhong picked up the table and quickly leafed through it, finding a huge downward arrow next to all production data. After about thirty pages, Wang Zhong set down the table, his expression gravethere were at least thirty more pages to go. He seemed to mutter to himself: "It turns out that what we urgently need right now is not improvements to the ws in our weapons and equipment. What we urgently need is support from the Federation." General Sergey: "Exactly. The entire year of 915 will be very difficult for us without external assistance. This is why the logistics department supports the idea of a swift victory, because otherwise, next year will be too challenging. "Do you understand? We all actually know your theory is correct, and Tukhachev probably knows it too. But we are in a tougher spot than Prosenthough not at the point of copse, next year we will be walking a tightrope. If the enemy causes us to lose eleven thousand tanks in eighteen days like they did this year, then the war cannot continue. "Of course, you''ve achieved very impressive results in battle, and with the Federation now in the war, we will likely receive support from the Federation. For this, I am more thankful to you than anyone else." Wang Zhong was astounded. General Sergey: "Of course, improvements to weaponry must also continue. We expect Raoul''s factory to start trial production in April next year. As long as we don''t take radio supply into ount, we can have this factory devote all its efforts to producing the T34W, leaving the space for radio instation empty. "Ye Fort''s United Machinery nt currently also has a production line very familiar with producing your T34W, although the output isn''t high. "I agree to do this because the forces really report the T34W to be superior to the standard T34. I was just convincing my son-inw, but he remains stubborn, insisting that the T34W requires twice or even three times the man-hours to producepared to the T34..." Wang Zhong: "But a single T34W, if used properly, can achieve five to six times the effectiveness of a T34." "I know," General Sergey looked at his son-inw, who had just gotten up, holding his face, "so I was convincing him... Well, perhaps sending him to the front lines is a good idea. Alright, Valentin, you can go now." The engineer, holding his face, left. General Sergey then spoke to Wang Zhong in a more solemn tone: "If the war really continues, whether we can get assistance from the Federationand how much we can getwill be the key. Unfortunately, that''s something beyond my control. "As for the internal matters of the Ordnance Department, I assure you we will give full consideration to your suggestions. Many engineers are very obstinate; you can''t send each one to the front lines, someone has to stay and design things." Wang Zhong: "No, I''m not sending everyone to the front. I''m sending those stubborn fools who ignore frontline feedback and overestimate themselves to the front. If the engineers are cooperative and listen to the frontline feedback, I won''t send them away." General Sergey nodded: "Alright, you have the logical high ground on this matter, and given your father and manyrades have already sacrificed themselves on the battlefield, you certainly have the right to send my son-inw to the battlefield as well. "Besides the T34, what else needs to be improved?" Wang Zhong: "I''ll write you a detailed report, and I will also have the technical officers who use various equipment under mymand produce a detailed report as well; they are currently resting at Kubinka." General Sergey: "I promise to study these reports carefully, and I will make sure that the engineers working on the relevant projects do too. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Wang Zhong: "I need a new weapon, an armored vehicle whose main gun should still have a certain pration ability at a distance of 1500 meters, such as a vertical pration depth of 110 millimeters." "At the same time, its shells should ensure enough lethality after prating the enemy armor." "It should be easy to maintain with a low failure rate. The high failure rate of the KV tanks now is due to the engines being too weak and the vehicles being too heavy..." Sergey interrupted Wang Zhong: "Our engine technology isn''t really good." This was the same as on Earth; after all, the engine is the "jewel in the crown of the industry," and during World War II, many Soviet engines were produced under licenses from others, and some engines even came with blueprints and technical materials from the Sturmtigerjust to lull the Soviets into a false sense of camaraderie. Wang Zhong: "I know our engine technology is not great. So I''m thinking first, we should introduce high-powered engines from the Federation, and it would be best if we could obtain the blueprints and production authorization." "Second, before the Federation''s new engines are in ce, we should produce a simplified, armored gun carrier. In fact, the ZIS-30 was well-received in my division. But it is too exposed, and without a turret, it can only ambush from prepared positions." "We could produce a gun carrier with a turret and vehicle body capable of withstanding heavy machine gun fire, which would be much lighter than the T34. We might even be able to utilize the production lines for the BT series..." "That''s impossible," Sergey interrupted Wang Zhong, "The BT series of tanks cannot be fitted with the caliber of gun you require." Wang Zhong: "Are you certain?" "Of course. I may not be an artillery expert, but I have worked at the Ordnance Department for fifteen years; I know that the caliber of gun that can meet your requirements won''t be small, and the barrel won''t be short, either." That was indeed true; any old weapons engineer would realize upon hearing Wang Zhong''s requirements that such a cannon would certainly be long, ck, and thick. General Sergey continued: "Such a cannon, with just the barrel weight alone, is not to be underestimated, and when you add in the breech, recoil mechanisms, stabilizers, and so on, that turret won''t be small. I suspect even the T34W''s turret couldn''t amodate this thing." Wang Zhong: "Then let''s build a bigger turret..." "Currently, thergest turret we can build is the one for your T34W. To make this turret, we even imported a special verticalthe from Prosen, and we''ve copied this type ofthe, but we''ve never found a tank that has to be produced with this kind ofthe because even the turret ring for the KV tank is less than 1600 millimeters in diameter." So, they''ve procured machinery capable of producingrger turret rings just to show off with Parade Tanks for the rich and vain, and now it provided the foundation to manufacture evenrger turrets? The more Wang Zhong understood the situation, the more dreadfully thoughtful he became. In addition, Wang Zhong realized somethingthe Sherman''s ring diameter is 1753 millimeters, which is why the British could mount the 17-pounder gun on the Sherman to create the Firefly tank destroyer! Wang Zhong gathered his thoughts and said to General Sergey: "First, let''s find a cannon. Once we''ve found the cannon, we''ll see if we can fit it into the existing turret. For example, we can consider reducing some of the things inside the turret, or removing the top armor..." Hmm? Wang Zhong suddenly stopped speaking at this point; this setup looked somewhat familiar. Isn''t this the Hellcat? A Soviet-version Hellcat? Wang Zhong was very familiar with the Hellcat because in the game War Thunder, his favorite vehicle from World War II was this fast-running, reliable cannon. What''s not to love about the Hellcat or the T50? However, the biggest w of the Hellcat was that it was hard on themander. Since itcked a roof, themander sat high up, causing them to stick out of the turret. Of course, Wang Zhong''s ultimate goal was to build a tank with reliable armor so that Ante''s elite Tank Operators could survive. The survival rates of the Guards Motor Rifle Division''s Tank Operators were already high, so they were likely the most experienced Tank Operators in all of Ante at the moment. For the next six months, as long as they trained hard, turned their basic skills into muscle memory, and were matched with reliable equipment, they would be ready to go tiger hunting. This n, however, was just a temporary solution while waiting for more powerful engines. Once a reliable engine was obtained in the future, it was time to consider upgrading the armor to withstand armor-piercing rounds. General Sergey looked at Wang Zhong. "Hmm, a simplified turret? We can try that, let''s choose a cannon first. I have the performance data of all our current models of cannons here for you to pick from." "I''d like to remind you that developing a new cannon might take even longer than developing a new tank," Sergey added" Wang Zhong: "I''m aware, hand me the data." Chapter 319: Chapter 8 Look at this cannon, its thick and long General Sergey shoved a brick-like object that reminded Wang Zhong of an "encyclopedia" into his hands, "For you." Wang Zhong looked at the book, pondered for a moment, and then set it aside, saying to Sergey, "I''ll take a copy of this back with me for a detailed review. Could you rmend some excellent artillery pieces?" General Sergey replied, "Isn''t the 57mm gun used on the current ZIS-30 good enough? We were actually nning to shut down the production line for the 57 and switch to mass-producing the 76mm ZIS-3." Wang Zhong responded, "That piece is indeed good, but the barrel is a bit heavy." The Ante Army actually had two calibers of 76mm guns: one was the ZIS-3 anti-tank gun, generally equipped in the Anti-tank Battalion, and the other was a 76mm infantry gun equipped by the infantry troopsthis gun used the carriage of a 45mm anti-tank gun. Because of the Red Army''s sudden increase in demand for anti-tank guns, Earth''s history saw most carriages used to produce the 45mm anti-tank guns. Consequently, the 76mm short-barrel infantry guncked fame due to its minimal production. Incidentally, because of the weight issue with the 76 anti-tank gun, it was generally assigned at the division level and asionally served as a howitzer. This was why the 45mm anti-tank gun was used until the end of the war on Earth: it was light, with two people being able to push it and run, and although it couldn''t prate the thicker armor of mid-war tanks, it was effective against half-tracked vehicles. The Sturmtigers had arge number of half-tracked vehicles, unlike the Red Army which only had a significant number of tanks, the apanying infantry could only ride on the tanks. As Wang Zhong recalled this knowledge that transcended time and space, he continued, "Moreover, the prative ability of the 76 is currently sufficient, but surely the enemy will increase their defenses. In fact, we''ve already captured two model H Mark III tanks, which have added extra armor on the front. Experience more content on m v|l e''-NovelBin And the frontline troops have mounted tank tracks on top of the already thickened armored tes." The Prussians used tank tracks as armor, ced on the front of the tank body, not only increasing protection but also serving as spare parts if the tracks were damaged. General Sergey nodded, "That''s a very reasonable consideration." Wang Zhong said, "We must be proactive. I think the 85mm anti-aircraft gun is quite good, with a high muzzle velocity and a t trajectory!" On Earth, the main tank gun used in theter T34-85 was developed from the 85mm anti-aircraft gun. "That''s too heavy, it must be radically simplified and significantly lightened," General Sergey shook his head. Wang Zhong immediately understood that the general was truly knowledgeable because on Earth, the 85 anti-aircraft gun had to be extensively modified to barely fit inside a tank, and there was a significant reduction in performancepared to its anti-aircraft version. At the very least, General Sergey seemed to roughly understand the data for each piece of equipment; he probably really did read the brick-like file. Continuing to stroke his beard in thought, the General mused, "If you''re looking for performance simr to the 85 anti-aircraft... the Navy has a 100mm dual-purpose high-level/t-trajectory gun that could be considered." Wang Zhong asked, "From the Navy?" "Yes, and that naval gun''s structure is very simple because the majority of the firing control is handed over to the ship''s anti-aircraft control system. It''s actually more suitable for mounting on a tank than the Army''s 85 anti-aircraft," Sergey exined. Wang Zhong frowned, "This 100mm gun, can it fit inside a turret?" He remembered that on Earth, one of the major reasons the big-headed version of the T34 was equipped with an 85mm tank gun was that the 100 gun couldn''t fit. Later, when the T44 tank was mounted with a 100 gun, it initially designed a turret with a 1700mm ring diameter to forcibly stuff the gun inside, but the test personnel reported the interior was too cramped during actual testing. Even the Russians found it cramped, which meant it was truly cramped. Therefore, the production T44-100 tank used a turret with an 1825mm ring diameter. That was the situation on Earth. As for Ante, judging by what General Sergey had just said, the maximum they could build was a turret the size of the T34W, making it impossible to fit a 100 gun into such a turret size. General Sergey''s brow was also twisted in thought. After pondering for a while he suggested, "How about this, we remove the turret, create a front for the Combat Room with arge inclination, and design a separate observation tower for the tankmander." Wang Zhongmented, "That would only be suitable for ambushes." "It could be produced with our current production line," General Sergey spread his hands, "And you''ve said it yourself, we are going to continue defensive operations." Wang Zhong stroked his chin; he had just been thinking of making a version of the Hellcat without protection. Now Sergey''s proposal offered reliable protectionthe tank would definitely be shorter without a turretand good reconnaissance and sighting abilities, but it wouldn''t be suitable for offense. Should he use this design to first train the crew and umte experienced tank operators? And meanwhile, hurry up and importthes and engines from the Federationonce these were sorted, go straight into making the T54? T54 versus E100... A tier ten room in World of Tanks? The more Wang Zhong thought about it, the more promising it seemed. At this point, General Sergey mistook Wang Zhong''s silence and said to him, "Using naval guns has another advantage: the Navy originally manufactured these guns to serve as secondary armaments for nned battleships. But the battleships, along with the half-constructed hulls, were all seized by the Prussians, leaving arge number ofpleted guns without use." Wang Zhong made a swift decision, "That good? Then let''s use the Navy''s guns! Wait a second, the Navy''s battleship ns have been ruined? What about otherrge vessels?" General Sergey answered, "Aside from the Arctic Ocean Fleet, the others are pretty much done for." Wang Zhong inquired, "Then does the Navy have a lot of Naval Infantry?" "Yes, what about it?" Sergey queried. Wang Zhong said, "Could I take all these Naval Infantry members?" He had cooperated with the Naval Infantry before and knew that what set these men apart from the regr Ante Army was their higher level of education. All Naval Infantry had at least a tenth-grade education, and a significant number hadpleted high school. And the proportion of army troops graduating from tenth grade is very low, most soldiers from rural areas have only attended church-run schools, a simplified version of tenth grade, with many courses not taught. Priests would rmend smart young people to go to higher education for further studies, but now these people are either on production posts or in the Navy or Air Force. It''s impossible to put these people in the army as mobilized soldiers. When Wang Zhong heard that the Navy was forming Naval Infantry from high school graduates who were ship crew members, his eyes widened: Give them to me, not those bumbling generals! General Sergey felt helpless, "For that, you should go to General Tugenev, oh, he might be promoted to Grand General soon. He is the Chief of Military Command, responsible for personnel transfers. I''m only in charge of equipment transfers. Let''s get back to your proposal." "Using the Navy''s 100-mm gun, along with the T34''s chassis..." Wang Zhong: "Can''t the chassis be reset? Can''t we ce the engine sideways? This way, we can shorten the enginepartment and make it morepact overall." The T34 tank''s engine was ced vertically, apparently because the technology level at the beginning of World War II didn''t support horizontal enginesWang Zhong wasn''t sure, so he asked. General Sergey scratched his head: "I''m only familiar with equipment data, I really can''t answer that question. How about... I call a designer over?" Wang Zhong: "Your son-inw?" "No, no, another designer is here actually, he came to submit a proposal for the KV tank modifications, shall I invite him in?" Wang Zhong: "Good. I also want to take the opportunity tomend the design of the KV." General Sergey picked up the phone on the desk: "Let Chief Engineer Ke Jinge in, the Chairman of the Equipment Review Committee wants to see him." Wang Zhong took a sip from the teacup on the desk, it tasted awful. General Sergey put down the receiver: "He should arrive within five minutes." Wang Zhong: "This tea you''ve made is really lousy." General Sergey: "Of course, it can''tpare to how your personal maid brews it. Your maid has be famous, turning down all the small gifts for you, and ring at the gift givers with a murderous look." Wang Zhong was surprised: "Really?" General Sergey: "Yes, take off your make-up, stop a drunk on the street, and he''ll tell you a dozen stories like that. Some even im that when enemy paratroopers tried to attack your headquarters, it was your maid who single-handedly took them all out with a machine gun." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows, recalling how strong Nelly''s grip felt on the few asions he had touched her hand. However, the idea of her shooting from a standing position with a machine gun was too muchNelly definitely couldn''t do that. It must be the result of repeated exaggerations. At that moment, General Sergey''s aide-de-camp opened the door: "Chief Engineer Ke Jing has arrived." An engineer walked in and immediately stood at attention upon seeing Wang Zhong, as if he was a soldier: "Your Highness!" Wang Zhong: "Don''t call me ''Your Highness''!" General Sergey: "Don''t me him, everyone knows that calling you ''Your Highness'' in front of Her Majesty will please her." ...So that''s the root of it! Wang Zhong: "You can call me whatever in front of Her Majesty Olga the First, but don''t call me ''Your Highness'' in my presence. I ask you, why not ce the engine horizontally?" Ke Jing was shocked: "Why? All the models we took as a reference have vertically ced engines." Wang Zhong: "Just because of that?" "Yes, I see the Prussians'' tanks are like this too, right?" Wang Zhong gaped: "There''s no other reason? Wouldn''t it be harder to manufacture if ced horizontally?" Ke Jing: "We would have to design it and then try to manufacture it to find out. How could I possibly know if it''s more difficult to produce without having designed it first?" You''re right! Wang Zhong: "In that case, don''t bother with any improvemnts to the KV; the most urgent improvement for the KV is stability, and if you don''t change the power, any tweaks you make are pointless. If we could elevate the engine to 500 horsepower, the KV''s failure rates would definitely drop drastically." "Indeed," replied Ke Jing casually, but then broke into a sweat, "I mean, your insights are absolutely correct!" Wang Zhong: "Don''t be nervous. Since you''re here today to answer my questions, then it''s you, you will be responsible for designing the 100-mm gun carrier. "It''s a tank destroyer without a turret but with enhanced sighting capabilities, using the Navy''s 100-mm dual-purpose high-low angle gun, the T34W''s V2K engine, and it must have a horizontally ced engine, with a crew of four to five. "Moreover, considering realbat conditions, this destroyer needs to have a fairly good depression angle, at least -5 degrees." Ke Jing pointed at himself: "I''m to design it?" Wang Zhong: "Yes." General Sergey: "It might be better to write down a formal set of requirements and have General Tugenev issue an official assignment." Chapter 320: Chapter 9: Design Group of 100mm Cannon Carrier Vehicle Wang Zhong: "Good, give me the phone, I''ll sort out the transfer issue first." Chief Engineer Ke Jing: "Eh? But I''m a man?" Wang Zhong stopped, staring into Ke Jing''s face and asked, "What do you mean by that?" After ncing at General Sergey, the Chief Engineer Ke Jing stammered, "They all say that this reviewmittee is just a rubber stamp, mainly for your convenience in finding women." Wang Zhong: "''They'' who?" Chief Engineer Ke Jing shouted, "It was said by Lady Volgakov, many wives say the same!" Wang Zhong frowned, originally women might have been on thismittee, now he could only choose men. But choosing all men would definitely lead to new rumors, such as Rocossov not liking women or something. Having a bunch of mening over to curry favor would be quite disgusting as well. Forget it, he wouldn''t think about it anymore, themittee would just need to recruit talent without being bound by traditional restrictions. Wang Zhong arrived in front of General Sergey''s billiards-sized desk: "Give me the phone." General Sergey picked up the receiver and handed it to him: "Just say where you want to call." Wang Zhong: "Hello? Connect me to General Tugenev at Military Command." At the Military Command, in General Tugenev''s office. "From the current situation of the Prosen Army, they have just escaped from the chaos caused by partial withdrawals, but with the weather conditions now, organizing an orderly retreat is very difficult. They need a rearguard to buy them time." General Tugenev paused, looking at His Majesty Tsarina Olga the First. Olga knew it was her turn to ask questions, so she stared at the map and after a moment forced out, "Where would the enemy get the rearguard troops from?" General Tugenev: "From the rear." Olga pouted, "Then what should I ask here?" General Tugenev: "That''s what you need to think about." At that moment, the phone on the desk rang. "Excuse me." After saying that, General Tugenev picked up the phone, "This is Tugenev. Is that you? What''s up? Ke Jing from the Design Bureau?" After ncing at Her Majesty Olga the First, he continued, "Yes, I''ll prepare the transfer order. You make a list of the people you want, and where you want them transferred to. Any other requirements? Naval Infantry? Alright, alright, how many Naval Infantry? Three divisions? I''ll discuss it with Marshal Kosov of the Navy." Olga: "It''s Alyosha, isn''t it?" General Tugenev did not reply, pretending to focus on the call and not hearing Olga, "Alright, you hire the civilians directly, and thene to me for the procedures for hiring workers orterally transferring them. The former head of the military academy? What do you want him for? But he''s retired, and if he doesn''t wish to return, there''s nothing we can do, you can guarantee he''s willing? Okay..." Olga stood up, her hands pressing down on the desk, "It''s Alyosha, right?" General Tugenev: "Yes. I wasn''t speaking to you; Your Majesty''s about to grab the phone." Olga: "Oh, I do indeed want to grab it." She snatched the receiver, "Alyosha! Why did you leave so quickly!" Rocossov: "I am very busy. First, to the school, and now I''m at..." Olga: "Where?" Rocossov: "I told you not toe, it will cause trouble for everyone. And I''m about to leave!" Olga pouted, "You won''t even talk to me, I have to deal with so many things every day, learn so many things, and you won''t even join me for afternoon tea!" Rocossov: "I''ll have Liu Xia go to the pce and have tea with you, she can tell you some anecdotes from the battlefield." Olga''s pout intensified, but what she said was, "Fine~" Rocossov: "Your Majesty is truly a wise ruler." Olga frowned, because it sounded a bit to her like he was saying, "Haha, you lost, I''m slipping away," so after a brief second of thought, she said: "When will youe to attend an imperial council meeting? The headmaster doesn''t need toe, but yourmittee does! You have to report to me what has been approved, right? "Moreover, the chairman position was something I fought for you to have, you have to take me to see the approved items, I want to see their performance with my own eyes, to prevent you from deceiving me!" Rocossov fell silent on the other end. Olga took on an air of authority, "An answer? My subject?" Major General Rocossov: "You''re right, once we have results, we''ll report to you." Olga: "You will introduce what you''ve approved to me in person!" Major General Rocossov: "Yes. I will follow Your Majesty''smand." Olga beamed with the smile of a victor, the smile she had when she won games as a child. Reflecting on it, her brothers must have let her win a lot for that smile. She was about to exploit her advantage, but noticed General Tugenev''s scowl and changed tack: "Then I''ll wait for Liu Da toe have tea with me." Rocossov: "Of course, I''ll have her leave the Rokossovsky Estate for the Summer Pce right away." General Tugenev extended his hand: "May I have the receiver back, Your Majesty?" "Sure." Olga returned the receiver to the old general. Tugenev: "So that''s the situation. You shouldn''t always call; go through written channels, you understand? If you don''t want to draft these documents yourself, find an aide-de-camp, even one for military documents and another for non-military ones. "Ke Jing, got it. That''s all, then." Tugenev hung up the phone and looked at Olga, "Major General Rokossov has set his heart on being with his childhood sweetheart, Your Majesty." Olga, "I know. But he promised me that he would take care of me as a brother." Tugenev, "Historically, there has never been a Tsar who remained single, male or female." Olgaughed, "Rest assured, Admiral, I know what to do." Tugenev carefully observed her expression andughed as well, "You are indeed very clever." Olga, "By the way, you just suggested Alyosha find two aides-de-camp, one for literature and one for military, right? Then..." "You can''t go yourself. I don''t know about the quality of the shadow warriors from the etiquette hall, but after all, she''s not real. You need to stay put in the Summer Pce, especially given the current situation." Olga, "As a glue?" Admiral Tugenev didn''t answer, which counted as an agreement. Olga turned to look out therge office window at the courtyard outside, "We need to defeat Prosen quickly, or I''ll never gain true freedom." Suddenly, she stopped being sentimental and looked back at Admiral Tugenev, "I have an excellent maid of honor here, can''t I rmend her to him?" Admiral Tugenev, "Then you can speak with Ms. Ludm Vasilyevna, isn''t sheing over to have tea with you this afternoon?" Wang Zhong hung up the receiver and nced at the people around him, "Why do you all look like this?" General Sergey, "Facing a Duke who can say ''you are not allowed toe'' to His Majesty the Tsar, I don''t think there''s anything wrong with our expressions." Wang Zhong, "If I didn''t say that, His Majesty would have run over here, and you wouldn''t want half the department to stop working to receive His Majesty, would you?" General Sergey, "Indeed." Chief Engineer Ke Jing, "Then when... do I change the office location?" Wang Zhong, "You go back first and arrange the follow-up work, hand over the KV improvements to someone trustworthy. Then bring your ten most admired neers to... it''s not decided yet, just pick the right people for now. "The 100mm gun carrier is an emergency project, our hypothetical adversary being the enemy''s next generation of tanks." Ke Jing, "Are you nning to use those two hundred 100mm cannon barrels that the navy produced but couldn''t use?" Wang Zhong, "Are there really as many as 200?" "Yes, and the production line is still running. That cannon was produced by Factory 700 next to the Ind Sea. Currently, the production line hasn''t been converted, but it was stopped without knowing what to produce next," Ke Jing replied. General Sergey, "We thought about converting that factory to produce 85mm anti-aircraft guns, but the navy wouldn''t agree. They n to mount the 100mm guns on patrol boats on the ind rivers, to go into battle with the enemy. Now if you want it, you can continue operations in that factory." Wang Zhong, "Won''t there be any problems?" "Ah, you have a good reputation with the navy, they should be quite happy about it." Wang Zhong, "Very good, the issue with the cannons is resolved, and we can use the Ral Factory after it resumes production. Chief Engineer Ke Jing, when do you estimate the prototype can be built?" Ke Jing, "That''s hard to say, but if mature technology is used, I guess it will be soon, maybe around April or May next year!" Wang Zhong, "I want the prototype by February! Get it done in three months! That way we can find and fix problems earlier!" Any new equipment is bound to be fraught with faults at the beginning; only after being used for some time and undergoing targeted improvements for the exposed issues can it achieve a reasonably good reliability. Wang Zhong was very excited at this moment, wishing time could fast forward to February next year for him to test the prototype himself. General Sergey, "I know you''re looking forward to it, Duke Rokossov. But things have to be done step by step; I still think you should find aides-de-camp and secretaries first, both literary and military." Wang Zhong, "About that..." General Sergey, "Yourmittee also needs a lot of civilian staff. Even if you pull in a retired principal to serve as a civilian, he won''t be able to get any work done as a lonemander. And yourmittee needs a lot of people with professional knowledge andbat experience; otherwise, your reviews won''t be convincing. "Where do you n to find so many people?" Wang Zhong was originally frowning, but then suddenly remembered, isn''t there a lot of junior officers from the military academies who just came to listen to his lectures? Can''t he just pick from them those with strong professional technical skills? As for the two aides-de-campwhy doesn''t Nelly understand military affairs? If he could get Nelly to serve as an aide-de-camp, that would save a lot of trouble! Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin Aides-de-camp, hm... When Wang Zhong yed Arknights, he always chose Miulsaith as his secretary, but if he used a girlher reputation would inevitably be ruined. It would be better to find a male aide-de-camp with proper style Grigori only studied until tenth grade, so he probably wouldn''t make the cut. Vasily... he''s always nitpicking, but after thinking it over, it seemed like Vasily was the only suitable choice. Coming from a musical professor''s family, he received a good education from a young age,pleted high school before joining the army, even took college entrance exams, and had a fine handwriting Huh? Wang Zhong, "Give me the phone." General Sergey picked up the phone and handed it to him. Wang Zhong, "Connect me to the HQ of Kubinka''s Guards Rifle Division. Pavlov there? Tell Vasily to bring his bedroll ande to my estate. The Rokossovsky Estate." Pavlov, "What''s happening?" Wang Zhong, "I''m nning to appoint him as my aide-de-camp." "Understood." Wang Zhong put down the receiver; the military aide-de-camp was settled. Chapter 321: Chapter 10 Rocossov Who Understands Airplanes (Compensation Update 23/33) As for the civil service, Wang Zhong decided to deal with itter. He picked up the receiver again, "Connect me to my home." After saying it, he realized it was inappropriate to put it that way. The operator was confused, so he corrected himself, "Connect me to the Rokossovsky Estate, there should only be one in the city, right?" "Yes, one moment please," the operator said. A momentter, a solemn and old voice came through, "Rokossovsky Estate, hello. How may I assist you?" Wang Zhong: "Mikhail, it''s me. Put Liu Xia on the phone." "Understood, General," the voice replied. Even though Mikhail was the butler of the Rokossovsky family, the Duke title now rested on Wang Zhong''s brother Peter''s head, so the butler respectfully referred to him as General. After all, Wang Zhong had be the Duke of Charon, and theoretically should have split from the family by now. Soon, there was a sound of someone picking up the receiver, "Hello? Alyosha? What''s up?" Wang Zhong: "Two things. Vasily is on his way to the estate, I am promoting him to be my adjutant, get a room prepared for him. Second, go to the Summer Pce now, apany Olga for afternoon tea, and listen to herints." "Got it," Ludm said with augh, "I''ll have Mikhail prepare a ce for Vasily and then head to the Summer Pce myself." "Be careful, it''s not peaceful out there, take enough guards with you." "Don''t worry, the church has provided me with so many sentries and secret watchers that I''ve started to notice them. There are many people seeking refuge near the estate, all churchgoers," Ludmughed. "I leave it to you then. Olga must have a lot of stress built up." "Mhm. And don''t wear yourself out either." Wang Zhong nodded and hung up the phone. He said to General Sergey, "My adjutant will submit theplete requirements tomorrow, and the design bureau will be quickly set up." General Sergey: "What about the improvements to other weapons?" Wang Zhong: "Make the changes ording to the requirements from below. Don''t you have a department that collects feedback?" Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelBin "We do," General Sergey hesitated, then asked, "But how will yourmittee know whether what we''ve changed meets the troops'' needs? You are the finest tankmander and tank operator, so you naturally know how to modify tanks. You''ve also led the most sessful defensive battles for our infantry, so you must know how to change rifles, machine guns and anti-tank guns. What about the rest?" Wang Zhong intended to say he also knew, but he held back because even though he had read a lot about military history before crossing over, there would still be things he was unaware ofliterature is no substitute for actual experience. Besides, even those experts who specialize in World War II history have their knowledge blind spots. Wang Zhong: "I will establish a frontline feedback center, and organize personnel to collect opinions on current weapons from the wounded and troops that have been pulled back for rest. Experienced frontline soldiers will also be involved in the final testing process." General Sergey nodded, "I''m reassured to hear that." Wang Zhong: "I must take my leave now." "Safe travels," General Sergey saluted Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong nced at the head of Ke Jing, opened the door, and left the room, meeting up with Grigori who was waiting at the entrance. He told him, "I''m making Vasily my adjutant, you don''t have any objections, do you?" After all, it had been Sergeant Grigori who had followed Wang Zhong all this time. Grigoriughed, "No objections, he''s already very professional at picking crap." ...What does that mean, am I the crap? If I hadn''t fought alongside you up to now, I would''ve been angry. Grigori realized what he said and backtracked, "Ah, I didn''t mean it that way, General, you know." "I know," Wang Zhong replied, "you''re simply marveling at how well Vasily picks crap." "Really, he''s quite good at it, too bad being an adjutant means no more crap picking." Wang Zhongughed, about to respond, when a roar came from up ahead. "Dammit, how many times do I have to tell you before you understand! Your damn design is crap! I''ve written so many reports, been writing since the war started, all the way till now! Crap!" Wang Zhong and Grigori exchanged nces and then both quickened their pace forwards. Soon they realized the voice was actuallying from downstairs, right where the stairs were. So they went downstairs, turned the corner past the stairwell, and saw a Colonel in the Air Force shouting at several engineers, "Why stick to this crap design? Are you flying the ne or am I?" Wang Zhong stepped forward, "What''s the issue here?" The pilot nced at Wang Zhong, saluted after seeing his rank as a general, then continued his tirade at the engineers. "How many times have I said your firepower configuration is not reasonable! Not reasonable!" The engineer, clearly aware of who Wang Zhong was, countered this time with reason, "That design is for bncing! Do you understand? Bncing!" The pilot: "You''ve bnced it alright, and we can''t hit a damn thing! Machine guns being more useful than cannons is the biggest joke of all! The joke!" Wang Zhong interjected, "Which unit are you from?" The pilot: "Fourth Ground-Attack Squadron!" Wang Zhong: "Do you pilot an Il-2?" "Yes, I''ve fought on the southern front since the war began, for five months, and went through two rear-seat machine gunners. I think I have some right to speak." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, "You fought on the southern front?" "Yes, after the war broke out, all the frontline Air Force units were wiped out, our ground-attack squadron was transferred to support the Southwestern Front Army. I attacked the Prussians for the first time on June 28th." Wang Zhong: "In Prosen vige?" The pilot shook his head, "Don''t know. You wouldn''t understand, General, you''re infantry; it''s hard to tell where you are once you''re up there. Maps are useless. We just fly westward and attack wherever we see Prussian troops. On the way back, we look forndmarks near the airfields. Once we recognize thendmarks, we know where we are, and then head for the airfield." Chapter 322: Chapter 10 Rocossov Who Understands Airplanes (Compensation Update 23/33)_2 "So I don''t know where the enemy I attacked was from. At that time, I had separated from my wingman and single-handedly attacked the enemy." Wang Zhong, "Was the enemy preparing to attack a small town with a water tower and a church?" The pilot spread his hands, "Every small town has a water tower and a church." ...that seemed reasonable! Suddenly, Wang Zhong remembered that the tactical number of the Il-2 that had been with Peniye was 401, and this lieutenant colonel was from the fourth assault aviation regiment, which meant that its tactical number could start with a 4. Wang Zhong, "Is your ne''s tactical number 401?" "Yeah. How do you know?" Wang Zhong burst outughing, "When you attacked the enemy alone on June 28th, I was down below." After saying this, Wang Zhong realized it sounded a bit strange and corrected himself, "I mean, I was on the ground." The pilot immediately changed his previous attitude, "Really? No, that''s not right, I remember the enemy I attacked wasn''t veryrge and neither was the group of our men resisting; that doesn''t like the headquarters of a major general." Wang Zhong, "That''s because at that time I was a lieutenant colonel." "Hahaha, you''re boasting now, there''s only one Rokossovsky who went from lieutenant colonel to major general in half a year... uh..." The lieutenant colonel pilot stoppedughing, sizing up Wang Zhong and ncing behind him at the empty corridor. "Not many attendants..." he muttered, then turned and picked up the Ye Fort Daily from the newspaper rack beside the bench. These newspapers were there for people waiting on the bench to kill time, after all, there were no smartphones back then. They typically grouped one week''s worth of the same newspaper in one clip and arranged different newspapers on the shelf. The pilot quickly found the edition that printed Wang Zhong''s full-body photo on the front page. "My God!" he eximed, "You really are the Rokossovsky who knows about nes that Hamov talked about!" Huh? The Rokossovsky who knows about nes? Is that what the Air Force calls me? The lieutenant colonel put down the newspaper, approached Wang Zhong, straightened his uniform, correctly positioned his hat, and snapped to attention, saluting, "Salute to you, General Rokossovsky!" Wang Zhong returned the salute and added, "Aren''t you going to introduce yourself?" Lieutenant Colonel, "I am themander of the fourth assault aviation regiment, Dchenko Grigoyevich, here to report problems with the Il-2 assault ne!" Wang Zhong, "I am Major General Rokossovsky, chairman of the Special Review Committee for Military Equipment. All new equipment and modifications to old equipment must pass our review. Additionally, ourmittee will establish a dedicated front-line feedback collection agency. But since that agency isn''t established yet, you can start by telling me." Dchenko immediately stood at attention, "Yes! The problem that I want to report is..." Wang Zhong, "At ease, rx a bit, take your time." The lieutenant colonel rxed his posture, but his tone was still urgent, "I can''t take it slowly! The Il-2 has serious defects. Besides its carried ammunition, its most effective weapon is the machine gun, because the two cannons don''t aim urately!" Wang Zhong, "Because of defective sights?" "For the machine gun and the cannons, the sights are still usable. What''s trash are the bombing and rocket-firing sights; it''s better to rely on experience than to use them. And there''s a problem with our way of operating; the Il-2, if it dives at an angle greater than 40 degrees, it shakes terribly and you can''t aim at all." The pilot had just finished speaking when the designer said, "The design concept of this airne is to act as a flying tank at low-altitude level flight. Diving capability is not necessary." Wang Zhong nced at the designer. His understanding of the IL-2 came from a game "IL-2 Defend the Eagle", a single-yer flight simtion game. This development teamter went on to create the renowned military vehiclebat online game "War Thunder". In "Defend the Eagle", indeed, the IL-2''s diving ability was extremely poor, and it could basically only perform low-altitude level flight as a flying tank. The concept was not incorrect, just too ahead of its time; it waster that the Sidewinder armed helicopter assumed this role. Continue your saga on m|v-l''e -NovelBin However, through the game, Wang Zhong did not experience problems with the inuracy of the cannons. So, he gestured for the designer to be quiet and let the pilot continue. Dchenko: "Apart from not being able to dive and having poor sights, the IL-2''s weapon instation is also impractical!" Dchenko raised both hands, each sticking out the index finger, he first put the two fingers together: "This is how the IL-2''s machine guns were arranged." Then he separated his two index fingers, setting them about half a meter apart: "This is how the two cannons were arranged." Wang Zhong: "The cannons are on the wings?" "Right!" Engineer: "Firstly, this is for bnce, and secondly, the cannons have a slow rate of fire, and it''s challenging to design a synchronizer with the propeller." The pilot immediately became incensed, "Then you put two cannons on the wings, and as a result, they vibrate as soon as they fire, making them utterly inurate! Moreover, this vibration also causes the normally urate machine guns to lose their precision! As a result, many times we prefer to use machine guns for precision attacks and don''t even fire the cannons." Wang Zhong remembered that there were indeed memoirs stating that the IL-2''s individual attack uracy was so poor that the pilots preferred to fly in formations of eight or even groups of more than twenty, forming a line like a cavalry wall, flying and firing indiscriminately, relying on the volume of fire topensate for theck of precision. Wang Zhong looked at the engineer: "I don''t care whether you change the weapons'' mounting positions or use other methods, just make the aircraft''s weapons urate!" At this time, the ground attack aircraft regimentmander said, "General, to be honest,pared to the IL-2, the neighboring squadron''s Pe-2 has a more noticeable attack effect. I''ve flown the Pe-2; it''s much faster than our IL-2, and it''s more nimble. It can also perform dive attacks! "The Pe-2 can go to high altitude for reconnaissance and has better target acquisition. Once it finds a target, it can dive bomb and then retreat using its speed and maneuverability. Its self-defense firepower is also stronger than our IL-2!" Wang Zhong: "Do you think the Pe-2 is better?" "Of course!" Wang Zhong: "Then how long do you think it would take for all the ground attack regiments to switch to the Pe-2 light bombers for retraining?" "A few months is enough!" Dchenko''s voice was not very confident. That''s because the Pe-2 is a twin-engine light bomber, quite different from the IL-2, a single-engine ground attack aircraft. Wang Zhong patted Dchenko on the shoulder: "Don''t worry, fly the IL-2 for now. When the Federation''s aid arrives, we''ll hook you up with something impressive." Like the P-47 Thunderbolt, nicknamed "Jug" due to its shape. It has excellent dive capabilities and, if one masters the art of energy fighting, it bes a formidable fighter. At the same time, like all good American fighters, it can carry a lot of ground munitions. After bombing the ground, it''s still capable of air-to-airbat. Crucially, for the pilots, it''s a single-engine aircraft, so the transition training time is shortened. But Dchenko had no way of knowing this yet, so he could only look at Wang Zhong with a mixture of belief and doubt: "Alright, I believe you." Chapter 323: Chapter 11 Looking Forward to the Future Wang Zhong: "Our department will establish a dedicated feedback division as soon as possible. We will inform all units of the contact address in writing. You can send us letters with any opinions you have about the aircraft. "Your post-war experience summaries will also be sent to us for reference in improving weapons. "I will ensure that engineers cannot ignore your opinions!" Wang Zhong nced at the engineers. "If an engineer insists that their design is the best, they must go to the front line and pilot their creation for a year''s worth of missions." Upon hearing this, Dratchenko immediatelyughed, "That''s a good one, an excellent idea! Even if his excellency the engineer can''t pilot an aircraft, he can still serve as a rear gunner." Rear gunners on the Il-2 had a mortality rate many times higher than the pilots, since enemy aircraft mainly approached from the rear to attack. The engineer, who had just been obstinate, now turned pale: "No, no, you can''t do this. The Empire has trained me for so many years; you can''t let me die like amon soldier!" Wang Zhong: "Why not? In fact, many engineers have died in the past half year of battle. What makes you so special? No, I don''t think you are. Since you are so stubborn in your belief that your weapon design approach is perfect, then prove it to us." The engineer wore a bitter expression. At this point, Wang Zhong suddenly had an ideawhy not recruit those who had already experienced the horrors of war from the front line to be designers? On Earth, there were those who fought against the Sturmtigers during the great war and then continued their studies after the war concluded, eventually bing outstanding experts. What if they were allowed to return to their studies prematurely and be experts, would that work? Wang Zhong pondered for a moment, then decided to write an article, calling for college students who had survived the mes of war toe back and shine in a more important area with the knowledge they had gained on the front lines. But he no longer wanted to write by hand, so he would have Vasily learn to use the typewriter as soon as possible! While thinking this, Wang Zhong said goodbye to Dratchenko and went straight down the stairs with Grigori. Dratchenko watched as General Rokossovsky''s figure disappeared around the corner, then turned to the engineer: "I warmly wee you to be a rear gunner here." The engineer''s lips trembled for a while before he managed to squeeze out a sentence, "The redesign of aircraft rebncing takes months, especially the synchronization gear for the machine guns. It requires many tests to ensure that the guns fire only when the propellers are not in the way..." Dratchenko: "Then make the changes. Actually, we have another idea. Remove the machine guns, save the weight of the guns and the ammunition, and carry morerge-caliber rockets instead. We have a thought, to convert the BM-13''s rockets into aerial rockets with less propent and arger warhead." The engineer gaped: "Is...is that suitable?" Dratchenko: "Of course it is suitable. Actually, there are already ground crews making those changes, and we can carry twice as many rockets! We use the machine guns to gauge the distance when attacking ground targets, then fire the rockets." Engineer: "Then how do you face enemy fighters?" Dratchenko burst intoughter: "Do you think we can use forward firepower when facing enemy fighters? Don''t you know how cumbersome the thing you designed is?" The pilots who hade with Dratchenko alsoughed. The engineer''s face turned red at theirughter. Dratchenko then became serious and patted the engineer''s shoulder, "Make good improvements. I see General Rokossovsky is quite reasonable. If what you create has no issues, he won''t send you to the front lines." After saying this, Dratchenko turned around and waved to his followers, "Let''s go! Let''s go back and tell the guys about today''s happenings. General Rokossovsky really understands nes. Hamov from the Fighter Regiment wasn''t spouting nonsense; everyone thought he was talking in his cups, but it turned out to be true!" On Wang Zhong''s side, he had just left the Ordnance Department and checked his watchit was nearly dark. In Ye Fort at this season, it got dark very early, while Ludm was still at the Summer Pce having afternoon tea with Empress Olga. Wang Zhong deeply realized how high thetitude of Ante''s territory was. Wang Zhong got into the car, and the driver immediately turned around and asked, "Where to?" "Back to the Rokossovsky Estate," Wang Zhongmanded after a second of thought. After all, it had been a tiring day of running around. He needed to rest at the estate and once Vasily arrived, he could hand him the typewriter and start drafting documents. First, finalize the technical specifications for the 100 mm gun carrier, then address the newmittee''s venue, staffposition, and so on... Wang Zhong couldn''t help but press his forehead, there were so many troublesome matters. Perhaps he should simply have Pavlov transferred to thismittee to take on the heavy lifting. Pavlov was firstly trustworthy, and secondly had strong work capabilities. He was certainly up to the task. At Kubinka, headquarters of the Guard''s First Mechanized Infantry Division, Pavlov suddenly sneezed several times. The spray of saliva and mucus soiled the documents on the desk. He hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it clean, cursing while he wiped, "Surely, my wife isining about me again." Yegorov: "Comining about what? You''ve been stationed in the capital and still haven''t gone home to live?" "What else?" Pavlov clicked his tongue, "Sometimes I really envy you. Your wife is right there in the military hospital. When are you having your wedding?" Yegorov: "Our thinking is that in times like this, there''s no need to waste time on a wedding. Now even food has begun to be rationed, and even theundry units supplied to the troops are allocated on a quota basis. It''s not appropriate to have a wedding now." Thebatants and the key positions of the logistics personnel were still supplied with food ording to normal standards, while the supply situation for hiredbor was not as optimistic. Nelly, as one who was only nominally aborer, still managed to eatparatively well. Of course, Nelly wasn''t dining in Kubinka now; in line with her wishes, her rations were allocated to severalundry aunts who had children at home. General Rokossovsky''s rations had been handled in a simr manner. Pavlov: "My wife scolds me that it''s partly because I can''t secure more rations for the family. We lost Kazarlia, but with so many people being evacuated to the east, who knows, people might starve next year." Yegorov nodded solemnly and changed the subject: "Your wife is from Kazarlia too?" "Yes, but once she came to Ye Fort to study, she started considering herself solely as a person from Ye Fort. She even has begun to scoff at me, thinking I''m a bit of a country bumpkin." After Pavlov finished speaking, Yegorov showed a bitter smile: "If we can''t fight our way back, then we''ll always be nothing but country bumpkins." "We will fight our way back, I believe in the general." Pavlov took a sip of tea. Wang Zhong had just returned to the entrance of his estate when he saw Vasily standing there with a bag, looking bewildered at the vast manor. "Why not go in? What are you doing standing outside?" Wang Zhong said as he got out of the car and walked up the steps to the entrance. He gave Vasily''s shoulder a punch. Vasily: "No, this estate is just too luxurious. Isn''t your family''s main fief in Kazarlia?" Wang Zhong: "I''m not sure about the details, but this house appears to have been bought from some local nobles. It''s probably been a while. Come on, let''s get inside. Do you know how to use a typewriter?" Vasily: "Sort of." Wang Zhong: "Perfect, I have a lot of documents to draft tonight and was worried there''d be no one to help." Vasily was dragged by Wang Zhong towards the main building of the estate, acting like a young girl being pulled into a brothel by a madam: "No, I really only know a bit. I thought an adjutant did military work, like updating maps or something." Wang Zhong: "Oh please, you say you don''t knowposition, and then you go and write two songs that are all the rage in Ante. That''s not just doing well; you are the empire of Ante''s pop music scene." Vasily: "But I really can''t type" In the midst of their conversation, Wang Zhong had already dragged Vasily into the hall, just as the butler Mikhail came out to meet them: "Your Grace, the work tools for Mr. Vasily are ready." Because Wang Zhong''s brother, Peter, had inherited the title of the Rokossovsky family, the butler didn''t refer to him as "master" but as "Your Grace." After all, calling him "Second Young Master" wasn''t quite suitable for Wang Zhong anymore. Wang Zhong: "Good, lead the way quickly, let''s see what Vasily here is capable of." An hourter, Wang Zhong looked at Vasily''s output. Vasily: "I told you, I only know how to use the typewriter, using it to transcribe articles quickly is tough." Wang Zhong: "Alright, step aside, I''ll do it myself." Typing, how hard could it be! Wang Zhong thought to himself; what a joke, back in our glorious days of being chosen by the gods of Zaun to y LOL and spew messages at teammates, we typed like we were ying the piano! And not just any piece, but the damn "Flight of the Bumblebee." He took Vasily''s seat, pushing the typewriter''s roller back to its original position, ready to start typing. "100mm gun carrier technical specifications" After finishing that line, he was about to start another, hit the carriage return, and continued typing; then he realized the letters were misaligned, lining up right next to thest character of the line before. Wang Zhong paused for a second before realizing he needed to slide the roller back to the starting position. He tore off the crazily typed paper and started again. But after two lines, there was another problem. This mechanical typewriter was nowhere near as convenient as aputer; formatting and such had to be manually adjusted by the typist. On top of that, the keyboard of a mechanical typewriter was much stiffer than even the toughest mechanical keyboard, and Wang Zhong''s hands were already protesting after just two lines. Discover more stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin Wang Zhong looked towards Vasily. Vasily: "See, you can''t do it either!" Wang Zhong pursed his lips as he looked at him. Vasily: "Manualbor then? No problem. Once I put on the adjutant''s armband, I''ll carry that and go." Wang Zhong: "I feel like you''re not afraid of manualbor anymore. In that case, I order you to learn the typewriter, and within a week be able to type a 10,000-word article in a day!" Vasily''s mouth dropped open: "No, you can''t do this to me!" Just then, the study room door opened and Ludm entered, giving Wang Zhong a charming smile: "Alyosha, I''m back." After these words, she turned her head towards the door: "Come in, let me introduce you to AlyoshaDuke Rokossovsky." Chapter 324: Chapter 12 Progress Wang Zhong frowned, realizing the situation was not as simple as it seemed. Before he could refuse, Ludm had already weed the person outside into the study. Wang Zhong was stunned and even blurted out subconsciously, "Eh?" Because the woman who entered, even for someone like Wang Zhong, who was notably bad at judging the ages of Western women, could tell that thisdy was a bit older. If described in terms easier for those familiar with anime culture to understand, it would be like the age of "Auntie Akiko"? Just, it was clear from her appearance that she had aged, but one could also tell that she must have been dazzling in her youth. Ludm introduced her, "This is Gabriel Uliyanovna, a state dame, OlgaHis Majesty the Tsar rmended her to serve as youryour secretary." Wang Zhong, seeing Ludm''s awkward shift in how she addressed him, couldn''t help but want tough. At that moment, Vasily said, "A state dame-ss female official, eh? That''s impressive; she definitely won''t have any problems with typing!" Madame Uliyanovna pushed her sses up, "I am indeed very good at typing and organizing files." Wang Zhong stood up and vacated the spot in front of the typewriter, "Please, by all means!" Madame Uliyanovna confidently strode to the typewriter and sat down. Vasily described, "That posture is like the Tsar approaching his throne, it seems we won''t have to worry about typing matters anymore." Madame Uliyanovna said, "No, you should form amittee to review weapon improvements, right? Considering it needs to review all weapons in the Ante Empire, you''ll need at least 20 typists." Vasily had an epiphany and pped his hands, "She''s themander of a typing army group!" Wang Zhong, "Uh, Madam State Dame, could I entrust you to organize these typists?" Madame Uliyanovna nodded, "If I''m given the authority, I can organize it." Wang Zhong, "That would be great, what else can you organize? Do you have experience with clerical work, Madame State Dame?" Madame Uliyanovna looked at Wang Zhong, "Why are you treating me with such reverence? Is this some kind of mean joke?" Wang Zhong thought, can you me me? You exude an aura akin to a school disciplinary head, who would stealthily move to the back door of the ssroom during evening self-study, quietly observing all the youngsters whispering among themselves. Anyone who''s gone through twelve years of education would instinctively stand straight and adopt a respectful manner in front of thisdy, wouldn''t they? Wait a second, Wang Zhong''s impression of thisdy had shifted from "Auntie Akiko" to "Professor McGonagall"; the leap was somewhat vast, and he needed a moment to digest that. As Madame Uliyanovna saw Wang Zhong wasn''t speaking, she continued, "You shouldn''t treat me so reverentially, first, my husband''s title is far lower than yours, second, I''m just a state dame-level female official, while you are a duke, I should be the one showing reverence to you." Wang Zhong, "Alright, Madame Uliyanovna." Thedy sighed, "Don''t address me with such formality." Wang Zhong, "I personally think, in terms of age, my respect for you is understandable." He meant to argue that his actions were appropriate from the perspective of respecting elders. But Madame Uliyanovna''s anger clearly rose. Wang Zhong then remembered that in the West, mentioning ady''s age was generally taboo. It was very impolite. Wang Zhong, "Sorry, what I meant was..." Ludm patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder, partially stepping between the two, "Madame, what Alyosha means is that a reliable female official such as yourself deserves ample respect. He''s like this with everyone here, even with our hired elderly gardener, he speaks with utmost respect." Of course, the gardener had white hair, and Wang Zhong habitually treated him with esteemthis was a tradition in Ceres, and Wang Zhong was no longer at an age where he didn''t know to respect his elders. Madame Uliyanovna carefully observed Liu Xia''s expression before rxing, "That''s true, after all, the esteemed general is quite the favorite with the church." Eh, that can be interpreted that way? I''m not okay, this is a quality I brought from my homnd. Then Madame Uliyanovna said, "Although my husband isn''t one of those die-hard nobles, he also isn''t a nouveau riche secrist like your father, is that alright with you?" Wang Zhong, "Uh, that''s no problem. If your husband is middle-of-the-road, then that is exactly who we''re trying to win over, so there''s no problem." "Alright then, rest assured, I won''t take any documents out of the workce, nor will I discuss any work-rted matters with my husband." At this point, Vasily pped his hands with vigor, "I remember now, a state dame must be a married female noble to hold the position; going upwards, there are only two ranks left, the second being the court headmistress and the first being the chief court headmistress. As a state dame, she would be an important official in charge of several thousand maids in the pce!" Madame Uliyanovna looked towards Vasily, "Well said, Mr. Vasily dimirovich." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, without looking at the external plugin for names, he wouldn''t even remember Vasily had such a long patronymic, nor did he remember hisst name was Bradsky. Vasily, "Just call me Vasily. Starting today, I''ll be the general''s aide-de-camp, soon to be a colleague, Madame Uliyanovna." Thedy nodded. Wang Zhong, "That name is too long, Madame Uliyanovna, from now on, I''ll call you" ``` Oh no, the fake Ante person Wang Zhong didn''t know what the nickname for the name Gabriel was! Ms. Uliyanovna said, "You can call me Abby or Ellie." Wang Zhong: "Very well, Ms. Ellie, please start your work." Ms. Ellie nodded, sat down at the typewriter, and discreetly reset all the settings that Wang Zhong had just messed up, then removed the paper that had been spoiled. Wang Zhong began to dictate: "Specifications of the 100mm artillery transporter. Design objective: to destroy Prosen Tank units at distances between 1000 and 1500 meters, and to protect our Tank Operators as much as possible. "It should be equipped with the navy''s 100mm dual-purpose gun withoutpromising performance and have good reconnaissance capabilities, along with rtively reliable front defense." ... The next day, when Wang Zhong got up, he realized he had slept on the sofa in the study, then he noticed the rhythmical sound by his ear was the sound of typing. Wang Zhong stood up and saw Ms. Ellie still working, so he asked, "Didn''t you finish typing all the documents yesterday?" Ms. Ellie: "I only finished the initial draft. There are many ces that need to be edited and revised, so the documents as they were are not eptable, which is why I am retyping them. Additionally, this document needs to be submitted to three departments, so I typed three copies." Wang Zhong "Oh"ed, as the electrostatic copier had not yet been fully developed in this era and was not widely used, so most documents had to be typed out like this. Ms. Ellie continued: "Once our team is established, such documents requiring multiple copies can be made into tes for mass replication." Wang Zhong: "Oh... I''ll leave it to you!" Ms. Ellie nodded: "Leave it to me. You should go wash up and have breakfast now. I think Ms. Mailehovna is waiting for you." Wang Zhong still remembered Liu Xia''s surname very clearly, so when he heard Mailehovna, he knew it referred to his wife. Wang Zhong: "Then I''ll leave it to you." After speaking, he kicked Vasily, who was lying on the desk asleep: "Hey! Get up!" "The enemy ising? Where?" Vasily stood up, nervously patting for his Tokarev, then realized he hadn''t felt itadjutants typically do not carry long guns. Wang Zhong: "Wash your face, change into a new set of clothes. We have a bunch of things to do today. Remember to bring the briefcase! Handcuff it to your wrist." Vasily, while rubbing sleep out of his eyes, replied: "Yes!" Ms. Ellie: "I''ll have all the documents ready, Mr. Vasily dimirovich." Vasily: "I''ve told you, just Vasily is fine." Wang Zhong didn''t bother with them and went straight out of the study, only toe face to face with Nelly pushing a cart toward him. On the cart were a washbasin with water for washing the face, towels, and other items, as well as neatly folded new military uniforms. Wang Zhong looked down at his uniform, wrinkled from sleeping in it, andplimented Nelly: "It''s great to have you." Nelly took a step back, crossing her hands over her chest. Wang Zhong waved his hand: "No no, I''m not in the mood for that today. I''m going to find Liu Xia! Where is she?" Nelly: "Dining room, she''s been waiting for a while." Wang Zhong nodded, quickly washed up, dressed, and headed to the dining room. He heard the sound of Nelly opening the door behind him: "Breakfast is ready." So the pushcart had breakfast hidden in it as well, the maids'' carts are just as secretive as the undersides of their skirts. Ludm was in the dining room reading the newspaper of the day with the radio broadcasting the news beside her. Wang Zhong: "Good morning, how did you sleepst night..." Before he could finish the sentence, he let out a long yawn. Ludm: "What do you think of thedy-in-waiting rmended by His Majesty?" Wang Zhong: "She''s very capable, worth ten others. What''s the matter?" Ludm sighed: "The day before yesterday, the girls in Ye Fort already got wind that you might hire a typist. Many clerks'' daughters who can already type were hoping toe to you on that ount." Wang Zhong: "So Olga sent over ady-in-waiting to manage these girls, and to set up a ''barrier'', right?" "It seems so. At first, I thought she would introduce youngdies to you, but in the end, it turned out to be such a steady marrieddy. Come to think of it, she would not want to increase herpetition." Wang Zhong looked at Ludm, thinking to himself, is it really okay to be so straightforward? All the chess pieces are out in the open, and then they fight, and I''m supposed to know about it? Ludm gazed at Wang Zhong: "I know you''ve already clearly refused His Majesty many times, but she won''t stop unless we make the marriage engagement official." Wang Zhong: "No problem, the Rokossovsky family is now under my brother''s management, I just need him to nod on my side, and you bring over your father, so we can officially get engaged." Ludm smiled: "Mm." ``` Chapter 325: Chapter 13: Negotiations with the Federation (Additional Updates 24/33) Wang Zhong looked at Liu Xia''s smile and suddenly wanted to hug her, so he opened his arms to her. Ludm looked at him with the expression of a big sister watching her mischievous little brother, "You,e here." She shifted her sitting position and opened her arms. Wang Zhong knelt on one knee in front of her and threw himself into thefort that belonged only to him. Ludm, Rocossov''s gas station! Just then, the phone rang. Wang Zhong suddenly didn''t want to leave hisforting embrace to answer the phone, just like someone who doesn''t want to leave a warm bed on a cold winter morning. Ludm said softly, "If you pick up the receiver just a littleter, hundreds or thousands of people may die in vain." Wang Zhong immediately stood up, walked to the phone, and picked up the receiver proficiently, "This is Major General Rocossov, who''s this?" Belinsky''s voice came over the line, "Good morning, Major General Rocossov. I heard that your actions yesterday were unanimously praised by the Air Forcemanders and fighters. For an army officer, that''s not easy." Wang Zhong, "Good morning, Your Highness. I merely listened to their feedback and spoke on their behalf using my new title. After all, the future production of new equipment needs my approval as the chairman." Belinsky said, "The Judge has reported to me your requirements, and you should be aware that we may not be able to produce something that meets those requirements now." Wang Zhong, "Can''t produce?" The sound of pages turning came from Belinsky''s side; he must have had a report in hand: "We have several industrial centers. Argesukov was evacuated quite well, with seventy percent of the technicians and professional industrial workers evacuated to the rear, "But the evacuation of machine tools, especially those forrge specialty machines that we currently have low production rates for, is not going well. "Shepetovka''s evacuation went a bit smoother, since there was more time. But correspondingly, ces closer to the border barely had time to evacuate. Do you understand? "And then there''s Saint Andrew Fort, our most important heavy industrial base. The enemy has blocked the regr roads, and we can only transport supplies over the frozen surface of the northernkes! "Through this route, we evacuated a million civilians, but only a part of them are engineers and industrial workers, most are women and children. "In the electronic tube factory and optical ss factory at Saint Andrew Fort, none were evacuated, none! The workers and engineers n to fight with the garrison, and even if we persuade them to leave, they refuse to go. "Even if they all leave, for these two industries, without those high-end production tools, it would be absolutely impossible to recover just with the workers." Wang Zhong, "Yesterday at the Ordnance Department, I was already aware of the difficult situation of our industrial production." Belinsky said, "Then you should know that right now, we desperately need help from the Federationno, from all of our allies. "Today the Federation ambassador and a delegation that has just arrived at Ye Fort by ne will meet with His Majesty the Tsar to discuss aid matters. The church will send a delegation from the Department of Civil Affairs to participate in the negotiations. "I hope you can also attend the meeting. The Federation side has expressed a simr hope." Wang Zhong looked troubled, "I ... I''mpletely unprepared with the relevant documents. The documents I''ve been preparing all night were about establishing a reviewmittee and developing a 100mm gun carrier." Belinsky, "Just by sitting there, you can have an effect. If we didn''t need your military expertise, I would have nned to send you to the Federation to lobby them. You''re on the cover of their biggest magazine, something called ''TIME'' or something." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: Did I really make it onto TIME magazine? Isn''t this taking it a bit too lightly? Belinsky, "The Federation ambassador ns to personally present this issue of the magazine to you, so you must go. I estimate that after I hang up, the court etiquette department will send you a formal invitation." Wang Zhong, "I understand. I will be there on time this morning." November 24, St. Ye Katerina Fortress, at half-past nine in the morning, Wang Zhong arrived at the Summer Pce. The court etiquette department was already waiting for him at the entrance and immediately led him to the lounge. The Federation ambassador and the delegation were already in the lounge. Though called a lounge, it was actually for the purpose of fostering personal connections, as there would be confrontations at the negotiation tableter on, but this did not prevent some exchanges beforehand. After all, both sides were allies. "Major General Rocossov!" The moment Wang Zhong entered the lounge, someone greeted him loudly in ented Ante, "Thest time we met, it was still warm enough for summer clothes!" Wang Zhong looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Federation military attach, Colonel Johnwick, whom he had met at the state funeral. After making eye contact, the colonel saluted Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong returned the salute and took the initiative to shake Johnwick''s hand: "It''s been nearly three months since west met. This time we''re allies." Johnwick nodded, "Yes. Actually, after August, I went back to my country and just returned with the delegation. This is for you." He took out a magazine from his briefcase with therge word TIME on the cover. TIME magazine, the cover featured Reporter Mike''s partner Robert Capa''s full-length photo of Wang Zhong, with a T34 tank in the background. Wang Zhong, with his poor English, could barely make out that thergest text on the magazine read "Star of Victory." This evaluation seems quite alright. Wang Zhong took the magazine, casually flipped through it, and then gave it to Vasily, "Keep it well; this is a precious keepsake." Chapter 326: Chapter 13: Negotiations with the Federation (Additional Updates 24/33)_2 ``` Vasily was curious, "Isn''t it just a magazine?" Wang Zhong replied, "Those who can make it onto this magazine are all influential figures of their time." Vasily grunted, "Oh," and mumbled, "Then we could publish something simr. Just being on the cover would be awesome." Colonel Johnwick beamed a hearty smile. At this moment, a Federation senior citizen approaching his sixties came to Colonel Johnwick''s side: "Could you help introduce us, Colonel?" "Certainly, Mr. Ambassador. General Rocossov, this is Mr. Hawthorn, the Federation''s ambassador to the Ante Empire. Mr. Ambassador, this is General Rocossov." Wang Zhong had already learnt the ambassador''s name from Miss Ellie prior to his arrival, so this was merely a formality. As soon as Johnwick finished speaking, the ambassador reached out his hand first: "It''s an honor to meet General Rocossov. You''ve already been called the ''Star of Victory'' by Time magazine." Wang Zhong smiled. It was a moment when modesty was appropriate: "You tter me too much." Ambassador Hawthorn went on, "Our domestic analysts agree with your conclusion that a quick victory is not possible. They surmise that there are two main reasons why the faction advocating a quick victory became mainstream; first, the soldiers driven from their homes are eager to reim theirnd and seek revenge; second, everyone knows that next year will be extremely difficult." Wang Zhong replied, "Isn''t the Federation the same?" Ambassador Hawthorn said, "I won''t deny that currently the Empire of Fusang isunching full-scale offensives, and we are being beaten back on all fronts. But once our war machine is fully up and running, the Empire of Fusang will definitely be defeated." Wang Zhong retorted, "Our war potential is even greater." "Yes, indeed," nodded the ambassador, "But as you know, our war machine has not fully started yet, plus, with limitations in transport capacity, the aid we can provide next year will be limited..." Wang Zhong said, "The war against the Empire of Fusang is mainly naval; it''s the navy''s job. The groundbat in Europa is over and the amphibious assault on Mamluk is still in the nning stage. Just give us the tanks first; it will help us to hold off the Prussian onught." Ambassador Hawthornughed heartily, "Your straightforward style actually suits us Federation people quite well. After all, to the gentlemen in the United Kingdom, we''re all seen as the uncultured nouveau riche who prefer to be direct." Just as Wang Zhong was about to reply, the door opened: "His Majesty is waiting to see the ambassador in the audience hall." "Oh, it''s time to make an appearance," said the ambassador looking at Wang Zhong, "I''ll see you at the negotiating table." After saying this, he and a few aides followed the pce guards out of the lounge. Wang Zhong asked Johnwick, "Shall we continue to wait?" "Yes. The audience is just a formality. His Majesty the Tsar will not participate in the negotiations. It will be us who will discuss the specifics of the aid," Johnwick paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What do you think Ante urgently needs the most right now? The most important thing." Without hesitation, Wang Zhong answered, "SPAM canned meat." In fact, it''s just canned lunch meat, made from the unpopr trimmings of pork mixed with starch and other ingredients. Wang Zhong grew up thinking it was a high-end product and ate a lot of it. Later, when he went to university, he would pair it with instant noodles to add some protein intake. Wang Zhong paused and then added, "Personally, I''d also like to have enough Coca-C." Having not had a sip of Coca-C since arriving in this era, Wang Zhong certainly longed for a taste of this nostalgic vor. Johnwickughed, "Did you live in the Federation or something? I bet even the diplomats from all of Ante don''t know about SPAM, given that diplomatic personnel rarely eatmoners'' food." Wang Zhong replied, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and I have carefully studied the Federation." Johnwick''s smile froze. Wang Zhong continued, "You just asked what''s the most needed. It has to be SPAM canned meat. This stuff can save lives in an emergency. We have just lost millions of livestock to severe cold. Next year we won''t be able to produce so much Doctor''s sausage, we need something else to rece it. "If you were to ask me what''s the most needed thing besides food, I would say engines and machine tools." "Oh?" Johnwick revealed an expression of mild interest again, "Why''s that?" Wang Zhong said, "We need to produce better tanks. Right now our T34 tanks can win shootouts mainly due to the advantages of sloped armor and the element of surprise. "But the Prussians will soone up with better tanks and their Armored Troops are inherently superior to ours, as well as more experienced inbat. Continue your saga on mvl "We need machine tools capable of producingrger turrets and engines powerful enough to drive heavier tanks. Our KV tanks are currently troubled due to the low engine output." Johnwick said, "You seem to be well-versed in military industrial production." Wang Zhong responded, "Somewhat. We also need stamping machines, particrly those capable of manufacturing high-precision stamped parts, and optical ss. Our own optical ss factory is in Saint Andrew Fort, which has been surrounded..." At this moment, the lounge door opened again, and an official from the court protocol department announced, "The audience is over, please enter the conference room now. This way to the conference room." Wang Zhong said, "Then, see you at the negotiating table." Johnwick smiled, "See you at the negotiating table." Afterwards, following a full ten days of negotiations, the Ante Empire, the Federation, the United Kingdom, and other allies signed the "War-Time Aid Treaty." The treaty stipted that the Federation, the United Kingdom, and other allies would provide Ante with assistance in 85 major categories, ranging from foodstuffs to rubber to crude oil, and finally to trucks, tanks, and finished aircraft. ``` Chapter 327: Chapter 13: Negotiations with the Federation (Additional Updates 24/33)_3 ``` If the aid is consumed or lost in war, no payment is needed. Once victorious peace is achieved, any unutilized aid items will be converted into debt. Nobody involved in the negotiations believed any aid items would be left after the end of the war. Additionally, at the request of Major General Rocossov, both parties agreed to dispatch an inspection team from the Ante Ordnance Department to the Federation. The objective is to procure a batch of machine tools not avable in Ante before May of 915, including an ultra-heavy-duty verticalthe capable of producing turret rings with a diameter of 3500mm. These machine tools will arrive in Ante territory by February of 916 and will be installed and debugged by May of the same year. As for the engine technology transfer that Major General Rocossov values particrly, it hadn''t been agreed upon yet; the allies only promised to provide Ante with a "sufficient" quantity of engine products. December 3, 914 Jules, two days before the Western Front Armyunched its offensive. St. Ye Katerina Fortress, Civil War Victory Memorial Hall. Wang Zhong looked over the building and marveled, "Are you sure this ce is suitable for the Office of the Review Committee?" Bishop Ravkid nodded, "Of course it can. We''ve already sealed all the historically significant exhibits in the basement. Moreover, there''s a fully equipped underground bunker here. If the Prussians strike at Ye Fort again, you can use the underground bunker as a fortress." Wang Zhong replied, "I see." Turning his head, he nodded to Miss Ellie, "All right then, this is our office location. You can inform the youngdies you''ve recruited to start moving." Miss Ellie immediately turned around, pping her hands and shouting loudly, "Alright girls, let''s get moving! We need to clear out fiverge offices that can be used by this morning!" While "The Lady of State" was demonstrating her strength, an old man, wearing military uniform sans insignia and decorations, approached Wang Zhong and eximed, "Unbelievable! You drag me back from so far away to be a clerk, and yet your own institution is just an empty shell!" Wang Zhong responded, "Your Excellency, I asked you toe back because I missed you!" The old man snorted, "Your unconventional methods might win now but won''tst! Enjoy your sess while you can! But seeing the state of things, it seems you won''t be returning to the frontline again." Wang Zhong insisted, "No, I will. To prove the effectiveness of the new units I''ve formed and the equipment I''ve overseen in development, I will personally deal a heavy blow to the Prussians." The old man looked at Wang Zhong for a few seconds and said, "At least your courage ismendable." Just then, a jeep stopped in front of Wang Zhong, Vasily jumped out, pointing to a mailbox on the back seat, "The mailbox you set up in front of the equipment department is full. I guess it''s because of Drachenko and the others'' diligent promotion, with many letters from the Air Force. I opened one, and it''s aint about the insufficient damaging effects of the Schwacke machine guns." Wang Zhong assured, "That''s easy to deal with. Once we capture the Prussian Type 151 20mm machine guns, we''ll try to replicate them. After Miss Ellie allocates the feedback department offices, we''ll hire reliable people to open the mails and record the demands." Vasily acknowledged, "Understood." The former principal sneered, "You talk as if hiring people is a trivial matter." Wang Zhong retorted, "It is simple. Previously, we didn''t have an office location, so we had to find people ourselves, which is why we gathered so many. Now that we have confirmed the office location, we just need to ce an advertisement in the newspaper stating that General Rocossov''s agency is hiring, and we''ll quickly fill the positions." Continue reading stories on mvl "Don''t believe me? Just watch." ``` Chapter 328: Chapter 14 The Situation on December 4, 914 December 4, 914 Jules, the day before the Western Front Armyunched its counteroffensive, in front of the former Civil War Exhibition Hall at St. Ye Katerina Fortress. Wang Zhong''s car was originally intended to enter through the main gate, but when it reached No. 10 Peace Road where the exhibition hall was located, he saw that the entire road was jam-packed. The Judge leading the way stopped the car and sent someone to knock on Wang Zhong''s window. Wang Zhong rolled down the window, only for the north wind to pour in. He had to squint his eyes and ask the Judge, "What''s the situation?" "It''s rmended to take the additional entrance through the underground passage, Your Excellency the General," the Judge suggested. Wang Zhong: "Lead the way." The entrance to the underground fortifications was inside an unremarkable civilian house three blocks away. Directly in the cer of the house was arge iron door, beside which were jars of pickled sauerkraut and cucumbers. Wang Zhong had thought there would be some advanced way of calling at the door, but the leading Judge simply knocked on the iron door. Then, a small window opened on the door, and someone peeked out from inside. Then came the sound of a door bolt being slid open from withinnot a mechanical noise. One shouldn''t have too high expectations for Ante''s technical level. On the other hand, it''s reliable! After entering, there was an extremely long corridor, and this corridor was shaped like a W, with machine guns at every corner. This thing looked like it was built to the standards of a doomsday fortress, right at home as a final level in a video game. After walking through the long passageway, Wang Zhong entered a ce resembling an undergroundmand center, but now it was filled with archives and exhibits taken down fromndmarks. Wang Zhong: "I hadn''t toured the underground structure yesterday, but seeing it today, this ce seems rather well-equipped." The Judge who led the way immediately introduced, "This was originally intended as a shelter andmand center in the event of a disaster at Ye Fort." Wang Zhong: "You mean themand center after the Prosen Army entered Ye Fort and engaged in street fighting, right. I understand." Judge: "Thanks to your efforts, it is now a warehouse." Wang Zhong: "No, it was the result of all the soldiers fighting unitedly and resolutely that we could hold off the Prussians." With that, Wang Zhong saw the elevator and promptly stepped forward to press the button. The group then went straight up to the fifth floor, heading towards Wang Zhong''s office. In therge room next to the office, the click-ck of typewriters was already in full swing. Upon opening the door to his office, Wang Zhong saw Ellie''s position was empty and quickly asked thedy organizing the papers on the desk, "Where is Ms. Ellie?" "She''s downstairs overseeing the interviews for new hires," thedy lifted her head, "Do you want coffee or tea?" Wang Zhong nodded: "Tea, please." Thedy nodded, picked up a tray, and walked towards the pantry. The Judges stopped at the door and did not proceed further, while Grigori sat down on the sofa. Wang Zhong: "Think about Aksinya, don''t mess with someone else''s wife." All the secretaries hired by Ms. Ellie were marrieddies with husbands. Grigori: "I do have some standards for women''s appearance, rest assured, General." Wang Zhong entered the office, took off his coat and military cap, and handed them to Vasily. As Vasily hung them on the clothes rack, heined, "You could have brought Nelly to do this. She did it back at the division headquarters!" Wang Zhong: "This is precisely the adjutant''s job! As for having Nelly work here tooit''s not a bad idea, I''m almost tired of the aunties Ms. Ellie brought in." Vasily: "Yes, yes! Let Nellye! But there''s a problem if she does... she probably can''t reach the ce to put the hats, we would need to prepare a box for her to stand on." Wang Zhong alsoughed: "Indeed." Then the two of themughed thoughtlessly togetherafter all, Wang Zhong''s physical age wasn''t much older than Vasily''s, they were well within the range of bing buddies. Wang Zhong went to the office window that faced the main gate square and looked down, the dense crowd reminding him of various tourist spots during the long holidays before he time-traveled. "There are even more peopleing for the job interviews than for conscription," he muttered. At that moment, the auntie opened the door, pushed in a cart with cups and teaware for making tea. "Just leave it there, we''ll pour it ourselves when we''re ready to drink," Wang Zhong instructed, and the auntie bowed and left the room. Vasily waited until the auntie had left before teasing, "Your Majesty is making it too obvious, not even trying to hide it any longer." Wang Zhong forcibly continued the topic: "There are even more peopleing for the job interviews than for conscription!" Vasily: "A lot of girls wouldn''t be conscripted. After all, to be a nurse or medic, you need to be physically strong to carry the wounded. Female snipers and pilots also have requirements..." At that point, the door opened and Ms. Ellie came in. Wang Zhong: "How is the recruitment going?" "I came to report on that," Ms. Ellie gave Wang Zhong a meaningful look and then flipped open the roster she had brought, "My original n was to recruit thosedies with nothing to do at home, along with the wives of clerks of various levels, but the reality is quite different from what I envisioned." Wang Zhong: "Different how?" Lady Ellie: "The majority of thoseing for the job interviews are female university students and graduates from professional technical schools with specializations in ounting. The good news is that most of them are proficient in using typewriters and have sufficient cultural level to carry out various clerical tasks. "The bad news is that most of them have impure motives." Wang Zhong: "ce them in offices below the fourth floor, where they can''t get in touch with me, and that''s the end of it. From now on, I''ll take the elevator to move underground." Lady Ellie: "Isn''t that a bit too roundabout?" Wang Zhong: "Isn''t this to facilitate thepletion of your mission?" "Thank you for your understanding." Lady Ellie bowed slightly and then flipped through the roster in her hand, "The conscription work for the men has been going smoothly, but most of the employees are on the older side. They are mostly evacuees from the upied areas and due to their age, they are not yet eligible to join the army." Wang Zhong: "Isn''t that good? Middle-aged mene with rich experience." Lady Ellie: "They might not be able to adapt to high-intensity work." Wang Zhong: "Then increase the number of employees; under the current circumstances, employing more people will also benefit the stability of Ye Fort." Lady Ellie quickly wrote something in her notebook and continued, "Also, the volunteers from the Air Force have started to disassemble the letters received. Each person has been paired with a typist in order to convert their opinions into written documents as soon as possible. The first batch of documents should arrive today; do you want to read them all?" Wang Zhong: "No, do a summary, and perform statistical analysis on the issues responded to. We''ll prioritize dealing with the issues most frequently raised by the front lines." Lady Ellie: "Then we''ll need to conscript students from the mathematics department." Wang Zhong: "The mathematics students have all been conscripted to crack the Prussians'' Enigma machine. Look among the students of ounting or auditing for someone to do the statistical analysis." "All right." Having finished her shorthand, Lady Ellie looked at Wang Zhong, "Any other instructions?" "No, bring me the documents that require my signature today; I''m going to give a lecture at the school this afternoon." "Understood." Lady Ellie saluted and left. Vasily: "They should have delivered the captured Prosen Tanks to the school from Kubinka by now. I wonder how their own research is going." Wang Zhong: "This afternoon, let''s assess the students from the tankmand specialty and see how perceptive they are." When Wang Zhong arrived at the school, the students from the tankmand department were conducting a mock battle on the tank exercise field using Prosen Tanks and T34s, firing paint rounds. Wang Zhong resolutely climbed up the observation tower next to the exercise field to watch the show. He climbed the tower, lifted his binocrs, and saw the blue team, ying the role of Prussians, splitting into two groups to nk the T34 standard red team. The T34''s response was to tighten their defense, manage their turret orientation well, and use the vehicles to cover each other''s blind spots. However, most of the red team''s paint rounds hit the ground, while the blue team''s paint rounds consistently hit the T34''s turret rings and tracks with precision. After watching for about half an hour, the mockbat officer fired a re, presumably signaling the end of that round. The students participating in the exercise drove their tanks back to the parking area. Wang Zhong noticed several tanks had broken down in the middle of the exercise field, both the number three and T34s. Seeing that the students were lined up ready for a debriefing, Wang Zhong came down from the tower with Vasily and walked towards the assembled troops. The sharp-eyed instructor saw Wang Zhong from far away and gave themand to stand easy, then ran to Wang Zhong, stood at attention, and saluted, "Reporting to the principal, we have just finished the mock battle and are about to debrief." Wang Zhong: "How did the exercise go?" Instructor: "The blue team won four out of five battles." Wang Zhong: "Not bad. How did the red team win their battle?" Instructor: "It was thest one we yed. The blue team used the same old tactics from the previous round, and the red team formed a dense formation, coordinating turret orientation through radio to watch each other''s blind spots." Wang Zhong hurriedly looked towards the T34s lined up in the parking lot and noticed they were all toon leader tanks, equipped with radios. Wang Zhong: "That won''t do; in the next exercise, only toon leader tanks are allowed to use radios, non-leader tanks must turn off their radios, they can''t listen or speak." "Yes Sir!" Wang Zhong then went straight to the students and asked loudly, "Have you realized the advantages of the Prosen Tanks?" "Yes!" the students answered in unison. Then Maslo Boyev said loudly, "But the T34s are only damaged; they can be repaired and put back into use!" Wang Zhong: "Indeed. But on the battlefield, who can repair tanks depends on who controls the battlefield after the fight. Over the past six months, we''ve been mostly retreating, so those T34s with their turret rings jammed and tracks broken arepletely lost. "It''s very likely that they got captured by the Prussians, even painted with Prussian insignia, and joined the Prussian Army to fight against us." Wang Zhong paused and then asked, "I''m d that the red team won a mock battle; who was themander of the red team in that battle?" Maslo Boyev raised his hand: "Me!" Wang Zhong: "Good job! You found a solution to the T34''s poor visibility: allocating each tank''s vignce zone. I did the same in the Orachi ambush. Regarding the Orachi ambush, I will write a booklet, print it, and distribute it to you. "However, this formation of mutual vignce has a huge w, Maslo, do you know it?" Maslo answered: "Yes, the formation is too rigid, only suitable for defense; to use it for offense is too difficult." Wang Zhong added, "Especially when only the toon leader tanks have radios. By the way, the radio quality from Ante is very poor; my adjutant Vasily has a lot to say about that." Vasily: "Eh? Do I have to speak? Uh, our radios mainly have poor batteries, and the reliability is also an issue." Wang Zhong: "Thank you for Vasily''s exnation. Next, all those who have used the Prosen Tanks,e forward and discuss the advantages of these tanks." Chapter 329: Chapter 15: Kepu No. 3 Tank, Forgot What Comes After Wang Zhong swept his gaze across all the students and noticed nobody dared to raise their hand. So he encouraged them, "You must dare to acknowledge the enemy''s strengths and learn from them, turning their advantages into our own. We should adopt a policy of taking the best and leaving the rest in this matter, keeping the essence and discarding the dross!" "Come, let''s talk about the strengths of the enemy tanks in detail! If you don''t speak up, I will. But by doing so, you will miss the chance to impress me!" Maslo Boyev immediately raised his hand, "Let me do it!" Wang Zhong: "Go ahead!" Maslo: "The enemy has a separatemander''s turret, and although the viewports are very small, they offer much better visibility than our side viewports, with themander having a 360-degree field of vision, while our viewports have significant blind spots." Wang Zhong nodded, "Anything else?" Maslo: "Their gun sights are advanced. As long as you know the dimensions of the target, you can quickly estimate the distance. Also, the magnification is satisfying." Wang Zhong: "What else?" Maslo: "They have radios! But this was not demonstrated in the exercise, as we all have radios as well." Wang Zhong: "That''s good, radios give the enemy a huge advantage. Anything else?" Maslo drew a nk: "Anything else? Uh..." Wang Zhong: "Thebat room is spacious, with good ergonomics. Prosen tank operators don''t need to wear collision helmets; they drive tanks wearing peak caps and sailor hats. Moreover, the rtively spacious interior also significantly increases the chance of crew survival after the tank is prated." Of course, the Mark III is actually quite narrow. It''s the Mark IV that is truly spacious, which is why a series of variants of the Mark IV continued to be used until the Panther was mass-produced, and there was a factory still producing the Mark IV. The students looked at each other because Ante''s tank design had never taken ergonomics andfort into consideration before. Wang Zhong spoke loudly, "Do not underestimate the improvement in survival due to a more spacious interior. "Our design philosophy still follows the old approach of the shooting army, treating soldiers as cannon fodder. We need to change this. "Tank operators, like pilots, are a technical branch. Good tank operators are extremely valuable, and we must do everything possible to ensure the survival of excellent tank operators. At the same time, each tank operator should be familiar with allbat positions, so that during battle, we can quickly refill the ranks of undermanned tanks." Wang Zhong looked over the students and said loudly, "If we were to lose more than ten thousand tanks like we did in the first three weeks of the war again, it would be a crime against the Ante people! More than ten thousand tanks mean that so many tank operators were needlessly lost! "This must be stopped. Allmanders should learn to use tanks as a precious resource, not to waste them carelessly!" Wang Zhong paused, his gaze moving from face to face, "You are the future tankmanders, and I have a requirement for you here: when you are on the front lines, the exchange rate with enemy tanks must reach one to one. That is to say, for every crew loss, you must take down at least one enemy crew as well!" Someone shouted, "Then wouldn''t it be fine if every tank just rammed into an enemy tank?" Many studentsughed along, but arge number of them, including Maslo, did not. Wang Zhong: "Maslo, tell the others why this approach won''t work". Maslo nced at those who had just heckled and said, "Because if the enemy really is equipped with guns that can prate T34s, you''ll be destroyed on your way to ramming them, with very few actually reaching ramming distance." Immediately someone said skeptically, "There''s no way the enemy could quickly equip guns that can prate T34s!" Wang Zhong: "Maybe they already have. Never underestimate your enemy; otherwise, you''ll be the one to pay the price." If Wang Zhong himself wasn''t the one who yed the biggest role in repelling Prosen, the words he just said would have been enough to get him sent to prison dozens of times. Seeing those dissenting students had no more to argue, he looked to Maslo: "Next, let''s discuss how to achieve a one-to-one exchange rate under current equipment conditions." Maslo: "Isn''t it enough to refer to yourbat examples? The Orachi tank ambush battle is all over the newspapers. Wherever you go, you can see newsreaders recounting your victories to the illiterate elderly, even the olddies in Ye Fort who don''t understand military affairs can say a few words about it!" Wang Zhong: "The military academy is under closed management, how would you know about the situation in Ye Fort?" Bayev was stumped, "This..." Wang Zhong: "Priest! What''s the punishment for slipping out of school?" Vasily interjected smugly, "Cleaning thetrines!" He seemed quite happy saying that. The Priest replied, "Indeed, cleaning thetrines can be the punishment. Maslo Boyev, if you honestly confess to leaving the school, you will only have to clean for one week. But if you are dishonest or intentionally hide details, it will be three weeks." Maslo Boyev''s entire face scrunched up. Wang Zhong, like Vasily, could not help butugh, but he immediately squared his expression, "Let''s continue discussing tanks. Yes, ambush warfare is a method, and so are tank dugouts. The approach that Boyev took just now during the confrontation, with each tank watching its own sector, is also feasible. "However, these techniques are not suitable for offense. If we are to conduct an offensive operation and the enemy is on the defensive, how do we achieve a one-to-one exchange rate with enemy tanks?" "Your tank operators have mostly received only six months of training, during which the time spent driving a tank is 60 hours. On the other hand, the enemy has mostly trained for a year and spent over 600 hours in a tank." Just as Wang Zhong finished speaking, someone from Maslo Bayev''s group below said, "Isn''t six months of training unrealistic? There''s such a big shortage of tank operators now!" ...Even the students at the military academy know how bad the situation is now. Wang Zhong, "Let''s just go with six months. And it doesn''t matter whether you''re driving a T35 or a T26 for those sixty hours. Answer me, how do you maintain a 1-to-1 exchange ratio under these circumstances?" Everyone looked at each other, at a loss for words. Wang Zhong mbered onto the G-type No. 3 tankthis tank had been captured by his troops, and naturally, he had climbed over it before and knew it well. He patted the turret of the G-type No. 3, "Moreover, the enemy has also switched to better tanks, which, like the T34, have sloped armor. They even weigh more than the T34, meaning they have better armor than the T34. "At the same time, it''s equipped with an 88mm anti-tank gun that can hit your tank with precision from a distance of 1500 meters." Bayev shouted, "That''s too much of a premise! Is there even a way to fight?" Wang Zhong, "It''s possible to fight because the battlefield isn''t about solving problems. If you face this kind of situation on the battlefield, the best response is not to attack, but to leave it to the artillery. The target of the artillery fire should not be the enemy''s tank group but the apanying infantry and various support units that provide support for the tanks, such as repair workshops, field towing vehicles, fuel trucks, ammunition trucks" "Cut off the infantry, and they can use smoke bombs and incendiary bombs to destroy tanks. If you destroy the repair workshops, the enemy''s tanks will be unable to be repaired. Look at how many broken tanks there are on the training ground; tanks are very prone to breakdown!" After Wang Zhong finished, the students all turned to look at the broken No. 3 and T34 tanks on the training ground. Bayev, "But didn''t you say we need to achieve a 1-to-1 ratio in tankbat?" Wang Zhong, "Yes. I use tanks to bully infantry without anti-tank firepower. Once their logistics are destroyed, the enemy will have to abandon their broken tanks and run away in a sorry state. How is that not a 1-to-1 ratio?" "Moreover, even in an offensive, if we bypass the enemy armored forces and capture key positions they must retake, such as the high ground controlling highways. "If we quickly dig tank fortifications on the high ground and allocate our firepower well, won''t it be the enemy''s tank forces'' turn to attack us?" The students immediately started whispering to each other. Bayev looked at Wang Zhong with eyes full of admiration. Wang Zhong continued, "There are no constant tactics in war, just as there are no unchanging forms of water. The art of war is the art of change. Those who only know how to fight conventional battles are ultimately second-rate soldiers." Bayev eximed with admiration, "You truly are a magician of the battlefield!" Wang Zhong, "I''m not worthy of such praise." It was true he didn''t consider himself worthy because in "Legend of the Gctic Heroes," the man known as the magician of the battlefield didn''t have a good ending. Since Wang Zhong had reached this point, he might as well exin his method for constructing tank fortifications to those specializing in tankmand. "While there''s still time, let me tell you how to set up a solid tank defense position and how to dig a perfect tank fortification" ... Subsequently, Wang Zhong began to give a lecture on the training ground. These days he had been upied with outwitting the Federation, hardly having time to teach sses at the military academy. Now that word had spread about his lecture, all the school officers who had returned from the battlefield immediately flooded to the training ground as soon as their lessons on advanced theoretical knowledge ended. Students from various specialties who were undergoing normal teaching also ran over after their sses ended. Originally, Wang Zhong had only intended to provide special instruction for the students majoring in tankmand, but it turned into amunal meal that the whole school partook in. The entire training ground was packed with people, and Professor Vasily even brought over a microphone and set it up for Wang Zhong to address the whole school. So Wang Zhong had no choice but to share his experiencemanding the elite mechanized infantry, without holding anything backandpared to August, his understanding of war had advanced even further, making this talk even more detailed than the seminar in August. He continued speaking until it turned dark. Wang Zhong, "Okay, it''s gettingte. I''llpile these contents into a booklet and distribute them to youter, no, to the whole army! That''s all for today! Dismissed!" Be Wang Zhong''s number one fervent fan, Bayev shouted, "ss isn''t over yet, General! You have to dismiss us for us to leave!" Wang Zhong nced at Bayev and then at Vasily, thinking the number of shit-stirrers had increased! Sighing, he picked up the microphone and said to everyone at the school, "ss dismissed! Dismissed!" Everyone apuded heartily, the pping echoing like the rolling thunder of spring. At this time, there were less than twelve hours until the Western Front Army''s assault. Chapter 330: Chapter 16: The Western Front Army Attacks (Supplement 25/33) On December 5th, about 120 kilometers west of Ekaterinburg Fortress, at 0400 hours. The artillery groups, which had been in hiding, suddenly began to roar. Their barrage boomed like rolling spring thunder, shaking the world, covered in silver frost. The copious snow and icicles that had umted on the trees cascaded down with each st. The long-nned counteroffensive by the Western Front Army had begun. At the headquarters of the Western Front Army, General Tukhachev watched his watch, and as the minute hand pointed to twelve, he turned his head and nodded to the Front Army Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff issued the order into the handset, "Attack troops, move out." Tukhachev, rubbing his hands in excitement, looked at the map hanging on the wall, "Rokossovsky said we could only push up to this line and then we''d stall, with the possibility of suffering heavy losses if we press the attack. We have to break through this line and utterly crush the enemy!" After issuing all the orders, the Front Army Chief of Staff also joined him before the map, "Now many people think that victory can only be brought by Rokossovsky. It''s up to us to overturn that impression. Rokossovsky is winning because the enemy is at the end of their tether!" Tukhachev nodded, "Exactly, we need to overturn that impression. Even the Federation believes in him, thinking the war willst for several years." After Tukhachev finished speaking, everyone in the headquarters fell silent. Perhaps a part within them also told them that the war could not possibly end so simply, but they refused to believeor couldn''t afford to believe. The silencested for a minute before Tukhachev himself broke it, "I heard he won the respect of most cadets in just one ss at the military academy. Only a few nobly bornand that too, the untalented dandiesdisapprove of him. "If he continues as the headmaster, the impact will be immeasurable. We must have a war hero of the same caliber," Tukhachev went on. Tukhachev didn''t say "that hero is me." He simply kept the same posture, staring at the map. At this very moment within the Western Front Army, all the generals close to Rokossovsky and their troops had been relocated to cities east of Ye Fort with better infrastructure for a "rest," effectively driving out the "Rokossovsky faction" from the Western Front Army. Even the Air Force pilots who sang Rokossovsky''s praises had all been transferred to fighter squadrons around the capital. In short, as long as the Western Front Army could achieve victory, all these changes must be credited to someone other than the "star of victory," Major General Rokossovsky. If they could achieve victory that is. But the line specially marked on the map was like a dark cloud pressing down on Tukhachev''s heart, making it hard for him to breathe. If the enemy didn''t copse like an avnche, then they could indeed halt the Western Front Army at that line. But how could the enemy not crumble like an avnche? The enemy at Karanskaya didn''t even have the will to resist anymore! The enemy was definitely at the end of their tetherno, they had to be! After an indefinite amount of time, suddenly amunications officer entered themand post, "Report, the first assault army group has breached the enemy''s defenses." Tukhachev pped his thigh forcefully, "Good! Tell the first assault army group to capture prisoners, preferably grab some generals!" Wang Zhong was awakened by the ringing of his telephone. He lifted his head from theforts of soft bedding and reached out of the nkets to take the receiver, "Hello?" On the other end of the phone was Vasily''s voice, "The Western Front Army has broken through the enemy''s frontal defenses." Wang Zhong, "What''s so surprising about that? Call me when they''ve recaptured Shostka." Vasily, "Shostka? You mean to inform you after they''ve broken the line you drew?" Wang Zhong, "Was there anything unclear in my statement?" "No, sorry to have disturbed your rest. See you in Prosen." "See you in Prosen," Wang Zhong hung up the phone and buried his face back into theforts of bedding. Liu Xia, "You should get up now, staying in bed is not good. It would be my negligence if I let you ck." With that she briskly flipped away Wang Zhong''s nket. However, with a firece burning in the room and the walls themselves providing good instion, the small chill was utterly insufficient to wake Wang Zhong. Then, at that moment, Nelly entered. At her entry, Wang Zhong shivered. Ludm gave Nelly a look, and the young maid directly opened the window facing north, letting the bitterly cold wind at minus 40 degrees rush into the room. Wang Zhong jumped out of bed, "Good heavens, are you trying to kill me?" Nelly, "A little bit." Wang Zhong sighed, turned his head to look at Ludm, only to find she had already dressed and was not going back to bed to join him. Ludm, "Nelly, close it now. It wouldn''t be good if he truly catches a cold." Nelly shut the window and even went over to the firece to stir the charcoal, reviving a lively ze. Ludm meanwhile fetched the military uniform, handing the pieces to Wang Zhong one by one. A momentter, General Rokossovsky was neatly dressed. Someone knocked on the door. Ludm responded, "Come in!" Vasily poked his head in first, ensuring everyone was properly dressed, then entered and saluted Wang Zhong, "General, good morning!" Wang Zhong asked, "How was the battlest night?" Vasily said, "The northern line is the same as usual. General Golikov hasn''t been able tounch a counter-offensive to break the siege, the central line just started to counterattack. The Prussians are still besieging our Coastal Fortress on the southern line. The fortress is still holding on, firmly blocking the enemy''s path into the vast southern grasnds." Wang Zhong said, "A stalemate across the front is eptable. Is there anything I must do on the military front today?" Vasily shrugged, "Aside from teaching at the school and continuing topile your textbook, there doesn''t seem to be anything else." At that moment, as if timed perfectly with thepletion of Vasily''s report, Lady Ellie entered. Wang Zhong asked, "Do I have any non-military matters to attend to today?" Lady Ellie said, "You have 50 documents in need of your review." Wang Zhong eximed in surprise, "Why are there so many?" Lady Ellie exined, "Because you''re the only head of this department, and everything, big or small, must be reported to you. My suggestion is to delegate less important decisions to your subordinates. In fact, the first document you need to review today is about the selection of department heads for themittee. Once these positions are filled, the number of documents you need to review each day will greatly decrease." Wang Zhong couldn''t help but hold his forehead; he felt the urge again to summon Pavlov to his aid. Ludmmented, "Too bad I can''t help you with that." Wang Zhong said, "All you need to do is be generous to me when the timees." Ludm chuckled. Vasily asked, "Should I have Sergeant Grigori get some more deer and hedgehog meat?" Wang Zhong snapped, "Always with the extra business! Do I look that weak to you? Get out!" "Alright." Vasily scurried off without dy. Wang Zhong spent the entire morning dealing withmittee matters at No. 10 Ping Road. Lady Ellie had already done him a great favor. Each document had a summary at the beginning, and they were arranged ording to the urgency, even including opinions from specialists added to the files as attachments. Wang Zhong personally felt that Lady Ellie was already on par with Bernard (the secretary from the British show "Yes, Prime Minister"). In the afternoon, like the previous day, he went to Suvorov Military Academy to fulfill his role as the headmaster. Upon arriving at the academy, he saw arge group of officers who hade down from the front lines gathered together, discussing something. Wang Zhong shifted his view and noticed that some cadets were also among them, including the young Duke Alexei Petrovich Valkov, who was under scrutiny by the Tribunal, and Maslo Boyev, whom Wang Zhong particrly favored. So Wang Zhong asked for the car to stop and got out to walk towards this group. As he drew closer, he heard the voice of young Duke Valkov: "The Western Front Army is unstoppable! The attack began at eight o''clock this morning, and in just six hours, they have advanced dozens of kilometers, even surpassing the initial advance speed of the Prussians at the start of the war! "The enemy is indeed at the end of their rope! Rokossovsky has been frightened by the enemy, that''s why he''s so afraid of them!" Maslo Boyev''s voice contradicted, "Let''s wait until the Western Front Army breaks through the line that the General mentioned before we talk. Otherwise, there might be a heavy toll in casualties and losses with no progress made in return!" Young Duke Valkov scoffed, "Hmph! You''ve just been hoodwinked by his seemingly usible theories!" Boyev retorted, "But he has won battles, has your father won any?" Valkov stuttered, then quickly said, "Although my father hasn''t, Duke Meishikin has fought no worse than him! If it weren''t for Duke Meishikin''s help, Rokossovsky would have died at Orachi!" Wang Zhong spoke up, "I know Duke Meishikin, and he would not boast about his aplishments in public like this. Besides, the achievements belong to Duke Meishikin, not you, young Duke Valkov, nor your father." Everyone turned their heads to look at Wang Zhong, and as if Moses were parting the sea, they made way for Wang Zhong to walk directly into the center of the crowd. Wang Zhong looked at young Duke Valkov: "I still believe the Prussians cannot afford to give up the defensive line around Shostka. They will employ their most elite troops for defense. "After advancing more than two hundred kilometers, our organizational structure would surely be in disarray, with a considerable portion of the tanks likely out of order. "The correct strategy would be to advance to this fortified zone and then halt, allowing the troops to rest and reorganize, awaiting an offensive next summer." Wang Zhong paused, taking in the surroundings. Young Duke Valkov asked, "And if we don''t stop?" Wang Zhong replied, "The attacking forces will face a significant defeat, and might even lose some of the ground gained in the counter-offensive. Advocates of rapid victory like Tukhachev will be held responsible for this grievous defeat." Maslo Boyev remarked, "The offensive has just beenunched; isn''t it a bit premature to talk about a disastrous failure?" Wang Zhong replied, "Knowing that it will fail yet proceeding tounch the attack for the sake of personal gains and ''political considerations''that''s why I say the advocates of a quick victory are extremely culpable." Wang Zhong raised his hand, pointing at young Duke Valkov: "They must be held ountable to our soldiers who would perish because of them!" Chapter 331: Chapter 17: Seizure of Type F Number 4 On the afternoon of December 7, Wang Zhong had just arrived at the school when he saw a tractor towing a tank stopped in front of the main school building. Wang Zhong''s office was at the rooftop of the main building, so his motorcade could only stop next to the tractor and the tank. After getting out of his car, Wang Zhong looked carefully and recognized it as a Panzer IV Type F tank; once the Type F with the long-barreled gun, the Panzer IV F2, hade out, the Type F would be renamed as Type F1. Wang Zhong reached out to touch the additional armor tes welded onto the front of the tank and clicked his tongue the armor tes were 50 millimeters thick, and it was unclear whether this was a battlefield modification or if it was standard issue for the Prosen version of the Panzer IV Type F. The Panzer IV Type F already had its hull''s front main armor and turret''s front main armor thickened to 50 millimeters. With such a thick piece welded on, it was likely that the main anti-tank firepower of the Ante Army was no match for it from the front. After all, this was 100 millimeters of armor, not even entirely vertical; the Panzer IV had a very slight frontal slope. Though minimal, it certainly was there. Wang Zhong had thought that once the Panzer IV Type F reached the front line, the 45mm anti-tank rifle would probably be ineffective, and now even the 76mm anti-tank rifles wouldn''t do much from a distance. If it ended up like this against armor-piercing shells, the situation could only be worse if it couldn''t win against those shells; one could imagine how bad it would be. Wang Zhong walked several circles around the Panzer IV Type F, his eyebrows twisted into knots. At that moment, someone suddenly called out to him, "General Rokossovsky, it''s just a tank, no need for such an unsightly expression. We haven''t captured as many as you, and you''ve taken more prisoners than us." Wang Zhong looked towards the direction of the voice with some confusion, "What?" The person speaking was a colonel with an adjutant insignia on his uniform. Seeing Wang Zhong''s clueless expression, he made himself clear, "Aren''t you frowning because we''ve also captured enemy tanks?" "Of course, you''ll capture tanks; I''m frowning because our existing anti-tank firepower will have a hard time dealing with this thing. Especially when we''rergely equipped with 45mm anti-tank rifles and Buffalo Anti-Tank Rifles, we can basically only aim for the observation ports and machine-gun muzzle from the front." Stay updated with mvl Wang Zhong said, once again running his hand over the front of the tank where the additional armor was attached. "Did you capture only one? Did you send any spares to the Ordnance Department for cannon fire testing?" Faced with Wang Zhong''s question, the colonel adjutant looked troubled, "This... We only captured one..." Wang Zhong, "Then why did you bring it here? Send it to the Ordnance Department to test the attack effectiveness of our anti-tank weapons on it. I am certain this is the enemy''stest modified model, and we need to immediately get a clear understanding of its defensive capabilities. Drag it to the Ordnance Department and have them conduct the test immediately, and send a copy of the results to the Ordnance Review Committee." The colonel adjutant was at a loss for words, "This..." Wang Zhong, "What are you standing around for! Get it over there! Demand that the Ordnance Departmentplete a detailed test within three days, and say it''s at the request of Committee Chairman Rokossovsky of the Review Committee! Move it!" The colonel adjutant stuttered, "We thought you might want to be the first to know about the performance of the enemy''s new tank..." Wang Zhong, "Right, I do, that''s why you should drag it to the Ordnance Department to test its defensive capability! How will I test it here? Am I supposed to do it by hand?" I can''t rotate maic fields; I really am powerless against this nearly 100mm thick frontal armor! At that moment, Vasily said, "They wanted to show off to you, General. ''See, we can also capture the enemy''s new tanks,'' and once they''ve caught you, they will surely show it to you first at Suvorov Military Academy before parading it through Ye Fort." Wang Zhong sighed, "Vasily, I deliberately didn''t point it out; how am I supposed to act now?" "Sorry," Vasily shrugged, "My bad." The bell for the end of sses rang at that time, and the students rushed out en masse to see the Prosen Tank. Those in the tankmand specialty spotted something, "This doesn''t seem like the model we have on the training field!" Wang Zhong, "Indeed, this is thetest modified model; thanks to the Western Front Army for sending it to us immediately after capture. But this tank will soon be sent to the Ordnance Department for defensive testing. Because this matter is urgent, I cannot allow you to go up for a visit." No sooner had he finished speaking than Bayev said loudly, "It looks like this tank has had a thickyer of additional armor welded onto its front, hasn''t it? Has its original armor not changed?" Wang Zhong, "It should be simr to the Type E, I estimate the front armor of this tank to be close to 100 millimeters thick." The students in the tank specialty gasped, "One hundred millimeters! Isn''t that thicker than the T34?" "But the enemy''s tank doesn''t have a slope, so in terms of protection the T34 is still a bit better, right?" "I''ve seen the head of the KV2, it''s also vertical, chances are the frontal defense of this thing is even better than the head of the KV2!" Wang Zhong ignored the students and said to the colonel adjutant, "Hurry and take it to the Ordnance Department for testing." At that moment, Duke Valkov chuckled, "Why are you in such a rush to drag the tank away? Is it because it''s damaging your illustrious image?" Wang Zhong, "If you wish to think that way, you''re free to do so. In fact, I want to defeat the Prussians more quickly than anyone else; you see the soil at my waist? This is the soil of my homnd, I carry it to remind myself that as long as my home is not liberated, I must keep striving. "I would be happier than any of you if Prosen were defeated. But my brain tells me a swift victory is impossible." Duke Valkov, "Don''t worry, General Tukhachev''s Western Front Army will prove that you are the one without a brain! You''re good at defense, that''s true, but when ites to offense, His Excellency Tukhachev is far more proficient. After all, our military has always been built on the premise of offense!" Wang Zhong, "I hope so. If he defeats Prosen, I will personally kiss his boots." Knowing it was impossible, Wang Zhong easily uttered those words. Duke Valkov and a group of noble students immediately became excited, "It''s a deal!" "This is going to be quite the spectacle to witness!" Wang Zhong ignored them, turning to the colonel''s aide and said, "Hurry up and move the tank away." The colonel''s aide said, "Are you aware that I am Tukhachev''s aide and said this on purpose?" Wang Zhong was surprised, "Ah? You''re Tukhachev''s aide?" He nced down, indeed spotting the words "Tukhachev Aide" below the man''s rank insignia. Wang Zhong had been preupied with examining the tank and hadn''t switched to his external view. Wang Zhong said, "Then please convey to General Tukhachev my anticipation for his victorious return." The colonel''s aide clenched his teeth and forced out, "We will." Prussian Army, Central Army Corps Headquarters. Siegfried Gis,mander of the first army of the Asgard Knights, entered the headquarters and saluted Marshal Von Bock, "Marshal, the first army of the Asgard Knights has entered the Bokost-Shostka defensive line." Von Bock nodded, "Good. General Walter Mendel of the Ninth Army Group will assist you in defense. General Mendel''s troops have been building defensive positions on the line for half a month, his infantry is well-preserved, and will undoubtedly provide you with strong support." Gis said, "I''ve already inspected the entire defensive line, setting up solid positions relying on the numerous reinforced concrete buildings in the city. I even wonder how these lines could have been breached at the end of September." Marshal Von Bock smiled, "After all, not every Ante general can be an empire''s iron wall. Major General Rocossov''s troops are unparalleled throughout the Ante Empire''s military." Gis nodded and changed the subject, "How much time do we have to organize our defense?" Marshal Von Bock picked up a pointer, gesturing on a map as he spoke, "The enemy has spent over ten days nning their attack, and during these days, we basically have been retreating. The units responsible for dying the enemy have provided determined and effective resistance. "This has meant the enemy''s advance has been slower than we expected. We estimate contact with the enemy around December 10th; you have ample time to stock up on ammunition and construct fortifications." Gis said, "Excellent, convey my respects to the rearguard troops." Marshal Von Bock said, "They will all receive the then Emperor''smendationsif they can return alive." Gis said, "That''s good to know. If you''ll excuse me." After the Asgard Knights had left, Marshal Von Bock''s chief of staff said, "The Asgard Knights took all thetest tanks and anti-tank guns. I heard they have thetest model PAK40 anti-tank guns, an experimental type that can prate T34 and KV tanks from a great distance." Marshal Von Bock chuckled bitterly, "Just think about the speed with which Duke Meyer''s Air Force gets new equipment. The air force''s Armored Divisions, equipped more advanced than our own Land Army''s Armored Divisionscan you believe it?" The Prosen Emperor was well-known for his preference for technologically advanced military branches, and he liked to use branches like the Air Force and Armored Troops, which required high technical expertise, to counterbnce the traditional Junker officer corps. The Asgard Knights were akin to the Emperor''s own Imperial Guards. It was no surprise that they would receive new equipment. Marshal Von Bock gazed at the map, "As long as they can hold back the enemy, anything goes!" Once Gis got in the car, he said to his aide, "We are going to use thetest equipment to set up an ambush." The aide asked, "Will we directly copy Rocossov''s tactics?" "Of course, we should certainly learn from effective tactics. In a moment, I want to personally select the ambush site and have the engineers dig tank hides. The hull armor on our prototypes of the Panzer IV F2 isn''t too reliable; we need to conceal the bodies and then one by one use our long-barreled 75mm guns to crack open enemy tanks like cans," said Gis. The aide smiled wryly, "First we have to fix those prototypes." Being experimental models and due to the harsh environment in Ante, more than half of the Panzer IV F2s allotted to the first army of the Asgard Knights malfunctioned upon arrival at the front line. The good news was, in the Bokost-Shostka defensive line, the Prosen logistics situation had greatly improved, and they had sufficient maintenance resources to repair these tanks. Gis said, "Other nations think the Prussians are rigid, now let the Ante People see how we implement what we''ve learned." He paused, asking, "By the way, what did Rabowell say about where Rocossov went?" The aide replied, "Rabowell said he has fallen out of favor in the political strifes and stripped of his military power. This is credible information from the Krat Bureau." Gis frowned, "Why though? Never mind, it doesn''t matter." Chapter 332: Chapter 18 The Western Front Army Breaks Its Spear December 9th, Commander of the Western Front Army headquarters, 1240 hours. Tukhachev looked at the newly updated map and repeatedly praised, "Very good, excellent! Must continue to advance, advance!" Chief of Staff of the Front Army, "But we''ve already advanced so far, logistics can''t keep up. The troops haven''t had hot food since the day before yesterday, it''s all dry rations. The cooking squad andundry squad can''t keep up. "Moreover, the armored units have also reported many tanks abandoned due to mechanical failures, the First Assault Army Group reported as many as 221 tanks in need of repair this morning! They only have just over 100 T34 tanks inbat readiness left!" "Should we stop and wait for the logistics to catch up before proceeding?" Tukhachev angrily said, "Now, time is victory. When the enemy is attacking us, they relentlessly advance, preventing our army from organizing new defenses! "We must learn from the enemy''s approach, advance, advance, then advance some more! Rocossov was right, the line from Bokost to Shostka is indeed well suited for defense, so we must break through it before the enemy is ready!" Tukhachev waved his hand dramatically and mmed his fist onto the map. "Break through the defense lines! And then make that bastard Rocossov kiss my boots!" December 9th, 1450 hours in the afternoon, east of Shostka, Prosen armored ambush position. The 32nd Tank Battalion of the Asgard Knights'' Said Armored Division had been in position for a day already. This battalion was equipped entirely with prototype Panzer IV F2 tanks. These tanks, when they were first delivered to the front lines, still had the factory paint. It wasn''t until they reached the front that they were repainted by the battalion''s support troops into Prosen Army''s signature gray. Major Sheriff, the battalionmander, was in his ownmand vehicle, observing the distant railway line and the highway beside it. Read new adventures at mvl Hismand vehicle, tactical number 201, was currently parked in a tank bunker thatpletely concealed the vehicle. The whole bunker was primarily constructed based on the Rocossov model of tank bunker discovered in Orachi, but to save on earthwork and speed up the construction of positions, the structure in front of Rocossov''s bunker that couldpletely hide the tanks was removed, leaving only a deflector for reducing the sh and smoke of tank fire. It was said that the front line Panzer IVs had been welded with 50mm thick armor tes, increasing the front to a thickness that even the T34 could not prate, but such modifications had not been made to Major Sheriff''s battalion. On the one hand, this batch of prototypes had just arrived at the front line and there was no time to modify; they could only manage to have the paint applied in time. On the other hand, with the addition of the long-barreled 75mm gun, the turret of the Panzer IV F2 was already a lot heavier. To bnce the weight of the turret, arger counterweight was added to the back. Under such circumstances, welding a 50mm thick steel te to the turret front would be excessively heavy. Hence, the current frontal turret armor of these tanks remained the original 50mm of the Panzer IV, which could be prated if hit by a T34. The response of Major Sheriff and his tank operators was to cover the turret front with ayer of camougeting, only leaving the gun itself and the gunner''s sighting scope exposed. However, although the Said Division itself had not engaged T34s, through exchanges with evacuated wounded, they knew that the T34''s uracy was very poor at distances beyond 800 meters. And now, the distance between the ambush position and the highway was exactly 800 meters, the 32nd Tank Battalion intended to engage the enemy at this range. Major Sheriff prepared himself for the potential loss of a third of his vehicles. At that moment, suddenly a voice came through the radio: "Hound Hound, this is Sparrowhawk, we see an enemy armored column moving towards you, at least one hundred tanks, repeat, at least one hundred tanks." Major Sheriff picked up the handset, turned on the radio transmitter: "Sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk, this is Hound. Our meal is ready, repeat, our meal is prepared." "Sparrowhawk understands, we dropped two small bombs, didn''t achieve much. It''s up to you now." "Thanks for the info." Major Sheriff put down the microphone, picked up a whistle and blew it, blowing one long and two short signals, then he shouted, "Battle stations!" The tank operators, who were ying cards and bragging on the position, scampered onto the tanks, slipping into the hatches with practiced movements. The infantry troops covering the tanks also sprang into action. The apanying infantry battalion of the 32nd Tank Battalion was called "57th Apanying Infantry Battalion," a specialized support unit. And because it was infantry from the Said Division, the battalion''s equipment was also luxurious, boasting twelve 50mm mortars, four 82mm mortars, and eight 75mm infantry guns, as well as two Bison 15CM self-propelled infantry guns. Less than ten minutester, the whole position went intobat readiness, everyone waiting for the arrival of the Ante armored column. But the first thing that came was the sound of engines from the sky, a uniquely shaped FW189 reconnaissance ne whizzed past the ambush position, the pilot apparently looking for the Prosen ambush position below and clearly didn''t spot it. Major Sheriff felt somewhat smug, after all, the camouge of his battalion was personally directed by him. Even though Prosen''s propaganda constantly boasted "The great Prosen soldier, as proud as an eagle, never deigns to camouge himself," experienced Prosen troops have never underestimated the value of camouge. Shortly after the reconnaissance ne passed, a rumble of engines came from the east. Major Sheriff looked eastward and indeed saw the raised white smoke from the snow. Major Sheriff straightened the Second ss Iron Cross on his cor, thinking that today was the time to earn the First ss Iron Cross. He nced at his own forces. At the moment, to avoid rming the enemy prematurely, the entire force maintained radio silence. However, Major Sheriff had already assigned targets for the 20 Panzer IV F2 tanks stationed on the ambush line. The rest of the battalion''s tanks were hidden in the forests further back from the ambush positions as reserves. For some reason, Major Sheriff always felt that the reserves wouldn''t be needed today. Unfortunately, even the Said Armored Division, which received priority replenishment, only got these 20 Panzer IV F2 prototypes. A full rollout of the Panzer IV F2 might not happen until March next year. If the Panzer IV F2 had been equipped inrge quantities before Operation Typhoon, maybe the Central Army Group would have already broken into Ye Fort. Finally, Major Sheriff saw the enemy''s armored column. Sheriff had only heard about how the Ante People liked to let infantry ride on tanks, but now he saw it with his own eyes, the leading T34 tank had seven or eight Ante infantrymen sitting on it. It seemed that the Ante People reallycked half-track vehicles, so they had to let the infantry ride on tanks for mobility. In contrast, the apanying infantry of the 32nd Battalion could allocate 12 to 15 half-tracks perpany, and didn''t need to ride on tanks forbat. Major Sheriff kept following the Ante armored column with his binocrs, watching the leading tank cross the roadside signthis was the start of the ambush zone. The ambush position of Major Sheriff''smand vehicle was just 800 meters away from that roadside sign. The Ante People didn''t realize that the Prussians were only 800 meters away. The tank-borne infantry were all eagerly looking west,pletely focused on Shostka ahead. Major Sheriff patiently waited until the Ante vanguard was about to leave the ambush zone before he used the vehicle''smunication line to order, "Fire!" The gunner immediately opened fire, and the shell streaked like a beam of light, striking just above the idler wheel of the T34 that had just passed the sign. The Prosen Imperial Academy of Sciences had carefully disassembled captured T34 tanks and knew that the T34''s ammunition was mostly stored on the floor of the vehicle. The gunner aimed there, precisely targeting the T34''s ammo rack. No sooner said than done, the T34 blew up, sending the turret and the infantry sitting on it flying into the air. Scattered flesh and blood fell to the ground, staining the soil red with blood. The other ambushing vehicles also opened fire immediately, hitting the entire leading column of the procession and turning it into a fireball. Since there were too many enemies, Major Sheriff didn''t wait for all of them to enter the ambush zone before opening fire. Now, about thirty T34s were blocked outside the ambush zone by wreckage. Sheriff shouted loudly, "Rotate turret to the right 30 degrees, all enemies in sight, fire at will!" The moment the words had left his mouth, another shot was fired by the gunner, and the T34 that was hit burst into mes, with the infantry on top desperately jumping off. Gunner, "Load! Load quickly! There are still dozens of enemies!" The third shot was fired promptly, and yet another T34 turned into a ming coffin. At this time, Major Sheriff was puzzled, "What''s happening? Why does it seem like the enemy still hasn''t spotted us?" Through his binocrs, he saw the T34s firing at the machine-gun positions of the apanying infantry and the positions of the infantry guns, but none of them fired at the armored ambush site 800 meters away. As Major Sheriff was astonished, his gunner methodically turned ten T34 tanks into wrecks. In the ensuing chaos, the Ante T34s began to retreat. Breaking radio silence, Major Sheriff ordered, "Armored third, fourth, fifth, sixth toons, engage in battle, move fast! All battalions, engage, the enemy is running! Break their tracks, jam their turret rings! Hurry!" "Understood, battalionmander!" The remaining troops of the 32nd Armored Battalion surged out of their nests, circled around the ambush site, and rushed towards the retreatingor rather, fleeingAnte tank forces. Major Sheriff, "We''re moving out too. All F2s, reverse, leave the cover! Pursue the enemy freely!" The engine of Major Sheriff''smand vehicle, number 201, roared as it backed out of the tank shelter. The Major, "Left turn! There are no pits ahead, move forward, move forward! Aim for a better shooting position! Destroy the enemy!" ------------- The Ante Western Front Army Headquarters. The telephone rang. The chief of staff picked up the phone, "Front Army Headquarters. What? How many tanks?" Tukhachev, who had been looking at the map, turned around and squinted at the chief of staff. And the chief of staff''s eyes were as wide as copper bells. Finally, he put down the phone and looked at Tukhachev. "Commander Sir," the chief of staff said, "the First Strike Army Group reports that they were ambushed by the enemy and lost... lost 103 T34 tanks; now they only have 7 T34s operational." "What?" Tukhachev nearly fell over and had to steady himself with both hands on the desk, "Where did the enemy get those troops from?" "Unknown, the vanguard of the First Strike Army Group was crushed, and we didn''t capture any prisoners." Tukhachev sat down hard in the chair. Then the chair cracked, nearly splitting General Tukhachev''s backside. Chapter 333: Chapter 19 Necessary Sacrifices On the afternoon of December 9th, at Ekaterinburg Fortress, Suvorov Military Academy, ssroom No. 1 on the first tier. The architecture in Ante was mostly very broad, seemingly deliberate to reflect the vastness of the nation''s territory. This tiered ssroom was no exception. Remarkably, the room had managed to amodate all the students from three grades of the tankmand specialty and nearly two hundred frontlinemanders who hade to be retrained, prepared for more seniormand positions. Besides those upying seats in the room, there was also an indeterminate number of people hanging on the windows. Normally, having windows open in the dead of winter was a very foolish thing, but the crowd jamming the windows actually made the ssroom warmer. Wang Zhong was on the podium, exining to everyone the defensive operation he conducted at Orachi. "On the second day of the Orachi battle, we gave up some of the positions we had fought for repeatedly on the first day. These positions were carefully designed and not conducive to withstanding fire from our own artillery positions. "After luring the enemy into these positions, we used fire to ambush and inflict heavy casualties, which actually yielded better results than simply holding the ground. "But we were able to carry out such defensive operations because we had constructed a defensive position with considerable depth." Wang Zhong showed everyone the defensive positions he had constructed around Orachi. "Look, these were our ambush positions on the first day, and these were the positions on the second dayalthough our lines had fallen back, we preserved our forces and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. "Unfortunately, there is only so much space around Orachi to arrange more in-depth defense positions. Additionally, our troop and firepower did not allow for further resistance..." Just then, Vasily suddenly squeezed past the crowd at the door and entered the room, "General, there''s trouble!" He came to Wang Zhong''s ear and whispered, "The First Assault Army Group was ambushed east of Shostka, losing over a hundred tanks." Wang Zhong immediately widened his eyes, "How many tanks?" Vasily, "Over a hundred, all brand new T34s." In an instant, Wang Zhong thought of hisrades who had died tragically inside the tanks. His lips twitching slightly, he put down the teaching pointer and said to the packed ssroom of students, "Excuse me. I need topose myself." After saying this, he turned to face the ckboard that had the battle lines drawn on it and punched it. Although he had been through such events countless times before and might face countless more in the future, he still could not get used to it. Having barelyposed himself, Wang Zhong turned to ask Vasily, "How could we suffer such a loss? Did the enemy deploy new anti-tank guns?" By this time, he still thought it was the work of PAK40 anti-tank guns. Vasily''s expression was grave, "The soldiers who ran back imed that they saw Prussian tanks equipped withrge-caliber, long-barreled guns." Wang Zhong was shocked and hurriedly asked, "Did they make out the model? Was it the Panzer IV we''ve already seen, or a newer model with a more rectangr build?" Theoretically, it should not be possible to mistake the turrets of Tiger tanks and Panzer IVs, but it was normal to not see clearly in the chaos of the battlefield, especially in an ambush. Vasily shook his head, "They didn''t see clearly, only that there were long-barreled guns. Some who returned said it was a Panzer III with a long-barrel gun, some imed it was a Panzer IV." Wang Zhong was stunned. He immediately thought to seek help from the Air Force, to dispatch nes for reconnaissance, and then to maintain contact with the ground. But then he remembered that the Air Force was not under hismand, so even with radiomunication, he would not be able to get the pilot''s view. In the end, they could only rely on aerial photographic reconnaissance. Wang Zhong, "Prepare the car, I''m going to Air Force Headquarters." Vasily, "It''s no use going there now, the Air Force in thebat zone is under themand of the Western Front Army. You need to go directly to the Western Front Army Headquarters." Wang Zhong, "Where is the Western Front Army Headquarters now?" Vasily, "That''s military secret, I don''t know." Wang Zhong cursed under his breath and ordered, "Prepare the car, I''m going to the High Command to find out what exactly happened! I''ve already told them where the enemy might set up defensive lines, so why did they still blunder into it, still getting ambushed! "What about the reconnaissance troops? This is utterly ridiculous!" Having said that, Wang Zhong turned to the students and said, "ss dismissed! Digest the content from today''s lecture on your own." With that, he walked toward the ssroom door, and the students blocking the entrance parted like the receding tide to make way. No sooner had Wang Zhong left the ssroom than he saw the young Duke Valkov with a group of dandies outside the door, who, upon seeing him,ughed and said, "General Rokossovsky, are you off to kiss General Tukhachev''s boots now?" Wang Zhong, "Just now, the vanguard of the First Assault Army Group was ambushed by the enemy, their entire force was wiped out, losing over 100 T34 tanks." The young Duke Valkov''s expression immediately froze. Wang Zhong ignored him, turned, and walked away, but after taking just one step, the young duke shouted, "Are you pleased with that! But it''s just a sessful ambush by the enemy, not really a block against the Western Front Army!" Wang Zhong spun around, a pnding on the young duke''s face, sending him crashing into the wall. It had to be said that, in terms of physique, the young duke was considered ''light as a feather'' in Ante. Wang Zhong, "More than a hundred tanks destroyed, hundreds of soldiers deadanyone who would be happy upon hearing such news must be a Prussian spy! Like you, whose first reaction was to think that I would be d about this news! This proves one thing, you never cared about the several hundred people who died this time. "If someone like you were tomand troops in the future, it would surely lead to massive casualties. In my opinion, you are not qualified as a military man, so as the Principal of the Suvorov Military Academy, I hereby discharge you from military service! Get out, fool!" After speaking, Wang Zhong turned to the Judge who had been standing by and said, "Young Duke Valkov has made treasonous statements, ndering me. This should be enough reason to arrest him, right?" The Judge smiled, "Of course. He just insulted you, the greatest hero defending Ye Fort, by suggesting that you''d be pleased to hear news of the enemy''s victory. This is a heinous rumor, and he must be arrested for investigation!" The young Duke Valkov howled immediately, "No! No! That''s not what I meant! Damn it, I misspoke!" As he spoke, he began to p himself on the face. The Judge rushed up, restrained his hands, and handcuffed him, "We all heard it, and there are so many ssmates here who can testify! You indeed ndered General Rokossovsky! If there''s anything you''d like to say, do it in the Tribunal''s underground cell!" "No! No! I was wrong, I... my father is still fighting on the front line, you can''t just arrest me like this! At least wait for my father toe back from the front line!" Two Judges dragged away the young Duke. Wang Zhong suddenly noticed that the young Duke''s military trousers seemed a bit dampgiven the weather, everyone''s trousers were severalyers thick; for moisture to prate to the outside, there must have been a serious leakage inside. But Wang Zhong couldn''t quite feel happy about it. What he was thinking about now was how to press the Western Front Army to halt and rest, instead of wasting their force on the enemy''s defensive line in vain. An hourter, Wang Zhong''s modest motorcade arrived at the main entrance of the Summer Pce. Stay connected through mvl Because Wang Zhong hadn''t informed the High Command of his visit in advance, no one was there to greet him. Wang Zhong went straight inside. The guards at the Summer Pce basically recognized Wang Zhong''s face, so they just went through the motions, nced at his credentials, and let him through. Wang Zhong headed directly for the High Command''s map room, and before he could even push the door, Belinsky came out. Belinsky, "They told me you were here, so I hurried out." Wang Zhong, "What you need isn''t to stop me, but to stop the Western Front Army!" Belinsky, "Then they''ll just throw the me of failing to thoroughly defeat the Prussians on your head. No, I must stop you, I can''t let you ruin the chance to eradicate the influence of the quick-victory faction in the army. "After the dismal defeat of the quick-victory faction led by Tukhachev, we''ll be able to uproot them entirely. A significant number of them belong to the Aristocratic faction." Wang Zhong, "And the sacrifices? Just for this, so many people are sacrificed in vain?" Belinsky looked at Wang Zhong with a hard, steely expression, "Yes, it''s a necessary price. "You must understand one thing, not only the senior and mid-level officers hope for a quick victory, but arge number of lower-levelmanders and soldiers think the same. We need a defeat to sober them up. "Didn''t I ask you to prepare an article detailing your thoughts?" Wang Zhong, "I did prepare it, ''Refuting the Surrenderists and Quick-Victory Faction, Getting Ready for the Arduous and Prolonged Military Struggle Against the Prussians,'' and I even handed it over to you! But it wasn''t published!" Belinsky, "The timing wasn''t right; had it been published then, it would only have caused resentment. In another ten days or so, when the Western Front Army is decisively defeated at the enemy''s position, it can be published. "At that time, your article will be viewed as the guiding ideology for the war. I''ve read the article, it''s very well written, and it can bear this responsibility!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that''s nonsense, I giarized it, and with my superficial understanding, probably only captured one-tenth of the original work''s potency. Knowing Belinsky''s n, Wang Zhong still felt reluctant, "Can''t these sacrifices be avoided?" Belinsky, "What if we break through the enemy''s defences?" Wang Zhong, "That''s..." Belinsky, "You can''t be one hundred percent certain that there''s no such possibility, can you? That''s why I think, this sacrifice is unavoidable." Wang Zhong fell silent. Belinsky''s attitude was very firm. Moreover, Wang Zhong also felt that his reasoning made sense, with the entire army harboring thoughts of quick victory; the harsh reality had to awaken everyone. Belinsky changed the subject, "By the way, the material you taught at the military academy, I''ve looked at the records. Very good. I heard you''re drafting a document to establish an elitebined division modeled after the Guards 1st Motor Rifle, right?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, my n is to first form two divisions simr to the Guards 1st Motor Rifle, group them into a Maneuver Army with ample logistical support and sufficient training. "Then deploy them at critical positions, under my personalmand." Actually, Wang Zhong''s idea was very "Hearts of Iron"in that game, it''s about lining up plenty of ordinary divisions with some elite ones. Hearts of Iron yers like to call these elite, wealthy divisions "Gundam divisions," meaning these divisions would cut through ordinary divisions like the protagonist''s Gundam in the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam" slicing through enemy grunt suits. Belinsky nodded, "Very good, your idea is excellent." Wang Zhong, "It would be nice if I hadmand of the Air Force, so I couldmand a couple of separate fighter and ground attack squadrons." Belinsky, "Then wouldn''t you be a Commander of the Front Army? An Army Group with only three divisions... No, no, even His Majesty the Tsar would face strong opposition if he tried to create such a force. Instead, you should start by establishing good rtions with the Air Force, just like you did in Shostka. They may not be under yourmand, but they listened to you, didn''t they?" Wang Zhong thought to himself that''s true, but my system doesn''t recognize them as forces under mymand, so I don''t get vision! Oh well, what Belinsky said made sense, adapting to gain the Air Force''s support first, and if the Maneuver Army I''m building makes a name for itself, then I canmand the Army Groupter on. Just as Wang Zhong was about to discuss other matters with Belinsky, the door suddenly opened. Olga herself opened it, and upon seeing Wang Zhong standing outside, her face lit up with a smile, "Alyosha! You''re here,e quickly to give me advice, a big problem has arisen!" Belinsky stepped forward and tugged at Wang Zhong''s clothes, "Remember what I said." Wang Zhong nodded. Olga stepped forward, grabbed Wang Zhong''s hand, and dragged him into the room, right in front of therge map. Olga, "The 1st Assault Army Group has just been ambushed, losing over a hundred tanks! What do we do, Alyosha! You''re the expert, give us your opinion!" Chapter 334: Chapter 20: The Double Act I Play with His Majesty Wang Zhong finally broke free of Olga''s "grip" and pulled his hand out of her embrace before seriously criticizing her, "When our army suffers such heavy casualties, as the Tsar, Your Majesty absolutely cannot show a cheerful expression in public." Olga quicklyposed herself and bowed her head slightly, "I''m sorry, I know I was wrong." The officers in the conference room looked at each other. Wang Zhong realized this might look bad and cause misunderstandings, so he quickly said, "I''m only offering a suggestion as a subject, thank you for Your Majesty''s magnanimity." Olga wanted tough but had to suppress it, responding solemnly, "You''re right, I will consider such correct advice, no matter how it is presented." Then, she turned to the map, "Regarding the current situation, do you have any thoughts, my noble subject?" Wang Zhong nced at Belinsky. If he now suggested stopping the offense and beginning to rest, then Belinsky''s intention to annihte the swift victory faction would not be realized. Because Olga would certainly listen. Wang Zhong looked at Olga and suddenly noticed the girl''s eyes were very clear. She didn''t seem worried about the front lines at all. Then Wang Zhong understood: She had been acting from the moment she opened the door, all her actions were aimed at pushing me towards the position of the prince. Would she fail to seize the opportunity to extinguish the swift victory faction? No way! So Wang Zhong said, "I''ve said it before, the Prussians would establish a defense on the Bokosht-Shostka line, but the Western Front Armypletely disregarded my advice, resulting in such a disastrous defeat! "I suggest that after pushing the front to near Bokosht-Shostka, all troops should stop and rest, waiting for the winter to pass. Our army''s next attack should be in April or May of next year, by which time the mud of spring will be nearing its end..." "No!" Olga made an angry gesture, "How can we attack only next April or May? By then, the Prussians will have recovered! I''m asking for a way to break through their defenses this month! Tukhachev even thumped his chest, saying he could push to the border, reiming thend lost since June!" See, I knew it! Tukhachev wasn''t present, but his recement as Chief of General Staff, Marshal Boris, already had a bitter look on his face. With Wang Zhong''s limited ability to read people, he could only guess that this marshal actually knew they couldn''t breakthrough and would suffer heavy casualties at the enemy''s defense. Your journey continues at mvl Tugenev, on the other hand, looked regretful, as if he truly hoped Wang Zhong could restrain the swift victory faction from throwing away lives. Wang Zhong himself, a frontline soldier, considered the front-line soldiers hisrades in arms and certainly wanted to restrain the swift victory faction. But Belinsky was right, from top to bottom, the Ante Army was fixated on a swift victory, being in a state of overconfidence, a state that required suffering a defeat. All he could do was try to minimize the casualties a bit. Wang Zhong: "Since Your Majesty trusts Tukhachev and them, it''s not my ce to say anything. But..." He paused, looking at Olga. Olga got it in a second and said, "You can offer tactical advice!" Wang Zhong: "Then I suggest not rushing to attack the enemy''s strong defenses but using reconnaissance soldiers to thoroughly sweep the area in front of the defenses, and wait for the infantry, engineers, and most importantly, the artillery to catch up with the vanguard beforeunching an attack." Olga: "Good! This suggestion sounds very reasonable, so I will pass it on to General Tukhachev of the Western Front Army. Anything else?" Wang Zhong thought for a moment, feeling like he didn''t have any other suggestions. Attacking a well-defended enemy position naturally required heavy casualties. At the end of September and beginning of October, even the elite Prussian Army suffered heavy losses to advance while he was defending the Duva River. That was after Giles halted the fierce assault midway and began trench construction; otherwise, Prussian casualties would have doubled. At least doubled. And switching to the less well-trained Ante troops attacking, one could only imagine how much worse it would be. Wang Zhong sighed, "Nothing more. Any offensive is bound to suffer huge casualties. General Tukhachev should be ready to take responsibility." Olga: "I believe he is prepared. Alyosha, you..." Wang Zhong: "Your Majesty, please use official titles or military ranks in the workce." For a split second, Olga let a "darn, he''s onto me" expression slip before solemnly replying, "You''re right, Major General Aleksei Konstantinovich. So, you hastily came here just to say these things?" Wang Zhong: "There were two things I came for. The first was to call off the attack, but I failed. The second is rted to my expertise as an Armored Trooper." Wait a second, I think I''m an infantrymander, but no one''s going to question that now, anyway. Wang Zhong: "The second thing, I urgently need to understand what tanks ambushed the vanguard of the First Assault Army Group. I heard these tanks have long-barreled guns." Marshal Boris spoke up, "Indeed, there have been such reports from the front line, and we''ve requested the Western Front Army to confirm. There should be aerial reconnaissance photosing tomorrow." Wang Zhong: "I hope to see the real tanks." Marshal Boris: "Once we break through their line, there will be real tanks." Wang Zhong nodded, "Thanks in advance to the soldiers of the Western Front Army." Marshal Boris nodded. Olga asked Wang Zhong, "Does this type of tank have a big impact?" "A big one indeed, Your Majesty. They can prate T34s at long distances, and the damage they inflict is astonishing. It shows that after encountering T34s in June, the Prussians ryed their needs to the development department. Now, the finished products have reached the frontlinethat speed is astounding," Wang Zhong spoke with grave seriousness. Over on Earth, the Panzer IV F2 only made its appearance in March of the second year. Furthermore, the Panzer IV had long been nned to be fitted with a long-barrel gun, which is why it was so quick. This world''s Prussians are indeed much stronger than the Sturmtigers. Wang Zhong was unaware that the models the Sedi Division had received were trial production models, almost prototypes, with mass production likely to hit the front lines around March next year. In any case, Wang Zhong felt that the Jude in front of him was a bit troublesome. Seeing Wang Zhong''s serious expression, Olga also became serious andmanded in a stern voice, "Have the Western Front Army try their best to get a new tank. This is the top priority." Marshal Boris nodded, "Understood." Olga turned to Wang Zhong, "Anything else?" Wang Zhong, "No, that''s all. I''ll take my leave now; there are other matters to deal with." Olga nodded, "Fine." Wang Zhong saluted Olga and turned to walk out. As he left, he caught Belinsky''s eye. The Grand Patriarch seemed very pleased with how the meeting had unfolded. After Wang Zhong left the room, he strode along the corridors of the Summer Pce. That evening, after finishing a day''s work and returning to the estate, Wang Zhong found Ludm and a fewdies having tea in the upstairs tea room. So, without going through the main entrance, he took the side staircase to the tea room and entered with open arms, "Darling, I''m back!" Ludm came up to give him a hug and then kissed him on the cheek. Wang Zhong, "The pastries on your table look a bit strange." Because it was already dark, under the light of the candles, Wang Zhong couldn''t quite make out the square-shaped items on the table. Ludm, "It''s a gift from the Federation ambassador, just arrived todayFederation canned goods." Wang Zhong, "SPAM cans?" Ludm, "It seems to be spelled that way; they taste quite good." That''s because the war had just started, and SPAM cans were still produced ording to pre-war standards, with vor in mind. Once wartime expanded production, this stuff would turn into hard-to-swallow salty meat. Of course, that was only for the pampered soldiers of the Federation. Officers from the United Kingdom would find it a delicious delicacyfar better than their saltfish and chips! At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly shivered and asked, "Did the Federation ambassador bring anything else besides these cans? Like, a drink?" "Yes, they brought a dark liquid that looks like coffee. We haven''t tried it." Wang Zhong smiled, "Quick, bring that to me. I want to take a sip!" All day, Wang Zhong had been distressed thinking about the soldiers who would soon sacrifice themselves on the robust defenses of Prosen. Now he needed a Coke to give himself some energy! Nelly approached with a tray holding a bottle of Coke, "Thiswe don''t know how to open it" Wang Zhong picked up the Coke and with a precise tap against the windowsill, flipped off the cap. After a loud "pop," foam surged out of the ss bottle. Wang Zhong didn''t care for the mess and took a big gulp. Ludm watched his action, curiously asking, "Is this some sort of sparkling wine? Champagne?" Wang Zhong, too engrossed to answer, finished the entire bottle of Coke. At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to the 21st century, back to his native country, having just fired up aputer in an inte cafe, grabbed a Coke from the fridge, ready to surf the night away. Wang Zhong belched, causing the illusions of the 21st century to fade, and Ludm once again filled his view. Wang Zhong, "Uh, it''s a type of drink, simr in concept to champagne. You can have a bottle!" After speaking, he ced the empty bottle on Nelly''s tray. Nelly, looking puzzled, picked up the bottle, peered inside, sniffed it, and her confusion only deepened. Wang Zhong, "Nelly, get another bottle for Ludm." "Okay." At that moment, one of the noblewomen tasting SPAM cans around the table said, "General Rokossovsky, I heard something happened at the Summer Pce this morning. You openly rebuked Her Majesty Olga I." Wang Zhong, "I merely offered a suggestion." He looked at Ludm, "As an older brother." Ludm shrugged, "You don''t have to exin to me." Wang Zhong, "Also, I went to the Summer Pce to stop the quick victory faction from sacrificing more lives." "I told you that you don''t need to exin. I believe in you," Ludm said with a smile. Just then, Nelly approached with a tter, "I fetched two more bottles from the cer." Because the weather had turned so cold, drinks and the like had to be stored in the cer to maintain their temperature. As a result, they even put Coke in the cer... They surely treated it as a high-ss item. Wang Zhong put his hand on Ludm''s shoulder, "Come on, dear, give it a try." Chapter 335: Chapter 21 "General Rokossovsky is with Us On December 12, 914, Wang Zhong went out as usual. His first stop was the auditmittee, where he had toplete the review of documentssince the establishment of the various department heads of themittee, the number of documents Wang Zhong had to deal with each day had dropped to 20, and most of them were rted to the first weapon audit in mid-December. At this audit, themittee would for the first time exercise its function to decide which modified weapons could be put into production. Of course, since themittee was only set up this month, these modifications weren''t proposed by themittee''s technical specifications, but rather were the troops'' feedback scattered to the designers, with the chief designer of each project "making changes as they see fit." In the future, themittee would summarize the front-line needs, propose technical specifications, and then pass them to the relevant designers. Whichever designer could modify the product to perform better would have their design produced. After clearing the documents at themittee, Wang Zhong had to go to the Kubinka training ground to inspect the training of the guards'' first mechanized infantry and the establishment of a new division. Since theposition of the guards'' first mechanized infantry was quiteplex, it was difficult to use it as a blueprint to form two divisions. Even Tugenev could only strive to assemble the structure of one division first. The main difficultyy in the fact that the basic education in Ante wasn''t widespread enough. At first, Wang Zhong thought that graduating from tenth grade wasmon in Ante, but now he knew that only the more developed areas could have so many people finish tenth grade, while the majority of the Ante civilians'' children only attended a few years of church school before entering the workforce. As for high school graduates, they were exceedingly rare in the current Ante infantry, with most high schoolers being supplemented into technical military branches. Even so, high school graduates constituted less than twenty percent in the technical branches of Ante''s army. In arge branch like the Armored Troops, the majority were tenth grade graduates, and there was even a tenth who hadn''t attended tenth grade, having only learned to read and write at church school. Wang Zhong finally understood why thebat effectiveness of the Naval Infantry was so high. Damn it, at least the Naval Infantry were tenth grade graduates, with many being high school students. No wonder in the Earth movie "*** Defense War," the actors even have a specific line pointing out, "A low level of culture limits the performance of technical weaponry." Knowing the crux of the problem made it manageable. Enjoy exclusive content from mvl Earth had an existing temte that could be followed. Wang Zhong decisively decided toprehensively carry out night school studies in the guards'' first mechanized infantry to improve the cultural level of the soldiers. The soldiers would train during the day and learn about culture and technical knowledge in the evening. The good news was that at least everyone in Ante could read, so there was no need for each soldier to carry a board for learning to read, like that temte army on Earth. The bad news was that the Ante People really didn''t like to study. They preferred to drink at night, dance the knee destruction dance by the bonfire, and y the Bayan and blaika. Wang Zhong could only try to get these rough men to learn some cultural knowledge while coordinating with the navy: "You don''t have ships anymore, can we get some high school students, please, just give us some!" Fortunately, the church was trying hard to send high school and tenth-grade graduates to Wang Zhong. It seemed that the church also thought it would be better to give these culturally-aware youths to Wang Zhong than to let those inept generals waste them. Anyway, the first model division Wang Zhong was forming was half-built, just waiting for the officers who had returned from the front lines toplete their theoretical studies at the military academy and be supplemented into the troops. After getting things in order at Kubinka, Wang Zhong had to go to school to teach. His major ss was the most popr at the military academy. Those students who haven''t missed a single lesson are now called "Rokossovsky''s faction." Although Wang Zhong had already written a pamphlet, printed and distributed at the school, this seemed to only increase the students'' enthusiasm to attend the lecture. In short, that was General Rokossovsky''s daily schedule. But today''s schedule encountered a slight problem at the beginning. The auditmittee was right next to the Civil War Memorial Hospital, thergest hospital in Ye Fort, and it boasted the best trauma surgery in Ye Fort. Today, just as Wang Zhong''s small motorcade arrived at the entrance of the Civil War Memorial Hospital, it was blocked. One truck after another was inching along the road, advancing slowly. As soon as Wang Zhong rolled down the car window, he smelled a strong scent of blood. These trucks were likely carrying wounded soldiers from the front lines. The slow progress of the truck convoy was probably because the hospital was already operating at full capacity. Wang Zhong waited for a while, sighed, and got out of the car directly. Vasily hurriedly called out, "General? Where are you going?" Wang Zhong, "We''re walking over, otherwise we won''t be able to make it to this morning''s work." Vasily hurriedly took the briefcase and got out. Grigori also got out and followed Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong had only walked a few steps when a soldier on one of the trucks spotted him and shouted, "Your Excellency the General!" "Good to see you," Wang Zhong waved his hand. The soldier started crying, "Your Excellency the General! We did not listen to you, we thought the Prussians were doomed, we even mocked you! We hope you can forgive us!" Wang Zhong, "It''s not your fault, it''s those who are for a swift victory who have deceived you! They deserve to die a thousand times." As one soldier cried and Wang Zhong responded, all the fellows on the truck discovered Wang Zhong. And this news spread along the convoy backwards and forwards. More wounded joined the outpouring ofint: "The Prussians built strong bunkers! My entirepany copsed in front of the bunkers!" "They''re cunning! They deliberately set traps, and as we charged in, we were surrounded by firepower points!" Wang Zhong frowned, this defensive position with firepower points all around it, somehow felt like it had something to do with me, didn''t it? Did the Prussians just learn the defensive positions I brought from trench warfare? Such strong learning ability! Wang Zhong had only walked a few tens of meters and it seemed the entire convoy knew of his arrival. ``` Moreover, the news spread with a significant distortion, and now everyone is saying, "General Rokossovsky hase to visit us." By now, it was impossible for me to say I was just passing by on my way to work. Wang Zhong could only keep shaking hands with the arms stretching out from the trucks, allowing the wounded soldiers to touch his face and uniform at will. Finally, when he managed to reach the entrance of the hospital, Wang Zhong thought to himself, might as well go in and visit now that I''m here. As soon as he entered the hospital, he startled the nurse at the door, "Your Excellency the Lieutenant General! What happened to you? Were you attacked? I will call the head of the gunshot wound department immediately!" Wang Zhong, "No no, this isn''t my blood. It''s the soldiers'' wishes for me." He looked down at the bloodstains on his body and said solemnly, "They are using this way to remind me that blood debts must be paid in blood." The nurse''s expression could be summarized as "I don''t understand, but it seems very impressive." She asked, "Do you need me to inform the dean of your inspection?" Wang Zhong, "No, I''ll just take a look and leave." In the following two hours, Wang Zhong talked with over a hundred wounded soldiers, obtaining a lot of first-hand information. For example, the ones conducting the defensive operations might be Prosen''s Ninth Army Group and Asgard''s First Army of the Asgard Knights, where themander of the Ninth Army Group is Lieutenant General Walter Mendel, and themander of Asgard''s First Army is an old acquaintance of Wang Zhong, Siegfried Gis. Furthermore, the enemy indeed has a type of long-barreled tank, but they are few in number. A battalionmander assured Wang Zhong that there might be only one battalion of these long-barreled tanks and that all the tanks bore a skull emblem, suggesting it is the emblem of theirbat unit. After Wang Zhong gathered enough information, the dean finally arrived. "I''m sorry, Your Excellency the General, I was dyed by a surgery," the dean said with a face full of apologies. Wang Zhong, "It''s all right, go back to your surgery. The more wounded you save, the happier I am, and greeting me is never a priority." The dean nodded, "You haven''t changed at all." Wang Zhong was somewhat surprised, "Eh? Have we met before?" "In Loktov, I was also the head of a field hospital," the dean said as he pushed up his sses. Wang Zhong delighted, "You''re Dr. Losonov! You survived as well." The dean, "I did survive. I almost got trapped in Argesukov, but once I got to Ye Fort, it just so happened that the dean of this hospital had been killed by Prosen''s bombing, so I took up the position." Wang Zhong, "You''ve worked hard." The two shook hands. The dean, "Then I''ll go back to the surgery." Wang Zhong, "Please do, I''ll stay a little longer with the soldiers." The dean nodded and left. Wang Zhong then looked at the wounded soldiers crowding the wards. All the soldiers were looking at him. Wang Zhong felt this was the moment to say something and started to speak, "Right now, I don''t want to act like I know it all and say ''this is what happens when you don''t listen to my advice.'' I understand your desire to quickly return home to fight." Wang Zhong took off the lunch box that he always carried, "This lunch box! Inside is soil from my homnd of Kazarlia. I dug it up when I left Kazarlia at an unnamed station. "On the same day, my father, together with my best buddies, all died in battlealongside countless ordinary soldiers. "I, Rokossovsky, want to liberate my homnd more than anyone else! My feelings are no different from yours! So I will not mock you! "Absolutely not! "I will only tell you that liberating our homnd also needs to be based on facts and logic. We can''t divorce ourselves from reality and make grand ims! Boasting won''t drive away the Prosen devils!" Wang Zhong put away his lunch box and looked around the room again. "Defeating the Prosen devils is a long-term and arduous process that will require enormous sacrifice. But I can guarantee you, the final victory wille! "For this victory, apart from braving sacrifices, we also need to use our brains, understand the enemy''s strengths, know ourselves and the enemy, and then choose our tactics ordingly! "You should know that I am a general who likes to charge at the forefront myself, and I do this to understand the enemy and find their weaknesses! "In the future, I assure you that I will continue this approach, even if one day, I should fall on the battlefield!" Wang Zhong stood among the wounded soldiers, his body covered in blood from the soldiers. The bloodstained soldiers looked at him. Who says we have no clothes? We share our robes. When I muster the soldiers, I repair my spears and shields. We share amon foe! At that moment, there was suddenly the sound of a sh. Wang Zhong turned his head towards the direction of the sh and saw Reporter Mike and his partner. The joyous photographer Robert Capa muttered, "I''ve captured another great shot! This one will be titled ''General Rokossovsky Is with Us.'' Wang Zhong was bbergasted and said to Mike, "You Federation reporters, faster than anything!" ``` Chapter 336: Chapter 22: The situation on December 16th (Additional Update 26/33) December 12, Summer Pce. Belinsky had been at the High Command these past few days, closely monitoring the front-line battle situation. Just after the meeting at High Command ended that day, Ravkid entered the room and whispered to Belinsky, "General Rokossovsky saw a convoy transporting wounded soldiers on his way to work and took the opportunity to visit the Civil War Memorial Hospital." Belinsky was overjoyed, "Really? Were there any photographs taken?" Ravkid replied, "The Judge notified the Federation''s reporters and his partner based on the situation at the time." Belinsky smiled and said, "Good, good,municate with the Federation''s reporters and get us a set of the developed photos. We''ll select some for publishing in the Ye Fort Daily." Ravkid added, "There''s also another matter. The exile government of Mnia has made a request to the Foreign Minister to join the alliance and be an allied nation." Belinsky reflected, "Mnia? I remember when the Prosen Empire destroyed Mnia, the people who followed the Eastern Holy Church Secr faction fled here." "Yes, we even resettled some bishops from Mnia, and most of the refugees have been settled in our vast eastern territories, that was already three years ago." After Ravkid finished speaking, Belinsky eximed, "They are still fighting? Admirable. So what does the exile government intend? Are they nning to recruit soldiers from the Mnia refugees we''ve settled?" "That seems to be the case," Ravkid nodded, "but most of the diplomatic stuff is being handled by the nobility." After all, before the Prosen Empire instigated trouble, most of the countries in Europa were either kingdoms or empires adorned with crowns. Belinsky thought for a moment and asked Ravkid, "How eager are these Mnia refugees to enlist when we mobilize them?" "Ever since they arrived in our country, they have been demanding the restoration of their homnd. After the war broke out, they''ve submitted numerous petitions through their Priests." Belinsky questioned, "Then why not conscript them?" "Because the military dislikes their poor Antenguage skills. I believe it''s an excuse by the nobility, who regard these Mnia refugees that fled to our country as fervent Secr faction members." Enjoy exclusive content from ?? Belinsky raised an eyebrow, "Are they?" Ravkid adjusted his sses, "Most are, and even if they originally weren''t, they became so after witnessing the Prosen''s atrocities." Belinsky instructed, "Prepare for it, once our diplomatic department establishes rtions with the Mnia exile government, we''ll conscript these Mnians. Also, do these Mnian people have a high level of education?" Ravkid responded, "ording to the entry registration data, quite high." Belinsky decided, "Then supplement them to Rokossovsky. He''s always moring for soldiers with high cultural levels; give them to him and see what he can do with these soldiers. Of course, all this must be done after forming an alliance with the Mnia exile government. Until then, let the Mnians stay in the resettlement areas." December 16, Suvorov Military Academy Principal''s Office. Wang Zhong watched as his secretary typed thest letter and he breathed a long sigh of relief, "All right, this ''Guiding Principles in Armored Defense Warfare'' is finallyplete." Wang Zhong had originally wanted to use a longer title: The Guiding Principles in Armored Defense Warfare Synthesized from the Battles of Upper Peniye, Loktov, and Orachi. But that sounded too much like a light novel''s title, so Wang Zhong had abandoned that idea. The person responsible for typing was ady named Petrovna, brought by Miss Ellie, a woman close to fifty years of age, with children about the same age as Wang Zhong. The auntie lifted thest page of the manuscript from the typewriter to dry on the desk and said to Wang Zhong, "Congrattions, General, this must be a future textbook, right?" Wang Zhong replied, "Until we have more outstanding theories on defensive warfare, yes." In fact, this book not only contained Wang Zhong''s own summary ofbat experience but also many advanced theories from Earth. The auntie remarked, "You''re too modest. This will definitely be our textbook." Wang Zhong, with a smile, approached the huge ss window of the principal''s office and looked out at the training field covered in morning snow. Tank Command and Infantry Command majors had just entered the field, beginning to clear the snow. It seemed they were preparing for abined arms exercise today, hence the Infantry Command students were also present; ordinarily, only the Tank Command majors would clear the school''srgest training field. At that moment, the telephone rang suddenly. As Petrovna, who was organizing the manuscripts, picked up the phone, she announced, "This is Suvorov Military Academy. General Rokossovsky is admiring the snow scene; I''ll get him for you now." By then, Wang Zhong had already walked over from the window and took the receiver directly from Mrs. Petrovna, "This is me, Rokossovsky. What''s the matter, driver?" Pavlovined, "The organizational structure of the model regiment... we''ve nearly gathered thebat troops, but we''re really struggling to find enough maintenance personnel. The Ordnance Department told us they don''t have the production capacity for tank tractors; can''t we just use tanks for towing, they said." Wang Zhong immediately cursed, "Do they have pig brains? Tanks are so prone to breakdowns; they''re nothing like a tow truck! A tank itself is more than 30 tons. It''s good enough if it can travel 100 kilometers without breaking down, and you expect it to tow a broken tank another 100 kilometers to a repair station?" Even if a wartime repair station wasn''t that far from the front line, it was still wholly unreliable to use a tank as a tow truck. Chapter 337: Chapter 22: The situation on December 16 (Supplement 26/33)_2 On Earth, the shy Americans have a tank toon with 14 vehicles equipped with two 30-ton ss recovery trucks. Moreover, within their Armored Divisions the Americans also have the heaviest recovery vehicles put into service during World War II: the M25 Dragon wagon. With this beast, the US Army can tow broken-down Sherman tanks by road to the rear for major repairs or transportnding crafts ovend to the banks of the Rhine River. On the other hand, the Russians on Earth are a different case: a tank brigade with three tractors, leading to most tanks with mechanical failures being abandoned by the roadside because there were simply not enough tractors to tow them. Wang Zhong''s model division is intended to change this, making the Ante Army also be "powerfully supported." After all, in Wang Zhong''s vision, the equipment used by his precious divisions was produced with terrifyingly long work hours and was definitely not to be discarded lightly. For example, the 57mm anti-tank guns widely equipped by the Guards Mechanized Infantry are even more troublesome to produce than the 85mm anti-aircraft guns. In order to deliver the new vehicles with the 100mm guns from the navy, they surely were also precious items with low production rates. After all, the navy''s 100mm guns were produced only by that one factory next to the Ind Sea. Even if the factory went all out to expand production, it wouldn''t get very far unless new factories were put into producing them. So Wang Zhong''s troops must be powerfully supported. Pavlov sighed, "But the fact that we don''t have the capacity to produce tractors is also true. The ordnance department is also in a bind with nothing to cook with." Wang Zhong, "Fine, I''ll see if I can get some from the Federation. Heavy recovery vehicles, tractors, even battlefield repair vehicles, I''ll try to get as many as possible." "That would be the best. But..." Wang Zhong, "What''s the matter? Speak up if there''s a difficulty." "There aren''t enough technicians. Simple mechanical malfunctions can be taught and fixed, but for thorough tank maintenance, at least a grade ten education is needed. However, those who graduated from grade ten are already the backbone of the army, and they can''t all be pulled away to fix vehicles." Wang Zhong was astonished, and after holding his breath for a few seconds, said, "I''ll go ask the navy. Didn''t I ask for a thousand technicians before?" "They''ve all been transferred to the Guards Mechanized Infantry. Yegorov, their divisionmander now, treasures these technicians like jewels. I asked him to divide half of them to the model division, but he wouldn''t budge." Wang Zhong, "You''re the city defense staff officer! Are you bigger or is he?" Pavlov, "We''re both major generals." Wang Zhong was astonished, "Fine, I''ll go argue with this stubborn guy." Pavlov, "Also, don''t forget to wheedle some technicians from the navy, the more the better!" Wang Zhong, "Okay, okay! I''ll go ask." He hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. Lady Petrovna asked, "Running into difficulty?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, there''s a shortage of technical workers everywhere. Factoriesck technicalbor, and so do the frontlines. Factories have started using women and children to produce tanks. Theyck specialized training and are hurried into the job; the welding is problematic in many ces." Just then, the office door opened and Vasily came in with a telegram, "The second wave of attackunched by the Western Front Army the day before yesterday has been ineffective until today. Although they have captured some positions, the Prussian Army still controls several major cities." After speaking, Vasily went to the map in the director''s office, picked up a pencil and drafting tools, and quickly made some marks on the map. Wang Zhong was astonished, "The frontlines are bing a crisscross of conflicts." Actually, this is the norm in modern warfare, with frontlines torn like by a dog, a chaotic "you have me and I have you." Especially near cities, in the urban-rural junctions, the situation is even moreplicated. Vasily, looking at the updated map, said, "Even I can now see that the Western Front Army''s offensive has stalled." Wang Zhong, "How many casualties?" Vasily picked up the telegram and nced at it, "In the two days since the second round of the offensive began, a total of seventy thousand wounded soldiers have been treated." Wang Zhong cursed. "The Federation''s troops managed to treat seventy thousand wounded soldiers, so probably only ten to twenty thousand died. After all, they have good support, and many of the injured will be rescued." "But it''s different for Ante." Vasily continued to report, "The telegram also says that some infantry battalions have been reduced to less than two hundred men. To continue the attack, they need to deploy reserves." Wang Zhong, looking at the map, shook his head, "Certainly they will deploy some reserves, but not too much. This defeat has been quite ugly. They are being allowed to fight onest time, just so they will give up on that notion." With a hint of schadenfreude, Vasily added, "After all, those responsible for the failure are bound to lose their heads." Wang Zhong nodded, "Of course. But he should be thankful that he is merely ipetent, not a traitor, so just losing his head will suffice." Then the telephone on the table rang again. Wang Zhong picked it up, "This is Rokossovsky. What? A visit? At a time like this?" Vasily looked over curiously but did not immediately ask. Read thetest on ?? After responding a couple of times, Wang Zhong hung up and turned to Vasily, "It seems there is a diplomatic delegation that wants toe visit us." "Diplomatic?" asked Vasily. Wang Zhong replied, "Don''t know. Maybe our friends from the Federation want to take a look at the aid recipients. Go and call Vice Chancellor Valery, he''s good at arranging visits like these." Vasily ced the telegram on the table and turned to leave. Madam Petrovna picked up the telegram and slid it into a special folder. The telephone on the table rang once more, and Wang Zhong answered, "This is Rokossovsky." Belinsky''s voice came from the other end, "A diplomatic delegation is currently on their way to the Suvorov Military Academy. The main members are representatives of the Mnia refugee government, including their Prime Minister and themander of their armed forces." Wang Zhong immediately spun the globe beside him and found Mniaa country that had been annexed by Prosen, located fairly close to Ante. Belinsky added, "We might establish diplomatic rtions with Mnia, and they might send some volunteer forces to support us." "So, all I have to do is to receive them well?" asked Wang Zhong. "Yes, you have to make them believe that we can liberate Mnia." "Leave it to me," assured Wang Zhong. "Oh, by the way, have you seen thetest front page headline of the Ye Fort Daily?" "No, I haven''t. I''ve been too busy running around to check." Just then, Vasily burst in with a newspaper, "General! General, take a look! This photo!" Vasily showed Wang Zhong the front page headline, where arge photo featured himGeneral Rokossovskystanding amid bloodied wounded soldiers, covered in blood himself, but with a determined gaze, evidently boosting the morale of his troops. Beside the photo was a line of text: The stars of victory together with the wounded. Holding the receiver in one hand, Wang Zhong took the newspaper with the other. Belinsky spoke through the receiver, "I''ve already contacted the most famous painter to begin creating an oil painting." Looking at the photo, Wang Zhong discovered for the first time that he was being looked upon with such hopeful eyes by everyone. He couldn''t let them down now. Chapter 338: Chapter 23 Melania Will Not Perish Wang Zhong was spacing out while looking at the photo when he suddenly heard Belinsky say, "Let''s get back to the matter of the delegation." Only then did Wang Zhong realize he was still holding the receiver. He quickly handed the newspaper back to Vasily and gripping the receiver firmly, said, "I actually don''t understand why a diplomatic delegation would want to visit a military academy." "Really don''t understand?" Belinskyughed, "The improvement in our diplomatic situation started when you drove the Prussians away from the vicinity of Ye Fort. Even if the Empire of Fusang didn''t ''help a lot,'' the United Kingdom would have tried hard to assist us. The terrestrial assistance route from the Ind Sea-Bs-Bahara was already operating, but the amount of materials delivered through the route increased after you sent the enemy packing." Wang Zhong: "But doesn''t Mnia no longer have any territory? What assistance can they provide?" "Manpower," Belinsky said, "And it''s high-quality manpower. At least, there''s arge number of draft-age young men with high school education among the refugees registered on our side." Wang Zhong: "I''ll definitely treat the diplomatic delegation well! Wait, since they are refugees who have fled to our side, why don''t we just conscript them directly? What does the delegation have to do with this?" "Without an agreement with them, conscripting refugees doesn''t look good, and there are opinions within the military, stating these refugees don''t speak Ante well. If there are diplomatic considerations, we can suppress the opposing voices within the military," Belinsky exined. Wang Zhong: "Okay, I got it." "Besides, the delegation this time includes the daughter of the President of the Mnia Third Republic, a young girl. Make good use of your masculine charm," Belinsky added. Wang Zhong frowned: "My masculine charm? No, no, that''s not appropriate. I already have a fiance." "Having a fiance doesn''t conflict with using your masculine charm. Cheer up the youngdy a bit, I''m counting on you." After finishing, Belinsky hung up the phone. Wang Zhong scratched his head and nced at Vasily. Vasily: "Don''t worry, you will definitely aplish the mission! Your charm is quite lethal to thedies!" Mrs. Petrovna, who was still busy arranging her papers in the room, looked up and nced at Wang Zhong and Vasily. Wang Zhong: "Don''t say it like that, it sounds like I''m going to seduce a princess of a fallen country." "It does seem like that''s the setup," Vasily shrugged. Just as they were talking, Professor Valery entered the room: "You wanted to see me?" Wang Zhong: "The Mnia diplomatic delegation will arrive soon, get ready." Professor Valery nodded: "Okay, I''ll clean up the Mnia cavalry gear and such on disy in the school history exhibition hall." Wang Zhong: "What stuff?" "It''s trophies captured hundreds of years ago during warfare with Mnia, and many are masterpieces of the Kazarlian cavalry." Wang Zhong: "Ah... no need to worry about that. They''re probably just here to confirm whether we can defeat the Prussians. Just make sure the students are spirited, especially during drills, make the cadence loud." At that moment, the phone on the far left of Wang Zhong''s desk rang. This phone was mainly used for internalmunication. Wang Zhong picked up the phone: "This is General Rokossovsky, what''s the matter?" "Your Excellency General, this is the gate guard, there''s a convoy iming to be the diplomatic delegation. We''ve received no notification, so I''m checking in with you. Should they be let in?" Wang Zhong: "Let them in, and have them drive straight to Building No. 1." After hanging up, Wang Zhong turned to Valery: "Hurry and arrange something, organize activities and teachings that can showcase our spirit." Valery nodded repeatedly and left the room in haste. Wang Zhong went to the dressing mirror to check if his military uniform was in order. Vasily: "If you don''t want to seduce a princess of a fallen country, why are you looking in the mirror?" Wang Zhong: "What do you know, it''s not just my own face I''m losing here, it''s the face of our country." After saying that, he reached for his overcoat from the coat stand, put it on, donned his hat, adjusted the military rank on his overcoat, and only then did he push the door and exit the principal''s office. Vasily had just done a round outside, so his overcoat was already on, and he quickly followed Wang Zhong''s steps. As they walked, he said: "I wonder if the Mnia princess is good-looking." Wang Zhong: "She''s the daughter of the President of the Third Republic, not a princess." Vasily: "So what should we call her?" Wang Zhong: "Just call her by name, Miss so-and-so will do." The two reached the stairwell where Grigori came out fully armed from the security office, falling in behind Wang Zhong. The trio then entered the elevator together. When the three walked out of the main door of Building No. 1, the convoy was just arriving. The car in the center of the convoy seemed familiar to Wang Zhong: it looked like a high-end Steponka sedan. Two small gs were inserted in front of the car, bearing Mnia''s national emblem a... a white swan? It looked like a white swan with its wings spread as if threatening its enemies. "It doesn''t make sense; how could a nation with such a crest be annihted by the Prussians so quickly? It''s a disgrace to the fighting spirit of the great white goose!" The door to the Steponk opened, and the first to emerge was a middle-aged man who looked like he held a position of high authority. He raised his head as he got out of the car and locked eyes with Wang Zhong, maintaining a proud yet respectful demeanor. However, Wang Zhong was distracted at the moment, his mind upied with searching for the president''s daughter. Then, he saw a man dressed like a butlere up to the other side of the Steponk and open the rear car door. A blonde beauty stepped out of the car. Wang Zhong stared at her for a few seconds before losing interest. Pretty average. It wasn''t that Mnia''s younger sister was unattractive, but she paled inparison to Ludm and Olga,cking distinctive features of her own. Plus, as a Ceris person who had traveled through time, Wang Zhong was somewhat face-blind when it came to Westerners. The so-called "princess" of Mniacked memorable features. If she had some freckles, maybe Wang Zhong would have remembered her for that. Wang Zhong shifted his attention back to the middle-aged man who had gotten out of the car first and reached out a hand, "Hello, I am General Rokossovsky. May I ask your name, sir?" Stay connected with ?? "Mozitski Razkevich, Prime Minister of the Mnia exile government," the man replied, taking Wang Zhong''s hand. "It''s an honor to meet you. You''re the first person in the world to have annihted a Prussian regiment." Wang Zhong was surprised, "Really?" Nobody told me about this. Am I really that awesome? Razkevich seemed surprised as well, "You didn''t know? You''ve captured more Prussian generals by yourself than all the world''s armiesbined!" Wang Zhong replied, "Is that so... No matter, it won''t be long before everyone starts capturing Prussian generals by the basketful." Razkevich continued, "You''ve be a symbol of the world''s resistance against Prussian atrocities. That''s why Miss Heidewei and I havee here. We need to take a photo with you to boost the morale of Mnia people scattered around the world to continue the struggle." Wang Zhong asked, "Miss Heidewei?" He pretended not to have noticed that there was a miss in the delegation. Razkevich took a step aside and introduced to Wang Zhong, "This is thest remaining orphan of the President of the Mnia Third Republic who held out in the capital city of Wesvawalski, Heidewei Yadweiga." Wang Zhong looked at thedy again, and the girl turned her face away shyly at first. Huh? Am I that handsome? But the girl quickly forced herself to look directly at Wang Zhong, adopting the posture fitting of a "princess of a vanquished nation." Wang Zhong greeted her, "Hello, Miss Heidewei..." He almost addressed her as ''Your Highness.'' Heidewei responded, "Hello, General Rokossovsky. You are even more dashing than you appeared in your photos." Wang Zhong replied, "You are as beautiful as the rumors say." He extended his hand, and Heidewei immediately stepped forward to grasp it. At that moment, Razkevich said, "Our photographer is ready. Please, both of you, stand a bit closer." Wang Zhong cooperated and moved a step closer to Heidewei, maintaining the handshake and looking towards the camera lens. Heidewei also moved arge step closer toward Wang Zhong, almost pressing against him. The photographer immediately snapped the photo, and a puff of smoke burst from the shbulb as the sh lit up their faces. Heidewei said, "Thank you. This will greatly inspire the fighting spirit of the Mnia people." Wang Zhong replied, "I think that if you have been able to continue the fight until now, then you must notck the confidence and determination to liberate your homnd." Heidewei''s smile was suddenly clouded with gloom, "Actually, the situation isn''t too good. The Prussians just passed aw granting Mnia people second-ss citizenship status. Quite a few people feel that it''s better to live as second-ss citizens, with some semnce of peace, rather than live in fear under the Prussian repression. "The Mnia forces abroad are still holding on; we have over a hundred thousand soldiers, and we keep fighting against the Prussians. However, the resistance organizations within the country are barely able to sustain themselves. "It''s not that the weapons and support from the United Kingdom aren''t sufficient. The main issue is... the absence of hope. The Prussians are so powerful, so unassable, that we''re nearly losing our will to fight. Some people have even started to believe the nonsense spouted by the then Emperor, thinking that they are somehow a superior people!" Heidewei''s expression suddenly brightened as she continued, "But you defeated the Prussians! Youpletely annihted a hundred thousand troops! This is unprecedented! You have no idea how much the news uplifted us when we heard it! "The image of you riding a white horse, escorting Prussian prisoners of war, was more effective than any broadcast! We turned that scene into leaflets, which the United Kingdom Air Force dropped over the soil of Mnia!" As Heidewei said this, her gaze towards Wang Zhong was not that of someone looking at an object of affection; Wang Zhong suddenly realized that the girl wasn''t shy because of infatuation. To her, "General Rokossovsky" was like a saint, an apostle. Wang Zhong said, "Miss Heidewei, I truly understand your feelings. My homnd has also fallen and is currently being trampled by the Prussian jackboot. One day we will take back ournds. Mnia will not perish." Heidewei looked at Wang Zhong, tears suddenly welling up and streaming down her cheeks, "Thank you... Thank you so much..." Chapter 339: Chapter 24 Fundraising Poster At that moment, Wang Zhong really wanted to reach out and wipe away Hedwig''s tears, but he held back. Then he saw the girl''s tears freeze. Luckily he hadn''t wiped them away, or else he might have ended up peeling off a piece of her skin, which would have been hard to exin! At this point, Mrs. Petrovna stepped forward to help Hedwig clean up her tears. As Hedwig wiped her tears, Razkiewicz said to Wang Zhong, "General, a single photo might not be enough. We need more pictures to boost the morale of the Mnia people. "Especially the kind that can evoke beneficial associations. We especially need this." Wang Zhong asked, "What kind of photos do you want?" Razkiewicz replied, "I heard you have captured Prosen tanks here. Could you let Miss Hedwig take a few pictures on top of them?" Wang Zhong answered, "Certainly, right this way, please." Afterward, Wang Zhong took the Mnia delegation on a tour of the school and took many photos. He realized that Mnia had turned Hedwig into a symbol. After all, her father was thatst president who had resisted to thest moment in the capital, Viswa-Walsi. The broadcast station held by his personal troops was thest ce in Viswa-Walsi to be captured. Before the Prussians arrived, thest president had broadcasted to the Mnia people for thest time, carrying a submachine gun, "My fight will stop today, but your fight will go on, and it must go on! Until the mothend is restored!" It wasn''t until after the delegation had left that Wang Zhong learned of these things. Before then, he just knew that Mnia was a country annexed by the Prussians. No wonder Hedwig was seen by the Mnia warriors as a symbol of resistance. Wang Zhong had personally experienced the great victory at Ye Fort. He knew that in the darkest moments, people needed a linchpin for their spirits, and Hedwig was that linchpin. The day after the tour ended, on the evening of December 17, Wang Zhong received the urgently developed photos. In them, Hedwig stood atop those captured Prosen tanks, her expression resolute. The Mnia diplomat who brought the photos said, "Miss Hedwig will be broadcasting to the Mnia people within Ante territory shortly. It''s almost time. Would you like to listen?" Wang Zhong replied, "Turn on the radio. I''ll have a listen." Vasily immediately turned on the radio in the room and began tuning the frequency. The diplomat said, "Channel 109.1." Vasily quickly turned the dial and urately stopped on channel 109.1. The speech had just begun. The little girl who had seen Wang Zhong as an idol, a saint to be worshiped, suddenly transformed into a strong warrior, a princess of a conquered nation, her voice aged yet strong: "Fellow countrymen! I am Hedwig Yadviga. Three years ago, my father broadcasted to all Mnians from thest unupiednd in the capital, Viswa-Walsi, dering that Mnia would not perish. "Now three years have passed. Prussia has swept through, unstoppable and arrogant, destroying many nations with ancient histories, their boots trampling the soil of the entire Europa. "The brutal situation has made manypatriots lose their will to resist, and more and more areying down their weapons. To be honest, I don''t me you." Wang Zhong leaned on the edge of the desk, listening to the girl''s speech. Vasily said, "She''s obviously given many such speeches before, she''s quite adept." Wang Zhong nodded. Suddenly, he had a question and asked the Mnia diplomat, "Why is she speaking in Ante? Shouldn''t such a broadcast be in Mnianguage?" Continue your saga on ?? The diplomat replied, "Most secr faction believers who have sought refuge in Ante can speak Ante. And one of the purposes of this broadcast is to evoke sympathy from the Ante public." Wang Zhong replied, "Oh," then asked, "Do you really think using a girl like this to boost resistance morale is effective? Wouldn''t it be more appropriate to have male war heroes?" The diplomat answered, "That may be the case in Ante, but in the Federation, girls are more effective in raising funds. Our fundraising in the Federation had been lukewarm, only Mnians living in the Federation were generous. "But after we pushed Hedwig Yadviga as our spokesperson, fundraising went much more smoothly. At that time, the Federation was not at war; they used the money raised to purchase weapons and send them to the Mnia resistance forces." Wang Zhong asked, "What about now?" The diplomat shrugged, "We may still depend on Miss Hedwig''s fundraising. It has been three years since Mnia fell, and even some Mnians have started epting Prussian indoctrination. The Federation is more willing to support the Carolingian resistance movement." Wang Zhong stroked his chin, suddenly struck with a new idea. He picked up the telephone and said to the operator, "Connect me to the Federation embassy. Embassy switchboard, please? Connect me to the press office; I need to speak with Reporter Mike." A few secondster, Mike''s voice came from the handset, "Hello there, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky. What can I do for you?" Wang Zhong said, "If I were to have my fiance take a picture for a fundraising ad or something of the sort, what benefit could we gain in the Federation?" Reporter Mike replied, "In our Federation, you can buy anything with money, even during wartime. Your fiance is so beautiful and also a military officerthere are no female soldiers in the Federation, let alone those withbat achievements. As long as the photo is well taken, she will definitely win arge amount of donations for you. "And she has another advantage; you are currently a household name as a war hero in the Federation. We in the Federation love that hero-beauty setup." Wang Zhong was overjoyed, "Good, let''s set up a time for the photo shoot then." "Wait a moment," Reporter Mike said, "Is it okay for you to be busy with this now? How''s the offensive going at the Bokost-Shaostka front?" Wang Zhong replied, "Let''s not talk about that I can''t tell you the specifics; it''s military secret. In any case, it''s just as I predicted." Wang Zhong almost slipped up, very nearly telling Mike that the second offensive had failed and that he was gathering reserve forces for the third assault. Reporter Mike said, "Okay, you''re not nning to do something to intervene?" Wang Zhong replied, "Isn''t that what I''m doing now, trying to make up for the loss of the defeat? Can youe for the photo shoot tomorrow?" "I''ll ask my partner," came the faint sound of Reporter Mike conversing with his partner over the phone. After a minute, he said, "Sure, my partner would like more variety in backgrounds to choose from." Wang Zhong: "Regarding the background, I will contact the church''s public rtions office." "Cooperate with the church photographer? Let me check..." Before Mike could ask, the voice of his partner''s agreement came through the phone, "Alright, my partner doesn''t seem to mind. How about we set up a time for tomorrow, is three in the afternoon good?" Wang Zhong: "It''s settled then, we''ll meet at three in the afternoon at the public rtions office building." He hung up the phone. By this time, Hedwig''s speech was already halfway through: "The dawn of hope has already appeared, Lieutenant General Rokossov haspletely annihted seven enemy divisions, capturing a hundred thousand prisoners! "He has proven that the Prussians can be defeated, that they are not the chosen ones, not the ''superior race destined to rule the world.'' "General Rokossov even personally assured me that our fallen homnd will be reimed..." Wang Zhong felt somewhat embarrassed and said to Vasily, "Turn it off." Vasily turned off the radio with a chuckle, "So the general can get embarrassed too?" Wang Zhong picked up the phone: "Nonsense, I''m about to call home, it wouldn''t be right for Ludm to hear another girl''s voice here." ------------- The next day, December 18, inside the photography studio on the first floor of the church''s public rtions office, Wang Zhong watched Ludm dressed in military uniform and asked worriedly, "Aren''t you cold like that?" Ludm looked down at her skirt, "It''s alright, the heating here is quite strong. But skirts like this, really can''t be worn on the battlefield, can they?" Female soldiers from Ante wore trousers just the same as male soldiers on the battlefield. Not only trousers but also men''s boxer briefs underneath, which were very loose and said to chafe extensively, often leaving wounds from the friction during marches. Ludm twirled in front of Wang Zhong and asked, "Does it look good?" Wang Zhongughed: "You look beautiful in anything you wear." As he spoke, he reached out and adjusted the position of Ludm''s utility belt. Ludm stared at Wang Zhong: "I thought you would take the opportunity to make a move." Wang Zhong: "I''ve already had my fill of that." "Really?" "Truly." Ludm giggled. At that moment, a nun came over and handed Ludm a ceremonial staff. Ludm was surprised, "Are you sure I should hold this? I''m not high-ranking enough, am I?" The nun smiled slightly: "His Eminence Belinsky personally approved it, please take it." Wang Zhong looked at the staff: "Is there any significance to this stick?" "It''s said to be something that the angels beside Saint Andrew carried, and it''s only used in the highest standard ceremonies. The person holding it is at least a cardinal," Ludm exined. By then, the public rtions office staff were unfolding a huge g of the Ante Empire; it seemed that this g would be used as the background for the photoshoot shortly. The two reporters from the Federation hadn''t arrived yet; who knows what they would think upon seeing this g. Another nun came over and draped a white cloak with golden edges over Ludm. After the nunpleted her preparations, Ludm holding the staff turned to Wang Zhong: "How does it look?" Wang Zhong nodded, "Not bad, if you tuck the staff a little further back, pressing against the front armor, it would be even better." Ludm sighed, "Be serious!" Wang Zhong stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly recalled the opening CG of a very popr game from before he crossed over. He felt like Ludm was about to start reciting a ssic line: Does this scene look familiar? Right now, such scenes are ying out across the gxy! You could be next! Unless you can make the most important decision of your life! ... Ludm: "My dear? Why did you suddenly space out?" Wang Zhong: "You are more beautiful than the rose, I was just mesmerized." Damn, what kind of cheesy line is that! What am I doing! Ludm was overjoyed. Just then, Vasily suddenly entered the studio and quickly came to Wang Zhong''s side, whispering, "The enemyunched a counteroffensive before the Western Front Army''s attack, and now the Western Front Army has lost all the positions they gained from the previous two offenses. There''s panic at the Front Army''s headquarters." Wang Zhong: "What are they panicking for? The Prussians notunching a pincer movement but rather retaking lost ground indicates that they alsock sufficient forces and supplies tounch arge-scale offensive." Before he could finish speaking, a major approached Wang Zhong and saluted, "Your Excellency, His Majesty the Tsar orders you to proceed to the Summer Pce immediately." Chapter 340: Chapter 25 Convergence Wang Zhong nced at Ludm, who smiled and said, "Go ahead, you staying here won''t be of any help." "Alright." Wang Zhong stepped forward, gently kissed her lips, then turned and nodded to the officer from the Summer Pce. Then the group quickly left the filming set. With the staff of the Saint Andrew angel in hand, Ludm watched him leave. The atmosphere in the Summer Pce seemed somewhat tense; when the guards saw Wang Zhong appear, they all had a look of "as expected." Wang Zhong was led into the lounge, where he saw a general holding a Coca-C, standing by the window looking out at the snowscape. The general had raised his right hand, ready to take a sip of his Coca-C, but upon hearing Wang Zhong''s footsteps, he maintained his pose with the Coca-C bottle and looked over sideways. Wang Zhong, seeing the general''s insignia, saluted out of habit. The general hurriedly finished his Coca-C in one gulp, put down the bottle, and returned the salute to Wang Zhong. After they both lowered their hands, the general spoke, "General Rokossovsky? I have heard much about you." Using his external device, Wang Zhong glimpsed the general''s name and said, "General Gorky, I thought you were defending Saint Andrew Fort." General Gorky: "The situation at Saint Andrew Fort has stabilized. The enemy won''t be able tounch arge-scale offensive before next February. Our counterattack pushed the enemy away from the edge of the iceke, preventing their artillery from threatening the highway on the iceke. "That''s all we can manage at this stage." Wang Zhong: "At least the city is temporarily safe." "Yes, temporarily. The enemy can''t strike us, and we can''t drive them away either. The situation at Saint Andrew Fort won''t fundamentally improve before we receive a sufficient number of reinforcements next year," General Gorky said, picking up another opened bottle of Coca-C and taking a sip. Wang Zhong: "So, you''vee to report?" "No, the order I received the day before yesterdaymanded me toe back. It took me over a day to leave the city and fly here." General Gorky finished his Coca-C, put the empty bottle down, "I suppose they want me to clean up the Western Front Army''s mess. What brought you here?" Wang Zhong: "I just received news of the Prosen advances this morning, and then I was summoned here." General Gorky: "What''s your take on the Prosen offensive?" Wang Zhong: "I heard that the Prussians regained some positions they had lost. If the enemy meant to encircle and annihte arge number of our troops with a pincer move, they wouldn''t waste effort taking those fragmented positions at the front. "I deduce it''s not arge-scale offensive, just a move to capture better positions in preparation for a major offensive next year." General Gorky nodded: "Yes, makes sense. If the enemy has truly taken back a significant number of positions, ''straightening'' the front line, it indeed doesn''t seem like a prelude to arge-scale offensive." General Gorky paced twice in the lounge and suddenly asked, "General Rokossovsky, where do you think the enemy will strike next year? Ye Fort again?" Wang Zhong: "They attacked Ye Fort to end the war quickly, but that n has already failed. Even if they capture Ye Fort, we will continue to resist. Although Ye Fort, as the major junction of our country''s railway lines, still has very high strategic value, but..." Ante''s railways actually seldom intersect; there are only three major junctions. Argesukov has already been upied by the Prussians, Saint Andrew Fort is currently besieged, leaving only Ye Fort. If Ye Fort is lost, many of Ante''s railways will be cut off, so the enemy capturing Ye Fort next year isn''t without strategic significance. But it might not be worth investing such a vast number of troops for this goal. Wang Zhong: "I think next year Prosen might shift its strategic focus to the southern line, take the Coastal Fortress, and then expand into the vast steppes, seizing iron, coal, rare metals, and most importantly, Kuba''s oil." General Gorky nodded: "Cavalry across the steppes, indeed a fitting battlefield for their mechanized legions. The surroundings of Ye Fort are less suited, too many forests." Vasily finally couldn''t help but interject, "Are you two just going to theorize without a map?" Wang Zhong and General Gorky both stared at him. Wang Zhong: "Vasily, go stay in the adjutants'' lounge." "My adjutant is there too, you can chat with him," General Gorky echoed. Vasily left resentfully. General Gorky: "Although we both assume this, who''s to say that the then Emperor won''t continue the offensive against Ye Fort." Wang Zhong: "Let hime, this will be the graveyard for the Prussian Army. Once they deplete their fuel reserves, it will be our turn to counterattack. "No, I think the then Emperor won''t be so foolish. What he needs to ensure now is that the war continues. He must have Kuba''s oil. Moreover, once they seize the oil fields, we will be the ones suffering, and while there is support from the Federation, they also have to supply their vast army." Just as Wang Zhong finished speaking, General Gorky said, "I heard the Federation is about to lose their major oil fields in Asia?" Wang Zhong nodded: "Yes, the Borneo oil fields are almost gone." General Gorky whistled: "Sounds like Kuba will be the focal point neither side can afford to lose next year." Wang Zhong nodded. At that moment, the door opened, and a court protocol officer came in, loudly announcing, "General Gorky Konstantinovich, Lieutenant General Aleksei Konstantinovich, please follow me!" General Gorky: "Understood. Let''s go, General Rokossov, it''s our time to take the stage." The court protocol officer led Wang Zhong and General Gorky directly into the royal conference hall. As soon as Wang Zhong entered, he looked at the map to confirm that the enemy was indeed recapturing positions one by one that had been upied by the Western Front Army, and then he let out a sigh of relief. It indeed wasn''t arge-scale offensive. General Gorky Konstantinovich, walking in front, saluted Olga first. Wang Zhong hurried to follow suit. Olga, "There''s no need for such formalities from both of you. I called you here to seek your assessments of the situation. The enemy has counterattacked just now, before we couldunch an attack." General Golikov nced at Wang Zhong and gestured with a "you speak" motion. Without demurring, Wang Zhong picked up the nearly two-meter-long pole and began illustrating on the map, "The enemy''s counterattack has only reimed the positions they lost earlier, ''ttening out'' the entire frontline. This allows them to save troops for defending the line. "I specte that the enemy''s next move will be to have the troops that switched out begin to regroup and rest." Olga''s eyes widened, "So, this is not anotherrge-scale offensive?" Wang Zhong, "If it were arge-scale offensive, why bother capturing these insignificant positions? They would haveunched a pincer move, breaking through our defenses and cutting off our logistics, and we would have abandoned these ''canines'' at the front on our own. "But the enemy didn''tunch a pincer move; instead, they spread the counterattacking troops evenly along the line and initiated attacks at several ces. "No, no, Your Majesty, this is not arge-scale attack." Wang Zhong put down the two-meter pole and handed speaking rights over to General Golikov. The General continued, "Although it''s not arge-scale attack, if some of us panic and the troops start wavering, the enemy might well turn it into an offensive. The urgent task is to stabilize the troops, telling them this is not arge-scale enemy attack. "Then, let most of the troops build defensive fortifications and rest in ce to prepare for next year''s battles." Olga nodded, "Good, I understand. General Tugenev!" General Tugenev stood up, picking up themand in front of him, "The appointment of General Gorky Konstantinovich to rece the Commander of the Western Front Army is now in effect. He is to assume his post immediately and take swift action to stabilize both troop morale and the frontline." Gorky saluted, "I guarantee toplete the task." At this point, Wang Zhong was very curious. It made no sense to call both him and General Rokossovsky and only give a new post to General Golikov. Could it be that they want to shove me into the Western Front Army as the Chief of Staff? A Lieutenant General is indeed fit to be the Chief of Staff. That''s something I don''t want! I don''t want to turn into a baldy like Pavlov! Fortunately, General Tugenev continued, "Appointing Lieutenant General Aleksei Konstantinovich as the Tsar''s special envoy to inspect the Western Front Army and to discipline any ipetent officers." Wang Zhong frowned, knowing that they intended to use the reputation of the "White Horse General" to stabilize morale, but Wang Zhong, "Are you sure you want to give me this appointment? When I get to the Western Front Army headquarters, many people are going to be scared to death." Olga said with a smile, "That''s exactly the aim of this appointment. If they''re scared to death directly, the officers of the Aristocratic faction won''t be able toin. However, remember, for people like Tukhachev, let theme back first, and convict them with a procedure that meets with justice, not likest time when you just shot them." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows, "Understood." Olga urged, "Then you two should set off immediately. The situation at the Western Front Army isn''t looking good; even the Front Army headquarters is reporting significant wavering." Wang Zhong nodded his head. General Golikov, however, asked, "Are the two of us traveling on the same ne? It would be most effective for boosting morale if we appear together." Olga looked toward General Tugenev. The General answered, "Indeed, you have been arranged to travel on the same ne, with escort from the Mig-3 of the 11th Fighter Squadron." Marshal Boris, the Chief of Staff of the High Command, added, "You should leave now, the ne is already waiting at Ye Fort Airport. It willnd directly next to the Front Army headquarters'' makeshift airstrip, and from there you can immediately reach the Front Army headquarters." Wang Zhong and General Golikov responded in unison, "Understood." Then the two of them left the imperial meeting together. On their way out, General Golikov directly told the pce guards, "Call for me and Lieutenant General Rokossov''s aides; we are departing." The guardplied and left, while Wang Zhong and General Golikov stood chatting by the window in the corridor about the new appointments. "We must first make the troops understand that it''s not arge-scale attack and not to panic," General Golikov said. Wang Zhong, "First inform the entire Western Front Army that General Golikov and General Rokossovsky have arrived." General Golikov shook his head, "I don''t have as much influence as you do, just announce your arrival at the front. Speaking of which, I''ve reviewed your proposal to establish model divisions. I think such elite divisions would not be of much use in the kind ofrge-scale war we are currently engaged in. "Do you know how many casualties, disregarding the non-offensive Western Front Army, have been officially recorded along the entire frontline in the past few days?" Wang Zhong had long stopped having Vasily report casualty figures because he still couldn''t get used to those cold numbers. So he replied honestly, "I don''t know." General Golikov, "Six thousand five hundred men, those are the recorded casualties. That''s half a division gone. Not to mention the attacking Western Front Army." Wang Zhong, "That''s why I''ll be concentrating these elite divisions for use, deciding where they should be deployed personally." General Golikov pursed his lips, "Well then, I look forward to your performance." At this moment, the two aides arrived, and General Golikov waved his hand, "Let''s go, let''s see what''s going on at the Western Front Army. Can''t they really tell that the enemy isn''tunching arge-scale attack? Unbelievable!" Chapter 343: Chapter 28 Major General Rocossov on the Front Line Wang Zhong put down the microphone and looked at General Gorky, "All I can do right now is just that. Later, I will ride to the frontline and take a look around..." "No, no," General Gorky waved his hand, "If you run to the frontline, it will be tomorrow. It''s very far from here to the frontline." Wang Zhong''s brows furrowed slightly. Just then, a staff officer reattached the map to its ce, and he rushed over to find the location of the Front Army headquarters on the map. "It''s actually this far from the frontline!" he eximed, "How can I understand the situation at the frontline like this?" General Gorky said, "I have to make excuses for them here, theymand the troops of the entire campaign direction, and the Front Army''s line of defense is so long, it is understandable to be a bit far from the frontline. "You have always beenmanding at the division level, and during the counter-attack phase, youmanded only army-level units, so naturally, you would find fault with their distance from the frontline." Wang Zhong, "Then, how far was your headquarters in Saint Andrew Fort from the frontline?" "That''s different. Saint Andrew Fort was surrounded. My Front Army headquarters was in the city, and I had no control over the distance to the enemy." General Gorky spread his hands, "That''s not the same thing." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue in wonder, "I need to organize a lean inspection team and take a round at the frontline." General Gorky, "I''m afraid I can''t agree to that. No one knows if the enemy has infiltrated the rear areas now. When the frontline stabilizes, my Front Army headquarters will move forward, and you can advance with us." Of course, Wang Zhong wasn''t worried about infiltrating enemies; a two-kilometer highlight could easily reveal them. But he couldn''t use this reasoning outright. He couldn''t im it was the protection of Saint Andrew, could he? General Gorky continued, "Moreover, you see, the situation at the frontline is as we predicted, the enemy has no intention ofunching a major attack. "They have already started battles to recapture positions all along the entire frontline. Even if they want to organize arge-scale breakthrough now, they can''t organize it. "It''s not that dangerous. Your speech just now was sufficient to stabilize the troops'' morale." At this moment, the Chief of Staff for the Western Front Army reported, "We have assigned new targets to the troops that were originally prepared for the offensive. Should we let them act ording to the new orders?" General Gorky, "Good, let them engage in battle." The Chief of Staff began issuing orders. General Gorky looked at Wang Zhong, "You see, there''s nothing worth your personal visit to the frontline. If the enemy really breaks through, I will definitely ask you to rush to the frontline as soon as possible tomand the key position of the Army Group." Wang Zhong nodded, "Alright, with your assurance, I am relieved." "Come, sit down, we can continue discussing the topic from the ne, how to wage war next year. What I want to know is, will our army have any new weapons next year? My experience in the Saint Andrew Fort Army is, the KV is reliable, provided there is no long-distance maneuver, and the units equipped with T34s often achieve unsatisfactory results." Wang Zhong pulled over a stool to sit down, taking off his hat and cing it on the table, "The T34 has design ws." General Gorky also sat down, removing his hat to reveal a shining bald forehead. Wang Zhong saw the general''s forehead and began to wonder, do all Ante males start going bald with age? Of course, General Gorky still had some hair, but his hairline had receded significantly, almost catching up with Pavlov. Wang Zhong subconsciously touched his own thick hair, but he was not even thirty years old, at least 20 years younger than General Gorky. General Gorky, "Go on, what are the ws in the T34? As a cavalry officer, my understanding of tanks has always been about the same as that of our steeds beneath us." So Wang Zhong began to exin in detail the issues and ws of the T34 to General Gorky, talking for half an hour. During this process, steady good news came from the frontline, part of the wavering lines were re-stabilized. General Gorky clicked his tongue, "So the T34 has so many problems. I had thought that saving a crew member to allow the frontline to equip more T34s was a good thing. It seems I also made the error of dogmatism, I can''t apply the doctrines of cavalrymen to modernized troops." After speaking, the general raised his eyebrows, "Eh, then wouldn''t the T34W, which solved these problems, be even more worth mass-producing?" Wang Zhong, "The T34W takes too much time to produce, and its output can''t meet the demands of the troops. Our frontline loses tanks too quickly. If we could strengthen battlefield recovery and maintenance of tanks and reduce losses, the Ordnance Department could free up more capacity to produce the T34W model." General Gorky, "Indeed, the losses in thest six months have been too great. The Prussians have beaten us into retreat, and we can only first address the issue of whether we have tanks at all before considering anything else. Having tanks is better than none." Wang Zhong, "Exactly." Just then, amunication staff entered to report, "We have recaptured heights 451, 279, and others." Wang Zhong turned to look at the map, confirming the location of the two heights, "Not bad. Regaining these heights will allow us to direct artillery fire over the enemy''s controlled area. The enemy won''t even dare to lightmps at night, very good." General Gorky, "Tell the troops they''ve done very well, and they must hold their ground. The enemy''s counterattack shouldn''tst much longer." "Yes!" Themunication staff saluted and left. General Gorky looked at Wang Zhong, "You see, as I said, it''s a minor problem. The ne should have taken off. You stay here until tomorrow, then fly back." Just then, the telephone suddenly rang. The Front Army Chief of Staff answered the call, "Western Front Army headquarters. Who is this?" Suddenly, the Chief of Staff snapped to attention, tensing up, "Your Majesty, I salute you! General Rokossovsky? He''s here; I''ll get him for you." With that, the Chief of Staff handed over the phone receiver with the utmost respect to Wang Zhong, "Your Excellency General, His Majesty the Tsar is on the line." Wang Zhong picked up the receiver, "Your Majesty, I salute you." Olga, "Alyosha, what''s the situation at the frontline?" Wang Zhong, "No big deal, just as we assessed before we left, the enemy''s goal is not to break through. But someone got cold feet, nearly causing the entire army to copse. General Gorky has stabilized the frontline, and I will return to Ye Fort tomorrow." Olga, "Are you saying that General Tukhachev is the one who got cold feet?" "Yes. Who else could it be?" "I know," Olga said with an icy tone. "I will personally observe his trial to ensure he receives the punishment he deserves." Wang Zhong: "Your Majesty is wise." Olga: "Then I will wait for your return. See you tomorrow." With that, the call was ended on the other end. Wang Zhong frowned slightly. Was Olga''sst sentence a bit ambiguous? He handed the receiver back to the Chief of Staff and then noticed that everyone in themand post was looking at him. Wang Zhong with a stern face: "In the face of a great enemy, the Mother of Ante expects everyone to perform their duties!" Only then did everyone return to their work. Only General Gorky continued to look at Wang Zhong with a meaningful gaze. Wang Zhong: "What''s wrong?" "Nothing," the general shrugged his shoulders, "Let''s continue the topic we were on..." At that moment, themunications officer came in again: "We have recaptured the position northeast of Shostka, and now we can overlook the city of Shostka again." Wang Zhong: "Northeast... ah, that position, did we fail to recapture the nearby airport?" Themunications officer shook his head: "Not yet. In fact, we have never managed to take the airport. The terrain is too open, which suits the Prussian Army to deploy their firepower." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue. The firepower of the Ante Infantry Regiment is far inferior to that of the Prussian Infantry Regimentnot to mention, maybe the firepower of an entire Ante Infantry Division doesn''t match that of a single Prussian Infantry Regiment. The Prussian Infantry Regiment has a bunch of mortars and tube artillery, as well as 15cm caliber heavy infantry guns. The Ante side only has 152s at the divisional level of firepower units, and usually in small quantities. Having a battalion stuffed with 36 pieces of 152 artillery, like the Guards Motor Rifle, is quite rare in the entire Ante Army. General Gorky: "No need to rush for the airport. Just upy one corner to ensure the enemy cannot take off ornd nes. We have all the time in the world." Wang Zhong: "When attacking Shostka, we can refer to the enemy''s methods of attack, continuously using sappers to approach the city, and strive to push our attackunch positions to within fifty meters of the enemy." General Gorky: "I will send a sapper brigade there. Are you sure we can use sappers in that area?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, I''ve personally surveyed the terrain and soil around Shostka. The soil there is perfectly suited for sappers to approach. That''s also what the enemy did; otherwise, their casualties in Shostka wouldn''t be so low." General Gorkyughed heartily: "You are truly greedy, as if causing so many casualties to the enemy in Shostka wasn''t enough." Wang Zhong: "Of course, it''s not enough! We must make the Prussians bleed dry!" General Gorky: "Then, before you return to Ye Fort tomorrow, I will strive to make the Prussians bleed a bit more. Chief of Staff, is the artillery ammunition originally assigned for fire preparation still avable?" Chief of Staff: "Of course, it is." General Gorky: "Then open fire, target the enemy positions that haven''t been contested. Give them a good pounding to prevent them from moving these troops to support the contested positions!" "Yes." ------------- The next day, Wang Zhong returned to St. Ye Katerina Fortress. As soon as he got off the ne, he rushed to the Tribunal to observe Tukhachev''s trial. However, before he reached the main street where the Tribunal building was located, he ran into His Majesty the Tsar''s motorcade. Olga cracked open the car window and called out to Wang Zhong, "Alyosha, over here!" Not only did she call out, but she also stuck her hand out and waved. Wang Zhong hurriedly got out of his car and approached the Tsar''s vehicle, bending over to the window: "Your Majesty, may I assist you with anything?" "Get in and tell me about the situation at the front," Olga said as she scooted over to the other side of the seat and opened the car door. Wang Zhong could only make a gesture to his own convoy and then got into His Majesty the Tsar''s car. As soon as the door closed, Olga asked with a serious face, "Is everything really okay at the front? I only trust what you say; I believe you would never deceive me." Wang Zhong: "Rest assured, there isn''t a single problem at the front. Up until the time I boarded the ne, we hadpletely stabilized the position and even recaptured some key heights. The artillery of the Front Army caused heavy casualties to the enemy." Olga breathed a sigh of relief: "That''s a relief. Last night I had a nightmare. I dreamt that all the reassurances about the front line were lies, that the enemy had recaptured Karanskaya, and from Eternal Fortress, they bombarded the Summer Pce. In my dream, I was torn apart in an explosion." Wang Zhong: "That will not happen." Olga looked at Wang Zhong with a pitiful gaze: "If it were my brother, he would definitely hug me at a time like this." Wang Zhong: "No, you are not as fragile as that. You''re just pretending." After saying that, Wang Zhong flicked Olga''s forehead. "Ouch!" Olga cried out, "What''s wrong with pretending for a bit? There''s no one else in the car, and the curtains are drawn tight. Can''t you just let me be a little whiny?" "No," Wang Zhong said decisively. Chapter 342: Chapter 27 Playing Good Cop, Bad Cop Wang Zhong finished speaking and turned his head to the Judges who had arrived on the same ne, shouting, "Disarm him, arrest him!" The Judge promptly stepped forward to remove Tukhachev''s sidearm, then looked at Wang Zhong with an inquiring gaze, "Should I tear off his rank?" Wang Zhong red at Tukhachev fiercely, "His Majesty the Tsar expressly instructed me to ensure his return to Ye Fort to stand military trial. Therefore, until the trial, he remains a general. He will take the ne back to Ye Fort with us." Only then did the Judge withdraw his hand that had been ready to tear off the military rank, and took a step back, maintaining a defensive stance. Tukhachev stood up, looking at Wang Zhong, "You have no idea the difficulties we will face next year!" Wang Zhong, "Coward, the others who are proponents of a quick victory have some excuse, as they simply crave victory too much. You, however, pursue a quick win merely because you are afraid to confront the arduous war ahead!" Tukhachev raised his voice, "Win and then what? Do you know the sacrifices we''ll have to make?" "I know!" Wang Zhong replied with a resonant voice. "Unlike certain people who sitfortably at their desks reading documents, I have personally buried countless soldiers under mymand, and I still remember their names!" Wang Zhong paused, staring at Tukhachev''s face, "Imore than anyone, more than youwish that they were still alive! That is why I revise training materials and reform your unreasonable troop formations! But all this is based on the premise of resistance to the end!" Tukhachev and Wang Zhong locked eyes for a few seconds, until finally, Tukhachev lowered his proud head. He left themand headquarters with a heavy heart, his steps unsteady. The Judges immediately followed, escorting him on either side. Wang Zhong turned to look at General Gorky, taking a step back, signaling that it was Gorky''s turn to take the "tough stance." General Gorky immediately ordered, "Command all frontline units to repel the enemy''s offensive at all costs. Use the units that were originally nned for the assault as a reserve force, reinforcing wherever the enemy breakthrough is the strongest." Having said that, he looked around the entire headquarters and gestured grandly, "Bring back all the maps that haven''t been burned yet and restore the operations of the Front Army headquarters as soon as possible." At that moment, the former Chief of Staff of the Western Front Army stepped forward, "Your Excellency, the frontline troops are also wavering, and some of the units have already retreated." General Gorky, "Execute those leading the retreat, and reassign the remaining men to penal battalions. Stabilize the front lines as quickly as possible. If the enemy has not discovered it yet, there is still time." Wang Zhong, "Regarding that, I have a n. All we need is a high-powered radio set." General Gorky, "Are you nning to address the entire front line using the radio?" Wang Zhong smiled slightly, "Not just to our soldiers, but also to the enemy." General Gorky, raising an eyebrow, "Very much in the style of the ''little tricks'' from that booklet of yours. No harm in trying. Communications chief, bring the highest power radio set here!" Before long, a radio set, along with its generator, was brought in and the antenna erected. Wang Zhong said to themunications staff, "Cover the radio frequencies of the battlefield as much as possible." Themunications staff asked, "Including the frequencies used by the pilots?" The pilots relied on radiomunication to cover each other''s blind spots in vision; missing a single sentence could mean getting shot down by the enemy. Wang Zhong considered for a moment, then asked, "Can we cover only the enemy?" "We can, but the effect won''t be very good. In fact, we cannot guarantee that the front line will all be able to hear it. It may depend on the weather as well as the state of the receiving antennas." Wang Zhong, "Don''t worry, our first target is to ensure our own people hear it. Disturbing the enemy''s decision-making is a secondary goal." Themunications staff nodded, and afterpleting the final adjustments, handed the microphone to Wang Zhong, "Please speak, sir." Wang Zhong, "Soldiers of the Western Front Army, I am General Rokossovsky. I am at the headquarters of the Western Front Army, speaking to you on behalf of His Majesty the Tsar! New reinforcements will join the battle. You are to resist on the spot, you are to resist on the spot!" While speaking, he nced at General Gorky and continued into the microphone," The frightened Tukhachev has been dismissed, General Gorky is the new Commander of the Western Front Army! He will lead you to stop the enemy, just as at Saint Andrew Fort! Of course, I will also be with you!" Tank Battalion Commander Mikhail suddenly heard a powerful voiceing through the radio, "Soldiers of the Western Front Army, I am General Rokossovsky. I am at the headquarters of the Western Front Army, speaking to you on behalf of His Majesty the Tsar!" Mikhail immediately eximed with joy to the other crew members, "General Rokossovsky has arrived at the Front Army headquarters! He was sent by His Majesty the Tsar himself!" At that time, Mikhail''s battalion had not yet engaged in battle. They were supposed to set off at eight in the morning tounch an offensive against the enemy, but now with dense gunfireing from the front, no order to attack had been issued, and it was as if their tank battalion had been forgotten. He immediately popped the hatch and climbed out of the tank the tanks in this battalion were standard version T34s with a two-man turret, and the hatch was one piece, meaning when the hatch was opened, the tank was essentially half open-topped. This huge hatch is said to provide good cover for the tankmander using the periscope, but in reality, it provides not only cover but also blocks the line of sight. Moreover, opening the hatch makes it too easy for Prosen infantry to throw grenades, so T34manders always lock the hatch during battle, without any intention of using the periscope. Mikhail opened this huge hatch and shouted, "General Rokossovsky has arrived at the headquarters of the Western Front Army!" Everyone else in the camp was quite nervousthey didn''t know what was happening, and the sound of gunfire to the west was so dense that it was unnerving for anyone. The news that "Imperial Iron Wall," "Star of Victory" General Rokossovsky had arrived at the Front Army headquarters was like a shot in the arm, suddenly giving everyone much more confidence. Mikhail continued to listen with his hand over the headset and ryed thetest news to everyone, "And General Gorky Konstantinovich from the Saint Andrew Front Army has also arrived! He has taken over as themander of the Front Army!" Suddenly, the apanying infantry of the tank battalion grumbled in disappointment, "Why isn''t General Rokossovskymanding us?" Mikhail cursed, "General Rokossovsky has to write textbooks at the military academy; now he is here at the frontline as a special envoy of His Majesty the Tsar! Stop being unsatisfied!" Another tank operator asked, "Does the general have any orders for us?" Mikhail''s smile froze, "No, he just told us to hold our positions." The soldiers looked at each other bewildered, "The enemy? We haven''t seen any enemies at all?" "Aren''t we supposed to be attacking?" At the headquarters of the First Army of the Prosen Asgard Knight Order, themunication officer stumbled into themand post, "Your Excellency! Lord Giles! General White Horse has arrived at the Western Front Army headquarters!" Giles frowned; the map in front of him was filled with markers indicating sessful offensives, with retaken positions prominently marked. Just by looking at the map, Prosen seemed to be in a state of "all-round victory," but Giles had a tight furrow in his brow, "Rokossovsky is here? Wasn''t he stripped of his military power after failing in a political struggle?" Themunication officer replied, "He just broadcasted himself over the radio; I''ve recorded it!" With that, the officer gestured, and the sergeant who came in with him ced a tape recorder on the table. The officer pressed the switch, and the recorder started spinning its reels, a steady voice emanating from the speaker: "Soldiers of the Western Front Army, this is Major General Rokossovsky. I am at the headquarters of the Western Front Army, speaking to you on behalf of His Majesty the Tsar!" Giles''s frown deepened, "It is indeed Rokossovsky, the White Horse General. Why would hee to the front? And we justunched an attack, and he arrived immediately..." Suddenly, Giles stopped, his mouth agape, "Could it be that the Western Front Army misjudged our intentions and is panicking, preparing to retreat? Is Rokossovsky sent to stabilize the situation?" At that moment, the recording announced that General Golikov had be the Commander of the Western Front Army. Giles pped his thigh hard, "Ah! We missed the chance! The enemy was scared out of their wits by us! No, no, that''s wrong. Rokossovsky arrived so quickly; the enemy won''t copse, I overthought it." He shook his head, "I overthought it. The gap was too short. Feliz, get the..." Suddenly, Giles stopped because he remembered that Feliz was no longer alive; he had been killed by a cunning mine set by Rokossovsky. Giles''s expression became somewhat deste for a moment, but he immediately perked up, "Order the troops to be careful of cunning mines, Rokossovsky hase to the front, and he likes toy mines. Also, move themand post into sturdy shelters; Rokossovsky likes to y dirty. "Allmanders should try to avoid leaving their shelters during meals and sleep! Notify them immediately." Themunication officer immediately signaled the radio operators to carry out the instructions. Then he pointed at the tape recorder and asked, "What should we do with this recording?" Giles said, "Send it to the intelligence department for further verification that it is the White Horse General. Our battle objectives remain the same: recapture the positions lost since December, straighten the front line, and withdraw as many troops as possible for rest and reorganization." At the same time, General Walter Mendel''s Ninth Army Group headquarters was also ying General Rokossovsky''s speech. Mendel stroked his chin, "We didn''t really hurt the enemy, so why did two high-rankingmanders with actual battle achievements suddenly show up? Could it be we actually had the chance to crush the enemy in one fell swoop?" He thought for a moment and shook his head, "No, it''s not likely. Even if there was a chance, that window may have only been a few hours wide, and nobody could seize such a moment. Leave duels with the likes of Ante to the Asgard Knights. We just need to do our job." Turning, Mendel asked his Ninth Army Group Chief of Staff, "Have the Christmas supplies been sent up?" The Chief of Staff replied, "No. They''re all busy delivering scarce supplies like ammunition and fuel, there''s no room to send those." Mendel clicked his tongue, "Then there''s nothing we can do about it." Chapter 343: Chapter 28 Major General Rocossov on the Front Line Wang Zhong put down the microphone and looked at General Gorky, "All I can do right now is just that. Later, I will ride to the frontline and take a look around..." "No, no," General Gorky waved his hand, "If you run to the frontline, it will be tomorrow. It''s very far from here to the frontline." Wang Zhong''s brows furrowed slightly. Just then, a staff officer reattached the map to its ce, and he rushed over to find the location of the Front Army headquarters on the map. "It''s actually this far from the frontline!" he eximed, "How can I understand the situation at the frontline like this?" General Gorky said, "I have to make excuses for them here, theymand the troops of the entire campaign direction, and the Front Army''s line of defense is so long, it is understandable to be a bit far from the frontline. "You have always beenmanding at the division level, and during the counter-attack phase, youmanded only army-level units, so naturally, you would find fault with their distance from the frontline." Wang Zhong, "Then, how far was your headquarters in Saint Andrew Fort from the frontline?" "That''s different. Saint Andrew Fort was surrounded. My Front Army headquarters was in the city, and I had no control over the distance to the enemy." General Gorky spread his hands, "That''s not the same thing." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue in wonder, "I need to organize a lean inspection team and take a round at the frontline." General Gorky, "I''m afraid I can''t agree to that. No one knows if the enemy has infiltrated the rear areas now. When the frontline stabilizes, my Front Army headquarters will move forward, and you can advance with us." Of course, Wang Zhong wasn''t worried about infiltrating enemies; a two-kilometer highlight could easily reveal them. But he couldn''t use this reasoning outright. He couldn''t im it was the protection of Saint Andrew, could he? General Gorky continued, "Moreover, you see, the situation at the frontline is as we predicted, the enemy has no intention ofunching a major attack. "They have already started battles to recapture positions all along the entire frontline. Even if they want to organize arge-scale breakthrough now, they can''t organize it. "It''s not that dangerous. Your speech just now was sufficient to stabilize the troops'' morale." At this moment, the Chief of Staff for the Western Front Army reported, "We have assigned new targets to the troops that were originally prepared for the offensive. Should we let them act ording to the new orders?" General Gorky, "Good, let them engage in battle." The Chief of Staff began issuing orders. General Gorky looked at Wang Zhong, "You see, there''s nothing worth your personal visit to the frontline. If the enemy really breaks through, I will definitely ask you to rush to the frontline as soon as possible tomand the key position of the Army Group." Wang Zhong nodded, "Alright, with your assurance, I am relieved." "Come, sit down, we can continue discussing the topic from the ne, how to wage war next year. What I want to know is, will our army have any new weapons next year? My experience in the Saint Andrew Fort Army is, the KV is reliable, provided there is no long-distance maneuver, and the units equipped with T34s often achieve unsatisfactory results." Wang Zhong pulled over a stool to sit down, taking off his hat and cing it on the table, "The T34 has design ws." General Gorky also sat down, removing his hat to reveal a shining bald forehead. Wang Zhong saw the general''s forehead and began to wonder, do all Ante males start going bald with age? Of course, General Gorky still had some hair, but his hairline had receded significantly, almost catching up with Pavlov. Wang Zhong subconsciously touched his own thick hair, but he was not even thirty years old, at least 20 years younger than General Gorky. General Gorky, "Go on, what are the ws in the T34? As a cavalry officer, my understanding of tanks has always been about the same as that of our steeds beneath us." So Wang Zhong began to exin in detail the issues and ws of the T34 to General Gorky, talking for half an hour. During this process, steady good news came from the frontline, part of the wavering lines were re-stabilized. General Gorky clicked his tongue, "So the T34 has so many problems. I had thought that saving a crew member to allow the frontline to equip more T34s was a good thing. It seems I also made the error of dogmatism, I can''t apply the doctrines of cavalrymen to modernized troops." After speaking, the general raised his eyebrows, "Eh, then wouldn''t the T34W, which solved these problems, be even more worth mass-producing?" Wang Zhong, "The T34W takes too much time to produce, and its output can''t meet the demands of the troops. Our frontline loses tanks too quickly. If we could strengthen battlefield recovery and maintenance of tanks and reduce losses, the Ordnance Department could free up more capacity to produce the T34W model." General Gorky, "Indeed, the losses in thest six months have been too great. The Prussians have beaten us into retreat, and we can only first address the issue of whether we have tanks at all before considering anything else. Having tanks is better than none." Wang Zhong, "Exactly." Just then, amunication staff entered to report, "We have recaptured heights 451, 279, and others." Wang Zhong turned to look at the map, confirming the location of the two heights, "Not bad. Regaining these heights will allow us to direct artillery fire over the enemy''s controlled area. The enemy won''t even dare to lightmps at night, very good." General Gorky, "Tell the troops they''ve done very well, and they must hold their ground. The enemy''s counterattack shouldn''tst much longer." "Yes!" Themunication staff saluted and left. General Gorky looked at Wang Zhong, "You see, as I said, it''s a minor problem. The ne should have taken off. You stay here until tomorrow, then fly back." Just then, the telephone suddenly rang. The Front Army Chief of Staff answered the call, "Western Front Army headquarters. Who is this?" Suddenly, the Chief of Staff snapped to attention, tensing up, "Your Majesty, I salute you! General Rokossovsky? He''s here; I''ll get him for you." With that, the Chief of Staff handed over the phone receiver with the utmost respect to Wang Zhong, "Your Excellency General, His Majesty the Tsar is on the line." Wang Zhong picked up the receiver, "Your Majesty, I salute you." Olga, "Alyosha, what''s the situation at the frontline?" Wang Zhong, "No big deal, just as we assessed before we left, the enemy''s goal is not to break through. But someone got cold feet, nearly causing the entire army to copse. General Gorky has stabilized the frontline, and I will return to Ye Fort tomorrow." Olga, "Are you saying that General Tukhachev is the one who got cold feet?" "Yes. Who else could it be?" "I know," Olga said with an icy tone. "I will personally observe his trial to ensure he receives the punishment he deserves." Wang Zhong: "Your Majesty is wise." Olga: "Then I will wait for your return. See you tomorrow." With that, the call was ended on the other end. Wang Zhong frowned slightly. Was Olga''sst sentence a bit ambiguous? He handed the receiver back to the Chief of Staff and then noticed that everyone in themand post was looking at him. Wang Zhong with a stern face: "In the face of a great enemy, the Mother of Ante expects everyone to perform their duties!" Only then did everyone return to their work. Only General Gorky continued to look at Wang Zhong with a meaningful gaze. Wang Zhong: "What''s wrong?" "Nothing," the general shrugged his shoulders, "Let''s continue the topic we were on..." At that moment, themunications officer came in again: "We have recaptured the position northeast of Shostka, and now we can overlook the city of Shostka again." Wang Zhong: "Northeast... ah, that position, did we fail to recapture the nearby airport?" Themunications officer shook his head: "Not yet. In fact, we have never managed to take the airport. The terrain is too open, which suits the Prussian Army to deploy their firepower." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue. The firepower of the Ante Infantry Regiment is far inferior to that of the Prussian Infantry Regimentnot to mention, maybe the firepower of an entire Ante Infantry Division doesn''t match that of a single Prussian Infantry Regiment. The Prussian Infantry Regiment has a bunch of mortars and tube artillery, as well as 15cm caliber heavy infantry guns. The Ante side only has 152s at the divisional level of firepower units, and usually in small quantities. Having a battalion stuffed with 36 pieces of 152 artillery, like the Guards Motor Rifle, is quite rare in the entire Ante Army. General Gorky: "No need to rush for the airport. Just upy one corner to ensure the enemy cannot take off ornd nes. We have all the time in the world." Wang Zhong: "When attacking Shostka, we can refer to the enemy''s methods of attack, continuously using sappers to approach the city, and strive to push our attackunch positions to within fifty meters of the enemy." General Gorky: "I will send a sapper brigade there. Are you sure we can use sappers in that area?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, I''ve personally surveyed the terrain and soil around Shostka. The soil there is perfectly suited for sappers to approach. That''s also what the enemy did; otherwise, their casualties in Shostka wouldn''t be so low." General Gorkyughed heartily: "You are truly greedy, as if causing so many casualties to the enemy in Shostka wasn''t enough." Wang Zhong: "Of course, it''s not enough! We must make the Prussians bleed dry!" General Gorky: "Then, before you return to Ye Fort tomorrow, I will strive to make the Prussians bleed a bit more. Chief of Staff, is the artillery ammunition originally assigned for fire preparation still avable?" Chief of Staff: "Of course, it is." General Gorky: "Then open fire, target the enemy positions that haven''t been contested. Give them a good pounding to prevent them from moving these troops to support the contested positions!" "Yes." ------------- The next day, Wang Zhong returned to St. Ye Katerina Fortress. As soon as he got off the ne, he rushed to the Tribunal to observe Tukhachev''s trial. However, before he reached the main street where the Tribunal building was located, he ran into His Majesty the Tsar''s motorcade. Olga cracked open the car window and called out to Wang Zhong, "Alyosha, over here!" Not only did she call out, but she also stuck her hand out and waved. Wang Zhong hurriedly got out of his car and approached the Tsar''s vehicle, bending over to the window: "Your Majesty, may I assist you with anything?" "Get in and tell me about the situation at the front," Olga said as she scooted over to the other side of the seat and opened the car door. Wang Zhong could only make a gesture to his own convoy and then got into His Majesty the Tsar''s car. As soon as the door closed, Olga asked with a serious face, "Is everything really okay at the front? I only trust what you say; I believe you would never deceive me." Wang Zhong: "Rest assured, there isn''t a single problem at the front. Up until the time I boarded the ne, we hadpletely stabilized the position and even recaptured some key heights. The artillery of the Front Army caused heavy casualties to the enemy." Olga breathed a sigh of relief: "That''s a relief. Last night I had a nightmare. I dreamt that all the reassurances about the front line were lies, that the enemy had recaptured Karanskaya, and from Eternal Fortress, they bombarded the Summer Pce. In my dream, I was torn apart in an explosion." Wang Zhong: "That will not happen." Olga looked at Wang Zhong with a pitiful gaze: "If it were my brother, he would definitely hug me at a time like this." Wang Zhong: "No, you are not as fragile as that. You''re just pretending." After saying that, Wang Zhong flicked Olga''s forehead. "Ouch!" Olga cried out, "What''s wrong with pretending for a bit? There''s no one else in the car, and the curtains are drawn tight. Can''t you just let me be a little whiny?" "No," Wang Zhong said decisively. Chapter 344: Chapter 29 The Heinous Crime (Additional update 28/33) The convoy soon arrived at the Tribunal building. When the car stopped, Wang Zhong said to Olga, "I know you want to get close, but now you are the Tsar, and this is a formal asion, you need to be dignified and proper." Olga nodded her head, "I know." Wang Zhong stared at her for a few seconds, then cautioned again, "The incident at the train station where you kissed me forcefully cannot happen again!" "Alright," Olga nodded solemnly. Only then did Wang Zhong open the door and get out of the car, straightening his clothes before walking to the other side of the car, opening the door and extending his hand. Olga gracefully took his hand and alighted from the car withposure. Worried that Olga might immediately fling her arm around him, Wang Zhong quickly stepped back as soon as she let go of his hand. Olga just nced at him and then, maintaining her elegantly poised posture, walked forward with her head held high. Wang Zhong hurried to follow behind her. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind: Isn''t this the position in which the head eunuch stands in those Qing Dynasty dramas? The one in front is Empress Dowager Cixi, and I am Li Lianying... "Rebirth: I Am Li Lianying in Ante"? Wang Zhong quickly checked to affirm that his "little brother" was still present. Scared me. The Tribunal had dispatched a high-ranking Archbishop to wee His Majesty the Tsar, but seeing Wang Zhong as well seemed to cause some confusion. After paying respects to His Majesty the Tsar, the Archbishop nced at Wang Zhong and said, "Your Majesty, if General Rokossovsky were also to be here, we should be informed in advance." Olga countered, "Do I need to report to you when my foster brother apanies me?" The Archbishop replied, "But General Rokossovsky mightter be summoned as a witness." Olga retorted, "Then summon him. My box isn''t without a direct passage to the courtroom." "You are correct. I will inform the chief judge to adjust the court proceedings. This way please, Your Majesty." And so, Wang Zhong and Olga were led to the royal family''s private box. Whenever the Tribunal tried criminals the royal family could not face directly, His Majesty the Tsar could witness the process from this box. The view from the box was excellent, capturing the entire courtroom in one nce. Standing at the window, Wang Zhong saw that more than half the seats for the jury were filled with generals, each wearing a serious expression. Originally seated, Olga stood up upon seeing Wang Zhong and began to identify the jury members, pointing out their affiliations. "That''s General Andrei Stepanovich from the quick victory faction, that one is General Gogol from the centrist faction, close with General Tugenev. There is also General Pushkin who has publicly stated his support for your theories..." Wang Zhong interrupted, "Your Majesty, don''t get too close." Olga insisted, "This way you can clearly see who I am pointing at! And that is General Chernishevsky, who also opposes the quick victory theory..." Wang Zhong understood that those with names of literary masters were "one of their own" who opposed the quick victory theory. Thinking back, he recalled that General Tugenev and Colonel Chekhov, whom he had encountered before, were both decent and reliable individuals. He wondered if it was coincidence or the will of the great universe. Just as Olga finished her introductions, Tukhachev was escorted into the courtroom by two judges. He looked much older and was shrouded in an aura of defeat. Olga, watching Tukhachev, suddenly said, "Seeing him like this, I actually feel a bit sorry for him." Wang Zhong cautioned, "Don''t feel sorry for him! Remember the soldiers who died miserably before the Prosen strong defenses because of his rash advance." "Mm-hmm." Olga nodded emphatically. At that moment, the trial was ready to begin. The Archbishop who had greeted Olga entered the box, "Your Majesty, the trial is ready tomence. May we begin?" Olga agreed, "We may." The Archbishop nced at Wang Zhong and inquired, "When the judge calls for General Rokossovsky to testify, shall he leave the box through the passage to enter the courtroom, or shall we use mechanical equipment to open the window of the box? That way, General Rokossovsky can testify from within the box." Without waiting for Olga to respond, Wang Zhong spoke, "Of course, testimony should be given from the witness stand. Testifying from within His Majesty the Tsar''s box would seem to be pressuring by authority. General Tukhachev deserves his punishment; it''s not because he fell out of favor that he is trapped in prison." The Archbishop bowed respectfully, "Then, when it is time to summon you, a judge wille to escort you. I shall not disturb you both any longer." Exiting the box, the Archbishop left Wang Zhong to discover that it was just he and Olga in the room. Olga also looked around and then spoke, "Alyosha, I am thinking..." "No," Wang Zhong interrupted her, "Whatever you''re thinking, it''s not happening. Sit down properly and listen." Olga sat down sulkily. That''s when the chief judge picked up the gavel and banged it down, silencing the courtroom. The members of the jury who had been chatting, as well as the audience in the spectator seats, all stopped talking and looked towards the judge. The judge dered, "Today we will try the case of General Tukhachev''s hasty actions leading to severe losses for our forces." The entire hall maintained its silence. "First item of business, I ask the jury members and all presiding officials to swear on Saint Andrew." As soon as the words were spoken, a stand rose before each jury member with a thick book on top, presumably the scripture of Saint Andrew. Everyone stood, left hand on the Scripture. The choir began to chant, and everyone''s expression was solemn. Wang Zhong nced at Olga and noticed that Tsar was staring straight at him, not caring about anything else. After catching his eye, Olga even gave a slight smile. After the simple ceremony ended, the Judge continued, "The second part, please, General Tukhachev, take the oath." Tukhachev did not have the luxury of a mechanically raised Scripture; the Tribunal guard took out a copy of the Scripture, grabbed his hand, ced it on the book, and began the oath. Once this process waspleted, the Judge announced that the trial had officially begun. "General Tukhachev, on the left slide, are the casualty numbers after youmanded the Western Front Army tounch a counter-offensive. Do you acknowledge this number?" the Judge asked. Tukhachev looked at the slide, "I acknowledge it, generally. But..." "You must request permission before you speak!" Tukhachev: "I request permission to speak!" Judge: "You may speak." Tukhachev: "War means casualties. Even General Rokossov''s troops suffered many losses, didn''t they? The Third Rear Amur Group he brought out from Ronied was theoretically supposed to have 2500batants. How many were left when they reached Loktov? "Isn''t he still honoured as the Empire''s Iron Wall?" Wang Zhong heard Olga angrily retort beside him, "And didn''t you see Alyosha facing an enemy many times greater than his own forces?" "Your Majesty." Wang Zhong had just started speaking when Olga spoke discontentedly, "What, I can''t even make a fair statement now?" "No, I am just grateful for Your Majesty''s understanding." "Hmph." Below in the Tribunal, Tukhachev continued, "At Saint Andrew Fort, General Golikov''s units also suffered significant losses, yet the High Command stillmended him. Now you want to shoot me for my greater losses? This is unfair!" Wang Zhong turned to the jury box and saw many frowning. Clearly, Tukhachev''s defense was dissatisfying to the military members of the jury. Judge: "Have you finished speaking?" "I have finished." Tukhachev answered, regaining a bit of his former Chief of General Staff''s authority. Judge: "Before you attacked the Prussians'' fortified positions stretching from Bokost to Shostka, someone warned you that attacking this line of defense would result in substantial casualties, which you dismissed. Did this happen?" Tukhachev: "Attacking well-fortified positions naturally involves severe casualties; that cannot be the reason..." The Judge banged his gavel forcefully, "Silence! You may only answer ''yes'' or ''no'' without permission!" Tukhachev: "Yes. I wish to defend myself!" Judge: "Permission granted." Tukhachev: "Attacking enemy fortified positions inherently results in heavy casualties. To see the enemy defenses and not attack would be an act of cowardice!" Wang Zhong stood up and said to Olga, "I''m going to confront this guy in court." Olga: "You mean to stride right into the Tribunal? You might as well break through the ss. Ouch!" Wang Zhong flicked Olga''s forehead lightly, then turned and left the box, asking the Tribunal guard and the Royal Guard stationed outside the box door, "How do I enter the Tribunal?" Just then, two guards happened to pass by the corridor and hurriedly said upon seeing Wang Zhong, "You''vee out so early;e with me!" Wang Zhong followed the two guards around to the side door of the courtroom. "Please wait a moment for the Judge" Wang Zhong pushed open the door in front of him. Because he used too much force, the door mmed against the wall and bounced back, only to be stopped by Wang Zhong''s hand. Tukhachev, who had been speaking passionately, was stunned when he saw Wang Zhong. Judge: "General Rokossov, it''s not your turn to testify yet. You seem to be showing contempt for this court." Wang Zhong: "I have no intention of showing contempt for the Tribunal; after all, you represent the vast congregation of Ante to judge the sinners. I''m here because I can''t tolerate Tukhachev''s tant lies. I request His Honour to grant me an opportunity to confront him!" The Judge nodded, "Permission granted. Please take the witness stand." The two guards opened the wooden barrier to the witness stand. Wang Zhong took two steps at a time to rush in, and before the guard could close the door, he berated, "Tukhachev! You miserable bastard! You have the audacity to say attacking fortified positions necessarily results in casualties, yes, indeed attacking fortified areas does lead to casualties, but look at your actions, is that all there is to it? "You ignored the state of your troops'' supplies and militarymon sense! Normally, attacking solid fortified positions requires several times more soldiers than the enemy has. What about you? "I know the facts. After ten days of advancing, including the First Assault Army Group, all the troops were weary, and a significant number of tanks were in need of repair. The whole First Assault Army Group had only a fewbat-ready T34s! "The situation was equally dire for the infantry troops; continuous advancement had left all infantry units exhausted. These newly formed units were untrained and unfamiliar with their officers. During the pursuit, many fell behind. "You disregarded all this, demanding a quick advance, and as a result, you collided head-on with the enemy''s carefully constructed defenses! In some sections, the ratio of enemy to our forces was even lower than 1:1! Countless soldiers were needlessly sacrificed!" Pointing at Tukhachev, Wang Zhong roared, "All this, to satisfy your pitiful vanity! All because you wanted me to kiss your boots! You are a great sinner!" Chapter 345: Chapter 30 Deciding Superiority and Life or Death Wang Zhong stared at General Tukhachev. At first, Tukhachev seemed like a rabbit under the gaze of an eagle, but he probably had a sudden realization that if he was going to die either way, he might as well put on a fearless front. He stood tall and faced Wang Zhong, "I always thought that I was the person in the Ante Army who understood modern warfare the most. I was the one who demanded the formation of armored troops, I was the one who demanded expansion of the army..." Wang Zhong, "You still have the nerve to mention expanding the army? Do those watered-down Armored Divisions you came up with serve any purpose other than being target practice for the ace tank operators of the Prussians? "Your understanding of modern warfare is merely superficial! You haven''t even grasped the key aspects of modern warfare! No, you are utterly clueless!" Just as Tukhachev''s face was showing resignation, anger surged within him the moment Wang Zhong said he had no clue about modern warfare. Fueled by anger, it seemed as if the defeat and the humiliation no longer mattered; he just wanted to argue with Wang Zhong on an academic level! Tukhachev, "Then exin, where is it that I''ve failed to understand?" Wang Zhong, "You''ve failed to understand everything! There are indeed those within the entire Ante Army who truly understand modern warfare, but you are certainly not one of them! Neither is that traitor, General Skorobo!" Tukhachev, "The key to modern warfare is breakthrough, deep pration of the enemy''s defense lines and encircling and annihting them in maneuver warfare! Is there a problem with this understanding?" Wang Zhong, "That''s just the superficial aspect! You have not grasped the truly powerful elements of the Prussian army!" Tukhachev, holding his head high, "Then enlighten me, the 41st headmaster of the Suvorov Military Academy! I, as the 38th headmaster, am challenging you!" Wang Zhong didn''t even know that Tukhachev had once been his "predecessor." Thinking it over, this armchair strategist attitude might very well have been cultivated through teaching. Just like some perpetual motion machine expert who speaks with great authority. If it had been Wang Zhong shortly after he had initially crossed over, he might have cowered, as back in his original world he was just an ordinary university graduate who would nod and bow in front of his newly appointed associate professor thesis advisor. Now, however, things were different. He was Rocossov returned from hell. The military theory books which he once read as an enthusiast had now been transformed into an understanding of warfare. The theories, like top-quality steel, had been refined and summarized by so many military theorists, then forged countless times by death wielding a massive hammer called "sacrifice" in the fiery crucible of war, finally casting them into a treasured sword. Wielding that sharp sword, why would Wang Zhong be afraid of a paper tiger! Wang Zhong, "Let me tell you what truly makes the Prussians powerful. Do you think their strength lies in their tanks? No, during the battle of Mnia, most of their tank divisions were equipped with Type 1 and Type 2 tanks, which are on the same level as our BT tanks! No, our BT tanks were even stronger as they had a 45mm cannon. "But the Prussians executed a blitzkrieg. This is apletely different kind of warfare from the past. Their troops suddenly broke through to the depths of the enemy lines, turning the logistics andmand centers into chaos. "Was this feat aplished by tanks alone? Was it only achieved by tanks?" Tukhachev sneered contemptuously, "Then tell me what was it? Your series of rhetorical questions can''t hide the fact that you actually haven''t said anything!" Wang Zhong, "I''m getting there! The enemy relied on three things." He raised three fingers and looked around the whole courtroom, deliberately ignoring Olga who had purposely opened the one-way ss overlooking the venue. "First, advances inmunication technology. More powerful and portable radios, as well as widely equipped wireless sets, allowed the Prussian battle headquarters to have a clearer understanding of the frontline situation. "If the Prussianmanders wished, they could evenmunicate directly with amand vehicle on the front line! The innovation in radio technology enabled distributed Prussian forces on the battlefield to coordinate like living cells! "Second,prehensivebined arms cooperation. The coordination between different arms of service in Prussian units is far better than ours. Their Armored Divisions have many support units, with the firepower of their apanying infantry battalions even exceeding that of our Infantry Divisions! "Additionally, they have Air Force support. The Stuka bombers hit targets ording to instructions from ground troops, even coordinating with ground tanks marking targets with smoke for the Air Force to bomb! "Our Air Force can only rely on their own reconnaissance, as most ground unitsck radios. "Third, the superior quality of their troops. I felt this especially clearly whenmanding the Naval Infantry. "A significant portion of the Naval Infantry were high-school students. They knew what they were fighting for, what needed to be done, and what their tactical objectives were. Even if they temporarily lost contact with superiors, the Naval Infantry maintained a high initiative. "And at least the Prussian army''s nonmissioned officers at the grassroots level have a simr initiative. A sergeant couldmand abat team and contend with us! "During the skirmishes with the Prussian forces, this was particrly apparent; as long as they still had a nonmissioned officer alive, they could keep their fighting spirit! "My troops were able to hold their ground in closebat against the Prussians under such a huge disadvantage in Loktov because the core strength of my troops was made up of military academy students." Wang Zhong paused, mainly because saying so much in one breath made him a little thirsty. He said to someone at the side, "Water!" The Judge immediately handed Wang Zhong a bottle of Coke. Wang Zhong finished his drink before realizing he might have gotten it wrong: It was General Golikov who liked c. Oh well, it doesn''t matter anymore. Tukhachev had a pensive look, unexpectedly abstaining from defending himself while Wang Zhong was drinking. He was clearly contemting Wang Zhong''s wordshe was truly contemting them. Unable to resist teasing, Wang Zhong said, "Now you start to think about what I''m saying? Toote! Just like what happened to General Skorobo, toote!" Tukhachev pursed his lips and did not retort. Wang Zhong continued, "And look at what you''ve done. Was it under your authorization that radios were only provided to leader''s vehicles?" Tukhachev: "It wasn''t me... but I do want to quibble a bit here. Our radio production was too low, and the vacuum tube factories are in Saint Andrew Fort because our best universities are there..." Wang Zhong: "Then why didn''t you reduce the output to a quarter? In the first eighteen days of the war, we lost eighteen thousand tanks, while the enemymitted only four thousand tanks to the attack! What''s the use of such an unwieldy tank force? "You saw the Prussian sess in Mnia and Carolingian and expanded our original 18 tank divisions to 96! The result was these divisions had absolutely no support units, not enough radios or wireless equipment! "The expansion of the army alsopromised the quality of the personnel, and it affected other arms as well. A tank operator needs at least a tenth-grade education, and there are only so many graduates each year! "Because all the tenth-grade graduates were crammed into tank divisions, there weren''t enough personnel for other technical arms. And the infantrypitifulmore than half of them only attended church-run Sunday schools. "So it wasn''t just the tank divisions that disappeared like bubbles, the infantry units did too! You''ve wreaked havoc for generations!" Wang Zhong paused, ring at Tukhachev. He knew he should give an example now, but he couldn''t recall a specific instance, only that in exchanges with surviving tank division officers he heard about extravagant tank divisions being annihted by enemy infantry divisions. Unable to remember the specifics, he could only say, "Some tank divisions, even though they had advanced T34s and KVs, were devoured by enemy infantry divisions! All because inexperiencedmanders mistook the enemy''s infantry division''s assault guns for tanks and halted to fire. "As a result, they were surrounded by enemy infantry troops. That division''s apanying infantry consisted of only one battalion! And they were far outgunned, with a total of only four infantry guns. "Once the apanying infantry was routed, the tanks were easy prey for the infantry. A tank division was defeated by an infantry division in the open! Disgraceful!" After Wang Zhong finished, Tugenev interjected, "That should be the 27th Tank Division. Indeed, this division had only one battalion of apanying infantry and no apanying artillery, engineers, anti-tank, or anti-air units, with just a cavalry battalion for reconnaissance." Bolstered by the information from Tugenev, Wang Zhong''s arrogance intensified, "Hear that? It was your blind expansion of the army that doomed them!" Tukhachev hung his head. Suddenly he said, "Yes, perhaps you have a point." Wang Zhong: "Perhaps? Are you still being stubborn at this point?" Tukhachev: "No, I say ''perhaps'' because the performance of yourbined arms division is still uncertain, isn''t it? The number of auxiliary units you n for your mobile forces is unprecedented. Do you realize that the support troops you''re asking for are the equivalent of several army groups? "If such elite forces suffer severe losses, how will you exin to His Majesty the Tsar?" Wang Zhong: "My troops need not answer to the Tsar, only to the Ante mothend." Tukhachev: "What if such forces are decimated, how will you exin to the Ante mothend?" Wang Zhong ced his hands on the railing of the witness stand, leaning forward, looking at Tukhachev, "When the timees, I will take responsibility, just like you." Tukhachev hesitated, then sighed, "Then I''ll wait and seealthough I''d like to say that, but I can''t see iting to fruition. Major General Rocossov, your words have convinced me. I''ve always wondered why our troops were cut through like butter by the enemy. "I hope your troops can withstand the Prussian onught." Wang Zhong: "They will." Tukhachev stared at Wang Zhong for a long time, so long that the presiding judge was about to remind him, before he finally said, "I''ve been mistaken about you, just as I was about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Then he turned to the judge: "Your Honor, I am ready to ept responsibility for my mistakes." Wang Zhong: "You''re not going to argue anymore?" "The facts are before me, I have no choice but to acknowledge them." The judge looked toward the jury box: "Does the jury wish to make a statement?" The current Chief of General Staff, Marshal Boris, said, "There''s nothing more to say. The speech of Major General Rocossov was very enlightening. If it had been put forth before the war... no matter, never mind." The judge looked again at His Majesty the Tsar, who was listening by the window, and after confirming her nod, said, "General Tukhachev, your incorrect military direction has caused great losses to the Ante Empire''s army, as well as to the Ante mothend. This court sentences you to death!" The judge lifted the gavel and mmed it down hard. Chapter 346: Chapter 31 From Rivers to Oceans, Europa Shall Be Liberated Wang Zhong sighed with relief, as if he hadpleted a phased task, and was about to pick up his half-finished c when Tukhachev suddenly said, "Judge, I have a request." The presiding judge said, "Speak, after all, you are not a traitor, and we will meet reasonable requests." It was a reminder to Tukhachev: take it if you''re called ipetent, don''t push me to change the sentence to treason, that would mean ying Russian roulette with your whole familythough His Majesty the Tsar who gave that order is already dead, the order hasn''t been rescinded. Wang Zhong also stopped, curious about what Tukhachev was up to. As a result, Tukhachev looked towards him, and the two men locked eyes. Tukhachev: "Since it''s the death penalty, I hope it can be personally executed by General Rocossov. General Skorobo and I were ssmates, and when I was the head of the Suvorov Military Academy, he was the dean of academic affairs. "We personally signed our names under his dismal report card that year." Wang Zhong frowned slightly. What, you want to add some ceremony to it? Tukhachev: "Looking back now, his poor performance back then was only because he could not agree with our erroneous military thinking. He should personally put an end to this mistake." Indeed, upon victory, countless sages would argue for me. However, to be honest, Wang Zhong didn''t harbor such direct hatred towards Tukhachev. General Skorobo''s actions were equivalent to directly causing the death of his good brothers and kind old father, and Wang Zhong himself almost didn''t get away. His meticulously assembled troops were decimated by half in the encirclement. Seeing him return, Wang Zhong was furious; he was so provoked that he almost drew his gun on the spot. But Tukhachev, the anger that should have been vented had already been released at the Front Army headquarters. At that time, Wang Zhong nearly turned him into a spinning top with a ponly because he was rather heavy, he didn''t end up spinning. If it were Vasily with his slender build, he would have started spinning already; he might even have taken off spinning into the air. So now, Wang Zhong actually didn''t harbor such great resentment to execute Tukhachev by firing squad. But since the other party requested it... The presiding judge looked at Wang Zhong, seeking his opinion. Wang Zhong said, "Since you''ve made such a request, I can only agree to it." Tukhachev looked straight at Wang Zhong: "I know you once said at the military academy that if I broke through the defense line, you woulde and kiss my boots. I really did fantasize about that scene. Now I should be kissing your boots, but please allow me to maintain myst shred of dignity." Wang Zhong: "Dignity? Go down there and talk to those fallen Ante soldiers, to those tank operators who died in their burning tanks about dignity, and see if they grant it to you!" Tukhachev: "I will." Seeing that the two had no intention to continue their dialogue, the presiding judge knocked the gavel once more, "The execution will take ce tomorrow morning, at the execution ground..." At this moment, a bishop-ranked Judge whispered a few words in the ear of the presiding judge. Thus the presiding judge looked at Wang Zhong, "His Majesty the Tsar and His Eminence Belinsky have specially authorized that the execution be held at the Suvorov Military Academy''s shooting range." Wang Zhong looked up to the Tsar''s seat by the windows above the tribunal. Belinsky was standing behind Olga, and upon noticing Wang Zhong''s gaze, he nodded faintly. Well, this is to confirm my influence over the military by executing Tukhachev. The roots of the Aristocratic faction in the military will be destroyed by at least half. The presiding judge said to Wang Zhong," The trial of General Tukhachev is concluded, and the trials of other officers of the Western Front Army who made mistakes during the offensive will take ce when their units rotate out for rest and recuperation. "That said, court is adjourned!" After delivering his words, the presiding judge knocked the gavel forcefully, prompting the crowd to stand up and wait for the judge to leave. Well, the Western Front Army now hosts a bunch of the quick-victory faction and the Aristocratic faction; Belinsky couldn''t wait to purge them all. With such a tremendous defeat, the centrists within the Empire''s military couldn''t say much either. Wang Zhong looked at General Tugenev in the jury boxTugenev, in his recollection, was a representative of the centralist faction. Although he was only a general, he had long been in charge of the key position of head of the Military Orders Department, with high prestige, and could now give direct counsel to His Majesty the Tsar, might even wield more influence than Field Marshal Boris, the Chief of General Staff. General Tugenev also looked at Wang Zhong, and at this time, since the presiding judge had left the room, the jurors also left their seats to start chatting in groupsGeneral Gogol and Major General Pushkin both approached Tugenev. Wang Zhong thought, well, I seem to have the wide support of Russia''s literary world! Meanwhile, not knowing what Tugenev said, Gogol and Pushkin both looked at Wang Zhong, all three of them nodding. It seems that the centrists had their strategy figured out. Just then, the tribunal bailiff said to Wang Zhong, "General Rocossov, you may leave the bench now." Wang Zhong nodded, then remembered not to forget to finish his c. December 18, Saint Ye Katerina Fortress, Suvorov Military Academy''s shooting range. Although the sun was very low in the sky, it was indeed a fine day, clear and cloudless. It was still bitterly cold, though; Wang Zhong had even thought about taking Nelly and her overcoat with him when he went out, to keep himself warm. He wondered if she would, like some perfect and suave maid, employ a time-stopping skill if he really did so. All the students of the Suvorov Military Academy had assembled at the shooting range, forming more than a dozen neat ranks. The officers who came to undertake theoretical learning of the frontline were much less disciplined; although they maintained military posture, they did not adhere to the strict discipline of formation like the students, with many chatting among themselves. But when Wang Zhong ascended the temporary viewing stand, everyone fell silentyou could literally hear the buzzinging to a sudden halt from the officers'' ranks. Wang Zhong: "Attention, all ranks!" Apanied by the uniform sound of heels clicking together, everyone''s gaze was fixed firmly on Wang Zhong. He looked towards the viewing stand, making sure that His Majesty the Tsar, Grand Patriarch Belinsky, and all the senior military officials had taken their seats, before looking back at the rows of students. It''s time for a speech again; I feel like I''m always giving speeches this month. Butpared to the speech newbie I was before, who would stutter and have to pull together bits and pieces from here and there, I am now an old hand. I can even step up to speak with just notes in my head! Thinking thus, Wang Zhong walked up to the microphone, "Today, we gather here to thoroughly settle the military blunders of the 38th principal. In theing months, I predict a period of calm on the battlefield,sting three to four months. The enemy likely won''tunch anyrge-scale offensives before May of 915. We will use this chance to conduct small-scale military reform trials." On Earth, the Soviets also reformed while at warmainly because they had to, as their old troop formations had been nearly wiped out. When new troops were raised, reforms were implemented in the process. At Kursk, the Soviets actually managed to bury the Sturmtiger under sheer numbers. The Sturmtiger''s elite armored divisions achieved an impressive kill ratio, but they were ultimately defeated. It was after Kursk that the Soviets truly began to excel. The subsequent offensive campaigns were conducted rather well, with Bagration practically crushing the Sturmtiger. In the end, the Soviets halted only because their logistics couldn''t keep up. Had they had American logistics, Bagration might have very well thrust through the Sturmtiger in one go. s, the Soviet training on Earth took far too long, and the price paid was far too great. Wang Zhong intended to change this situation. In fact, he had already altered the course of the war somewhat. On Earth, the Soviets lost several hundred thousand men at Vyazma during Operation Typhoon, but with Wang Zhong''s defense of the Duva River alongside his brother troops, what would have been an encircled force was able to withdraw. The seasoned soldiers from these units made it possible for Wang Zhong to envision forming a forceposed entirely of experienced veterans. Wang Zhong said, "In the two years before the war began, Tukhachev only had a superficial understanding of how to use armored units. He implemented a grand but impractical expansion policy, increasing the number of armored divisions from eighteen to ny-six and the tank count to twenty thousand. "These numbers became his bragging rights before thete emperor, elevating him and his aplice, General Skorobo, to high positions!" Considering the fact that the Tsar was actually executed had not been disclosed, and he was Ivan and Olga''s biological father, Wang Zhong still addressed him respectfully as thete emperor. Wang Zhong continued, "Then these bloated armored divisions were utterly annihted during the Prosen summer offensive. The five million-strong Ante Army, which only appeared to be a colossus with feet of y, crumbled at the first surge of waters, and the giant without a foundation copsed with a thunderous crash. "What we must do is resurrect this giant. Now, is the starting point of rebirth! I believe this new army will sweep across our upied homnd, sweeping through the entire Prosen Empire!" Wang Zhong paused. Now an experienced orator, he instinctively knew this was the moment for a catchy slogan. After a brief moment of thought, he dered, "From the river (Duva River) to the ocean (Antic), Europa shall be liberated!" No sooner had he finished than some of the students, unable to restrain themselves, cried out, "Ura!" A thunderous chorus of "Ura" resounded throughout the shooting range. The noise even knocked loose some of the snow piled on the trees. Just then, a prisoner transport escorted by three half-track vehicles entered the range, stopping before a temporarily constructed podium. Upon seeing the half-track vehicles, Wang Zhong frowned slightlyweren''t those the famous American-made M3 half-tracks? Had the aid been shipped over so soon? However, considering that even SPAM cans and c had been delivered, the arrival of half-tracks seemed normal. The doors of the prisoner transport opened, and General Tukhachev stepped out. He was still wearing his military rank, which probably meant they intended to leave the nobility with a shred of dignity, avoidingplete denunciation and thus rallying a fraction of the aristocracy. Wang Zhong, however, felt that since he had executed General Skorobo while he still wore his rank, doing the same with Tukhachev was consistent. Tukhachev turned to look at the cadets gathered below. At that moment, the cadets were still shouting "Ura," with only those in the front row noticing Tukhachev''s arrival. But the shouting quickly ceased, and everyone''s gaze fixed on General Tukhachev. Wang Zhong asked, "General Tukhachev, do you have anything you wish to say to the students?" Tukhachev shook his head, "No need. Let my blood fertilize the rebirth of the Ante Army through fire." Wang Zhong nodded, "Take him to the execution site!" The Judge led Tukhachev towards the execution tform erected in the center of the shooting range. Wang Zhong carefully inspected his pistol, determined to avoid a jam likest time. Tukhachev stood firm on the execution tform. A Judge came over with a blindfold, but he shook his head, "No need." So the Judge stepped back. All the Judges left the tform, leaving Tukhachev standing there alone. Wang Zhong, holding the pistol, stepped down from the podium, advancing toward the execution tform with a standard military pace. He felt all eyes upon him. He ascended the tform and stood before Tukhachev. Tukhachev looked at the gun in his hand, "Is that the same one used to execute General Skorobo?" Wang Zhong replied, "Yes." Tukhachev remarked, "It looks like an utterly ordinary officer''s sidearm." Wang Zhong responded, "Do you know of a legend from the United Kingdom? It says that he who draws the sword from theke is the King of the United Kingdom, but no one knows where that sword lies, though there have been countless kings. "It''s not that the sword makes the man valorous, but rather that the sword wielded by a valorous man bes ''The Sword of the Valorous.'' "This pistol is the same. I used it to kill General Skorobo, to kill you, and in the future, I will use it to kill all the main culprits, including the then Emperor. This ordinary officer''s sidearm will go down in legend as a mythical weapon." And then it will be used as a Holy Relic in a Holy Grail War. Wang Zhong raised the pistol, aiming it at Tukhachev''s brow. Tukhachev said, "Make sure you do as you say, General Rocossov." Wang Zhong assured, "I promise." He pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Tukhachev''s forehead and exited through the back of his skull, drawing a long arc with the blood that sprayed onto the snowy ground below the execution tform. Despite being surrounded by open ins, the gunshot seemed to echo in the silence. Wang Zhong knew this was the bell announcing the rebirth of the giant. Chapter 350: Chapter 35 The Power of Media (Extra 30/33) Wang Zhong: "What squadron did you just mention?" Colonel Donald: "Volunteer flying squad. We had volunteered to join the flying squad and fight for the United Kingdom during its most perilous times. By July this year, Prosen essentially ceased itsrge-scale air raids on the United Kingdom, and we returned to the Federation. However, many of ourrades have fallen in the skies, so we changed locations to continue the fight against Prosen." Wang Zhong: "The Federation Air ForceI mean, the Army Aviation hasn''t been preparing to engage the enemy recently?" Colonel Donald: "The main focus is still on defending the Federation''s homnd, and on fighting the Empire of Fusang in the Asia-Pacific. But we want to fight against the Prussians." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows: "So, these nes are for your own use?" Colonel Donald: "No, we are just transporting the nes here. Which nes we will actually fly inbat depends on the situation. In fact, most of us flew Mustang-style nes in the United Kingdom, which are quite different from the P-47s, requiring transition training." Donald paused, then said solemnly, "The Prosen pilots are very good. We don''t want to encounter them unprepared." Wang Zhong turned to the Air Force General and said, "These are all experienced pilots. I think they can teach our pilots how to fight against Prosen pilots." Dostoevsky nodded, "The Air Force has indeed recruited a lot of pilots with only flying club experience. They generally don''t have many hours in the air and naturally haven''t tangled with the enemy." While they were talking, nearly 30 P-47 nes hadnded, but there were more engine sounds in the sky. Wang Zhong: "Are there more nes?" General Dostoevsky: "There are another thirty P-39 Airacobra fighters." Wang Zhong thought to himself that they indeed received the Airacobra. Colonel Donald, who was next to him, said, "It''s a rather poor ne with a cramped cockpit, inadequate air intake for the engine, and it''s prone to overheating. The Army doesn''t want them, so most will be given to you." Wang Zhong wanted tough because all these shorings of the Airacobra had been identally ovee by the Russians. Take the cramped cockpit, for instance; that was never a problem. Russians, despite their burly appearance, have minimal space requirements and are very adaptable. On the other side of the Earth, under the Lend-Lease Act, when the Russians saw the M3 Grant tanks, they thought, "Wow, there''s plenty of space," and crammed in seven or eight fully armed infantrymen, using the tank as an infantry fighting vehicle. The key thing was that the tank could still fight and fire after cramming in so many infantrymen. Probably only Indians can cram in more than Russians. As for overheating, what a joke. Look at thebat environment before talking. Is that a w? That''s clearly an advantage, as it''s not easy to freeze up. Thinking of these things, Wang Zhong already had a smile on his face. Vasily was puzzled, "What about this ne?" Wang Zhong: "Nothing, whether it''s good or bad, the pilots will know after flying it." As he spoke, several flocks of nes in V-formations appeared and flew neatly over the airfield. Excited, Vasily said, "This time it''s that cigar-shaped ne! So this one is liquid-cooled?" Wang Zhong: "Right, you can tell by the shape. The ones with long and slender fusges are liquid-cooled engines; the ones with short and thick fusges have air-cooled engines." Turning to Colonel Donald, he asked, "Are these also flown by the volunteer squadron?" "Yes, so we don''t need to go back; we can fight right here," said Colonel Donald. Wang Zhong: "Great, more instructors." "About that," Donald said a bit awkwardly, "actually, most members of the flying squadron don''t speak Ante, so bing instructors might be difficult. I didn''t get a chance to say it earlier." Wang Zhong: "Then you can engage in dogfights with our pilots, using Prosen Army tactics. Let them be familiar with the enemy''s techniques." Donald: "That''s not exactly uplifting news." By this time, the P-47 pilots had all assembled. Donald''s executive officer ran up quickly, saluted him, and said in English, which Wang Zhong could only guess, "Colonel, the first squadron of the volunteer flying squad has assembled." "Understood," the Colonel nodded, "If there''s nothing special, you can... whatever." Wang Zhong furrowed his brow; thetter half was spoken too quickly for him to understand. He couldn''t help it; his peak English ability was during the college entrance exams, and it hadpletely deteriorated since then. Vasily: "He said they can go and rest ording to Ante''s arrangements after the long flight; it was tough." Wang Zhong: "You understand this?" Vasily: "Actually, Prosennguage and Angsanguage are somewhat rted, so if you understand Prosennguage, it''s easier to learn Angsanguage. But learning Carolingiannguage is harder; it''s a different system. Carolingiannguage and Castiliannguage are of the same system." Wang Zhong: "Do you speak Carolingian and Castiliannguages?" Vasily looked at Wang Zhong in shock: "You don''t speak Carolingian? You''re a noble!" Wang Zhong: "The era when nobility needed to speak Carolingian is over a hundred years past; it was the era of the Conqueror!" At that moment, General Dostoevsky coughed to attract their attention and nodded towards Colonel Donald. Wang Zhong and Vasily looked over just in time to see Colonel Donald leading his executive officer toward them. Colonel Donald: "Members of the volunteer flying squad would like to take a photo with you." Wang Zhong: "Me?" "Yes, everyone considers you a bringer of good luck, the Star of Victory." Wang Zhong initially wanted to say that was superstitious, but then he thought better of it. In this world, Divine Arrows could actually hit their target with prayers, so it''s best not to scorn superstitious acts. Although the Secr faction believes that the guidance of Divine Arrows will one day be exined scientifically, perhaps through quantum mechanics, they will be exined regardless. Wang Zhong: "Alright, once the Airacobras havended, I''ll take a group photo with all of you." He paused and then asked: "Am I that famous in the Federation?" "Yes," Colonel Donaldughed, "the Prussians deserve some credit too. A shareholder of the New Township Daily, of Prussian descent, had been publishing various articles praising the invincible Prussian army before the deration of war. They spent a lot of ink boasting about the great victory at Argesukov." Wang Zhong immediately understood, a boomerang, huh? This era already had boomerangs. Donald chuckled, "Then you annihted one hundred thousand Prosen soldiers at Karanskaya, and the image of you parading with a bunch of generals became known to every household instantly." No sooner had he finished than his deputy took out a notebook from his map bag, then opened the notebook''s front page and showed Wang Zhong the clippings inside. In the ck and white photo, Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus with his head held high, radiating a dashing aura, beside him loomed the columns of Prosen generals. The main Prosen generals'' uniforms had a red badge, and the photographer, using whatever technique, made this red badge ringly obvious. Wang Zhong: "So the previous praises from the Prussian descendant turned into a supercharged effect on me?" "That''s right. Besides, that Prussian descendant was found to have colluded with the Prosen embassy and was caught as a spy." Well caught! Colonel Donald continued, "Also, the most famous general on our side used to be General Dous. He liked to wear sunsses and smoke a pipe. You are such a stark contrast to him that it enhances the propaganda effect even more." Wang Zhong: "Because of the contrast?" "Yes, General Dous especially liked to do some outrageous things and make the papers." Wait a minute, this general is named Dous, likes to wear sunsses, and carry a pipe Suddenly a specific BGM and the maic AI voice-over echoed in Wang Zhong''s mind: Five-star General MacArthur oncemented that if Rocossov had a Front Army, he would dare to reach the shores of the Antic, and thends from Irnd to Khitan would be Ante''s territory... Wang Zhong: "When I''m free, I''d like to have a drink with General Dous." Colonel Donald sighed, "That will have to wait until he repels the invading forces of the Empire of Fusang. When we took off, the broadcast said that the Empire of Fusang had alreadynded at the location where General Dous was stationed." Wang Zhong: "The enemy is but a paper tiger, we will surely win the victory." At this point, the pilots flying P39s had gradually gathered. Seeing thest group of P39 twin-ne formationsnd, Wang Zhong suggested, "It looks like all the nes havended. Or are there any that haven''t arrived yet?" "No, there are only sixty in the first batch. The transportsnded early and transferred the cargo to the trains." Wang Zhong: "Then let''s take a picture." As soon as he finished, there was the sh of a shbulb and a "pop" sound. Wang Zhong turned around and, sure enough, saw Reporter Mike and his partner. Such an incidentif these two didn''t appear, it would definitely mean they were too ill to get out of bed, or the Prussian spies had assassinated them. Wang Zhong: "Let me introduce you, this is the creator of that photo in the clippings! My good friend Reporter Mike and his partner, photographer Robert!" Reporter Mike came over with a chuckle, while Robert kept looking for spots to take pictures. "As soon as we heard that you were greeting the air squadron personally, we rushed over," said Reporter Mike. Wang Zhong: "You''re just in time, I want to take a photo with the volunteers of the air squadron, they seem to think it will bring good luck." Reporter Mike: "Sure, we all need good luck at times like these." The next day, December 21, year 914 of Jules, Wang Zhong picked up the newspaper in the manor''s dining room and flipped to the front page, only to find that the photo wasn''t the one with the volunteer air squadron but one where he was chatting with Colonel Donald. The photo depicted a Colonel of the Federation Air Force appearing to listen to the teachings of the Star of Victory. Wang Zhong frowned involuntarily; this choice was certainly deliberate by the church, wondering which photo would be used by the Federation side. Nelly passed by Wang Zhong, looked over his shoulder at the paper, and said, "Lately, you''re on the front page most of the time." Wang Zhong: "Is it that frequent?" Nelly: "Yes, you and Emperor Olga split the spotlight, half and half. Am I about to be promoted to a royal maid?" Wang Zhong: "Forget about it. Plus, whether there will still be a royal household after the war is another question." Just thinking about the post-war gave Wang Zhong a headache; he forced himself not to think about it. After all, with the enemy at the gates, he couldn''t afford to consider the aftermath without first defeating Prosen. This was, after all, the Prosen that had pushed the United Kingdom to desperate straits. If it weren''t for the onset of Barbarossa, the air raids might have continued, not the Prosen unable to sate the Royal Air Force''s appetite, known as the infamously tough Five Bars of Thirds. To distract himself, Wang Zhong inquired: "What''s for breakfast today?" "SPAM with caviar and sturgeon in a can." Wang Zhong: "Apart from Federation aid, are only the fish supplies regr now?" Nelly: "Today is fish day." "Oh... I forgot." Fish Day was originally just an informal regtion, but now that supplies had be difficult, it was set as a mandatory standard. However, the fact that caviar could still be provided without limit during times of hardship was quite peculiar. Just then, the telephone rang, and Wang Zhong picked up the receiver: "This is Rocossov, what''s up?" Pavlov''s voice came through from the other side: "You''d bettere to Kubinka; we''ve received a batch of new recruits that are quite unusual. I don''t know how to deal with them." Wang Zhong frowned, wondering what kind of new recruits could be so problematic. It surely couldn''t be Leopard 2A6s, could it? He replied, "I''ll be there shortly." Chapter 348: Chapter 33 Could This Be Project 704? Wang Zhong carefully observed the gun and then asked the question he was most concerned about, "Does this thing meet the weight requirement I established in the design specifications?" The reason he asked was that the gun Tokarev had in his hands didn''t look light at all. Tokarev: "It is indeed one kilogram heavier than the full-load weight of 4.5 kilograms that you requested, but I believe the excellent performance of this gun could offset that disadvantage. I have a chart here with data from tests we conducted at the design institute''s firing range." Wang Zhong made a gesture, and the secretary in the room immediately brought the chart from the designer''s hand to him. The chart primarily disyed data on uracy and reliability during continuous fire, showing that the gun was quite precise even at a distance of 400 meters. Wang Zhong shook his head, "Mr. Designer, do you know why the frontline troops all like to use submachine guns? Because most of the time, the firefight happens within 200 meters. Plus, our soldiers have short training periods, poor design skills, so a gun that performs well at a 400-meter distance is meaningless for them." The designer was shocked, "Is having good uracy a disadvantage?" Wang Zhong: "No, of course not. But the reality is that our troops can''t shoot that urately. My guards, who mostly use Tokarevyour design of the semi-automatic riflealso prefer to use submachine guns inbat." "You haven''t understood my requirements. What I actually need is a submachine gun with sufficient range. Whether it''s ours or the enemy''s, the hit probability of submachine guns at a distance of 200 meters can only rely on faith. I hope to get a submachine gun that can still hit targets within 200 meters." In fact, when Ceres first introduced the AK, they treated it as a submachine gun and called it the ''56 rush'', firing it while holding the magazine, just like when using a submachine gun. Onlyter did some troops realize that it was actually different from a submachine gun, so they held the foregrip ording to the rifle usage habits. As a result, both shooting methods are present in the military. Wang Zhong stood up, walked directly to the designer, took the gun from his hand, and while gesturing said, "The usage scenario I envision for this type of weapon is this: A soldier holds this gun, and he''s very nervouswhich ismon, even old soldiers get nervous when they encounter the enemy due to a surge of adrenaline. "The moment he sees the enemy, he pulls the trigger, rat-tat-tat goes the 15 bullets, he didn''t aim carefully, didn''t measure the distance or adjust the sight, but all the bulletsnded within a one-meter radius of the enemy." Tokarev was startled, "Within a one-meter radius?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, at a distance of 200 meters, it''s already good enough tond within a one-meter radius under such crude aiming conditions." Tokarev: "But, shouldn''t we aim to kill the enemy?" Wang Zhong: "That''s the job of a precision shooter. My vision is to distribute soldiers with shooting experience and good marksmanship across the infantry squads, giving them Tokarev semi-autos or even bolt-action rifles. And the standard infantry would be armed with the weapon I''m envisioning. "Hitting the enemy isn''t the most important thing. What''s crucial is being able to ssh half a magazine of ammo around the enemy in a sh. Then the enemy will stop attacking, take cover, and get down." "Prussians are afraid of dying too. Suddenly having so many bullets ssh around them, with the sounds of bullets hitting concrete everywhere, they''ll cower behind cover and dare not show their heads." Tokarev: "But how do we eliminate the enemy? Just rely on precision shooters?" Wang Zhong: "Have you ever been on a battlefield?" Tokarev shook his head: "No. Um, I know you have ordered designers who refused to modify their designs to experiencebat with their own weapons firsthand, it was an aircraft designer if I remember correctly? But..." Wang Zhong: "Don''t worry, I won''t force you to the battlefield to experience life. Let me describe to you what the battlefield is like." As someone who has personally returned from hell several times, Wang Zhong was all too familiar with what a battlefield was like, so he vividly depicted, "On the battlefield, most of the time you can''t see where the enemy is at all, what you see is the sh of enemy gunfire. "All you can do is keep firing, suppressing the enemy with firepower. As for whether or not you can kill the enemy, you have no control over it, because you can''t see them." Wang Zhong, being able to see because of a cheat code, knew that the cheat didn''t work in a first-person view, only an overhead perspective, so he was even more aware of how difficult it is to confirm if an enemy is killed on the battlefield. Wang Zhong: "And on the battlefield, the main cause of enemy casualties has never been bullets but artillery. The best way for an infantry unit to eliminate the enemy is always to call for artillery strikes. When you can see the enemy''s face clearly, you''re about at the distance where it''s a race to pull the trigger first." In fact, this part was not only Wang Zhong''s personal experience on the battlefield but also a synthesis of some first-person videos he saw before the transmigration. Those videos really show that you can''t see what you''re hitting;pared to real battlefields, even games like Tarkov are considered close-quarterbat. So for the average grunt, rifle uracy is adequate. Precision shooters need high-precision riflesTokarev is good enough. The designer Tokarev, thoughtful, nodded his head, "A submachine gun with higher uracy and longer effective range? I understand now." Wang Zhong: "Your gun is actually not bad, it has decent uracy at 400 meters. But it only needs to have that uracy at 200 meters to meet my requirements. See if you can make adjustments to reduce the weight a bit and improve reliability while rxing the uracy requirements. "Have the new prototype ready by next February." Tokarev nodded, "All right, I will go back and revise the design. The current idea is to decrease the ammunition load further, shortening the bullet might significantly reduce the weight." Wang Zhong: "That''s the spirit! Remember, I need a submachine gun that can ssh onto the enemy at 200 meters. Papasha is pretty much faith-based at that distance." Actually, at a distance of nearly 200 meters, firing a submachine gun at a two-story building''s exterior wall, the bullets would distribute equally over the whole surface. Aiming or not made little difference. The main reason is that the effective range of submachine guns firing pistol cartridges is too low. Wang Zhong emphasized again, "Remember, a submachine gun with a range of two hundred meters!" Having said that, he returned the prototype gun in his hand to Tokarev and patted the designer on the shoulder. The designer continued to mutter "a submachine gun with an effective range of two hundred meters," took the prototype gun, and left, even forgetting to take the blueprints with him. Wang Zhong rolled up the blueprints and handed them to his secretary, "Give these to Designer Tokarev." After the secretary left with the blueprints, Wang Zhong shouted to the door, "Are there any more people waiting for approval outside?" "No more, Your Excellency," came the reply. Wang Zhong was surprised, "Is that the only equipment for the army, just one gun?" He began to feel what the Ceres army generals must feel when watching the navy and air force getting new equipment: At least our new shoes are nice! Representative of the Air Force stood up, "The several new aircraft types all meet our requirements. We hope the new equipment can be delivered to the troops as soon as possible." Damn it, just go and be smug! Just then, the voice of a guard suddenly rang out from outside: "Who''s there? Halt, did you register?" "I was specially instructed by the general to design this! I just finished the design drawing yesterday! I''m not here for review, I just want to show it to the general!" The designer shouted from the outside. Wang Zhong called out, "Let him in!" Suddenly it became quiet outside, then the guard opened the door, "Pleasee in." A middle-aged man dressed in a Western suit came in with blueprints, indeed it was Ke Jing, the Chief Engineer. Ke Jing announced, "Your Excellency, the first version of the design for the 100mm gun carrier youmissioned me to design isplete." After finishing speaking, he spread out the design on the drawing rack, "Take a look! Based on your requirements, I''ve made improvements on the T34 chassis, transversely mounted the engine to reduce the vehicle''s height, and added argerbat room to finish this vehicleassault gun?" Looking at the design of the vehicle on the blueprints, Wang Zhong thought of an earth''s tank destroyer with a real model: Project 704. But Project 704 mounted a 152mm cannon, which looked rtively stubby, while the cannon on this vehicle was clearly much slimmer. In addition, Project 704 used the IS3 chassis, while this contraption used the T34 chassis, which appeared to be significantly lighter. Wait a minuteEarth''s Project 704 was also designed by heavy tank designers, who seemed to be called Ke Jing as well. Suddenly everything made sense! Ke Jing exined excitedly, "I estimated its weight, which should be about the same as the T34, but because itcks a turret and rotation mechanism, its armor protection is better. With this bulletproof shape at the front, coupled with 100mm thick armor, even the enemy''s 88mm cannon won''t necessarily be able to prate it from a distance. "Moreover, it''s lower and more suitable for concealed ambush warfare. The only problem is, I''ve carefully examined the enemy''s scope. We can replicate its mechanical structure, including the rotating reticle, as well as the corresponding stadia for range finding on the reticle. "But we can''t produce lenses that good; the lens has a broad view angle and a decent magnification. If we want magnification, we can''t have too broad a view angle." Wang Zhong replied, "We can solve the field of view issue with themander''s periscope. The vehicle does have amander, right?" "Yes," Ke Jing pointed to the position at the rear of thebat room on the blueprint, "This is themander''s seat. I intentionally designed it higher so themander''s head would be inside this prototype observation tower. And there''s a pedal here; themander can just stand up on it and poke his upper body out of the hatch to observe." Wang Zhong nodded continuously, "Good, very good! Any problems with production?" Ke Jing exined, "There is, because even though it uses the T34 chassis, the transverse engine requires aplete redesign of the entire chassis, essentially a new one. To shift production from the T34 line requires modifying the production line, and the workers need to get ustomed to it. Chapter Explore: "To resolve this, I also designed a version that uses a conventional engineyout." Ke Jing unfolded another blueprint. "This version can be switched to production quickly, but the problem is, it''s much taller than the transverse engine version, necessitating a reduction in the frontal armor protection." Looking at this "taller" version, Wang Zhong frowned deeply, "No, the previous version was very good. Anyway, the factory scheduled for production is currently relocating and rebuilding, which is almost like starting from scratch with a new factory. "Get this vehicle produced quickly and start testing. Mainly improve the reliability, I don''t want to hand over equipment to the troops that breaks down after driving a few dozen kilometers!" Ke Jing said, "The factories are all working overtime producing the T34 and KV, and I previously wanted to build a prototype, but there were no hands and equipment avable." Wang Zhong replied, "That''s simple, issue the production order under a special mission from the Royal Family. Allocate a bit of the capacity from the T34W line to build two prototypes for you. Get the testing done as soon as possible, focusing on improving reliabilityI do not want to give the troops equipment that fails after just a few dozen kilometers!" Chapter 349: Chapter 34: Look, the milk bottle is flying in the sky! Wang Zhong: "As for the optical sights, I''ll think of another way." At this moment, Vasily chimed in, "You can capture a thousand Prosen tanks, and then you''ll have enough sights!" Wang Zhong wanted to kick this smart-mouthed guy to death: "What are you bbering about? Where is it that easy to capture so many Prosen equipments?" Ke Jing: "Using captured equipment isn''t quite appropriate, is it? We can''t control production, and it poses a big problem for resupply. Of course, if we captured a thousand, we could use half as spare parts..." Wang Zhong: "We won''t be using captured equipment." Damn it, why don''t you question the feasibility of capturing a thousand Prosen tanks! Wang Zhong, just like when he had sent Tokarev off earlier, patted Ke Jing on the shoulder: "Go get this thing done, and then drag it to the testing ground for a trial." "Are you satisfied with the item I''ve rushed out in less than a month?" Ke Jing was rather surprised. Wang Zhong: "Of course, for something designed in such a hurry, it''s already quite good. The remaining issues can''t be discerned just by looking at the design drawings, so hurry up and produce the real vehicle." "Whether the real vehicle can be smoothly produced still depends on..." Wang Zhong: "I know, I guarantee that tomorrow the royal production tasks will be assigned to the Ordnance Department and the union factories, and a phone call will be made to your design bureau tomorrow, instructing you to bring the blueprints over quickly." Suddenly Wang Zhong felt like he was a CEO drawing pies for new employees at thepany. So this is what it feels like to be in the shoes of a boss during an internship? And so "by hook or by crook," he sent Ke Jing away, and Wang Zhong even took the trouble to check outside the door to make sure no designers were about to barge in. Only then did he turn back to look at themittee members. The Air Force representative stood up: "Your Excellency General, the nes supported by the Federation are due to arrive at the airfield for transfer today. Do you have any interest in joining us to wee them at the airport?" Wang Zhong: "They arrive today? They''re eventer than Coke and Spam cans!" The Air Force representative smiled, "It''s said that their nes experienced many mechanical failures upon reaching the north, so they underwent a series of modifications like using anti-freeze lubricants before flying over." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow; he remembered when the Americans aided the Russians with nes, there was one model that originally had poor cooling but turned out to be fine in Russia. Consequently, the Russians loved that model, and their evaluation waspletely opposite to that of the American army aviation. And now they''re having mechanical failures due to the cold? Which model of ne is it exactly? Wang Zhong: "So what kind of ne ising?" The Air Force representative: "ording to the list from the Federation, it should be the P47 model. It''s said that because you specifically requested this model, the Federation''s army aviation directly sent over their own in-service nes, as they were about to rece them with a new model called the Mustang anyway." Wang Zhong knew that on Earth the decision to adopt the P51 Mustang was made around the same month of the year, after the United Kingdom had tested it for a while, clearing up all the faults. But because the P51 had low production, the Americans continued to use the P47 for quite a while. Could it be because in this timeline, Prosen exerted too much pressure on the United Kingdom, tremendously increasing the Mustang''s production, allowing the Federation Air Force to rece their aircraft faster? Back on Earth, during the Battle of Britain, the Brits actually had an ace up their sleeve as they had arge number of Air Force units in training in ces like Scond, out of reach of the Sturmtiger. The Sturmtiger''s Hamov, in fact, never managed to make the British Air Force exert their full strength from start to finish. Did Hamov finally force the United Kingdom to go all out here? If the Americans could quickly rece their aircraft with Mustangs, then nobody would want the P47s. If nobody wants them, I''ll take them, to use as single-seat dive bombers, dropping 500 kg bombs. Wang Zhong turned back to ask Vasily, "Can I clear my schedule for an afternoon today?" "Your afternoon mainly involves teaching students. Just notify the school to adjust the ss schedule; Vice Principal Valery will handle it," said Vasily. Wang Zhong nodded and turned to the Air Force representative, "Then I''ll go have a look. Has it been decided which unit will receive these nes?" "The 31st Fighter Squadron." Wang Zhong: "Hamov''s squadron?" The nes I''ve asked for are being assigned to the fighter squadronmanded by a colonel who has close ties with me. You people, you''re fueling improper rumors about Ye Fort! Wang Zhong: "No no, I don''t need these nes for use as fighters." The Air Force representative was shocked, "But Colonel Smith, who''s coordinating with the Federation, says they''re fighters?" Wang Zhong: "Then you''re not familiar with the characteristics of the Federation''s excellent fighters." Federation''s excellent fighters are indeed strong in aerialbat, but their most notable feature is the substantial ground support payload. Apparently, this is because the aviation fuel used by the Federation is top-notch; putting it in nes is like giving them an incredible boost. There was even an incident on Earth where the Americans captured a fairly intact Japanese Zero, then tested it with their own aviation fuel, only to discover its performance terrifyingly fierce. This scared the Navy into immediately improving the performance criteria for their new fighters. However, the Japanese aviation fuel was subpar, and the Zero didn''t have such high performance with their lower-quality fuel. In fact, the Zero''s exceptional design came out of necessity due to theck of power. Wang Zhong was actually somewhat worried that the aviation fuel produced by Ante wouldn''t allow the P47 to perform as well as it did in the hands of the Federation. But then he thought about the aviation fuel that he had also requested from the Federation and considering these people''s tendency to provide familiar units with what they need, the high-quality aviation fuel would likely be supplied to these units first. Wang Zhong: "Help me send a message to the Air Force headquarters; these fighters should be handed over to the 4th Fighter-Bomber Regiment for use as ground attack aircraft." The 4th Fighter-Bomber Regiment was the group that the pilot who had raised his concerns in the Ordnance Department building belonged to. At the time, Wang Zhong had promised them he''d secure some single-seat, single-engine fighters suitable for dive bombingand here they were! "The 4th Fighter-Bomber Regiment?" The Air Force representative furrowed his brows. "Alright, I''ll speak with the Air Forcemander... Why don''t you talk to him personally when you wee the nes today?" Wang Zhong: "That''ll work. Vasily, did you notify the school?" "Ah? I''ll make the call right now." Vasily hurriedly ran off. This guy was just standing by merrily watching; he didn''t even take the time to make a phone call. Before long, Vasily came back: "Done!" Wang Zhong: "Let''s go!" At the airfield, Wang Zhong met with Air Force General Dostoevsky. "Assign the fighter jets to the fighter-bomber regiments?" The general was stunned. "How could we do that? We''re actually in dire need of fighters right now. The performance of the LaGG-3s is not very good; the pilots aren''t happy with them. We were nning to use these fighters to rece the LaGG-3s..." Wang Zhong: "You mustn''t do that! The performance of this aircraft is a little bit superior to the LaGG-3. It''s designed for energy fightinggain altitude, dive down, and then quickly pull up." Air Force General Dostoevsky''s eyes widened as he looked at Wang Zhong, who spoke with confidence: "You actually know about this stuff? I thought it was just more ttery for you." Wang Zhong: "ttery?" Air Force General Dostoevsky shrugged: "You really should go undercover to the bars in Ye Fort and listen, you''ve be like a member of the Giant n from Prosen mythology, challenging their gods." Is that really the reputation I have in the bars? The Air Force General returned to the original topic: "You mean this ne is very suitable for bombing like the enemy''s Stuka?" Wang Zhong: "Are you joking? This thing is much more powerful than the Stuka." General Dostoevsky: "The Air Force has always been interested in learning from the Ploson Air Force, trying to have the Pe-2s conduct as much dive bombing as possible. But from the current feedback, the Pe-2 as a dive bomber is a bit toorge. "Our single-engine attacker, the Il-2, was designed for low-level straight flight attacks. If the dive angle goes beyond 30 degrees, it would shake violently. Previously, there was a tragedy where a ne disintegrated mid-air during a 60-degree dive. We''ve really been needing a dedicated dive bomber." Wang Zhong: "Now you have one." Just then, the roar of engines filled the sky as a formation of P-47s flew over the airport. Vasily, looking up at the nes sporting the traditional zebra stripes of the Federation''s Army Aviation on their wings, casuallymented, "How does this thing look like a milk bottle with wings?" You''re right, Vasily! On Earth, this thing is nicknamed "The Milk Bottle." Vasily: "Doesn''t look strong at all. Shouldn''t a good fighter jet have the shape of a long cigar?" Wang Zhong: "That shape is for nes with liquid-cooled engines. Those with air-cooledor rather, wind-cooled engines tend to have this more robust appearance." General Dostoevsky took another long look at Wang Zhong. The thirty "Milk Bottles"pleting their flyby started tond in batches, taxiing toward the apron where Wang Zhong was standing. It was then that General Dostoevsky said, "Since you think these airnes should be handed over to the fighter-bomber regiments, let''s first have the fighter-bomber pilots give them a try. However, most of them have no experience with fighter jets, so their airbat capability might be lower." Chapter Your: Wang Zhong: "There''s no need for them to engage in air-to-airbat. Dive bomb, and then use the high speed gained from the dive to stay low and escape." General Dostoevsky: "Let them try it out first; maybe the pilots won''t like it. In that case, I''ll allocate these nes to the fighter regiments." Wang Zhong: "Sure, and then have the fighter regiments perform dive bombing missions. Hamov''s regimentI had them do dive bombing in Shostka, and theyined that carrying only two 100-kilogram bombs was too little to inflict significant damage on the enemy." General Dostoevsky: "Since then, they''ve been training regrly in dive bombingit would indeed be appropriate to task them with it." "Then it''s settled." At that moment, one of the P-47s that hadnded taxied up to Wang Zhong. The pilot opened the cockpit hatch and, without waiting for the ground crew to bring adder, hopped onto the wing and then to the ground, heading straight for Wang Zhong and asked in broken Antenguage, "Hello, are you General Rocossov?" Guards immediately rushed up, barring the way for the pilot. Wang Zhong: "Don''t stop him, he just wants to shake hands." After saying that, he personally pushed aside the guards and took the hand the pilot extended: "You''ve worked hard." The pilot immediately withdrew his hand and saluted Wang Zhong: "Colonel Donald from the Volunteer Flying Corps, at your service." Wang Zhong: ? The Volunteer Flying Corps? Chapter 350: Chapter 35 The Power of Media (Extra 30/33) Wang Zhong: "What squadron did you just mention?" Colonel Donald: "Volunteer flying squad. We had volunteered to join the flying squad and fight for the United Kingdom during its most perilous times. By July this year, Prosen essentially ceased itsrge-scale air raids on the United Kingdom, and we returned to the Federation. However, many of ourrades have fallen in the skies, so we changed locations to continue the fight against Prosen." Wang Zhong: "The Federation Air ForceI mean, the Army Aviation hasn''t been preparing to engage the enemy recently?" Colonel Donald: "The main focus is still on defending the Federation''s homnd, and on fighting the Empire of Fusang in the Asia-Pacific. But we want to fight against the Prussians." Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows: "So, these nes are for your own use?" Colonel Donald: "No, we are just transporting the nes here. Which nes we will actually fly inbat depends on the situation. In fact, most of us flew Mustang-style nes in the United Kingdom, which are quite different from the P-47s, requiring transition training." Donald paused, then said solemnly, "The Prosen pilots are very good. We don''t want to encounter them unprepared." Wang Zhong turned to the Air Force General and said, "These are all experienced pilots. I think they can teach our pilots how to fight against Prosen pilots." Dostoevsky nodded, "The Air Force has indeed recruited a lot of pilots with only flying club experience. They generally don''t have many hours in the air and naturally haven''t tangled with the enemy." While they were talking, nearly 30 P-47 nes hadnded, but there were more engine sounds in the sky. Wang Zhong: "Are there more nes?" General Dostoevsky: "There are another thirty P-39 Airacobra fighters." Wang Zhong thought to himself that they indeed received the Airacobra. Colonel Donald, who was next to him, said, "It''s a rather poor ne with a cramped cockpit, inadequate air intake for the engine, and it''s prone to overheating. The Army doesn''t want them, so most will be given to you." Wang Zhong wanted tough because all these shorings of the Airacobra had been identally ovee by the Russians. Take the cramped cockpit, for instance; that was never a problem. Russians, despite their burly appearance, have minimal space requirements and are very adaptable. On the other side of the Earth, under the Lend-Lease Act, when the Russians saw the M3 Grant tanks, they thought, "Wow, there''s plenty of space," and crammed in seven or eight fully armed infantrymen, using the tank as an infantry fighting vehicle. The key thing was that the tank could still fight and fire after cramming in so many infantrymen. Probably only Indians can cram in more than Russians. As for overheating, what a joke. Look at thebat environment before talking. Is that a w? That''s clearly an advantage, as it''s not easy to freeze up. Thinking of these things, Wang Zhong already had a smile on his face. Vasily was puzzled, "What about this ne?" Wang Zhong: "Nothing, whether it''s good or bad, the pilots will know after flying it." As he spoke, several flocks of nes in V-formations appeared and flew neatly over the airfield. Excited, Vasily said, "This time it''s that cigar-shaped ne! So this one is liquid-cooled?" Wang Zhong: "Right, you can tell by the shape. The ones with long and slender fusges are liquid-cooled engines; the ones with short and thick fusges have air-cooled engines." Turning to Colonel Donald, he asked, "Are these also flown by the volunteer squadron?" "Yes, so we don''t need to go back; we can fight right here," said Colonel Donald. Wang Zhong: "Great, more instructors." "About that," Donald said a bit awkwardly, "actually, most members of the flying squadron don''t speak Ante, so bing instructors might be difficult. I didn''t get a chance to say it earlier." Wang Zhong: "Then you can engage in dogfights with our pilots, using Prosen Army tactics. Let them be familiar with the enemy''s techniques." Donald: "That''s not exactly uplifting news." By this time, the P-47 pilots had all assembled. Donald''s executive officer ran up quickly, saluted him, and said in English, which Wang Zhong could only guess, "Colonel, the first squadron of the volunteer flying squad has assembled." "Understood," the Colonel nodded, "If there''s nothing special, you can... whatever." Wang Zhong furrowed his brow; thetter half was spoken too quickly for him to understand. He couldn''t help it; his peak English ability was during the college entrance exams, and it hadpletely deteriorated since then. Vasily: "He said they can go and rest ording to Ante''s arrangements after the long flight; it was tough." Wang Zhong: "You understand this?" Vasily: "Actually, Prosennguage and Angsanguage are somewhat rted, so if you understand Prosennguage, it''s easier to learn Angsanguage. But learning Carolingiannguage is harder; it''s a different system. Carolingiannguage and Castiliannguage are of the same system." Wang Zhong: "Do you speak Carolingian and Castiliannguages?" Vasily looked at Wang Zhong in shock: "You don''t speak Carolingian? You''re a noble!" Wang Zhong: "The era when nobility needed to speak Carolingian is over a hundred years past; it was the era of the Conqueror!" At that moment, General Dostoevsky coughed to attract their attention and nodded towards Colonel Donald. Wang Zhong and Vasily looked over just in time to see Colonel Donald leading his executive officer toward them. Colonel Donald: "Members of the volunteer flying squad would like to take a photo with you." Wang Zhong: "Me?" "Yes, everyone considers you a bringer of good luck, the Star of Victory." Wang Zhong initially wanted to say that was superstitious, but then he thought better of it. In this world, Divine Arrows could actually hit their target with prayers, so it''s best not to scorn superstitious acts. Although the Secr faction believes that the guidance of Divine Arrows will one day be exined scientifically, perhaps through quantum mechanics, they will be exined regardless. Wang Zhong: "Alright, once the Airacobras havended, I''ll take a group photo with all of you." He paused and then asked: "Am I that famous in the Federation?" "Yes," Colonel Donaldughed, "the Prussians deserve some credit too. A shareholder of the New Township Daily, of Prussian descent, had been publishing various articles praising the invincible Prussian army before the deration of war. They spent a lot of ink boasting about the great victory at Argesukov." Wang Zhong immediately understood, a boomerang, huh? This era already had boomerangs. Donald chuckled, "Then you annihted one hundred thousand Prosen soldiers at Karanskaya, and the image of you parading with a bunch of generals became known to every household instantly." No sooner had he finished than his deputy took out a notebook from his map bag, then opened the notebook''s front page and showed Wang Zhong the clippings inside. In the ck and white photo, Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus with his head held high, radiating a dashing aura, beside him loomed the columns of Prosen generals. The main Prosen generals'' uniforms had a red badge, and the photographer, using whatever technique, made this red badge ringly obvious. Wang Zhong: "So the previous praises from the Prussian descendant turned into a supercharged effect on me?" "That''s right. Besides, that Prussian descendant was found to have colluded with the Prosen embassy and was caught as a spy." Well caught! Colonel Donald continued, "Also, the most famous general on our side used to be General Dous. He liked to wear sunsses and smoke a pipe. You are such a stark contrast to him that it enhances the propaganda effect even more." Wang Zhong: "Because of the contrast?" "Yes, General Dous especially liked to do some outrageous things and make the papers." Wait a minute, this general is named Dous, likes to wear sunsses, and carry a pipe Suddenly a specific BGM and the maic AI voice-over echoed in Wang Zhong''s mind: Five-star General MacArthur oncemented that if Rocossov had a Front Army, he would dare to reach the shores of the Antic, and thends from Irnd to Khitan would be Ante''s territory... Wang Zhong: "When I''m free, I''d like to have a drink with General Dous." Colonel Donald sighed, "That will have to wait until he repels the invading forces of the Empire of Fusang. When we took off, the broadcast said that the Empire of Fusang had alreadynded at the location where General Dous was stationed." Wang Zhong: "The enemy is but a paper tiger, we will surely win the victory." At this point, the pilots flying P39s had gradually gathered. Seeing thest group of P39 twin-ne formationsnd, Wang Zhong suggested, "It looks like all the nes havended. Or are there any that haven''t arrived yet?" "No, there are only sixty in the first batch. The transportsnded early and transferred the cargo to the trains." Wang Zhong: "Then let''s take a picture." As soon as he finished, there was the sh of a shbulb and a "pop" sound. Wang Zhong turned around and, sure enough, saw Reporter Mike and his partner. Such an incidentif these two didn''t appear, it would definitely mean they were too ill to get out of bed, or the Prussian spies had assassinated them. Wang Zhong: "Let me introduce you, this is the creator of that photo in the clippings! My good friend Reporter Mike and his partner, photographer Robert!" Reporter Mike came over with a chuckle, while Robert kept looking for spots to take pictures. "As soon as we heard that you were greeting the air squadron personally, we rushed over," said Reporter Mike. Wang Zhong: "You''re just in time, I want to take a photo with the volunteers of the air squadron, they seem to think it will bring good luck." Reporter Mike: "Sure, we all need good luck at times like these." The next day, December 21, year 914 of Jules, Wang Zhong picked up the newspaper in the manor''s dining room and flipped to the front page, only to find that the photo wasn''t the one with the volunteer air squadron but one where he was chatting with Colonel Donald. The photo depicted a Colonel of the Federation Air Force appearing to listen to the teachings of the Star of Victory. Wang Zhong frowned involuntarily; this choice was certainly deliberate by the church, wondering which photo would be used by the Federation side. Nelly passed by Wang Zhong, looked over his shoulder at the paper, and said, "Lately, you''re on the front page most of the time." Wang Zhong: "Is it that frequent?" Nelly: "Yes, you and Emperor Olga split the spotlight, half and half. Am I about to be promoted to a royal maid?" Wang Zhong: "Forget about it. Plus, whether there will still be a royal household after the war is another question." Just thinking about the post-war gave Wang Zhong a headache; he forced himself not to think about it. After all, with the enemy at the gates, he couldn''t afford to consider the aftermath without first defeating Prosen. This was, after all, the Prosen that had pushed the United Kingdom to desperate straits. If it weren''t for the onset of Barbarossa, the air raids might have continued, not the Prosen unable to sate the Royal Air Force''s appetite, known as the infamously tough Five Bars of Thirds. To distract himself, Wang Zhong inquired: "What''s for breakfast today?" "SPAM with caviar and sturgeon in a can." Wang Zhong: "Apart from Federation aid, are only the fish supplies regr now?" Nelly: "Today is fish day." "Oh... I forgot." Fish Day was originally just an informal regtion, but now that supplies had be difficult, it was set as a mandatory standard. However, the fact that caviar could still be provided without limit during times of hardship was quite peculiar. Just then, the telephone rang, and Wang Zhong picked up the receiver: "This is Rocossov, what''s up?" Pavlov''s voice came through from the other side: "You''d bettere to Kubinka; we''ve received a batch of new recruits that are quite unusual. I don''t know how to deal with them." Wang Zhong frowned, wondering what kind of new recruits could be so problematic. It surely couldn''t be Leopard 2A6s, could it? He replied, "I''ll be there shortly." Chapter 351: Chapter 36 Melania Volunteer Army (Extra for Alliance Hierarch) It took Wang Zhong over an hour to rush to Kubinka. Just as the convoy entered the main gate of the exercise field, Wang Zhong saw a dense crowd of people sitting on the square, where the cooking team''s girls were distributing food to them. Pavlov, apanied by a group of officers, emerged from the building that served as the City Defense Command on the exercise field and headed straight for Wang Zhong''s convoy. From a distance, Wang Zhong asked, "Why are you letting them sit in the snow? It''s so cold outside." Pavlov, with a bitter face, replied, "They refused to enter the building, insisting on waiting for you out here in the snow. So I had no choice but to have the cooking team give them hot bread and water." Wang Zhong looked towards these people. By now, many had noticed Wang Zhong, so those sitting began to stand up one after another. Just as Wang Zhong was about to walk towards them, he suddenly remembered that he hadn''t yet asked who these people were, and quickly turned to ask, "Who exactly are these people? They don''t seem to have a standard military uniform." Pavlov: "This is the first batch of Mnia''s volunteer army, just sent over from their settlement. ording to the priest who apanied them, they refused to join other units, requesting to be under yourmand." Wang Zhong: "Just because I took a photo with ''Miss Minerva''?" Pavlov frowned: "Miss Minerva?" Wang Zhong waved his hand: "That''s the nickname I gave that Mnian ''dethroned princess''." By this time, all the Mnians had stood up, and so Wang Zhong walked towards them. These people clearly had military training. By the time Wang Zhong approached them, they had already formed ranks, standing uniformly in front of him. Wang Zhong: "Hello there, volunteers of Mnia." After he finished speaking, he expected to receive a uniform responsesomething like "Greetings, Commander"but the Mnians just looked at him, silent. A man who appeared to be in his forties stepped forward in front of Wang Zhong and saluted. Wang Zhong: "Even though you''re not in uniform, it seems like you have had military training, right?" The man: "I was once a Mnian major general. Now, I''ve been elected by everyone as themander." From the term mander," it was evident that the man was a follower of the Secr faction. The Secr faction believed in equality for all, hence they used the titlemander, cing no distinction between it and a fighter, jointly referred to asbatant. Wang Zhong extended his hand: "Greetings, General Sir. I''ve heard from the priests that you all insisted on joining my forces." The general took Wang Zhong''s hand: "Salute to you, General Rocossov. We indeed requested to be under yourmand, because you rekindled our will to fight against Prosen. Many of us were ready to keep fleeing eastward; we thought Ante was going to fall too, like Carolingian." Wang Zhong: "Carolingian hasn''t stopped resisting, General Dago''s Free Caroling is still fighting. You should keep fighting as well." The general, with a hint of shame, let go of Wang Zhong''s hand: "We... we have been so demoralized by the Prussian onught that after the fall of our homnd, Prosen kept advancing triumphantly. The United Kingdom has been spared from falling due to the Royal Navy, but they seem incapable of a counterattack. "When Prosen recently vited the non-aggression treaty to attack Ante, we were ted, thinking Ante''s army of five million could easily annihte Prosen, but what did we witness? Even if we do not believe Prosen''s propaganda of annihting four million, the front line doesn''t lie." Most Mnians could hear the general''s words, and many lowered their heads. The general: "Even with just a sliver of hope, we would keep fighting, but we fear there is none left. To us, you are the first ray of light piercing through the darkness. Many of us reignited our will to fight after seeing the photos of you parading the Prussian generals. "So we hope to fight under yourmand, to restore our homnd!" The Mnians echoed in unison: "Restore our homnd!" Their cry of "Restore our homnd" was shouted in the Mniannguage, and although it was vaguely audible to Wang Zhong, he could roughly understand since bothnguages were part of the vguage family. Wang Zhong: "My homnd has also fallen, and I look forward to the day I can return." Then someone asked, "General, is it true that you carry soil from your homnd with you?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, it''s true." He picked up the lunch box he always carried and raised it high: "The day I dug up this box of soil, my father and my good brother both sacrificed their lives in the Argesukov encirclement. I will fight my way back home, to scatter this soil where they fell." Wang Zhong noticed many had tears in their eyes; it seemed they too had lost loved ones under Prosen''s iron heel. Speaking for everyone, the general said: "Please let us join your ranks; we want to fight. The first batch of conscripts all have military experience. We may not have been able to protect our homnd, but we can restore it." Wang Zhong: "I''ve heard that there are many high school students among you?" The general: "Yes, because most here are followers of the Eastern Holy Church Secr faction, so the majority are from cities and there are a lot of high school graduates. Also because of this, most people understand the Antenguage. You can assign us to any division." Wang Zhong: "I hope those with mechanical maintenance experience can step forward. Trante that into Mniannguage for me." The brigadier general acted immediately. Soon, arge group of people emerged from the ranks, looking to be over a thousand strong. Wang Zhong was overjoyed, "So many of you!" Someone from the group addressed him, "Many of us are from the same factory. We were mobilized when the Prussians attacked. We had just reached our station and hadn''t begun integrated training when Visvawalsy fell, so we had no choice but to run." Wang Zhong turned to the speaker, "Your factory specializes in car repairs?" "Car manufacturing," the man replied. Wang Zhong, "Good, very good. We are in dire need of battlefield repair personnel. You''ll form our first battlefield repair battalion!" "We want to fight the Prussians!" Wang Zhong, "I understand your eagerness to open fire directly on the Prussians. But war isn''t just about shooting enemies. Repairs are important too. My forces will be equipped with tanks and tank destroyers that are extremely precious and take a long time to produce. It would take too long to produce new ones. "So you must brave the storm of bullets and recover the damaged tanks, and fix them up! That is your battlefield, your battle. It''s a critically important fight, even more so than firing upon the enemy. "One of the Prussians'' advantages is their logistical capabilities. We have to learn from them!" The thousand-plus people looked at each other perplexedly. Another person spoke up, "But we want to shed blood for Mnia, to be repairmen... we can''t even boast over drinks when we get back." Wang Zhong, "Why can''t you? Didn''t I just say that you''ll be hauling tanks under enemy fire? Don''t you know that in the Ante Army, the casualty rate of medics is only second to that of priests? You are the medics for the tanks! "It''s decided then, you will be the First Battlefront Emergency Repair Battalion, the first formal support unit of the mobilizing mechanized army. Alright Pavlov, get them assigned to barracks and take care of the paperwork for setting up the unit!" Pavlov, "Alright, gentlemen, follow that staff officer. No use protesting; the general has wanted to establish a professional emergency repair unit for a long time." As Wang Zhong watched these people leave, he turned to the remaining Mnia people. "The rest of you will be formed into the First Mnia Mechanized Infantry Division. I will equip you with the same gear as my other troops. Since most of you are high schoolers, you''ll mainly serve in technical roles. Later on, we might bolster your ranks with a battalion of Ante infantry." The brigadier general, "Are we forming our own army?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, you can think of a name for yourselves; perhaps the Mnia People''s Army, or the Mnia Liberation Army. As for your g, let''s go with red as the background. My units use red gs because the local people of Loktov gave me a g that was stained red with blood. "I think you can adopt this symbolism; Mnia has paid a price in blood, and a red g signifies never forgetting those sacrifices. "As for the emblem on the red g, I think you can use the white eagle of Mnia, although at first, I mistook it for a big white goose." Laughter spread through the ranks. The brigadier general admonished, "Don''tugh!" Wang Zhong quickly gestured with his hand, "No, don''t stop. It was a joke; if you don''tugh, it''s more embarrassing for me." This truly made manyugh aloud. Wang Zhong, "Then it''s settled. Pavlov, organize them into a division based on the model division''s structure." Pavlov sighed, "The model division isn''t even fully organized yet, and here you are giving me more work." Wang Zhong patted his shoulder, "The capable must work hard. First, arrange amodation for them." There were barracks at Kubinka originally meant for troops participating in exercises, which could amodate an entire army. When the Prussians closed in, the City Defense Command nned to turn all barracks into fortresses, so many windows were blocked up. Now, to stay in these barracks, the windows needed to be "reopened." The "window-reopening" activity was a good collectivebor task for the new units. After Pavlov sent the Mnia personnel away with the staff officer, Wang Zhong inquired, "How is the organization of the model division going?" Pavlov, "We''re stillcking technical soldiers. The Navy sent over two thousand Naval Infantry, and I''ve converted them all into technical soldiers. But... with this anti-aircraft battalion and the battlefield emergency repair battalion, do we need so many technical soldiers?" Wang Zhong, "We do. The enemy Air Force presents a significant threat to our fixed positions and soft targets, and we can''t always depend on Divine Arrows. Look at the City Defense Command; see how few Divine Arrows and Prayer Hands they have. Mobilizing Prayer Hands won''t increase their numbers; they need time to grow, and they are a non-renewable resource during war." Wang Zhong paused, then added, "Also, my Liu Da might soon leave for childbirth, and she will be leaving the front line." Pavlov, "Alright. But we don''t have enough anti-aircraft guns, and the only mobile anti-aircraft guns that can follow tank units are vehicle-mounted quad machine guns." Wang Zhong, "No vehicle-mounted 72K anti-aircraft guns?" "None. And to be honest, given the state of Ante''s ground conditions, if we want to keep up with the tank units, we need tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft guns," Pavlov said. Wang Zhong scratched his head, "I''ll think of a solution. Fortunately, the intensity of the war will significantly decrease in theing months, giving us time." Chapter 352: Chapter 37: The Global Situation at Christmas in 914 In the following days, life went on without any remarkable incidents. Unremarkable meant that the daily casualty numbers released by High Command did not exceed ten thousand. The Eastern Holy Church celebrated Christmas on January 7th, but due to the vast expanse of the Ante Empire, in consideration of the ethnic groups within its borders who observed Christmas, a simple celebration would still be held on December 25th. On the morning of December 25th, Wang Zhong was roused early by Nelly. As soon as he sat up, Liu Xia did too, identally bumping his shoulder. Wang Zhong eximed in surprise, "Liu Xia didn''t wake up either this time?" Ludm usually got up early, but had been lying in bed waiting for Wang Zhong so they could get up together; this time, she hadn''t even opened her eyes yet. Nelly said, "Today is Christmas, and although we don''t celebrate it, we need to attend the activities held at the pce." Wang Zhong replied, "I''m very busy. I have to review feedback from themittee on troop modifications, oversee the formation of new forces at the City Defense Command, and then teach sses and write books..." Ludm wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his ear, "Belinsky His Majesty specially called yesterday, stressing that you must attend the event at the pce today, because the Federation and the United Kingdom celebrate Christmas. Therefore, today we are hosting diplomats from our allies. "They''ll be disappointed if you don''t go." Wang Zhong replied, "Alright, His Majesty is right. Nelly, bring me my military dress uniform. Liu Xia, you''re going too, right?" "Of course. I was nning to wear my uniform. What do you think?" Wang Zhong said, "Good, a uniform is perfect. I''ve gotten tired of seeing you in casual clothestely." Ludm asked, "What about me when I''m not wearing anything?" "Tired of that too," Wang Zhong said. Upon hearing this, Nelly quickly used the clothes she brought as a shield, holding them in front of her and stepping back. Wang Zhong protested, "Even if I''m tired of it, it''s not like I wouldy a hand on you!" Nelly responded, "Given your track record of misconduct, I think it''s wise to be cautious." It seemed that even if Wang Zhong turned over a new leaf, he couldn''t make Nelly let go of her prejudices. Wang Zhong sighed and began getting dressed. During breakfast, Nelly brought in the day''s newspaper and the official battle report from High Command. Wang Zhong first checked the battle report and eximed after a nce, "Yesterday (the 24th) had fewer than ten thousand casualtiesbined, it seems the intensity at the front really has decreased." Ludm noted, "The death toll hasn''t exceeded ten thousand for the past few days, has it? I hope this period of calmsts a little longer." Wang Zhong agreed, "Indeed, we must rush to train troops during this quiet period. Every second counts now." He cut the fried egg sitting on top of the SPAM slices with his knife and fork, then skewered both the ham and egg to pop into his mouth. The remaining half of the fried egg, with its yolk not yet fully set, oozed out, trickling over the SPAM cuts and slowly spreading across the te. Wang Zhong quickly finished the canned meat and eggs, then carelessly gulped down his oatmeal porridge, and finally, he grabbed a piece of pickled cucumber, dipped it in sour cream, and stuffed it into his mouth. Before he even swallowed, Wang Zhong stood up, "Let''s go." Ludm said, "Swallow your food before you speak." Wang Zhong hastily chewed a few times, swallowed, and smiled, "That sounds like something my mom would say." Ludm remarked, "You can still remember your mother? Didn''t she die when we were about four years old?" Wang Zhong and his half-brother Peter were sons of the same father. After Peter''s mother died, the Duke Rocossov remarried, and then his young wife gave birth to Wang Zhong. That''s why there was such arge age gap between the two brothers. In this world, Wang Zhong''s mother also passed away early, and it seemed the Duke had lost two wives in session and didn''t wish to marry again. Of course, when Wang Zhong said "like my mom," he was referring to his mother from another time and space. The mother he would never meet again. Wang Zhong shook off the unexpected wave of homesickness and urged Ludm, "Hurry up, we can''t be casual about beingte to such a formal event." When Wang Zhong entered the Summer Pce''s lounge, he immediately spotted a group of officers dressed differently from the Ante Army, who were gathered and chatting. Wang Zhong recognized one of them: Colonel John Wick from the Federation. He immediately said to Ludm, "Liu Xia, I''m going to chat with the gentlemen." Ludm quickly let go of his hand, "Then I''ll go over there and chat with the diplomats'' wives." Wang Zhong looked in the direction Ludm was pointing, saw a group ofvishly dresseddies, and then nced back at his fiance in her military attire, encouraging her, "You look more beautiful in your uniform than they do in their fancy clothes, and you have a distinct air of valor." "I know," Ludm said softly, and with a gentle push on Wang Zhong''s shoulder, she urged him to face the military officers from various countries, "Go ahead." Wang Zhong then strode confidently towards the gentlemen. The first to notice him was Colonel John Wick, "Oh, General Rokossovsky, my friend, we''ve all been waiting for you!" Wang Zhong embraced Colonel John Wick, and for a brief moment, he even considered giving him an enthusiastic kiss like Su Xunzong, but since it wasn''t a thing between men, he gave up the idea, "John Wick, my old friend. When will I be able to get my Shermans?" Colonel John Wickughed, "You really never forget to strike at Prosen even during the holidays. The first batch of tanks should leave tonight, they''ll be delivered to the Ice-free Port up north, and then transported to Ekaterinburg Fortress by rail. I''m not exactly sure what you''ll get, it might be light tanks like the Stuarts, or the Shermans you want." After Colonel John Wick finished, the colonel dressed in United Kingdom Army attire teased, "Even the United Kingdom can only get the M3 Grant Lee tanks, yet Ante receives Shermans. Isn''t that a bit unfair?" Wang Zhong replied, "It''s a sign of trust in your Matilda tanks." The United Kingdom colonel shook his head, "Those things have decent protection, but might not be able to prate Prosen tanks. The most important thing is that they are too slow. The generals even think that slow speed is good because it allows the infantry to keep up for assaults!" Wang Zhong replied jokingly, "I thought your tanks were so slow to prevent spilling the members'' ck tea." All the officers burst into heartyughter, even the United Kingdom colonel couldn''t help but join in. After theughter subsided, the colonel from the United Kingdom got serious, "We need better tanks, Prosen has demonstrated the right armored tactics to us, and we urgently need new equipment to revolutionize our tactics." Wang Zhong nodded, then turned to John Wick, "Aren''t we getting into business too early? I still don''t know everyone''s names." Colonel John Wick quickly said, "Oh, my mistake. Let me introduce them, this is the Military Attach from the United Kingdom, Colonel Wilt of the Army, this is Colonel Allen Ogden of the Royal Air Force, and this is Colonel Nelson of the Royal Navy, a descendant of that Nelson. "Lastly, this is my colleague, Colonel Duke from the Federation Air Army." Wang Zhong shook hands with each of them in turn and then quickly memorized them as the Army colonel, Air Force colonel, Navy colonel, and Air Army colonel. Colonel Duke from the Air Army spoke up, "We are forming the Expeditionary Air Force, training pilots and crew members. Once training is finished, we will head to the United Kingdom proper to execute long-range bombings on Prosen''s domestic industrial facilities." Wang Zhong asked, "The training can''t be finished next year, can it?" Duke nodded embarrassingly, "The Federation''s war machine takes time to mobilize. After all, it''s been 40 years since ourst major conflict, so it moves slowly. The navy and army will probably only be able to fight with their current equipment next year. "Personally, I expect the air raids to start in spring of 916, and then they will continue indefinitely." As soon as he finished speaking, Colonel Ogden of the Royal Air Force chimed in, "Blow them to kingdome. We''ve resisted Prosen''s bombing for nearly a year, and our domestic factories have suffered heavily. Now it''s our turn to bite back. "The Royal Air Force''s Lancaster bombers have already bombed Prosen''s factories within their territory at night. It''s not that difficult. The rest is just ramping up the numbers." Colonel Dukemented, "The effectiveness of nighttime bombing is debatable. We should probably adopt daytime bombing, our B17s have enough armor and defensive firepower, and if arranged in tight formation, they can effectively fend off Prosen Air Force interception." Ogden countered, "Our Lancasters are also very strong in defensive firepower!" Wang Zhong added, "Day or night, as long as it destroys the enemy''s production, it''s a good thing!" At that moment, Colonel Nelson from the Royal Navy spoke up, "The navy is indeed nning tounch an attack next year, probably at some point in the second half of the year." Wang Zhong casually asked, "Is the target the Carolingian colony in Africa?" Nelson widened his eyes in surprise, "Where did you hear such news?" From another time and space. Wang Zhong just smiled without a word. Ah, let MI6 guess it out. After all, you will be one-way transparent in the future. Then, Colonel Wilt from the United Kingdom Army, without the Royal prefix, said, "We''re different. We''re already fiercely battling Prosen and their little Apennine brothers in the deserts of Mamluk. We''ll soon drive them all into the sea, bordering the Carolingian African colony." Wang Zhong eximed, "Wow, that''s impressive!" That''s unlikely, Jude has already entered the fray early on. Colonel Wilt looked at John Wick, "So give us the Shermans as soon as possible!" Colonel Wick spread his hands, "Talking to me won''t help, as a mere Military Attach, my influence over Congress and the President is negligible. The decision to strongly support Ante domestically came because Major General Rokossovsky achieved results. The old guys in Congress are businessmen," they like secure investments." Colonel Wilt snorted, "Once we''ve ttened Prosen''s forces in the Mamluk region, we won''t need your new tanks anymore." Wang Zhong eximed again, "Wow, that''s impressive!" Everyone turned to look at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong rified, "What I mean is, that''s indeed impressive. I hope our allies can fight splendid battles on all fronts. Since the United Kingdom doesn''t need Shermans anymore, then send a few extra my way. Even if you can''t provide Shermans, at least send more radios, walkie-talkies." Colonel John Wick assured, "That won''t be a problem. Although Prosen''s submarine warfare is rampant, the Federation Navy has already joined the fray, and anti-submarine forces in the Arctic routes have been significantly strengthened. A great deal of supplies will be sent to Ante." Wang Zhong was pleased, "That''s good to hear." At that moment, the court protocol officer came in, "Gentlemen, the ball is ready. Please enter in an orderly fashion." Wang Zhong announced, "I''m going to meet my fiance now. Merry Christmas to you all." The others raised their sses, "Merry Christmas!" Chapter 353: Chapter 38: The Prodigal, the Tsar, and Flamenco The banquet hall of the Summer Pce had been refreshed with new decor, for it was the kind of reception where everyone stood with a drink in hand, so two long tables were ced along the edges of the hall,den with food that could easily be picked up and eaten. Wang Zhong, holding Ludm''s hand, entered the venue, casually picked up a piece of walnut cake, and surveyed his surroundings while nibbling. Diplomats and their spouses followed behind this pair, entering one after another until the room quickly filled to capacity. The orchestra had already taken its ce in a designated area, ying soothing music. Wang Zhong whispered to Ludm, "Whates next in the program?" Since the saying "General Rocossov dislikes dances" had already spread throughout Ye Fort, Wang Zhong, who had been in his post for over a month now, had never been to a dance. His understanding of dances was still based on various movies and television shows he had seen, like that unparalleled Soviet film "War and Peace." There was also that genuinely one-shot Soviet movie "Russian Ark." Beyond that, dances were aplete ck box to Wang Zhong, an unexplored territory, whereas the character he had reced in this world was supposedly a "party expert," or using the anime pance, a "party wild guest." ording to others'' ounts, the prodigal Rocossov was extremely adept at luring naive young girls to bed during dances. And this was precisely the area where Wang Zhong felt most foreign. A dance? You''ve got to be joking, the only time I went to KTV was to belt out "Steel Pails Tearfully Call for Repairs" with my bros! The only interaction I had with any girls there was when I sang "Girl Across the Way Look Over Here." Faced with the befuddled Wang Zhong, Ludm kindly exined, "There will be a speechter, just focus on eating for now." "Sure. I''m good at that, just p at the end, right?" Wang Zhong nodded in agreement. Ludm: "Then there will be the first dance, the hostess and the guest of honor will lead." "Got it, I''ll just keep eating," replied Wang Zhong, nodding as if pounding garlic. Ludm looked at him, "You can''t, you''re the guest of honor." Wang Zhong: "Me?" Am I being punked? Is this for real? Ludm couldn''t helpughing at Wang Zhong''s solemn face, "Why so serious? It''s not like you''re being asked to devour Prosen''s Army Group." Wang Zhong: "I''d rather annihte the enemy''s Army Group." Just kidding, you guys are scarier than a Prosen Tank; even a Tiger tank doesn''t have armor as thick as you. Wang Zhong: "So the hostess is OlgaHer Majesty, huh?" Ludm softly reminded him, "You left out the ''the First.''" "Oh. So it''s her then? I''m to lead the dance with her?" Ludm nodded, "Just be careful not to step on her feet." Wang Zhong: "Did I used to step on feet before?" "You always did. Then you''d offer to put ointment on her and give her a massage, leading the girl to the first-aid room that was prepared in advance," Ludm said, blinking at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong: "Rest assured, I wouldn''t do that to my sworn sister." The court master of ceremonies struck the floor with his staff, drawing everyone''s attention before announcing loudly, "Her Imperial Majesty Olga the First has arrived!" Those who had been chattering instantly turned, all facing towards the door where the master of ceremonies stood. The doors slowly opened, and Her Majesty the Tsar, Olga the First, entered the banquet hall dressed in regal attire, followed by two maids holding her gown''s train. Olga seemed a bit tightly wrapped, perhaps the weather was cold today. Wang Zhong let out a sigh of relief. However, the next moment, His Majesty the Tsar shrugged her shoulders, reminiscent of the boss battle intro from the Yakuza game series, and cast off her lengthy royal cloak! She then conveniently unfastened the belt that secured the outer part of her gown. Olga the First had ''lightened the load'' in one swift move, smiling amiably at all the attendees. She was actually searching, and upon spotting Wang Zhong, her gaze locked in ce. Wang Zhong was astounded. "Ladies and gentlemen, Merry Christmas," Olga began her speech. Wang Zhong, following Ludm''s earlier instruction, started to enjoy his food. Olga nced at him, saying, "The Tsarina is watching you, it''s not proper to keep your head down and eat, is it?" Wang Zhong: "But I''m also watching her. Just like this." He held his food, looked towards Olga, then realized that when he had bitten into the cake, he had left cream on his lips. This made his gesture seem ratherical. The Tsarina almost lost herposure but ultimately steadied herself and continued her speech, "This year has been tough for the allied nations fighting against the axis of evil. Our Ante Empire has lost millions of soldiers, with over one and a half million captured." Wang Zhong thought to himself, weren''t it for my fierce fighting, the number could have been increased by a few hundred thousand to make it an even two million. The Tsar continued, "While the Federation lost six battleships in a sneak attack by the Empire of Fusang, innumerable sailors sacrificed their lives. As for the United Kingdom, until July of this year, they were still under bombing by Prosen, countless civilians died in the air raids. I propose a moment of silence for all the deceased." Having finished, Olga crossed her hands over her abdomen and bowed her head in a moment of silence. Wang Zhong hastily set down his food and bowed his head to pay his respects. After a minute, Wang Zhong raised his head and looked at Olga, noticing the tears glistening at the corner of her eyes. Was she reminiscing about Ivan? Olga: "As the Tsar, I too have lost two loved ones under the iron heel of the Prosen. This blood feud can only be resolved with fire and sword! The lostnds must be regained, and justice will prevail!" Wang Zhong led the apuse, which soon thundered throughout the hall. Once the apuse died down, Olga continued, "Today we celebrate Christmas to show the Prosen Empire our determination, to dere that we have not bowed to their tyranny. Let us raise our sses and celebrate Christmas!" Waiters with impressive skills appeared in a line, carrying trays filled with wine sses, and then dispersed among the guests, moving deftly through the crowd. Soon everyone had a wine ss in hand. Wang Zhong and others raised their sses high and shouted, "Cheers!" After finishing their drinks, Olga handed her ss to a waiter and then signaled to the orchestra, and so the first dance began. Ludm nudged Wang Zhong: "Go." Am I your Pokmon? No, that''s not right, it should be "Am I your Parlu?" now. But he stepped forward anyway and offered Olga the invitation to dance. Strangely, he had no idea how to invite someone to dance, but his body seemed to remember, and he naturally made the inviting gesture. Olgaughed heartily and ced her hand in Wang Zhong''s palm. Thus, Wang Zhong led her to the position for the lead dancers. At that moment, Wang Zhong finally confirmed that his body did indeed have muscle memory, and boldly let his body take over, guiding Olga through the graceful dance moves across the dance floor. Normally, Ludm would be dancing with the host, but in the absence of one, she stood by, smiling as she watched Wang Zhong dance with his "foster sister." Wang Zhong struggled to avoid concentrating on the bust in front of him, locking his gaze onto Olga''s face instead. As the piece ended, he managed not to step on her feet even once. Damn it, wasn''t I supposed to step on her foot and then take the girl to the infirmary? No, I definitely didn''t intend to take Her Majesty the Tsar over there, no way! Amidst the apuse, Olga whispered regretfully, "I thought it was going to be a more thrilling dance." Wang Zhong: "Your Majesty, that kind of dance requires music like the tango, or something even more intense like menco. I can''t get passionate with a waltz the orchestra is ying." "So it is." Olga turned to look at the orchestra and snapped her fingers, "By the Tsar''s name, I demand a menco!" As an orchestra capable of ying at the court, naturally no tune was beyond their scope. The sound of the guitar resonated immediately, indeed it was a menco. Wang Zhong''s heart beat faster, unsure if this body had that skill. When the violin joined in, Wang Zhong asked, "You... have you learned menco?" Olga: "I''ve seen you dance it with other girls." Well done, indeed there is this skill, Rocossov you party beast. Then the violin resounded, and Wang Zhong remembered, he had seen this piece danced by Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta in "The Mask of Zorro"! So, following their example and with his body''s assistance, he stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Olga''s waist. The beginning part of the piece was actually quite gentle, and Wang Zhong just strolled around the dance floor with Olga, but when the guitar and the drum beats picked up, so did his movements. As he lifted his hand, Olga spun like a top, her footwork perfectly matching the guitar''s rapid strumming. Eventually, Olga rushed into Wang Zhong''s arms, and he had to perform a move that brought his face close to her front armor, nearly inserting his nose into the armor''s seam. Olga hadn''t broken a sweat from the spinning, so Wang Zhong could only smell the perfume, not identifying the scent but knowing it was pleasant and not pungent like cheap perfume. And then, so white, wanting to bury his face in it. Wang Zhong effortlessly matched Olga''s dance steps, twirling her so that her skirt bloomed like a flower. At the end of the piece, Wang Zhong controlled his breathing and looked back at Olga''s face, finding that she was finally sweatingit was the middle of winter, and the temperature inside the banquet hall wasn''t low. They froze in their final pose as thest note yed. The apuse was thunderous. Olga took the opportunity to whisper to Wang Zhong, "I''ve long wanted to dance with you. My brother taught me those steps." What the hell, Ivan, this is a setup! Wang Zhong stood up straight, let go of Olga''s waist, and naturally took her hand, bowing to everyone. The apuse swelled again, with Ludm joining in. Wang Zhong escorted Olga back to her rightful ce, bowed once more, and turned to look at Ludm. There should be a break between two dances at a ball. The orchestra began to y a soft tune. Wang Zhong approached Ludm and bowed, "May I have the pleasure of a menco dance with you?" Ludm: "I haven''t had a teacher though, I might step on your feet. And I''m wearing a military uniform." Wang Zhong: "Isn''t that perfect? Come on." So, Ludm ced her hand in Wang Zhong''s palm. Wang Zhong, leading her to the center of the dance floor and utilizing his freshly acquired moves, snapped his fingers at the orchestra, "menco!" Chapter 354: Chapter 39 The Heroes Views Coincide Somewhat (Makeup for 31/33) As the music began, Wang Zhong was already getting the hang of it. He had just based his previous performance on a movie he remembered, and now he started to utilize his recent experience, making his moves much smoother. However, Ludm encountered a problem with her first big movement: the skirt of her military dress uniform restricted her legs, causing a small tear the length of a pinky finger. Taking advantage of a twirl, Ludm tore a fifteen-centimeter split in her skirt, transforming it into a cheongsam with a slit. Free from the constraints on her legs, Ludm put even more force into her movementsWang Zhong didn''t know what made a good menco dance; he just knew it seemed passionate and fiery, so maybe more force meant it was better? Since she was his fiance, Wang Zhong simply let loose too, making broad and expansive gestures. There''s a saying that dance should be free, and that expressing one''s current mood is the mark of good dancing. Wang Zhong''s movements at the moment were a good reflection of his mood. When he was dancing with Olga earlier, some of the moves required him to get close, yet he didn''t really do so, maintaining a distance instead. Now he let go of that inhibition, truly pressing close, even nesting his nose into the gap of reactive armor. You wouldn''t understand, but this kind of gap-clearing could prevent idents when shells are iing; it''s what a tankmander should do. At the end of the dance, Ludm whispered in Wang Zhong''s ear as she posed for the final position, "What, did not being able to touch earlier frustrate you that much?" Wang Zhong pretended not to hear and asked, "Howe you''re also so good at menco?" "I saw you practicing and just picked it up. I was nning to learn dancing anyway, and my teacher also happens to know menco." Well, that''s a delightful twist unique to childhood friends, damn itit''s a pity you can''t even get a taste of it without transmigrating. Modern day Ceres is where neighbors live and die without interacting with each other. Honestly, Wang Zhong felt he performed better this time, but paradoxically, the apuse wasn''t as enthusiastic as before; he wasn''t sure if that was for fear of angering the Tsar. But the Tsar himself was pping particrly hard. When Wang Zhong looked up, he locked eyes with Olga and noticed her genuinely admiring expression. Thus, the pping from everyone else grew more enthusiastic as well. Wang Zhong intended to lead Ludm back to their original spot, but she said softly, "I need to fix my dress." Wang Zhong: "Is it serious?" "Just need to sew it. Nelly probably brought a sewing kit; I''ll be back in a jiffy." Suddenly, Wang Zhong wondered if there woulde a day when, amidst enemy fire at the front lines, Ludm would sing "A River of Wider Waves" while mending torn clothesno, wait, that''s mixing up stories. Ludm left the room to find Nelly, and Wang Zhong watched her go before turning back to the others in the room. Right then, a diplomat''s wife, struggling with her Antenguage, approached him, "May I have the honor of an invitation from you?" Wang Zhong: "No, I''m a bit tired." Agreeing to one could lead to countless more menco dances; Wang Zhong decisively left her behind and headed back to the buffet table. Male diplomats were congregated nearby, chatting. They greeted Wang Zhong as he approached: "You danced wonderfully, General." "I hear you''re nning to get engaged to Miss Mailehovna?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, her family has already evacuated to Bolsk, but the railway is full of military trains right now, and they can''t get through just yet." The evacuation route from Bolsk didn''t go through Ye Fort, so Ludm''s family couldn''t take the evacuation train there. Wang Zhong, anticipating that Bolsk would be the focus of the enemy''s attack next year, had Ludm send a telegram instructing her family to evacuate further back without rushing to Ye Fort. Just as he answered one question, another diplomat curiously asked, "There''s a rumor everywhere in Ye Fort that you might be a prince; what''s that about?" Wang Zhong: "That''s because I''m as close to His Majesty''s elder brother as siblings, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intended to sacrifice himself. So he entrusted me with his sister, asking me to take his ce as her brother. "I''m actuallymitted to being a good stand-in brother, but somehow the rumor around Ye Fort''s social circle turned into me wanting to marry Olga. "How easy could it be to court Her Majesty? Her standards are high! A mere puff of breath and I would be worthy? Impossible, absolutely impossible!" The diplomats nodded in agreement, and Wang Zhong inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Being a brother is good enough, not disappointing either Crown Prince Ivan who entrusted Olga to him, nor Ludm. At that point, the discussion among the diplomats naturally turned to the war situation for the following year. While snacking from the table, Wang Zhong listened to their conversation until a diplomat asked, "General Rokossovsky, how do you see the war unfolding next year? Will a counter-offensive happen?" Wang Zhong: "Our previous offensive theories have be inadequate in the face of modern military technology. "The assault organized by Tukhachev revealed that our military personnel at all levelsck understanding of how to conduct an offensive under current technological conditionsI myself don''t have much experience organizing them either." Wait a minute, doesn''t this sound a bit like boasting? And sure enough, one of the diplomats teased, "You captured a hundred thousand Prosen prisoners; if you don''t know how to organize an offensive, then no one in the Allied Forces will." Wang Zhong: "During my offensive, the enemy was both hungry and cold. At the outset, their cannons were frozen solid and they couldn''t muster any effective defensive firepower." "No, the attack was more or less a gift from the enemy. The reason we were able to push the front back to the east bank of the Duva River was also due to the enemy''s terrible supply situation. As soon as we encountered their fortified defensive positions, we were immediately stopped in our tracks." "We need time to learn warfare, and so do themanders at all levels." Wang Zhong''s remarks were actually more about himself. In the game, he usuallymanded at the battalion and regiment level, and then he yed a role like the grand strategists in ''Hearts of Iron'', overseeing everything. Commanding from Army Group to Front Army level, Wang Zhong had only tried in some very niche war games. But no matter how realistic the war game is, it''s still a tabletop game, simting war ording to certain rules. It''s just a simtion. To be honest, Wang Zhong really didn''t know how an army should carry out an offensive. He needed to actually do it to learn. However, Wang Zhong always felt that he would still be on the defensive next year. It just so happened that the newly developed 100mm gun carrier, whichcked a turret, was a tank destroyer, well-suited for defense. Therefore, at this moment, Wang Zhong wasn''t just answering the diplomats'' questions, he was also rifying his own thoughts. At this point, John Wick, the military attach, also came over: "I overheard some of it, does General Rokossovsky think the main strategy next year will still be defensive?" Wang Zhong: "Localized offensives will certainly ur. Counter-attacks are part of defensive operations." "I see, your insights coincide remarkably with those of the newly appointedmander of the Pacific Fleet," said Colonel John Wick, incongruously for a man wearing an army uniform. The Federation has its inter-service rivalries, toothe Army Air Corps (at this time, the Federation did not have a separate Air Force) used ''P'' as the prefix for fighter aircraft, while Naval Aviation used ''F''. The Army Aviation preferred liquid-cooled engines and seized all production. Naval Aviation, in turn, scrambled for the production capability of air-cooled engines. Of course, this kind of discord was more aboutck of cooperation, and hadn''t reached the point where the Army was building aircraft carriers and the Navy tanks. Wang Zhong: "What did the new Pacificmander say?" John Wick: "He said that the fleet should primarily conduct defensive operations next year, and the initiative for an attack lies with the Empire of Fusang." Wang Zhong nodded, assessing that there was no issue with that estimate. It was the same on Earth. Throughout ''42, it was Japan on the offensive. Although America preemptively took Guadalcanal, in terms of distance, America''s upation was more of a defensive move. It was Japan that secretly sent men to Guadalcanal, near Port Moresby, to build an airstrip in preparation for an attack on the port, but America discovered it and took the ind given its proximity. Afterwards, Japan continually moved troops prepared for the Port Moresby attack to the ind, and its navy also made multiple proactive strikes. Therefore, although America conducted anding operation on Guadalcanal, the battle was actually a defensive campaign. Seeing Wang Zhong''s expression, Colonel John Wick asked, "Does the general also have an interest in naval affairs?" Wang Zhong: "Not at all, not at all. How could andlubber like me understand the navy? I just think, with the Federation only just entering the war, it won''t be able to scale up production next year. The real impact of the Federation will likely be in 916." John Wick: "Indeed." Wang Zhong suddenly felt as if he was a fully-equipped ADC ready for battle. At this moment, the band finished their intermission piece, and the second dance was about to begin. Many diplomats, upon hearing the band y the final note, turned their heads to seek out dance partners. Ludm had not yet arrived in the hall, still sewing her dress. Those men who were quick to act had already made their move. Wang Zhong saw a diplomat approach Olga, only to be politely rejected; the diplomat then walked back towards the long table with a look of frustration. Wang Zhong promptly approached and asked, "What did Her Majesty say?" The diplomat: "Her Majesty said she just twisted her ankle during the menco and can only sit and rest, hoping we enjoy ourselves." Wang Zhong had this nagging feeling that if he went to invite Olga to dance, her ankle would miraculously heal right away. John Wick also said, "If you were to invite her, even if Her Majesty''s foot hurt, she''d likely ept with pleasure, right?" Wang Zhong: "Of course not, Her Majesty is very willful. As I''ve just said, courting Her Majesty is as difficult as reaching the heavens." Darn it, inadvertently, he had portrayed Olga as an unattainable flower. John Wick added, "Over there, there are plenty ofdies looking over here eagerly. Aren''t you going over?" Wang Zhong: "I think I also twisted my ankle just now, I mean, my fiance stepped on my foot." "Really?" John Wick said with an understanding smile. "Well, let''s just leave it at that." The dance went on. By the way, it was only after the dance had ended that Ludm returned to the ballroom, reportedly unwell. Chapter 355: Chapter 40 The Last Day of the First Year of the War (Supplementary Update 32/33) On the morning of December 31, Wang Zhong woke up and reached out to find that, unusually, the space beside him was empty, and the sheets hadpletely cooled, indicating that Ludm had gotten up a long time ago. He threw back the covers and sat up, only to see Nelly adding wood to the firece. Wang Zhong, "Ludm''s not here to give me my daily morning hug. Nelly, could you... fill in for her?" Nelly patted her chest, making a thumping sound, "Are you sure?" Wang Zhong, "I''m fine with a hard one, it''s the feeling of being cared for that''s important." Nelly looked at Wang Zhong with a very "caring" expression. Caring for a fool is still caring. Wang Zhong gave up on being coddled and flipped onto his feet, "Bring me my clothes." Momentster, dressed and tidied up, Wang Zhong left the room, only to take a few steps before he saw through the corridor window that outside, Ludm was directing servants to bring a tree into the courtyard. Wang Zhong, "Why are you cutting down a tree?" Nelly, "To make a Christmas tree." "Christmas isn''t... oh." The Ante People celebrate Christmas on January 7, not December 25, and so they mix New Year''s and Christmas together, decorating the Christmas tree on December 31. No wonder Ludm had gotten up so early. At that moment, Wang Zhong faintly heard the telephone ringing from the study and hurried away from the window, quickly making his way to the study, only to see the old butler had already picked up the receiver. Seeing Wang Zhonge in, the old butler said, "General Rokossovsky has arrived; I''ll let him listen." After saying that, he passed the receiver to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong took the receiver, "This is Rokossovsky." "General," the other side said, "This is the director of the Ordnance Department''s weapons testing center. Two... er, strange things have just been delivered, saying that you instructed them to be produced overtime and that we have to suspend the ongoing test firing of the 76mm self-propelled gun." The 76mm self-propelled gun, also known as the SU76, had been fast-tracked before the establishment of the reviewmittee, aiming to make use of the already produced T70 tank chassis. After all, light tanks had proven their ineffectiveness on the battlefield since June, but the chassis were already produced, and the production lines were still running. Switching production to something else would be a hassle, so they decided to use it to build assault guns. On Earth, not only the Russians adopted this idea, the Sturmtigers too. The mark III tank was quickly proven outdated, but changing the production line of the mark III chassis to produce something else would waste a lot of time, so it made sense to use it to make the Sturmtiger assault gun instead. The mark III tank might have been obsolete from the start of Barbarossa, but the Sturmtiger assault gun was a valuable piece of equipment that could be used right up until defeat. Wang Zhong, "Was the n today to test the SU76?" "Yes, just two more items and the testing would beplete." "Okay, finish the testing first. Tell the designers they can take a holiday. We''ll resume testing and improvement after the New Year. It''s not about these one or two days," Wang Zhong said. "Yes," the testing center director replied, "thank you for your understanding." Wang Zhong, "The SU76 is very important to our army as well." As a mobile light gun, the SU76 yed a significant role, and not just from repurposing the light tank production line. The issue with the SU76 was that, being converted from a light tank chassis and mounting a 76mm gun, there was no weight left for defense. In contrast, the Sturmtiger''s defense was even stronger than the mark III tank itself. And now, the concept for the 100mm carrier vehicle that Wang Zhong was nodding to was also using the Earth''s Sturmtiger approach, mounting arge gun on a tank chassis with rtively reliable frontal defense. However on Earth, the Sturmtiger initially really was an assault gun, mainly supporting infantry in bunker busting, beforeter being modified with a longer barrel for anti-tank use. Wang Zhong skipped the assault gun phase and directly went to making tank destroyers. Testing center director, "Then, I wish you a Happy New Year." Wang Zhong, "And I wish you all a Happy New Year too." After finishing the call and hanging up, he noticed that Mikhail, the butler, was looking at him. Mikhail, "Is this okay with you? The master has already notified us to continue working today. Is it really okay for you to celebrate New Year''s here?" Wang Zhong thought it over; it didn''t seem right to be enjoying life at home with a formidable enemy at the gates. Suddenly, he had a great idea: Before traveling through time, he often watched the Spring Festival G, and military units would have theirmanding officers join the soldiers at the grassroots to celebrate the New Year. Why not learn from advanced experiences? So, Wang Zhong snapped his fingers and said to Mikhail, "Tell Ludm that we''re going to Kubinka today to have the New Year''s Eve dinner with the soldiers I mean, the New Year''s dinner. Let the kitchen prep today''s ingredients in advance and then load them onto trucks, and have the chefs get on board." Mikhail was astonished, "This... I have never heard of such a practice!" Wang Zhong, "Well, now you have. I''m going to call Pavlov first to avoid any confusion." Two hourster, at Kubinka. Pavlov blinked at the trucks rolling into the training ground. Wang Zhong hopped off a truck and asked, "Did you spread the word?" Pavlov, "I... to be honest, we have never hosted such an event. There were New Year''s salons in the past, mainly dinners for officers, and bonfire parties for the soldiers never organized one like this." Wang Zhong, "You''ll have to get used to it because there will be more and more events like this in the future. For now, let''s get the ingredients to the cooking team over there. My chef hase too, we..." Pavlov, "Did you forget that we have a French chef here?" Wang Zhong pped his thigh, "Right, he got it from Loktov. He... he didn''t sacrifice himself, did he?" Pavlov replied, "It''s said that when Orachi broke through, he used a frying pan to fight his way out and smashed several Prussian skulls." Wang Zhong said, "I only knew Italian chefs smash a head or two while cooking, I didn''t realize French chefs could do the same." Pavlov asked, "So who''s the head chef now?" Wang Zhong answered, "We haven''t had any French cuisine along the way, right? It''s all been typical Ante food, like sour cream and pickles, chanaki stew..." Pavlov just shrugged his shoulders. Wang Zhong turned to Nelly, who had followed them, and said, "So, tell our chef... eh, why are you wearing that boat-shaped cap again?" Nelly had switched back to a maid''s headband while at the Rokossovsky Estate. Nelly said, "Now that I''m in the military camp, I''m once again a soldier." And so she evolved into a subspecies of Maid Beast, a Military Cap Maid Beast? Her special move was pulling a DShK heavy machine gun from under her skirt to initiate a Ripple Rush? Nelly said, "I''ll let the head chef know we have a French chef taking over for today. But the French chef might have to win a wrestling match against our head chef before getting the right to cook." Are Ante chefs really that hardcore? Nelly had already turned and run off. Watching Nelly leave, Pavlov said, "If I had a daughter, I''d want her to be like that." Wang Zhong asked, puzzled, "Don''t you have a daughter?" Pavlov shrugged, "I would like to, but I''ve only got a bunch of little rascals. They drive me crazy, especially when they hit seven or eight years old. They''re just like my old husky when he was young, destroying every mechanical device in the house that can be taken apart. "Do you know the pain of looking up to see the time and finding the clock dismantled? Or wanting to listen to the radio only to find its semiconductor ruined... Oh God." While telling this, Pavlov''s expression showed his agony. Wang Zhong asked, "How are they now?" Pavlov answered, "Now? They spend all day writing me letters asking for your autograph. I took some paper, signed your name under your picture on the front page of a newspaper." Wang Zhong inquired, "You... signed for me?" "Yeah, better than bothering you, right? They''ve never seen your signature anyway." Pavlov spread his hands. Wang Zhong said, "Next time, let me do the signing." "No, no, no, that would give away the previous signatures," Pavlov shook his head repeatedly, "Let''s just leave it as is." Wang Zhongughed. After all, it had just been the winter solstice, and nightfall came quickly. It is said that in Saint Andrew Fort, the day had now shrunk to just a moment. Now stationed in Kubinka, nominally, were three divisions: The first was the replenished Guard First "Red g" Mechanized Infantry Division, which was the main force in Wang Zhong''s developing mobile army. The second was the 225th Mechanized Infantry Division, built as a model division. This one hadn''t even been filled with recruits, was missing many technical specialties, and although the tank battalion wasplete, other vehicles were bizarrely absent, with only one tractor for tank recovery and fifty transport trucks. Last was the First Division of the Mnia People''s Army, which currently only had a quarter of its soldiers. The good news was it had plenty of technicians. The bad news was the technicians had no equipment, be it tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank guns, or howitzerstheycked everything. Now, with these three divisions gathered together, dozens of bonfires were lit on the parade ground, encircling the officers and soldiers. Wang Zhong was puzzled why no food was being served at mealtime. But he didn''t dare to ask, since as an Ante it would be odd not to know Ante customs. He was battling hunger when Ludm came over, handing him some crackers, "Eat these to fill up for now; dinner won''t be served until ten tonight." The cooking squad''s girls came out with poles carrying baskets, which seemed to hold little snacks, presumably to tide everyone over. Ludm continued, "Also, don''t just let everyone sit around, get some entertainment going." Wang Zhong asked, "Shall we start with a menco dance?" Ludm cursed, "Look around, we don''t have a band here. Who''s going to y menco for you? And why would soldiers dance something usually danced at noble balls?" It dawned on Wang Zhong what dance the soldiers should do: the knee-destroying dance, of course! So Wang Zhong had an idea. He knew Yegorov was great at this dance, so he stepped forward and shouted, "Yegorov!" Pavlov interjected, "He and Nurse Katya went to the city, and they probably won''te back tonight." Damn, this was not the time to be without Yegorov. Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov, "Can you dance the leg breaker?" Pavlov replied, "Me? Do I look like I can do that dance? I''d break my knees before I show you." Wang Zhong frowned, but then he saw his adjutant Vasily and had an idea, "Vasily, I have a task for you. Get the crowd warmed up." "Eh?" Vasily was startled, "Me?" Wang Zhong insisted, "Of course, you''re the musician. Sing something!" Chapter 356: Chapter 41 Skirts and Face Pockets Vasily''s eyes widened, but before he could speak, someone nearby started to mock, "Vasily, give us one!" Wang Zhong was all too familiar with this; he hadn''t joined the army, but he had gone through military training during junior high, senior high, and university. During military training, it wasmon for the instructor to lead a jeer, followed by a song, subtly fostering a sense of collective honor andpetitive spirit. Now, seeing someone taking the lead, Wang Zhong immediately joined in the jeering, "Vasily, give us one!" His encouragement quickly caught on among those nearby who understood what was happening, and they joined in jeering at Vasily. Initially, the jeers were disorganized, but after Wang Zhong took the lead a few times and added pping, the shouts gradually became more coordinated. "Vasily, give us one!" p! p! p! Mnia''srades were not very familiar with Antenguage and didn''t know what was going on, but it seemed fun to mock along, so they imitated. Facing the rhythmic apuse and jeering of the crowd, Vasily stomped his foot, "Fine, I''ll do one. Filippov, y the drums!" From below the stage, Filippov screamed, "Do you have to drag me into this? It''s embarrassing enough for you alone!" Wang Zhong: "How is this embarrassing? It''s just performing a little show in response to the enthusiasm of ourrades! You guys heat up the atmosphere, and soon it will be everyone''s turn toe up." Filippov came up carrying his drums, and Wang Zhong joked, "See, you brought the drums directly, didn''t you?" "I had a vague feeling it would end up like this, but I didn''t expect it to be in front of all themanding fighters." Wang Zhong: "Getting cold feet?" Filippovughed, "That would be uneptable, now wouldn''t it? Could it be worse than the Prussians'' artillery fire?" Wang Zhong burst intoughter; he greatly agreed with Filippov''s words. He too felt that after risking his life on the battlefield anding back, he seemed to have grown stronger in expressing himself in public because he simply wasn''t timid. As Filippov started drumming, Vasily began to sing the song "Tanya Tanyusha". Wang Zhong smiled, as this song also held many memories for him. When Loktov had just joined what was then the "Rocossov Battle Group", along with thousands of military academy students, they sang this song. Back then, the song was purely a tribute to love, holding a ce in Wang Zhong''s heart simr to "The Girl Across", but now, the song had been colored by war. It still praised love but also the youth of the young people amidst the mes of war. Before crossing over, Wang Zhong had longed for this kind of youth. It was the youth of his grandfather, graduating from school chanting "bearing the rise and fall of ournd", turning into a giant wave of national salvation. It was the youth of his father, "The g of the republic bears the elegance of our blood-stained valor." Back then, Wang Zhong thought it was incredibly romantic. Now it was his turn, albeit in a different world. At this moment, Vasily reached the chorus, his voice almost hoarse with strain, "Tanya Tanyusha, my Takiyanna, do you still remember that fiery hot summer?" The fiery hot summer referred to the intense artillery fire of the Prussians. Yet in the midst of the artillery fire, the youth still sang praises to love. Wang Zhong could already imagine the pained expression of some middle school student in the future, being asked to write a reflection on the song. Without having experienced it, of course, they wouldn''t understand the significance of this song to young soldiers. Thinking about the future scenario of writing reflections, Wang Zhong started to mull over his own: should he answer "Actually, what the soldiers sing is not just of love, but a way to look forward to a peaceful and happy life after victory"? Vasily had just finished the refrain when someone let out three yful whistles. And it wasn''t just one person whistling, it seemed like everyone knew that this was the part for whistling. Suddenly, Wang Zhong saw someone in the crowd itching to give it a try, so he pointed in that direction and then made an "up" gesture with his hand. Someone then jumped out from the crowd with a blaika in hand. Wang Zhong had thought he was going to join in the ensemble, but to his surprise, he started strumming the blaika and began singing another song: "There was a summer, dawn just breaking, I looked over at the neighbor''s ce! "I saw a girl with dark eyes, picking grapes in baskets. "I couldn''t help but blush, and my heart skipped a beat, I wanted to speak to her. "Pleasee to the river, let''s wee the dawn together!" Wang Zhong frowned, he knew about the Quiet Don River, and understood that "going to the river" here was not just about weing the dawn; these Russians were very unrestrained, there was no need for the sound of water mills as a cover. Popov somehow got to Wang Zhong''s side and whispered, "Is this okay? It''s turning into a love song contest, shouldn''t we be singing ''The Holy War'' or something?" Wang Zhong, "No need, the soldiers will fight their own holy wars, for now, let them enjoy things they can''t on the battlefield. Love on the battlefield is extraordinarily romantic, don''t you think? It''s like finding a flower on a battlefield strewn with corpses, its surrounding hellish tableau makes it all the more dazzling." After saying that, Wang Zhong suddenly thought that someone should be writing this down C what great material for a memoir it would be. He would need to find someone to record his quotations, so many pithy statements could be born, confounding students who write reflections in the future. The young man singing "The Girl with ck Eyes" got to the refrain, and his fingers became wild, turning what was a very melodious chorus into something akin to rock music, and then a new young man came on scene, matching the rhythm and starting to dance the legendary knee-destroying dance on the ground. A revtion struck Wang Zhong, he remembered the Russian dance video he had watched before crossing over, which was choreographed in the form of a dance battle. Many novels that describe the life of Russian soldiers also feature dance battle scenes; it seemed to be a Russian tradition. So Wang Zhong waited for "The Girl with ck Eyes" to end, then stepped forward and shouted, "Which unit are you from?" The blaika yer shrank his neck, "Can you not punish me to carry manure?" Wang Zhong, "I won''t punish you. Today, whoever fails to follow up with an act will carry manure. Which unit are you from?" "The 225th Motorized Infantry Regiment, First Battalion!" Wang Zhong, "Good, the 225th Infantry Division did well. Apud!" With that, he led a round of apuse with rhythm. After pping three rounds, Wang Zhong asked, "Does the Guards Motorized Infantry have any better acts? Let''s have one from the Motorized Infantry!" He was getting the hang of it, the feeling of leading songs during military training wasing back! The 225th Division immediately began to heckle, following Wang Zhong''s shout, "Let''s have one from the Guards Motorized Infantry!" A voice from the Motorized Infantry called out, "General, we don''t have any instruments, may we have permission to go back to the barracks to get them?" Wang Zhong, "Granted! What about the rest of you, can''t you do without instruments? 225th Division, boo your big brother!" So the 225th Division started booing enthusiastically. Usually, the officers from the Motorized Infantry taught thembat experience, and their rtionship seemed pretty good, which made them even more uninhibited now. Suddenly, someone stood up; it was Dimitri, who had transferred to the artillery battalion. His former regiment was now part of the Artillery Division that Wang Zhong was in the process of forming but had not yet assembled. "Although I''ve now been peeled off from the Division Artillery Battalion, I am still an old machine-infantry soldier. Let me go first!" Then, like a whirlwind, he charged into the open space between several divisions and began performing the human top, a move that required his legs to be bent, clearly a move of high difficulty just by watching. Thed with the blaika immediately supplied the music, and Filippov began to drum. Dmitri spun even more energetically; no sooner had he finished the performance for the 225th Division than someone leapt out to engage in a dance battle with him. The two danced for about three minutes, all the way to the end of the music. When they stood up, both sides were panting and then squeezed each other''s hands firmly. Wang Zhong: "Good! Apuse!" Just then, the fellows who had just brought the instruments came back with Bayan and the violin. Wang Zhong: "Howe I didn''t know there were people in my old unit who could y the violin? Are you a high school student?" The one with the violin said, "Yeah, what about it?" "Are you in the infantry?" Wang Zhong asked again. "Yeah." Wang Zhong: "You can''t be in the infantry. We''re short of anti-aircraft firingmanders who have to calcte shooting parameters mentally, and that requires high school students. Report to the anti-aircraft battalion tomorrow." "But... my ssmates are all in the infantry." Wang Zhong: "Then you''ll all go to the anti-aircraft battalion." "We want to shed blood and sacrifice!" thed with the Bayan protested loudly. Wang Zhong: "Do you think you don''t have to shed blood and sacrifice in the anti-aircraft battalion? Hmph, I''ve already demonstrated it to Division Commander Yegorov, and he will surely use anti-aircraft guns to fire at close range against enemy infantry like I did. Then you''ll have plenty to sacrifice! "Besides, our Divine Arrow air defense has suppressed the enemy''s ground attacks, but we only have so many prayer hands, and they can''t be reced immediately when they die. Air defense is very important! "Enough about that, perform your act! Don''t disgrace the Guards Machine Infantry, you new recruits fresh off the shelf!" No sooner had he finished speaking than thed with the violin began to y a lively melody. Wang Zhong: "The Skrk?" It was not Kajiura Yuki''s "The Skrk," but the famous violin piece "The Skrk," which any friend who has taken violin grading would definitely recognize. Before crossing over, Wang Zhong happened to have such a friend. The piece is also easy to recognize because it starts by imitating the sound of ark with the violin, as if suddenly hearing ark singing from the trees in a dense forest. Then, the piece bes cheerful. This piece is amon one for violin grading because of its rapid ying, cing high demands on the performers and also serving as a prime piece for violin virtuosos to showcase their skills Equivalent to "Flight of the Bumblebee" in piano music. Wang Zhong: "But the Skrk doesn''t need the Bayan, does it?" The piece required piano apaniment, and Wang Zhong couldn''t imagine how the Bayan was supposed to rece the piano. Then thed with the Bayan told Wang Zhong the answer: he didn''t rece it, he just started dancing, using the Bayan as a dance prop. Wang Zhong was astonished. At that moment, several girls from theundry squad appeared, holding hands. They wore skirts and twirled around the dancingd with the Bayan, like blooming flowers. The appearance of the girls ignited the enthusiasm of all the youngds present. In this regard, it could only be said that young boys from both times were the same. Suddenly, Wang Zhong really wanted to teach them to sing "Look Over Here, Girl Across." At his junior high graduation, their ss rented arge room for the celebration. That was his first time at a KTV. He remembered two especially wild moments to this day. One was the boys singing "Look Over Here, Girl Across," which had the girls grinning withughter, and the other was when they sang "You''ve Conquered Me Just Like This," with a rather bold MV that got the whole room cheering. It was then that Wang Zhong realized "conquering" could also mean reducing the distance between two people to a negative number. After the piece was over, Wang Zhong said to thed with the Bayan, "Not bad, I never thought the Bayan could be a prop!" Then, without further ado, the performance began, and the "dance floor" was given over to the girls. The young men quieted down, watching the girls. After the piece ended, Wang Zhong dered, "Excellent, I announce the girls have won this round!" Everyone pped together. Vasily suddenly shouted, "Ladies, the skirts you''re wearing, why do they look like flour sacks with the bottoms cut off? There are even words on the side: weight 50 kilograms!" Wang Zhong took a look, and indeed there were words there! Immediately, one of the girls shouted, "These were given to us for packing our luggage! They aren''t the sacks from the cooking squad used for storing grain! Don''t besmirch our innocence!" Vasilyughed, "So you wrapped yourselves up in your own sacks!" Wang Zhong: "What about the military skirts?" Pavlov: "They are hired workers; they don''t get military uniforms, just donated clothes from the rear." Wang Zhong remembered Nelly; she too was a hired worker, and that sailor cap seemed to have been given by Ludm. Wang Zhong sighed and said, "Give the girls another sack." The girls cheered. Wang Zhong thought of the lyrics to "Tanya Tanyusha": Sometimes in the crowd, I can glimpse That familiar dear figure Blue little round cap, blue short coat Dark skirt, a maiden''s figure... He looked at the skirts made of flour sacks, revealing a smile of resignation yet without bitterness. One day in the future, this too would be a precious war memory, finding its way into someone''s memoirs. Chapter 357: Chapter 42 Please Call Me Davarish Wang Zhong continued to fulfill his duty, "Don''t be outdone by the girls! Anyone else? Come on, youngds!" At that moment, a group of people stood up, and to Wang Zhong''s surprise, it turned out to be the Ceres People''s Army, so he quickly invited them to the center of the venue. "Let''s wee the illusion of Ceres''s..." Wang Zhong hesitated, calling them brothers felt too militaristic, andrades was okay, but it didn''t convey the meaning of "different nationalities, but working together." After much deliberation, he felt there was only one word that was most fitting, and he spoke again, "Let''s wee Ceres''s Davarishes!" There was no more appropriate word than that, which originally referred to navyrades, butter came to mean fellow fighters or people withmon aspirations. A shared aspiration to defeat the Prussians and liberate their upied homnd. The people from Ceres had intended to start their performance right away, but when they heard Wang Zhong shout "Davarish," they stopped and looked at him. Wang Zhong eximed, "Keep going, Davarish! Forward, Davarishes!" The people from Ceres exchanged nces and immediately started their performance. The song they sang was in the Ceresnguage, but Wang Zhong had heard the tune before and knew it was Ceres''s military song. With the military song ying in the background, the people from Ceres began their traditional dance, which had apletely different vorpared to the Ante People''s dance that seemed to have a vendetta against knee joints. Then, aside from asionally leading the crowd in raucous cheering and provokingpetitive spirits among the various divisions and units, Wang Zhong spent the rest of the time watching everyone showcase their talents. As it was nearing eleven o''clock, a truck came from the direction of the kitchen, and the sides of the truck bed were let down to be a giant dining table, revealing baskets andrge bowls of food. Aunties with huge spoons appeared, shouting at the girls dancing with the soldiers, "Stop dallying ande get some food!" Only then did the girls part from the boys and head towards the truck. Wang Zhong heard an auntie grumbling, "You girls, even wearing pouches as clothes! What will you use to carry your luggageter? The ferocious quartermaster will be scolding you again, and then you''lle to me one by one, like little birds seeking justice!" A girl yelled back, "Auntie, General Rocossov said he would issue new pouches to all of us!" The auntie looked at Wang Zhong with an exasperated face, "General, how can you do this? Don''t you know how precious flour sacks are now? Good sacks are in short supply everywhere, and with your decision, you''ve gifted hundreds of sacks to these youngdies, but those sacks were meant to store flour to feed your soldiers! "By doing this, you just might lose a battle in the future!" The atmosphere was lively, and when they heard that General Rocossov''smand art was being questioned by the canteen auntie, they immediately began to tease and jeer. Besides those who were jeering, there were young people who knew the auntie asking, "Auntie Irina, do you know who he is?" Auntie Irina, "How could I not know? He''s in the newspapers every day! I can''t read, but I still recognize pictures! That''s General Rocossov!" The young soldier asked again, "Do you know what he''s done?" Auntie Irina: "Oh my, he captured a bunch of Prussian generals! What''s so great about that? Give me a pig-hook, and I can catch arge pig weighing dozens of kilos with ease. Could a general weigh more than a pig?" Wang Zhong understood, she was an uneducated old peasant. So he asked, "Auntie, howe you''re cooking now?" "Because my child went to war. The kind-hearted Parish Priest came for the evacuation. I said I''d wait for my child to return, but he pulled out a twenty-pound doctor''s sausage, telling me, ''Irina, take this sausage, think of the church''s kindness, and off you go.'' "So I left, and that sausage was really high quality! I wanted to take my cow with me, but the Priest said no, just get on the tractor and go, so I left the cow behind. I wonder if the Prussians fed my cow properly!" The auntie prattled on about everything except why she ended up cooking, much like many old people who go on tangents while talking. Wang Zhong shifted the topic, "What are we eating today?" "What else could we eat on thest day of the year?" Aunt Irina lifted the cloth covering the baskets to reveal the dishes organized on tes, "Frozen fish sd, I''ve tried a portion, it''s delicious. Here, General, try some." As she spoke, the auntie took up a te and handed it to one of the girls from the cooking team, who then trotted over to Wang Zhong, giving him a slight smile as she offered the te. Wang Zhong focused all his attention on the dish, which looked much like a kind of dim sum called ''Thousand-Layer Cake'' that he would eat during morning tea back in his hometown. It really didn''t look like sd at all. Looking at it from the side, it was divided into manyyers. The very topyer was red, followed by a white reminiscent of fish soup, a milk-yellowyer of an unknown substance, and pure yellow at the very bottom. He leaned in to smell it, catching the scent of herrings. Although Wang Zhong had already tried many Ante specialty foods, he had never seen this type of sd before. Therefore, he sliced off a small piece with the edge of his fork and popped it into his mouth. Despite it being an unfamiliar food, out of characteristic Ceris curiosity, Wang Zhong took a big bite. He then furrowed his brow C the redyer on top was actually beetroot, the same used to color soup in borscht. The middleyer that looked like fish soup was actually aspic with a generous amount of herring meat. This part tasted quite good. Below that was ayer of mayonnaise and cheese, with potato puree forming the bottommostyer. The aspic and potato puree tasted good. The vor of the beetroot was C tolerable, once one got used to it, butbining mayonnaise and cheese in the middle was somewhat baffling. This dish could only be described as full of exotic charm. To the Ante People, this was probably the taste of home. But Wang Zhong, adopting the attitude of having eaten it anyway, took another bite. It didn''t seem so strange after another taste. Let me try another bite. And so, Wang Zhong finished off the odd solid sd as he continued trying. After finishing it, his first words were, "Do we have Chanakhi stew? Get me a portion." Belinsky''s favorite Chanakhi stew was also quite to Wang Zhong''s liking, and the walnut sauce-filled pies were not bad either. Ludm directly took away the empty aspic sd te and stuffed the bowl filled with stew into Wang Zhong''s hands, "I knew you''d like it." Wang Zhong ate the stew while watching the others enjoy their food. The night grew darker, heralding the approach of the New Year. When they had almost finished eating, the cooking crew''s girls appeared, pushing a trolley with alcohol on it, and to keep the barrels warm, there was even a charcoal stove on the cart! "We don''t have that many champagne flutes," shouted the girl pushing the trolley, "make do with your canteens for now, the first barrel is sparkling wine, and the second is your favorite vodka!" The soldiers grew restless at the mention of vodka. But Wang Zhong saw that they all obediently used their thermos-covered canteens to take some champagne and drink it first, before getting vodka. It seemed that during New Year''s, you had to drink sparkling wine before vodka. Otherwise, these booze hounds would definitely go for the vodka first. The Secr faction of the Church had always promoted sparkling winechampagneas part of their propaganda, but even after so many years, champagne production had increased, but couldn''t outsell vodka. When the trolley reached him, Wang Zhong also took a bit of champagne for himself before getting a bit of vodka. Just as everyone was full and sipping wine, the trumpets on the Kubinka training ground began to y the sound of bellsit was the arrival of the New Year. Wang Zhong, holding his thermos-covered canteen, turned to Ludm, "Happy New Year." Liu Da also smiled, "Happy New Year, may you win more battles." Wang Zhong nodded, "Of course." As the trumpet''s bell sound struck for thest time, music followed, seemingly a variation of the Tsar''s Hymn. Wang Zhong had a premonition that Olga might make a speech. As expected, Olga''s voice came through, "Citizens of the Empire, this has been a tough year for us. The Prosen Empire ughtered our brothers and sisters, our friends, even our parents. They brutally murdered prisoners and civilians, leaving a trail of blood debt on thisnd! "Fellow countrymen, the past year has been one of sorrow everywhere on Ante''s territory." At this point, Wang Zhong wondered if Olga would publicly reveal the truth about the Tsar''s death. But the people of Ye Fort had long known that the Tsar had been executed for his cries of surrender. After all, on the day he went mad, there were too many people in the Summer Pce, and many came to rescue them, all hearing it. Finally, Olga mentioned the matter, "The Prussians even fired cannons at the Summer Pce. At that time, my father was on the verge of copse due to my brother''s martyrdom. The Prussian cannons snapped hisst taut string, driving himpletely mad!" So, in the end, the Tsar wasn''t charged with treason; he had gone mad. Olga continued, "As a result, my father seized the guard''s sidearm, and he ended his life with that gun." Well, it reminds you of that time when someone was shot eight times in the back, and they ruled it a suicide. Eagle, stop looking at others; I''m talking about you! Olga proimed, "Immense grief seized me, but I knew, I had to stand tall, crown myself with this heavy mantle of the empire. I, Olga Nikyevna Antonovna, pledge to lead you all to victory! No matter how long it takes, we will reim ournds, and then invade the homnd of the culprits, eradicating the roots of their atrocities!" Wang Zhong nodded, "That''s good, concise and forceful, no dissertations, just an emphasis on results." For old illiterate peasants like Auntie Ilyinichna, such a speech was perfect. After all, there were still many old peasants among the older generation of Ante, so they needed to understand it. After the Tsar''s speech ended, music started again, but this time it was not the Tsar''s Hymn but The Holy War. The soldiers began to cheer, "Ura!" Having had some drinks, the shouts of "Ura" came one after another. Wang Zhong turned to Pavlov and Popov, "Keep an eye out tonight; don''t let anyone drunk stay out on the parade ground, or it''ll be bad if they freeze to death." Pavlov patted his chest, "Don''t worry! And Happy New Year!" Wang Zhong was about to respond when fine snowkes began to fall from the sky. It wasn''t the furious blizzard from over a month ago, but rather the snow was as fine as it was antithetical to the style of the country of Ante. Wang Zhong suddenly remembered an old saying: Heavy snow promises a good harvest. At that moment, Popov solemnly said to Wang Zhong, "Generalno, Davarish, I strongly request that your set of work processes be poprized among all the military chains in the army." Wang Zhong asked, "You mean the singing? Thepetitive dance portion where everyone challenges each other?" Popov replied, "And the singing contest as well. After some thought, in these singingpetitions organized by military units, although everyone is justpeting on the pitch of their voices and the oue is nearly just a matter of morale, it does serve to reinforce collective consciousness." Nonsense, that''s something the iron army from another time and space figured out after many years. Popov added, "You shoulde and teach a ss here, Davarish." Wang Zhong protested, "No, no, I already have too many ces to teach, just go tell them about it, or have Pavlov sum it up in a booklet, I think Pavlov''s summary of post-war experiences was very good!" "Me?" Pavlov looked shocked, "You''re ordering me around again!" Wang Zhong waved his hand dismissively, "That''s settled then!" Chapter 358: Chapter 43 "Vortex" (Additional Update 33/33) The post-New Year revelrysted until three in the morning before everyone, under the roaring of the military chains, finally rolled back to their barracks. That night, Wang Zhong stayed in Kubinka with Ludm. The next morning, Wang Zhong got up early, preparing to go to the Ordnance Department''s testing ground to see the test of the 100mm gun carrier vehicle. After all, this was the main event, and it was the most reliable method to mount the 100mm cannon on an armored vehicle until arger turret ring than the T34W''s could be developed. If possible, Wang Zhong, of course, hoped for a turret; self-propelled guns, despite bearing the name "assault," were in fact not quite suited for offensive operations. The original design intention was to assign them to infantry divisions to attack fixed bunkers during the offense, butter they were mostly used in defense against tanks. The task of demolishing bunkers was typically left to Stukas orrger caliber heavy artillery. The Sturmtiger had a 15cm infantry gun, which was extremely powerful but not very convenient for maneuvering on the front lines. Then they mounted this infantry gun on the chassis of a Panzer I, turning it into a Bison self-propelled infantry gun, which was much more effective at destroying bunkers than the StuG III. Wang Zhong pondered these matters as he ate his breakfast. Just as he stood up, Ludm also got up. Wang Zhong, "What are you doing? Going to the Ordnance Department''s testing ground to watch our 100mm gun carrier vehicle? I''ll tell you, I think it''s promising!" Ludm sighed, "I''m going home! After all, as a prayer hand, I don''t need to master other skills. I would indeed like to join the sniper training to learn how to use a rifle to kill the enemy, but they think it''s best for prayer hands not to learn these." Wang Zhong, "You could also learn a bit; it''s always good to be able to defend yourself." Ludm, "They want me to retreat immediately after firing the Divine Arrows. All the prayer hands are required to do this." Wang Zhong, "Ah, I see." Prayer hands are an irreceable resource; even if all the children from the seminary were taken out, there wouldn''t be many. In fact, all individuals capable of utilizing Divine Power are irreceable resources; once one dies, you can only wait for a natural birth, and that still is akin to a gacha with no guaranteed drops. Therefore, the Sanctified faction of the Eastern Holy Church had always been conservative in the use of Divine Power, preferring to ensure their survival over deploying their potential because the presence of Divine Power represented the existence of God. The Secr faction, firmly believing that Divine Power is a scientific phenomenon, has been constantly studying Divine Power, and also tends to treat Divine Power as a conventional force for use. Disbanding the God''s Arrow Company and distributing it to the basic units was to make this attitude apparent. But even the Secr faction wouldn''t consider cramming prayer hands into airnes, the kind of vehicles where one is likely done for if shot down. Wang Zhong looked affectionately at his fiance who then said, "You have tasked us with air defense responsibilities, significantly increasing our survival rate. I, on behalf of all prayer hands, thank you." "Hmm," Wang Zhong nodded, "Let''s go, Vasily, prepare the vehicle!" Vasily, "General, the vehicle is already prepared." "Let''s go." After dropping Ludm off at the estate, Wang Zhong''s convoy arrived at the Ordnance Department''s weapons testing ground. This testing ground was located at the opposite end of Ye Fort from Kubinka, connecting the two sites and passing through the center of Ye Fort by the Ekaterina II Monument, forming a straight line. Upon entering the testing ground, the sound of gunfire was heard; Wang Zhong asked Vasily, "What gun is firing?" Vasily flipped through the documents in hand, "It should be the self-propelled gun using the T70 chassis in testing, perhaps some tests were notpleted yesterday. They wouldn''t test your facilitated projects before your arrival." Wang Zhong, "Hmm." The convoy, following the guidance of the testing ground, drove straight to the firing range and then found several Prosen tanks parked inside. Wang Zhong recognized at a nce that the armor on these tanks had been strengthenedpared to those he had faced. He turned his head to look at the firing position, switched to a bird''s-eye view, and saw that the distance between the firing position and the targets was, at the shortest, 500 meters and, at the most, 800 meters. He was shocked and shouted, "Why is the maximum test distance only eight hundred meters?" At that moment, a crowd of officers and technicians ran out from the nearby observation post at the testing ground, heading straight for Wang Zhong''s convoy. Before these people could get close, Wang Zhong repeated the question, "Why is the maximum test distance only 800 meters?" The lead officer shrugged, "They say that''s the standard tank engagement range, and it''s also written as such in the regtions." Wang Zhong switched his perspective, confirming that the officer''s name was Ginov Grigoryevich, a brigadier general. He thought for a moment and decided not to reveal he knew the name, so he said, "Who are you? Introduce yourself. All of you." "Ginov Grigoryevich, brigadier general. I was ordered by General Gorky to bring the captured tanks, which had not been recorded in our army''s roster, here." Wang Zhong once again confirmed with an external view that this person didn''t have an affiliate unit. Wang Zhong, "Where''s your unit, General?" Ginov Grigoryevich sighed, "It waspletely wiped out in an enemy ambush. Mymand vehicle was destroyed too, and I barely made it back alive. General, please have the military court judge me! My recklessness and hasty advance led to the loss of over a hundred tanks of my brigade!" Wang Zhong, "Are you part of the quick victory advocates?" "I am," Ginov Grigoryevich nodded without hesitation. Wang Zhong, "Then why didn''t Gorky hand you over to the military court but instead had you bring back the captured tanks?" Chapter 359: Chapter 43 "Vortex" (Additional Update 33/33)_2 "I don''t know," Zhinov answered. Wang Zhong: "I have no authority to judge you; you might as well ask the judge over there." At this time, the personal security officer of Wang Zhong, Tribunal Bishop Buerjiakafu, said, "I also want to ask why they haven''t arrested you. However, as a member of the tribunal, I want to ask you this: Are you part of the surrender faction?" "No," Zhinov stated emphatically, "I''d rather skin the enemy alive to make up for my own failures." Wang Zhong: "Alright, we''ll talk about your issueter. Have you been given a ce to stay yet?" "No, I''m like an abandoned infanteveryone has forgotten about me." Wang Zhong: "Vasily, arrange a ce for him to stay." Vasily: "Alright, I think there should be plenty of vacant barracks in Kubinka. The ce can amodate an army group for exercises, or should I say, the nobility''s war games." Wang Zhong: "What about the others?" A lieutenant stepped forward: "I am Anatoly Ivanovich, from the same unit as the regimentmander and a survivor of that ambush. I hope not only the regimentmander is judged but me as well!" Wang Zhong carefully scrutinized him and, noting his strong build but educated demeanor, asked, "Are you a high school student?" Vasily snorted withughter, given that General Rokossovsky had recently been almost obsessed with recruiting high school students into the army as technical soldiers. Anatoly: "I''m a university graduate with a degree in mathematics." Wang Zhong: "Then why are you operating a tank?" Anatoly: "Because I could drive a car! So they let me be a tank operator. I survived because the operator constantly had his head out of the hatch to watch the road, making it easier to get out." Wang Zhong: "It''s a waste to have a math graduate as a tank operator." Anatoly firmly said, "I want to fight against the Prosen. I believe that the cutting edge of modern military technology is tanks." Wang Zhong: "Really? How many battles have you participated in?" "I''ve had four and a half months of tank training; the December offensive was my first battle." Wang Zhong: "That means you know nothing about war. Nevertheless, I will reluctantly ask you, with your university student''s sharp mind, do you think tanks y a decisive role?" Anatoly immediately answered, "No, when I was running away, I observed theposition of the Prussians'' forces and concluded that a single tank probably doesn''t have much impact." Wang Zhong turned to Bishop Buerjiakafu and said, "We don''t need to judge this one; I need him in my unit." Vasily murmured, "Lucky, found another college student." Actually, what Wang Zhong really wanted a mathematics student to do was to decrypt the Enigma machine, but that task was too much for a single college student, so Wang Zhong ced his hopes on the church. The Secr faction of the church had a very good rtionship with scientists because they promoted the idea that science could interpret theology; any scientist was part of the Secr faction, so it was appropriate to entrust this task to the church. Wang Zhong: "What about the others? Continue introducing yourselves." So the officers introduced themselves one by one, but unfortunately, none of the remaining individuals left a deep impression on Wang Zhongor rather, their performance reminded Wang Zhong of star-chasers, except they were chasing after Wang Zhong, the Star of Victory. After learning the names of these individuals, Wang Zhong once again brought up the initial question: "Why are the targets at distances between 500 to 800 meters?" Brigadier General Zhinov: "Because the designedbat range is that far. Beyond that, it bes inurate. In fact, looking at the conditions on our battlefield, that range is still too far; most of the time, the T34 tanks fire at the enemy''s tanks from a distance of 300 meters and hit their targets." Wang Zhong: "Exactly, which is why we will pay a tremendous price, Brigadier General Zhinov!" Brigadier General Zhinov: "I know, my brigade has already paid the price. I told these men that we should annihte the enemy from a greater distance, so I asked them to change the range to 1000 meters, 1200 meters, and 1500 meters, but they refused! "And now they are about to conclude that our anti-tank firepower can destroy these field-modified enemy tanks!" Wang Zhong: "Record the location of the impact point, and then add the results for 1000 meters and 1200 meters." General Gennady: "What about 1500 meters?" Wang Zhong: "Our gunners probably won''t hit the target, especially when using such poor sighting equipment." The enemy being able to hit the target on the first shot at 1500 meters is the result of elite tank operators paired with advanced sighting equipment. Here in Ante, all branches of the military generallyck training. After Wang Zhong issued the order, he noticed that the staff at the Ordnance Department testing ground were indifferent, so he shouted, "I said to pull it to a distance of 1000 meters and 1200 meters and try again." Tester: "The enemy tanks have already been destroyed. Even if we pull it farther away, it''s hard to observe the effects after hitting, we can''t judge..." Wang Zhong: "First test whether it can be prated, you idiot! Go do it!" The staff scrambled away. At that moment, Wang Zhong heard the sound of engines behind him. He turned around and saw two prototype vehicles of 100mm gun carriersing over. It wasn''t clear whether it was because the overall weight was reduced, but the gun carriers with long-barreled 100mm guns seemed to move even more briskly than the T34s. At this point, Wang Zhong heard General Gennady beside him gasp, "What is this? I have never seen it before! It looks strong and powerful!" Wang Zhong: "This is a prototype vehicle I directed to be produced... Wait a minute, tell them not to move those tanks, get everyone from the research institute toe back." At that time, two prototype vehicles, which had no model or engineering code, drove up to Wang Zhong. Designer Ke Jing jumped off the back of the carrier and came to Wang Zhong, saying, "Because they didn''t have engineering codes, we gave them nicknames. The first vehicle is called ''Roe Deer,'' and the second ''Sika Deer.'' All vehicles have been checked and are full of fuel and ammunition." Wang Zhong: "See those tanks over there? Have them move to a position 1000 meters away from those tanks and fire at them." Ke Jing immediately turned around to convey Wang Zhong''s instructions to the crew, so the two carriers headed to a spot 1100 meters directly in front of the captured Prosen tanks. After all, the drivers didn''t have the ''cheat'' like Wang Zhong, so they couldn''t precisely stick to the 1000-meter mark. Since Wang Zhong yelled to the technician, "Radio!" Suddenly, the technician handed over a radio that hade as aid from the Federationit looked like an oversized mobile phone. Wang Zhong, holding the device, was amazed: the Federation really had everything. He picked it up and yelled, "Roe Deer vehicle" What a ridiculous name! Wang Zhong: "Roe Deer vehicle, aim at the enemy tank on the far right. Estimate range freely, set the scale yourself, fire when ready!" "Yes!" Then Wang Zhong put down the handset he was holding and waited. Suddenly, the vehicle nicknamed ''Roe Deer'' fired, the me from the 100mm cannon''s muzzle was quite spectacr, and the st directly blew all the dust off the carrier. The next moment, everyone knew that the far-right Prosen tank was done for. For at the moment of impact, all the orifices of the tank spewed thick smoke, followed by a fire that zed fiercely. Wang Zhong was astonished; at least the power of the cannon was sufficient. Suddenly, a sh of inspiration struck him, and he decided to name this type of carrier ''Vortex''. Chapter 360: Chapter 44 Breaching the Defense Wang Zhong intended to praise the designers, but before he could utter a word, General Zinov excitedly began to p, "Good! Very good! The aim is urate, and the power is impressive!" Anatoli also pped his hands, but after a few ps, he asked Wang Zhong with a puzzled look, "General Rocossov, what is this designed to counter? The Prussians don''t have any tanks that require such firepower, do they?" Wang Zhong thought to himself that they didn''t have any now, but they would have Tigers and Panthers in the future. However, he couldn''t say that outright, so he simply said, "The Prussians have already captured our KV series heavy tanks, repainted them with their symbols, and started using them. We need a way to destroy the KVs from a long distance." Anatoli nodded, "Indeed, I''ve heard that during the counter-offensive some units encountered KVs painted in Prussian gray. But they didn''t exist when the project started, right?" Wang Zhong replied, "We abandoned so many KVs; the Prussians could put together new ones just from the wreckage, it''s impossible for them not to." In fact, arge number of KVs were simply abandoned by the roadside due to walking mechanism failures, as the Ante Army had no capacity to repair them, nor enough tractors to tow the broken tanks back for repairs. Wang Zhong suddenly had an idea, and he asked the test range director, "Do we have a KV avable for testing here?" The director replied, "We do, for testing improvements to the walking mechanism, but the testing phase is alreadypleted, and it''s stored in the garage." Wang Zhong said, "Bring it out and ce it at the 1000-meter mark, next to that Prussian Panzer IV." "This..." the test range director looked troubled, "It''s not good to move test vehicles around without approval, right?" By then, Wang Zhong already had ample experience handling such situations and simply stated, "Create a document that says we need to test the destructive power of the 100mm gun using a KV that haspleted its test missions, and I''ll sign it." The director immediately changed his tune, "Okay. Right away." Indeed, the little trick learned from General Chekhov worked wonders. Ten minutester, after Wang Zhong had signed the paper, the KV was driven out from the garage to the test range, parked beside the recently extinguished Prussian tank. Once the researchers had all left, Wang Zhong took to the radio and called out to the 100mm carriage, "Roe Deer, reverse two hundred meters, aim at the KV tank." The prototype vehicle codenamed Roe Deer immediately began to reverse, and Wang Zhong, watching from an overhead perspective, called out when it reached two hundred, "Stop! Once aiming isplete, fire at will." After he spoke, he handed the radio to Vasilyafter all, the device was actually quite heavy, and tiring to hold for too long. He wondered if brick phones were also this heavy; it wouldn''t be easy for Teacher Yu Qian, who always kept it in his back pocket. Less than five secondster, Roe Deer fired, and just like before, a st of wind from the gun muzzle swept up the snow in front of the vehicle. Wang Zhong even saw the sunlight reflecting off the projectile as it sped towards the KV, hitting the front hull square on. The next moment, the KV''s turret hatch was blown open by the shock wave, followed by mes erupting from the air vents behind the turret. The fire spread quickly, and the tank caught aze. "Great!" General Zinov pped furiously, "Excellent! With this, even if we encounter captured KVs, we''ve got nothing to fear!" One of the drivers who had apanied General Zinov in delivering tanks then added, "With this firepower, we won''t fear the enemy''s Carolingian tanks either. They''ve converted their Carolingian heavies into methrower tanks and inflicted a lot of casualties on our infantry." Wang Zhong paid no attention to the driver, as he was busy observing the burning KV from his overhead perspective. Zooming in, he could see a hole in the KV''s front armor, indicating that the shot didn''t hit the machine gun port or the observation window, but simply prated the front armor of the vehicle. 1200 meters, first shot hit and destroyed the KV! At this point, whether the Whirlwind tank destroyer''s front armor was reliable became less critical; with this kind of firepower, there was a ce for it at the front lines. But if the Whirlwind''s front armor was dependable, that would be even better. If the reliability also met standards, that would be even better still! If the production time could be reduced further Wang Zhong decisively dismissed the fantasy; it was impossible to have such good luck. "Very good," he turned to Ke Jing, the chief engineer, and said, "I''m very satisfied." Ke Jing showed a modest smile, "It''s the quality of the navy''s 100mm gun that''s good, not really my design." Wang Zhong asked, "How did you solve the aiming problem? Our sights were designed for engagements under 800 meters, yet you achieved a first-shot hit at 1200 meters, how did you manage that?" Ke Jing replied, "First, the test driver is an excellent marksman. Second, we used sights and optical equipment captured from the Prussians. The work of replicating the sights has been handed over to Factory 251, which was reestablished based on the employees of Saint Andrew Optics Factory that retreated from Saint Andrew Fort." Wang Zhong asked, "Is that the factory that produced optical ss? How many people retreated?" Ke Jing said, "One-third of the technicians and engineers managed to retreat. Initially, we also nned to evacuate the skilled workers who hand-ground the lenses, but all the workers were devout members of the Secr faction. Determined to defend the city named after Saint Andrew with their blood and lives, they refused to retreat." Wang Zhong eximed, "What folly! This is exactly where they are most needed! Not having anyone to produce the sights, or having sights of poor quality, will cause huge casualties in our army! I''ll personally write to them and urge them to evacuate." Ke Jing was overjoyed, "Excellent! If it could be so, that would be the best. Factory 251 is currently in great need of skilled lens workers. If you could write to the workers of the electron tube factory to also evacuate, that would be great." Wang Zhong said, "Okay! Vasily, remind me to write letters tonight." Vasily was surprised, "Eh? I thought I''d be drafting them for you. Are you really going to write them by hand?" Wang Zhong replied, "Of course. Only then will it show my sincerity, and I n to persuade all those workers in Davarish toe back to produce high-quality lenses for us. Of course, imports from the Federation are also important!" The Federation at the time was a bit like theter Ceres, able to produce everythingit wasn''t necessarily the best, but it solved the problem of avability. Shocking, the Federation turned out to be a mini Ceres. Wang Zhong, looking at the burning KV once again, felt his spirits dampened after learning that the 100mm carriage used captured Prussian sights. He had thought they''d achieved the 1200-meter first-shot hit and destruction with entirely domestically produced equipment. Although it didn''t match up to the 1500-meter first-shot hit and destruction by the elite Sturmtiger crews of the Tigers, it was still quite an achievement. Never mind, although it wasn''t perfect, at the very least it proved that the navy''s 100mm gun was no less capable than the Prussian''s 88mm gun. Suddenly, something inside the burning KV exploded, and a gush of mes burst out of the turret hatch, forming a fleeting miniature mushroom cloud. Wang Zhong, "What exploded?" Researcher, "It might be some shells left over from the test, probably stored somewhere we didn''t spot when we unloaded the ammunition." Wang Zhong frowned tightly; how could a shell have been overlooked? But then he thought about the fact that it was the Russians, and he could ept it. Next, Wang Zhong watched as two prototype vehiclespleted a series of experiments. They were able to reach a highway speed of 60 kilometers per hour, with almost the same obstacle-clearing level as the T34after all, they shared the same chassis. And it seemed that because of the reduced weight, the reliability had also improved. The two prototype vehicles raced around the test field for nearly a hundred kilometers without any malfunctions. Of course, more detailed reliability tests would require repeated experiments over a period of more than a week to finally determine the durability of this tank. Wang Zhong hadn''t yet started the protection tests, but he was already captivated by this vehicle. Then at five in the afternoon, with the onset of dusk, the protection test began. The two prototype vehicles were brought in specifically because one of them was to undergo protection testing. The researchers at the test center stuffed several dummies into Vehicle No. 2, nicknamed "Mule Deer," and then the center director asked Wang Zhong for instructions, "Should we fire from 1,000 meters away?" Wang Zhong, "No, we need to be stricter with the protection test, let''s start from 800 meters." "Yes, General." Wang Zhong, "Also, we captured some of the enemy''s tanks, right? After testing the 45mm gun and the anti-tank rifle, let''s use one of the enemy''s tanks to fire a shot. Use the No. 3 tank''s 50mm gun." The Prosen Armored Divisions invading Ante seldom equipped their early Panzer III tanks with the 37mm gun; they used the 50mm version instead. In fact, what Wang Zhong really wanted to use for the test was the Panzer IV tank equipped by the enemy with the 75mm long barrel gun. No, considering the Prosen wouldter deploy an even longer 75mm gun, the current 43-caliber (meaning the barrel length is that many times the caliber) 75mm gun should be called a medium 75. The 75mm gun of the Panzer IV tank had already reached its limit when extended to 48 calibers; further lengthening would result in the imbnce of the vehicle''s weight, causing the rate of failure of the first road wheel to soar. At that moment, Anatoly spoke up, "Among the captured equipment that we brought back, there was also a new anti-tank gun, which appears to be 75mm." Wang Zhong was overjoyed; wasn''t this the PAK40? If it could withstand this, there would only be the fear of the 88 "anti-everything" gun. So he said, "Bring it over as well, let''s test it all together." Soon, the captured PAK40 anti-tank gun was dragged onto the test field. Wang Zhong walked around it and found it was muchrger than it appeared in the games. The Ante 45mm anti-tank gun next to it looked like a miniature toy. At that time, several captured Panzer III and IV tanks were also driven over. Wang Zhong, "Let''s start the test with the Buffalo Anti-Tank Rifle, which has the lowest capability." A few minutester, the results came in, and the Ante Army''s standard anti-tank rifle, the PTRS-41, basically couldn''t prate the "Whirlwind''s" frontal armor. Because Ke Jing designed the Whirlwind without any openings on the front armor. The driver''s observation window was ced on top of the tank, and the driver''s seat was designed to be adjustable; it could be raised by turning a bolt during nonbat to peek out and observe, and lowered duringbat to use the periscope to see ahead. And as for things like the hull machine gun, Ke Jing hadpletely removed it, opting instead for an anti-aircraft machine gun above thebat room. So this Whirlwind was doomed to have poor anti-personnel effectiveness, having only one anti-aircraft machine gun. As for the gunner''s scope, Ke Jing also ced it at the top of thebat room, using a periscope structure to transmit the image. In short, there were simply no vulnerability points on the front of the Whirlwind that an anti-tank rifle could exploitin actualbat, the only targets would basically be various observation ports. Not for a moment saddened by the defeat of the PTRS-41, the next to enter the stage was the Ante Army''s standard 45mm anti-tank gun. Watching the gunner operate the gun, Wang Zhong was reminded of the early days of the war, when he was desperately begging everyone he could to secure a toon of these coveted weapons. In the end, it was Loktov''s mechanics who managed to assemble three guns. Hey, wasn''t it the 76mm guns they assembled? In any case, they were treasured at that time. The gunner fired, and Wang Zhong saw with his own eyes the shell hit the front armor of Vehicle No. 2 and then bounce off. A ricochet! Researchers ran over, checked the dummies inside the vehicle, and reported they were unscathed! Then the gunner switched to different aiming points, but the results were the same: the frontal armor repelled the shots, new vehicle at 800 meters distance immune to the 45mm gun! Following the principle of caliber progression, the Panzer III''s 50mm gun was tested next, which also posed no issue whatsoever. After the 50mm test wasplete, it was time for the Panzer IV''s 75mm short-barreled gun. The 75mm gun''s high-explosive shell caused some of the interior side of Vehicle No. 2''s armor to copse, and the researchers ruled one crew member slightly injured and two others with minor abrasions, stillbat-capable. Finally, it was the turn of Ante''s ZIS-3 model 76mm anti-tank gun, which should be the tank gun with the best armor-piercing capability avable at the testing groundWang Zhong''s troops were heavily equipped with the ZIS4 model 57mm anti-tank gun, which was not avable at the test ground, so it couldn''t be tested today. Whether the new vehicle could withstand and protect itself against attacks all came down to whether it could withstand a hit from the 76mm gun! Chapter 361: Chapter 45 "This thing should be mass-produced immediately Wang Zhong watched the artillery push the gun into position andplete the loading. The gunner saluted Wang Zhong, "General, we are ready to fire, please issue yourmand!" Wang Zhong turned his head to confirm that the researchers had finished recing the mannequinsthese were used to facilitate damage assessment, as the previous test''s short 75 with a high-explosive shell had cracked the interior of the armor, injuring the mannequins with shrapnel. After confirming that the researchers had signaled "recementplete," Wang Zhong said to the gunner, "Aim at the target, fire." "Yes!" Wang Zhong had just picked up his binocrs when the gunner fired, so fast that Wang Zhong didn''t even have time to change his view. Through the binocrs, he could clearly see the shell hit the steeply angled front of Vehicle No. 2. Although it ricocheted off, it still left a clear scratch. The researchers immediately rushed to examine the mannequin inside the tank destroyer, and not long after, they sent a signal that there was "no internal damage, testing can continue." Wang Zhong, "Continue firing." No sooner had he spoken than the gunner fired again, and the second shot was too high, flying over the top of the tank destroyer. Wang Zhong, "What''s going on?" General Kirillov said, "Under normal conditions, it''s best to resecure the aiming scope, I mean the 76''s aiming scope." Wang Zhong frowned, "Are you suggesting the aiming scope was just damaged by the shock?" The general hadn''t yet spoken when Anatoly spoke first, "It could have been knocked out of alignment, or possibly the gun mount developed a slight error due to the shock. Our equipment tends to have this issue with precision parts. I know some anti-tank gun crews would rather aim directly through the gun barrel than use unreliable sights." Wang Zhong, "Isn''t aiming through the gun barrel a bit too much? Surely the sights are still more reliable than the barrel, no matter what?" Anatoly spread his hands, "For a close target, the barrel might be more urate, actually." By then, the check on the target wasplete; the shell hadn''t prated and the mannequin inside was unscathed. Meanwhile, in ordance with the general''s suggestion, the gunners had inspected the sight and reported to Wang Zhong, "The sight is fine, it must have been a normal deviation." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue; in the game World of Tanks, the circle of dashed lines around the reticle (representing the potential area where the shell couldnd) would have been huge. "Continue firing!" "Yes!" The third shot was fired immediately, and this time it hit Vehicle No. 2''s mantlet. Since he didn''t see any ricochet, Wang Zhong''s heart immediately lifted. Soon, the test result came: the elevation gear was jammed, but the gun itself was without malfunctionit would take time to repair the elevation gear. Wang Zhong turned to Ke Jing and said, "We''ll need to strengthen the protection of the mantlet, but it''s not bad since no crew members were injured." Ke Jing, "I want to go see the damage to the mantlet." Wang Zhong, "Sure, let''s go together. Gunner, cease fire." A short whileter, Wang Zhong and Ke Jing, along with a group of people, arrived at Vehicle No. 2, 800 meters away. There was a clear indent on the mantlet left by the shell. Ke Jing pushed his sses up, "It looks like the shell directly blew apart a section of the mantlet''s armor." He leaned in close to examine the back of the mantlet, then sighed, "The mantlet is deformed, jamming the elevation gear. It''s just as I expected, the mantlet is too thin." Wang Zhong, "You knew from the start that the mantlet was very thin?" "Yes." Ke Jing raised his hand, gesturing as he exined, "The position of a tank''s turret on top of the hull means that even with a design where the turret is positioned towards the front like on the T34, it''s quite easy to bnce the weight distribution in the middle of the tank. In fact, the forward cement of the T34''s turret is to counterbnce the weight of the engine and fuel tanks." "But this vehicle is different, it has no turret, and the entire cannon is mounted at the front of the hull, then the front of the hull is equipped with such thick armor, along with an elevation gear and traverse gear, making weight distribution on this vehicle quite difficult." "I was afraid that increasing the weight of the mantlet would damage the first pair of bogie suspension systems." Wang Zhong, "I see." He suddenly remembered the Sturmtiger''s design on Earth, which also ced thebat room in the middle of the hull; at the time, he didn''t understand why it was designed that way, but now he realized it was for weight distribution, as the 128mm gun and armor together were too heavy. Wang Zhong, "Wait, are the elevation gear and the traverse gear electric?" Ke Jing, "Hydraulic. Switching to electric could reduce the weight, but it might present production difficulties. At the moment, we don''t have enough electric motors to meet the demand; most of them are installed in tanks." Wang Zhong, "Hydraulics are quite heavy, right?" "Not too heavy, considering the short travel." "What is the firing arc for this thing?" Wang Zhong continued to ask, as he wanted to understand the situation as fully as possible. Although thest shot was "absorbed" by the mantlet and the elevation gear, causing no casualties, on a real battlefield, this hit would mean the vehicle had lost itsbat abilityit''s not like pressing a key and having it repaired in a few seconds. Even a minor malfunction like a jammed turret could take a long time to repair, essentially rendering the vehicle unfit for "this round" of fighting. So Wang Zhong wanted to avoid such circumstances as much as possible. In response to his inquiry, Ke Jing immediately reported the data: "Fifteen degrees to the left and right, a maximum depression of 7 degrees, and elevation of 50 degrees." Wang Zhong eximed, "Such a high elevation angle?" Ke Jing, "The naval engineers said this is a dual-purpose gun for both ground and anti-aircraft use, and that it can fire howitzer shells in indirect fire." In fact, the Soviet Army on Earth tended to ssify the SU85 and SU152 as self-propelled guns, and they often used them in indirect fire roles as well, even deploying them alongside units equipped with howitzers designed for indirect fire, to shell together. Chapter 362: Chapter 45 "This thing should be mass-produced immediately"_2 Clearly, in this timeline, Ante had also inherited this approach, but Wang Zhong wasn''t about to let them continueat least not with this 100mm carrier vehicle. Wang Zhong, "No, no, no, reduce its functions, just do what I need it to do, an elevation of 18 degrees is enough, the depression can be increased a bit, to 9 degrees." The data Wang Zhong provided was the elevation and depression range of the Tiger tank: -9 to 18 degrees. "This..." Ke Jing hesitated. Wang Zhong, "I''ll add it to the technical parameters I proposed. I only mentioned the depression angle before because I hadn''t realized you were actually considering having it fired in a high arc." By saying this, he effectively took the responsibility upon himself, and Ke Jing immediately expressed no objections. Wang Zhong continued, "The elevation and traverse ranges don''t need to be hydraulic anymore, dismantle the hydraulic system and switch to manual cranks." This time it was General Zinov who objected, "That will make the response very slow, what happens if we encounter enemy tanks at close range?" Wang Zhong, "Rely on the apanying infantry to spot enemy tanks; do not engage in closebat with the enemy." As soon as he finished speaking, Anatoly showed a bitter smile, "Where are the apanying infantry for the tank units?" Wang Zhong, "My troops will have them, and they''ll also have apanying AA guns, apanying artillery regiments, and apanying maintenance units." "Wow," Anatoly clicked his tongue, "It''s really lucky to be a tank operator in your unit. I can see why so many of your tank operators have knocked out a great number of enemy tanks." The Ye Fort newspapers may have gotten tired of reporting on Wang Zhong''s own deeds, and not knowing who started it, they ran off to interview the tank operators under Wang Zhong''smand who had made arge number of kills, and then after their stories were exaggerated in the pubs, all of Wang Zhong''s tank operators became armored heroes. It was said to have induced apetitive spirit among the tank operators of the brother units. Wang Zhong couldn''t be bothered with these, he said to Ke Jing, "How to use it is my concern, your task is to build the vehicle ording to my specifications. In fact, if these destroyers are mainly fighting at a distance of 1200 meters, manual cranks are sufficient." Enemies far away only require a very slight manual adjustment to be aimed at, which anyone who has studied relevant geometry would know. Ke Jing, "All right, I''ll go back and dismantle the motor, thicken the mantlet, so there will be absolutely no defense gaps at the front." Wang Zhong, "Wait a minute, if you need to redesign, does that mean you''re going to build a new vehicle altogether? After all, dismantling the hydraulic system and such is quiteplex." Ke Jing, "Indeed, the vicinity of the breech and the mantlet need to be redesigned. Actually, we could bring back these two vehicles to the factory for modifications, but that would be very cumbersome, it''s easier to just build a new one." Wang Zhong, "Then this No. 2 vehicle, what''s its number?" "Spotted Deer," Vasily reminded. "Right, the Spotted Deer, just leave it on the range for firing tests. We already know that firing the 76mm gun at the mantlet can jam the traverse and elevation gears, next we''ll continue testing whether it can be prated at different ranges. "Perhaps we''ll discover new issues for Chief Engineer Ke Jing to address." After Wang Zhong finished speaking, he gave Ke Jing a look seeking his opinion, but this look was clearly misunderstood, as Ke Jing snapped to attention, "Guaranteed toplete the task." "It''s good to have determination," Wang Zhong looked at the sky, "It''s already dark, under these conditions, the gunners probably won''t hit urately, right? Test it tomorrow, just send the report to my desk." The next day, January 2nd, 915 A.D., in the afternoon, a report was delivered to Wang Zhong''s desk. Based on this report, the front main armor of the 100mm gun carrier, at a distance of 500 meters, could withstand the shooting of the ZIS3 anti-tank gun. However, the mantlet could be prated at a distance of 600 meters, and once prated, vertical aiming mechanisms and such would inevitably bepromised. At a distance of 500 meters, firing a 76mm gun at the mantlet could potentially injure or even kill the gunner and loader. In the ten tests conducted, there were three incidents where either just the gunner or the loader was injured or killed, two where only the loader was unlucky, three where both were unlucky, and the remaining two times both members werepletely unharmed. The tankmander, because of having two "human shields," actually had a higher survival rate and was only slightly injured twice. If anything, this weakness could hardly be considered one; in a game, it might even be joked about as "ck hole armor" because the height adjustment mechanism and breach might swallow the aftereffects of the shell. But this is reality, where those crew members hit by shrapnel can fatally bleed out if hit in an artery. These are Wang Zhong''s carefully selected crew members, all veterans, and very precious. Therefore, improving the mantlet was absolutely necessary, even if it meant sacrificing aiming speed. About 7 dayster, Ke Jing managed to produce the second generation prototype. The results for protection levels were encouraging this time; a 76mm gun might not even prate the front armor of the device at a distance of 300 meters. Therefore, Wang Zhong ordered on the spot to bring over an 85mm anti-aircraft gun and conduct a test fire on the prototype, which showed that as long as the distance was kept above 800 meters, the second generation prototype need not worry about the Federation''s own 85mm anti-aircraft gun. However, Prosen''s 88mm gun could prate the second-generation prototype''s mantlet at a distance of 800 meters, but the damage to personnel was not significant, with only a few fragments entering the interior of thebat room. After the test results were out, Ke Jing''s head was spinning like a rattle: "No, no, no, we really can''t add anything more to the mantlet. If you want better protection, you have to move thebat room backward. That would also mean raising the position where the gun is mounted, making the overall vehicle taller." Wang Zhong visualized based on Ke Jing''s exnation, and what appeared in his mind were the Ferdinand Tank Destroyer (also known as the Elefant) and the Tiger Tank Destroyer. Both vehicles have one thing inmon: they are tall, easily spotted from a distance. But what Wang Zhong wanted were vehicles like the Panzer III assault gun and the No. 4 Tank Destroyer that were rtively low and suitable for ambushes. Moreover, at a distance of 800 meters, the 88mm gun only managed to prate the mantlet and create some fragments inside the vehicle;pared to other tanks that were killed by a single shot from a Tiger tank, this was quite impressive! Once Wang Zhong''s Chemistry and Textile Research Institute came out with the "anti-spalling lining" that Wang Zhong had requested, the crew''s survival rate would be even higher. Overall, Wang Zhong was quite satisfied with the new creation. And Major General Zinov, who had been paying close attention to the test of this new weapon, thought that "this thing should be mass-produced immediately." Unfortunately, that was impossible, as subsequent production tests showed that this device''s production time was 1.3 times that of the T34W. The T34W was already unable to fully rece the T34 because it was too time-consuming to produce. To truly increase the production of T34Ws, the Federation would need to transfer better production techniques and equipment. Wang Zhong was well aware that wars aren''t won by "special machines" or "ultimate weapons," and productivity is a very important aspect ofrge-scale warfare. So, he was also just trying to see if elite troops using difficult-to-produce special machines could achieve better results. Eventually, this tank destroyer was standardized as the SU100, where SU is the Ante abbreviation for "self-propelled gun," and 100 represents the caliber of the gun. And Wang Zhong personally designated its nickname: Vortex. Chapter 363: Chapter 46 The Allied Forces Give Generously ``` The battlefield in January of 915 was rtively calm meaning that casualties had dropped to around 10,000 per day. At noon on January 15th, Wang Zhong had just finished approving documents at the Equipment Review Committee on No. 10 He Ping Road, showed his face at the City Defense Command in the city, and was about to go to the school to continue working on his textbook when the phone rang directly. "General Rokossovsky," the voice on the other end of the phone was Federation Officer John Wick, his Antenguage had a bit of an ent, which was particrly recognizable, "in another hour, a military train loaded with heavy equipment aid is set to arrive at the station, won''t youe and take a look?" Wang Zhong knew his troops would certainly get replenishments first, but he was unclear on the specifics in fact, no one knew what would be replenished, since it was unknown which transport ship would reach shore. It was the height of Prussian submarine strangling warfare, and Prussian propaganda was boasting on the radio every day about how many tens of thousands of tons they had sunk. The Allied Forces'' own statistics were not optimistic, the Prussians just exaggerated by threefold. Even without exaggeration, the Allied Forces'' losses were staggering. Previous convoys had failed to break through the blockade, so only items like trucks and radios were delivered, and not a single tank. This time it seemed that tanks had finally made it ashore, which was why Lieutenant Colonel John Wick was so anxious to call. Wang Zhong: "Alright, I will go to the station and enjoy the scene." Actually, by just asking General Chekhov on the phone, Wang Zhong could have known what kind of aid tanks were on the train before its arrival, but it was like opening a mystery box, the excitementy in the moment of unveiling. Therefore, Wang Zhong asked the staff who came to meet him at themand, "How is the situation in the city?" The staff immediately answered, "The Air Force has shot down a Prussian reconnaissance ne. Its wreckage fell into a park three kilometers from the Summer Pce, and there was no body of the pilot on it. We are organizing forces to hunt for the parachuted aviator. "Other than that, there are no major events." Wang Zhong: "What about the situation with the surrender propagandists?" "Counterfeit currency with surrender slogans has been discovered, and we have already recalled those banknotes." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow; encountering propaganda written on currency was something he had actually seen before transmigration. He had personally taken such a banknote to the bank, where they immediately exchanged it for a new one with the same face value. The unexpected behavior reminded Wang Zhong of his homnd. "General?" the staff asked. Wang Zhong: "Assist the Tribunal in tracing the origin of the banknotes, and if there''s nothing else, I''ll head to the train station." The staff nodded, "Nothing else for now. After all, the enemy has been driven away from the edges of the city by you, so we''ve had some respite. But everyone is worried whether there will be another attempt in the future..." Wang Zhong: "There won''t be, I believe next year I mean this year, Prussians will not try to attack Ye Fort again. The most dangerous time for our capital has passed, but we can still lose this war. "That''s the reason I''m constantly on the go these days." With that, he flexed his shoulders. In fact, he was busier at the rear than fighting at the front: there were always textbooks to write, documents to approve, and sses to conduct. He quite enjoyed it, wishing he could write out as much as possible of both the experiences summed up by the post-war Soviet Union and those of our military, to feed them to the Ante army like practical life hacks. Wang Zhong: "Then I will leave now, see you at the station." Telling the staff where he was heading was in case of an emergency, so they could find him. In the event the surrender factionunched a political coup, it would be up to Wang Zhong, the City Defense Commander, to suppress the rebellion, which was why his core troops were stationed at Kubinka, based on such considerations. After making arrangements, Wang Zhong went straight to the train station. As he reached the tform, a train was just arriving, and Wang Zhong asked the traffic controller directly, "Is this the train from the Ice-free Port?" "Yes," the dispatcher replied, while Wang Zhong had already spotted the Sherman tanks secured on the train. They had arrived! However, the enemy''s Panzer IVs with their long barrels had appeared on the battlefield earlier than expected, so Shermans in this timeline probably couldn''t be as effective as they were on Earth. Wang Zhong thought for a moment and then rejected the idea; there had been only a few sightings of the Panzer IV on the front lines to date, and both the Tribunal''s intelligence department and Ante''s Army intelligence suspected that they might be test production models brought to the front for trials. That is to say, most of the time, the Sherman would still be facing the short-barreled Panzer III and Panzer IV. Shermanspletely overpowered these two types of tanks. It''s just that on Earth, the Sherman entered the war on arge scale toote, meeting only Tigers and Panthers in Italy, hence the unttering nickname "zippos." Actually, the Sherman was quite an excellent tank, especially at the time of its service entry. This is like ying a real-time strategy game, where timing is everything; you have to know how many troops to have at your enemy''s door in a few minutes with a double barracks rush, just as the stimpack upgrade ispleted, all set, and just a little dy could mean missing the peak strength. ``` Wang Zhong was now ready to take advantage of the Sherman''s period of dominance. As for the Tigers and Leopards that might arrive ahead of schedule, he would leave them to the whirlwinds to deal with. While Wang Zhong was admiring his dream tank, the Sherman, suddenly another thing so ugly it was shocking entered his field of vision. On a tbed car, there were two Crusader self-propelled anti-aircraft guns from the United Kingdom. The gun turret of this contraption looked as if a Mayan pyramid had been mounted on a vehicleit was that ugly. However, the 40mm Bofors autocannon it sported was an excellent piece of hardware. This thing was the world''s bestrge-caliber autocannon, and its performance was still notpletely obsolete even when the Americans fought in the Gulf. When used in direct fire, it could spoil infantry and lightly armored vehicles, even tanks. It might not be able to prate tank armor, but it could wash out everything on the tank''s surface, like shooting the base of a radio antenna and damaging the radio, for instance. When Wang Zhong had participated in aid negotiations with the Federation, he had paid special attention to securing the production license for the Bofors and had managed to get the Federation''s help to establish a production line within Ante''s territory. However, this production line would not be fully operational and start production at half speed until the spring of 916. Full-speed production might not start until July or August of 916. By that time, Wang Zhong nned to build an anti-aircraft vehicle armed with twin Bofors autocannons, with armor capable of resisting light enemy fire. He had already thought of a name for it"Apocalypse." When that time came, this anti-aircraft vehicle would undoubtedly be the infantry''s wild godfather. For now, having the Crusader with a single Bofors was still something he could make do withit was better than nothing. This solved the problem of anti-aircraft vehicles. Previously, the best self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Wang Zhong could get his hands on was a GAZ truck with a 25mm autocannon mounted on the back. Wang Zhong decisively turned around and said to Vasily, "See that ugly fellow? That self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, keep a lookout on it! Our anti-aircraft battalion was just worrying aboutcking self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to apany tanks!" Vasily: "Alright! But are you sure you want to use something so ugly? Won''t it affect the morale?" Wang Zhong: "What nonsense, drop your artistic qualms. Looks don''t matter, functionality does!" Vasily: "You sure it''s functional?" Wang Zhong: "I don''t know, so we have to bring it back and try it out!" The next day, eight Crusader self-propelled anti-aircraft guns were delivered to Kubinka. And with them came 30 Shermans. At this point, Major General Tadeusz of the Mnia People''s Army First Division found Wang Zhong: "General Davarish, we havepatriots from the United Kingdom who have used Shermans in the Mnia First Armored Brigade. They could serve as instructors to help us master this tank quickly." Wang Zhong: "Then, have you used the Crusader Anti-aircraft Guns?" Tadeusz, clearly not very interested in the ugly appearance of the anti-aircraft gun, replied, "Perhaps some have used them. Is it important?" Wang Zhong: "Of course it''s important. The existence of anti-aircraft guns can interfere with enemy Air Force targeting, forcing them to bomb from very high altitudes. From mybat experience, this is quite significant." Yes, after being tested in actualbat, Wang Zhong''s understanding of battlefield air defense had undergone a revolutionary change. Previously, he thought that air defense only made sense if it shot down enemy aircraft. After seeing the data on the number of enemy aircraft shot down by anti-air defense forces in World War II, he naturally joined the ranks of those ignorant folks who criticized air defense for being proportionately ineffective. Now Wang Zhong knew that air defense should not be judged by how many aircraft were shot down. As long as it interfered with the enemy''s attack, causing the attack to be inurate, or even intimidating the enemy pilots from attacking recklessly, then the air defense operations were sessful. In other words, the rooftop antiaircraft machine guns that Wang Zhong had always thought were mainly for firing at infantry actually could provide air defense. With such a machine gun, the enemy might drop bombs from 500 meters instead of 800 meters. These extra 300 meters were the "significance" of that machine gun. Wang Zhong exined all of this, and the Mnian major general showed an expression of admiration: "I''ve never thought of it this way before. I thought rooftop machine guns were mainly for shooting at infantry." Wang Zhong felt a little blush because before his transmigration, he thought the same. But he couldn''t say that; he had to keep a straight face and maintain his image. Major General Tadeusz continued, "When I served in the Mnian army, the higher-ups did not pay attention to thetest military advancements, and they also had a very shallow understanding of the Air Force. They still believed the Air Force was just about low-altitude flyovers and dropping hand grenades. "So, our troops'' air defense was basically to cluster several machine guns together, thinking that was enough." Wang Zhong turned to look at the GAZ truck with the mounted quad machine guns not far away. Major General Tadeusz looked as well: "Yes, that kind. But ording to you, this actually also has a certain effect, right?" Wang Zhong: "Yes, but the protective range of a machine gun is too small, and a truck is not suitable to apany armored units." As he said this, he turned to look at the recently acquired eight Crusaders: "Besides, we are about to carry out tests to show you the efficiency of the 40mm Bofors autocannon against infantry." Chapter 364: Chapter 47 This is the Power of a Medium Anti-Aircraft Gun January 16, 915, Kubinka, the location of the forming mobile army. This was also the station for the "Royal Imperial Guard" in the mouths of many from Ye Fort. Kubinka was originally the royal family''s usual training ground, equivalent to our Zhurihe, and Wang Zhong made full use of this condition, training troops here every day while organizing them. When the new tanks arrived, the troops were practicingbined arms with infantry, so all the soldiers saw the Shermans and Crusaders roll in. Yegorov was organizing the training, and upon seeing the scene, he immediately ordered, "Rest for 30 minutes, I''ll go take a look at what''s going on." "Can we go too?" An old soldier who was familiar with Yegorov asked. Yegorov: "Stay put! The general won''t mind your fuss, but I will." "You''re a general now too," said Aleksandrovich, who had reced Pavlov as the chief of staff of the Guards First Mechanized Infantry. Yegorov looked down at his cor insignia: "Indeed. I never dreamed I''d be a general in this lifetime. You and the Military Bishop keep an eye on them, I''m going to see what''s happening." Ivan Petrovich, who had reced Popov as the Guards First Mechanized Infantry Military Bishop, said, "Go ahead, if it''s good equipment, try to get it for our division." Yegorov grinned, "Of course. Back when the GeneralI mean, when Rokossovsky was divisionmander, he led us to request equipment everywhere, now it''s his turn to be pestered by me!" Many veteransughed. Yegorov swaggered toward the new equipment. The chief of staff Aleksandrovich asked Ivan Petrovich, "Vanya (Ivan''s nickname), looking at his swagger, can you imagine he was the same old guy who got drunkst night because he missed his deceased wife?" Before the Military Bishop could answer, a nearby soldier joked, "Spill the beans about drinking in misery." But the one who asked was a new soldier, who got flicked on the forehead by an old one: "Don''t jest about such matters! The divisionmander''s wife and child both died in enemy fire!" Military Bishop Ivan nced at the new soldier being schooled and said, "The divisionmander himself might not mind you teasing about that, but isn''t it right to be polite? Night school taught you not just culture but also etiquette!" Night school was an initiative started by General Rokossovsky, and because the Ante Army had no practice of utilizing time at night before, the soldiers objected a lot at first. Later, General Rokossovsky took two measures to increase everyone''s enthusiasm. The first was the establishment of a system where passing the night school''s final assessment could get one into the prestigious armor units, charging into battle alongside the General. The second was that at the end of each week''s night school, soldiers who received excellent evaluations could get a bottle of vodka and were permitted to drink on weekends, without participating in the weekend''s extra training. The effectiveness of the first measure was currently unknown since no soldiers had yet passed the night school final assessment. The second measure was extraordinarily effective; every weekend, soldiers who performed well in night school gathered to drink, making everyone else enviousthey still had to do extra training. Petrovich took this opportunity to give the soldiers a lecture, then with his hands sped behind his back, looked in the direction of the new equipment and said, "I hope the divisionmander gets some good stuff." Chief of staff Aleksandrovich said, "I''m hoping for the kind of tank with a thick gun barrel; the other tank''s barrel, looking about the same as our 45mm, seems feeble." An old soldier immediately chimed in, "Doesn''t seem sturdy enough either; at the very least, the front of the thicker-barreled tank is sloped." Many infantry soldiers hadn''t even finished the 10th grade, so they only knew that T34''s protection was good because its armor was sloped, but they didn''t understand much beyond that. Wang Zhong was busy arranging the range personnel to ce dummies when he heard someone call his name, "General!" Those who would call out to a general so directly were definitely old hands who were familiar with him. He turned his head and saw Yegorov. "Yegorov, you rascal!" Wang Zhongughed, "You''vee to request equipment, right?" Yegorov pointed at the Sherman: "I want this one!" Wang Zhong: "This has already been decided to go to the Davarish of the Mnian People''s Army. They have people who havee from the Free Mnian forces on the United Kingdom side and are familiar with this." Yegorov pursed his lips: "You got promoted, and now you don''t care about your old troops!" Wang Zhong: "What are you saying! The first to be fully equipped with T34Ws in this training ground was the First Mechanized Infantry." Yegorov: "I have only one battalion, not enough, give me another battalion!" Wang Zhong: "You are a mechanized infantry division, not a tank division. Though I think your division would be stronger inbat than a Tukhachev-style tank division." Whether intentionally guided by someone or not, now in the troops, those types of tank divisions built in Tukhachev''s era thatcked everything except tanks are called Tukhachev-style tank divisions, whereas those big formations Wang Zhong engineeredbining a tank battalion with arge number of various other armsare called "new-style divisions" or "Rokossovsky-style tank divisions." Knowing that no new tanks wereing his way, Yegorov stopped looking at the Sherman and turned his attention to the Crusader Anti-aircraft Gun: "And what is this ugly thing?" Wang Zhong: "Crusader self-propelled anti-aircraft gun." While speaking, he had a sudden thought that if a 25mm anti-aircraft machine gun was considered light air defense, and an 85mm anti-aircraft gun heavy air defense, then could the Crusader''s 40mm Bofors be ssified as medium air defense? As a seasoned Hearts of Iron IV yer, his favorite thing was to boost an entire division''s armor rating by stuffing a self-propelled medium air defense unit into an infantry division; because in the game, enemy armor-piercing capability was calcted only by looking at the armor of the thickest unit in the division, and if the enemy''s armor-piercing capability was insufficient to prate the armor, the whole division would be tougher. This action, colloquially known as "gold-ting," was why Hearts of Iron yers had a unique fondness for medium air defense that could provide "gold ting," offer air defense against soft targets, and alsoe cheap. Wang Zhong''s First Guards Mechanized Infantry already had a battalion of tanks, andter may add another battalion equipped with whirlwind tank destroyers, so its armor power was not weak. In game terms, this kind of "Gundam division" didn''t really need to use anti-aircraft guns to "gold-te." But in reality, for an elite division''s armored units, a reliable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was needed to provide apanying air defense. Wang Zhong: "This anti-aircraft gun will reinforce the First Guards Mechanized Infantry, providing apanying air defense for the armor units." Yegorov immediately frowned, "This doesn''t look very powerful!" Wang Zhong: "Not powerful?" He turned to ask the staff at the firing range, "Is the target set up?" "The targets are ready, General, including the aerial targets hung from balloons and the dummies on the ground," replied the staff member. Wang Zhong looked towards the Crusader Anti-aircraft Gunnow they were operated by military instructors from the United Kingdom who had flown in. "Tell the instructors to fire at the aerial targets first, and be careful not to hit the balloons," he said. After he finished speaking, Vasily immediately tranted. The instructors gave a thumbs-up, then the Crusaders turned their barrels towards the aerial targets and fired. Wang Zhong heard Yegorov exim beside him, "That noise!" After all, the Bofors only had a 5-millimeter smaller caliber than the Ante Army''s main 45-millimeter anti-tank guns, and even had arger caliber than the 37-millimeter guns mounted on the early Prosenian Panzer III tanks; the noise of these things firing was frighteningly loud. The targets were hit by a series of airbursts and fell to the ground with a tter. Wang Zhong: "Have them fire at the houses." There were brick houses on the firing range used for practicing close-quarters indoorbat as well as testing the lethality of various shells on targets inside the houses. Now, these houses were also fitted with dummies. After Vasily ryed the order, the Crusaders leveled their machine guns and aimed at the houses, beginning to fire. When the Bofors fired, each shot kicked up a cloud of dust from the ground; the thing was a dust-raiser, surrounding the Crusader with a cloud of smoke and dust. On the target side, high-explosive shells continuously hit the brick walls, tearing chunks out of the sturdy bricks that flew everywhere. The dummies ced outside the houses were directly shattered, and those inside were not spared either, those standing by the windows were smashed, and those hiding inside were probably riddled with holes. The brick house had one sidepletely blown open by the Bofors. Wang Zhong: "Cease fire!" Vasily: "Sisfael!" The firing stopped. The range staff rushed towards the house to check the situation, and soon the radio in the range officer''s hand crackled with the report: "All ten dummies are damaged to varying degrees, all judged to be casualties." Wang Zhong had just turned towards Yegorov when thetter said, "I''ll take this! Just not sure how good it is against armor." Wang Zhong said to Vasily, "Have them switch to Armor-Piercing Shells, and bring in one each of the captured Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks as well as a half-track, with dummies inside." It took slightly longer to prepare this time, so Wang Zhong chatted with Yegorov, "How does it feel to be a divisionmander?" "Great, I can''t wait to go beat up those Prosen bastards," Yegorov said. Wang Zhong: "I hear you drink alone quite often?" Yegorov: "That''s just boredom when we''re not fighting the Prosen devils. Once the fight starts, there''ll be no problem." Wang Zhong patted Yegorov on the shoulder, "It''s still early; I reckon the Prosenians won''t start their new offensive until April." Yegorov: "To attack the capital again?" Quite a few officers around overheard and immediately looked over. Wang Zhong: "No, the enemy''s ns for a quick surrender are bankrupt, and Ye Fort is not as important now, at least not as much as our southern oil-producing regions. General Golikov and I both judge that the enemy''s main direction of attack this year will be the south." Yegorov: "So there won''t be any attacks on the central and northern fronts?" "How could that be possible? The enemy needs to tie up our forces, so they will attack from the north, central, and south, but all other directions will be diversionary." By now, the range officer reported: "The targets are ready." Wang Zhong: "Aim at the half-track first, fire." Without waiting for Vasily to trante, the Crusaders immediately fired, and after only a few shots, the half-track burst into mesthe vehicle had just been brought to the range and naturally contained fuel and oil that would burn. Yegorov: "Oh, not bad." Wang Zhong: "Aim at the Panzer III." The Crusaders quickly fired, and the armor-piercing shells first scattered bits of the Panzer III, like its headlights, and then broke its tracks. Yegorov: "Not bad, it can break tracks!" On the battlefield, a vehicle that has lost its tracks has to be abandoned temporarily, to beter towed away by a recovery vehicle. Yegorov was clearly pleased with being able to break tracks, but the Crusader continued firing, and after hitting something, the Panzer III suddenly caught fire. Yegorov: "Oh, oh, oh, good, good, good, get me a battalion of these!" Chapter 365: Chapter 48: The Situation in January of 915 (Silver Alliance additional update 1/10) Wang Zhong: "How is it, not bad, right?" "Pretty good," Yegorov nodded, "Actually, just breaking the tracks would satisfy me. This thing can do more than just break tracks!" Wang Zhong: "It can also mess up the enemy''s sighting system. If you hit the side, it can even prate a Panzer III." After all, this thing had a caliber of 40 millimeters. Furthermore, one of the benefits of a machine gun: no need for precise aiming, as fate would let it hit weak spots and prate. As for the Panzer III that was the target, it probably caught fire that way. Wang Zhong: "Aim at the Panzer IV, let''s see how this gun performs against Prosen''s current best armor protection." In fact, the Panzer IV they had here no longer represented Prosen''s best armor protection, as better protected Panzer IVs had already appeared on the battlefield, along with various field modifications. However, Wang Zhong didn''t expect the Bofors to act as the main anti-tank force; he just wanted to see if it could prate the armor. The Crusader Anti-aircraft Gun fired without a second word, creating arge cloud of dust around the Panzer IV. After firing about 20 rounds, Wang Zhong ordered a halt to the shooting. The Panzer IV did not catch fire. After the target inspection, the report came through the walkie-talkie: "One tank crew member is injured, preliminary judgment is that a shrapnel flew in through the observation port and injured the crew member. Additionally, the turret race ring is jammed; we tested it, and it can''t be turned. The tracks were also broken." Wang Zhong pped his hands: "Good! What do you think, Yegorov, do you want it?" "I just said I wanted it! How could I not want such a good thing?" Yegorov said. On the battlefield, to destroy a tank, you don''t actually need to reduce the enemy crew to fewer than two. Breaking tracks, jamming the race ring, basically, these are enough to make the crew abandon the vehicle. If the driver is taken out through the observation port, the crew generally abandons the vehicle as well. Wang Zhong remembered in Carius''s autobiography "Tiger in the Mud," during his first battle driving a 38T tank, they ended up abandoning the vehicle because a crew member was killed. Sturmtiger tank operators are required to bepetent in any position, yet they still abandoned the vehicle, because it was difficult to move the dead crew quickly on the battlefield, and the body would upy a spot. In such cases, the only option was to abandon the vehicle, wait until the battle was over and control of the battlefield was regained, then drag the body out, repair the vehicle, and maybebine crew members from different vehicles to form aplete crewthus a tank was restored tobat readiness. Under such circumstances, a machine gun that could reliably damage the enemy tank''s tracks and jam the turret race ring, or even injure an enemy crew member, yed a muchrger role on the battlefield than in games. And this thing could also be used for anti-air defense. No, its original job was anti-air defense, but not being used for that purpose seems to be the destiny of every excellent anti-aircraft gun. After testing the Bofors on the Crusader Anti-aircraft Gun, Wang Zhong became even more excited about the twin-barreled anti-aircraft gun he nned to produce once the Bofors production line was up and running. In the following half a month, Wang Zhong was busy non-stop. During this time, Wang Zhong was reminded of his initial office worker life before his transmigration, with work, overtime, and more work. Had it not been for his beautiful fiance and pretty maid awaiting him at home, Wang Zhong would have thought he had returned to Earth. On January 29th, as soon as Wang Zhong''s convoy arrived at the entrance of his estate, he saw another military vehicle approach from another road at the gate, with General Golikov waving at him energetically from it. A momentter, Wang Zhong embraced General Golikov at the entrance of his estate. Wang Zhong hesitated for a moment but decided not to follow Su Xunzong''s example. Instead, he stepped back and asked, "Why have youe back?" General Golikov: "The situation at the front has stabilized. I spent half a month carefully investigating the terrain at the front, preparing tounch an offensive during the enemy''s southern offensive in March or April, to tie up some of the enemy''s forces." Wang Zhong: "But fighting in fortified areas is difficult, isn''t it?" "Yes, but after reconnaissance, I found a new crossing on the Duva River. Tanks can ford the river there, and there''s no enemy defense on the opposite bank. I n to use this crossing." Wang Zhong: "Have you tried it? Isn''t the Duva River frozen now?" General Golikov: "Local people said they could walk across the river, so I think tanks should have no problem." Wang Zhong: "It''s still better to investigate more thoroughly." He vaguely remembered that on Earth, during the first Soviet attack on Zhelefov, it was due to crossing the river that the follow-up troops couldn''t keep up, and the forces that had crossed were counterattacked by the Prussian Armored Division, leading to their failure. General Golikov: "I have a feeling the attack won''t seed, but other than attacking, there''s no other way to tie down Prosen''s forces. If we let Prosen concentrate its superior forces on the southern front, the situation will only get worsewe cannot lose the Kuban oil fields." "The Federation''s support will always be constrained by transportation capacity. If they don''t have to allocate resources for transporting oil, they will be able to supply us with more of other things." Now, every day, new Federation supplies are delivered to Ante, continuously aiding Ante like a transfusion. However, since the war has just begun and the Federation hasn''tpleted the conversion of industry and mobilization, they haven''t yet begun to mass-produce Liberty ships at the rate of one a day, and the constraints on transportation capacity are still quite serious. At this point, Ludm,ing to greet them, asked, "Is it okay to discuss military matters like this? Couldn''t spies overhear?" General Golikov: "No problem, it''s likest year when everyone knew that the enemy would inevitably attack Ye Fort. That the enemy will primarily target the southern front is almost public knowledge. The question is where exactly they n tounch the offensive." Wang Zhong added: "Most of the strategic issues are out in the open,id bare for all to see; it''s on the tactical level that various deceptive maneuvers are possible. But no matter where the enemy ns to attack, they have to first break through our Coastal Fortressthe Bolsk defense line, where Duke Meishikin is stationed." Ludm: "Oh, that sick Duke, I met him in Shepetovka. I wonder if he''s doing any better." Wang Zhong: "I don''t know." Based on Wang Zhong''s impression when he met with Duke Meishikin, he spected that the Duke might have tuberculosis, which was a terminal illness at the time, and they could only extend his life. The good news was that the Duke''s symptoms were still rtively mild, possibly in the early stages, and going to a ce with fresh air for recuperation might dy the time until medical science overcame this difficulty. Now it was not clear. Ludm then asked, "Are you going to continue chatting in the study, or eat first?" Wang Zhong: "I choose to eat in the study, let Nelly push it over with the cart." "Okay. Nelly, I''ll help you prepare." Nelly, in addition to the expression she usually watched Wang Zhong with, said to Ludm, "Miss, go into the kitchen, but besides the sd, don''t do anything else." Could it be that Ludm had the attribute of turning food into poison? Was this really so anime-like? While secretly scoffing inwardly, Wang Zhong patted General Golikov on the shoulder, "Let''s go, leave the girls to their business. I have some waffles in my room, we can fill up on them before the meales." General Golikov: "The waffles aren''t important, do you have c? They say c is considered a luxury, and the supply we get is very limited." Wang Zhong: "Yes, of course I do. I''ve got plenty of c here." "Then let''s go." A momentter, in Wang Zhong''s study, General Golikov gulped down a third of a bottle of c in one go, and then let out a satisfied belch. Wang Zhong asked, "Apart from c, how''s the supply of other provisions at the front?" General Golikov: "Currently, it''s not bad. Our original n was to ration food for the workers, but Spam canned meat has changed that. The front lines are well-fed and warm now, and there''s a high demand from the soldiers to go on the offensive. "But we''ve just replenished with new recruits, all of whom have only undergone a few months of training. Tounch an offensive with these green soldiers... " The General shook his head and continued drinking his c. Wang Zhong: "If we could get the enemy to attack, our troops could train the new recruits in defense, relying on strong positions, and the situation might be a bit better." But the enemy was focused on the southern line, where there was initially only one strong line of defense, and the rest were wide open ins. Units filled with many new recruits positioned in such ces, fighting mostly against seasoned Prosen soldiers, would definitely suffer tremendous casualties. "The new recruits we''ve currently supplemented our forces with are mostly mobilized reservists, with only a very few who are pure new recruits just out from the training camps." Prosen Empire, Eagle''s Nest. Chief of General Staff William Kyle reported, "Considering the current situation on the frontlines, we have already withdrawn our mainbat units. "Some of the units from the Central Army Group and the Southern Army Group that suffered particrly heavy losses have been sent to Argesukov for reorganization. The refurbishment is expected to be finished by March." Imperial Emperor Reinhard: "What about the replenishment of equipment?" William von Maqi, who had been reassigned from the front to focus on supervising the Armored Troops, reported, "Production of the Panzer IV tanks with KWK40 guns has already begun. After all, it''s just a modified version, so there''s no need forrge-scale alterations to the production line, and the workers are quite experienced. "The problem now is that we originally produced the Panzer IV as infantry tanks, maintaining a production ratio of three to one with the Panzer III, which is mainly responsible for armored warfare. "The production lines are the same, with three factories producing the Panzer III while only one produces the Panzer IV. To convert the Panzer III production lines to Panzer IV would require eight months of retrofitting. Right now, the production capacity of the Panzer IV is insufficient, and in fact, the Panzer III production is not sufficient either. "Given that the war on the eastern front might turn into a brutal war of attrition, I suggest we mobilize in full to fundamentally resolve the issue of insufficient production capacity." Reinhard waved his hand dismissively, "No,st year we eliminated millions of Ante troops, capturing one and a half million prisoners. Such an inferior race doesn''t warrant our mobilization. With our currentbat effectiveness, there is still hope of ending the war this year! "The effort to take the capital and strike the enemy''s will to fight has already failed. However, the possibility of forcing the enemy to surrender by striking at their resource production areas still exists! "Right here!" Reinhard firmly jabbed his finger on the map at the Kuba region. "Take out their oil fields there, and on the way of the offensive we will also seize the enemy''s main coal-producing areas. Then the Ante People won''t even have fuel to keep warm, and they will have to choose between freezing to death and surrender!" At that moment, the Supreme Commander of the Army Walter von Blenheim said, "But the enemy is also aware of this. Hasn''t Rabowell already obtained intelligence from the Krat Bureau?" Reinhard: "Everyone knows this. Your task is to find a shortcut to achieve our objective, just like during the Ardennes." He looked around the entire room, finally turning to the Air Force Commander Duke Mayer, "When does Ante''s muddy season end?" In theory, the weather fell under the jurisdiction of the Air Force, though the Army also had its own meteorological department. Duke Mayer answered, "April." Reinhard: "Then we willunch the spring offensive in April. The first phase target is to break through the enemy''s line of defense from the Coastal Fortress to Bolsk. In the second phase, we aim to gallop across the whole southern ins, striving to annihte another million or so Ante troops,pletely eliminating their ability to protect Kuba!" The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 366: Chapter 49: Prosens Royal Meeting Emperor Reinhard had just finished speaking when Chief of Staff William Kelt chimed in, "The staff has already formted several ns corresponding to the main attack directions of north, central, and south, our assessment shows that the n to take Saint Andrew Fort in the north is the most reliable." "The supply route for this n is the shortest, although the marshes and forests of Livonia and the guerri teams scattered among them have seriously disrupted our military''s logistics, the other directions also have problems with guerri teams." Reinhard suddenly became furious and banged the table hard, "I was prepared to wipe out the Ante people from the beginning, but you all stopped me, and now you''re telling me that we have a serious guerri problem?" William Kelt nced at Walter Von Bulein, the Armymander, and said, "We need to hire civilians to ensure logistics. Our logistics department has employed nine million workers, including railway workers, truck drivers, and maintenance workers, among others. "We originally thought that these people would be enough to supply logistics for several million troops, but the reality has deviated significantly from our predictions. Ante''s infrastructure is too poor; with only these nine million workers, we can''t ensure the supply for 153 divisions on the eastern front. We must hire Ante people." Reinhard: "And because we hired Ante people, the supply line is a mess!" William Kelt: "Better a mess than no supply line at all. In fact, this is true for all the non-Traditional Prosen territories we upy, such as Carolingian, Mnia, and the Nethends Republic resistance organizations are everywhere." At that moment, Chief of Ceremonies Heintz from the Imperial Household Ministry, who had been silent, gently pushed up his sses and said, "We''re doing our best to eliminate these resistance groups. Just this past month, we caught several hundred spies airdropped from the United Kingdom. "There are certainly many more that have infiltrated. Every night, the United Kingdom broadcasts various poems in differentnguages, all of which are code for the resistance groups in various locations. "The enemy can carry out these airdrops because someone boasted that not even a fly could get through!" Duke Meyer pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his sweat before he retorted, "The enemy uses all-wood airnes which our radars can''t detect; it''s impossible to guard against such nes. These wooden nes invade from high altitudes and our ground observation posts have difficulty directly spotting them. "These nes also fly very fast..." Heintz smiled faintly, "You always have a reason, Your Grace." Duke: "What do you mean ''reason''? These are objective facts. We now control almost the entirety of Europa. It''s very difficult to defend such vast airspace against a type of ne invisible to radar." Army Commander Walter said, "We''re used to the Air Force being unreliable." Duke Meyer frowned, "I can''t agree with that. Without the cooperation of the Air Force, Blitzkrieg would have been impossible. General Moochi would agree with me!" General Moochi was feeling mncholy at that moment, having been relieved of his front-linemand duties. Although he still held the title of director of Armored Troops, unless he achieved field victories, getting a marshal''s baton was virtually impossible. As General Moochi considered that his promotion hade to a halt, he couldn''t help feeling somber. Just under two months ago, he had observed Ye Fort through binocrs and ordered shelling of Ye Fort. The thought made him even more mncholic, even inclined to have a drink. Unfortunately, Emperor Reinhard didn''t like to see people drinking before a military meeting. Suddenly put on the spot by Duke Meyer, General Moochi could only look around bewildered, "Sorry, I just zoned out. What were you asking me?" Duke Meyer repeated his question, "I was asking if you agree that Blitzkrieg would be unachievable without the support of the Air Force?" The cooperation between the two rising military forces, the Air Force and Armored Troops, was what created the glory of the Blitzkrieg, at least that''s how the Prosen Empire''s propaganda spun it. General Moochi had no intention of spoiling the effect of the propaganda, which was beneficial for maintaining his position, as he was the one in the dark ck uniform of Armored Troops, also the director. So General Moochi answered, "Yes, close air support from the Air Force has been a great help to us." Duke Meyer immediately showed a pleased expression. But then General Moochi continued, "However, during the recent Ye Fort campaign, the Air Force hardly yed a role. This was due to our failure to switch the aircraft to antifreeze lubricant in time, but it has to be acknowledged that sometimes the Air Force really isn''t that useful." Duke Meyer hastily assured, "We''ll apply the proper lubricant next year, so even in winter the nes will be operable." "I hope that''s the case," General Moochi said. Determined to steer the conversation back to its original course, Duke Meyer dered, "I guarantee that the Air Force will be fullymitted to the attacke the spring offensive." "That''s what you said before the war started," Commanding General Walter stated. Duke Meyer argued, "We did fullymit to the attack when the war started, but Ante is so vast that it directly resulted in a perception from the infantry on the ground that our close air support was once again diminished." He paused and emphasized again, "We truly gave it our all!" Marshal Von Buleinmented, "If giving it your all yields only such results, then the Air Force is nothing special after all." Duke Meyer: "You!" "Enough!" Emperor Reinhard rebuked sharply. The Air Force, being an emerging high-tech branch, had always been favored by Reinhard, and in such times, he naturally stood on the side of the Air Force. Marshal von Bulein bowed his head, showing hispliance, which rxed the tense expression on Reinhard''s face somewhat. The army''s leadership primarily consisted of Junker officers, and Emperor Reinhard had already used the division of Armored Troops to weaken as much as possible the influence of the officer corps within the army, and recently, he had formed the Asgard Knights, which did not fall under themand of the Army''s Chief of Staff. However, the army was sorge and the officers so numerous, with the intertwined rtions of the Junker nobility deep andplex, that even a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Moreover, Reinhard keenly felt that the mouths of the old guard in the army, previously shut by a series of brilliant victories, were beginning to loosen again. There were two leaders among the old guard, one was the retired Marshal Hindenburg at home, and the second was von Bulein, only five years younger than Hindenburg. Of course, several years of splendid victories had already established an exceptionally solid rule for Reinhard, so even facing a minor setback, von Bulein still expressed his obedience to Reinhard. Besides, after several years of war, the old guard also knew that technological innovation had changed the nature of warfare, and therge influx of officers skilled in new technologies into the military was an inevitable trend, with the dilution of Junker officers'' power bing a foregone conclusion. Many of the old guard had already given up resistance and resigned themselves to the military innovation. Just as the nobility of Ante lost power, so too would the Junker military nobility gradually lose theirs. Many Junker nobles had already sold their ancestral estates, having inherited them for so many years, and moved into modern concrete cities; their children were ustomed to electricity, radio, and running water, and were no longer willing to return to the archaic estates. Reinhard stared at the Chief of the General Staff for several seconds, then nodded, "The Air Force will do its utmost to assist you. To reach the banks of the Valdai Hills River in about four months'' time, you don''t need to cross the river, just set up a defensive line along it, forcing the enemy to reinforce Kuban via Ind Sea shipping." Von Bulein nodded, "We can just modify our southern line n for that. Our n was only to break through the coastal-Bolsk line and upy this fortified area to choke the enemy''s throat and prevent a counterattack from the south." Reinhard, "Your n is too conservative, even Giles wouldn''t like it." Giles was still in charge of the defense of the southern part of the Central Army Group''s frontline, that is, the Duva River line, so he did not attend this imperial conference. Von Bulein, "We will have a new n before the end of this month, although we don''t yet have a clear offensive n, we can start stockpiling ammunition and equipment." Reinhard turned to his Armored Troops supervisor, "Replenish the troops with new tanks as soon as possible." General Moochi, "As I''ve just said, unless we begin mobilization and switch to a wartime production system, our army is not able to quickly replenish the long-barreled Panzer IVs. By the time the attack begins in April, I estimate that ten armored battalions in the eastern front will have received long-barreled Panzer IVs." Reinhard immediately picked up on a keyword, "Received?" General Moochi, "To facilitate the rearming process, it''s certain that the original crews who already operate the Panzer IVs would have to be reequipped first. Each battalion has only about 25 Panzer IVs." "That''s only two hundred and fifty tanks!" Reinhard''s voice grew louder, "Only 250 tanks in three months? Has my Prosen industry weakened to this extent?" General Moochi, "It''s mainly for two reasons, first, the production capacity of the long 43-caliber 75 mm gun barrels is limited. After all, the imperial army has just cedrge orders for PAK40s, and although the two types of gun barrels are different in detail, they stillpete for production capacity. Switching to wartime production would solve this problem." Reinhard waved his hand, "What''s the second reason?" "The new tanks are to be first armed with the Asgard Knights Division, and the Air Force field divisions." Reinhard was stuck. Von Bulein and other old-school officers exchanged nces, then simultaneously settled into a state of watching the show. In the end, Reinhard shook his head, "Then for the spring offensive, make even more use of the Asgard Knights! ce them at the most crucial point, where the enemy''s forces are strongest! Last time they met Rocossov and performed poorly, bing the subject of ridicule in the newspapers of the Federation and the United Kingdom! Now is their chance to redeem themselves!" Von Bulein and William Kelt exchanged nces again. Then Chief of General Staff William Kelt said, "Then we need Your Majesty to assure us these units will be positioned on the frontline ording to our ns." "I assure you! Just treat them like ordinary Armored Divisions for deployment, but they''ve got to be at the most difficult breakthrough points!" After saying this, Reinhard turned again towards the supervisor of Armored Troops, General Moochi, "How is the situation with the new tanks?" General Moochi, "The Panzer V was only in the research stage before, with no design drawings produced, so I had the design team carefully measure the captured Ante tanks. We are basically nning to improve upon the T34''s basis, correcting its ws. The earliest we could test the prototype would be by the end of this year." Reinhard, "Then it seems this tank will not see use in the war against Ante. We are going to take out Ante''s coal and oil fields this year, and they will surrender by next spring." General Moochi, "There is one tank that might be put into battle this year though. Previously, we struggled against the Carolingian B1 heavy tanks, so we proposed a tender for an 88 mm carrier vehicle, mainly making improvements based on the previously halted VK3001 project. "Currently Hensher and Porsche have produced prototype vehicles, which are undergoing tests at Belka''s tank test field. If all goes well, by the April offensive, production models will be sent to the front." General Moochi, "In Belka? Okay, I want to take a look. This meeting is adjourned!" Chapter 367: Chapter 50: The Star of Victory and the Firefighting Captain Wang Zhong over here. He was sharing c with General Gorky. After finishing a bottle, the general let out a satisfied sound, "Ah, that''s really nice." He put down the bottle and said with a teasing tone, "You know, they''ve started calling me the Firefighter Chief. Ironically, since the war began, I''ve only carried out two ''firefighting'' missions." Wang Zhong, "That''s easy, I know a reporter from the Federation named Mike, I''ll get him to write an article for you. Soon, Ye Fort Daily will pick it up, and you''ll have a cool title." General Gorky, "You might as well write a song about me." Wang Zhong could only give a dryugh; how could he write songs? He always copied them. If he really had to write an essay on a given topic, he would be exposed immediately. Wait, it might not be impossible to consider, just copying some hymns would solve it. As Wang Zhong was contemting which one to copy, General Gorky said, "Why are you seriously considering it? Stop it, I was just joking. You''d better continue praising our soldiers. Today, I took the train back and saw a mother at the station sending off four sons to join the army, four of them!" Wang Zhong, "All four sons are within the current conscription age range? Truly a respectable mother." General Gorky, "There might even be one more at home, after all, this conscription is asking each family to keep at least one male. If the war situation deteriorates further, the mother might send herst child to the front line as well; looking into that mother''s eyes, I know she would do it!" Strangely enough, Wang Zhong had not actually seen that old mother, but just from General Gorky''s description, he had formed a clear image, as if there really was such a mother, standing in a corner of the room watching him. Was it because he had seen too many such mothers? The traditional military song "Farewell to the Women of Ante," was it really just about bidding farewell to a beloved girl? Wang Zhong mixed vodka and c together, making a drink for each of them, then raised his ss high, "To the mothers of Ante." "To the mothers of Ante," General Gorky softly repeated after him, and they clinked sses before downing the drink. Then the general smacked his lips, "Unexpectedly not bad. I thought mixing vodka with c was definitely a bad idea." Feeling suddenly inspired, Wang Zhong rang the bell on the table. Nelly came in with a puzzled face. General Gorky, "Why did shee in with that expression?" Wang Zhong, "Because most of the time I ring the bell just to see Nelly heal my soul." Nelly, "I still have three rooms to clean, I''m very busy." Wang Zhong, "Do you miss the days of being a duty soldier on the front lines?" "No, although there was less for me to do on the front lines, shells kept falling. Compared to that, I choose to clean a whole floor of rooms," Nelly replied. Wang Zhong, "Next time I''ll switch you out for a male orderly, and you can just keep cleaning rooms in the rear." Nelly now looked displeased and asked with a stern face, "Do you need me to get you something?" Wang Zhong, "Get some ice, beer, and fresh lemons." Nelly, "You want ice in this weather?" "Yes, I do." "Can I use the lemon canned food that just arrived?" Wang Zhong, "That''ll do." Nelly turned and left. General Gorky looked surprised, "There''s canned food for that stuff?" Wang Zhong, "There''s even pineapple canned food. Would you like to try it?" "What is that?" General Gorky asked with even more confusion. Wang Zhong, "Pineapple, a tropical fruit." "Aren''t bananas the only thing the tropics produce?" asked the Ante local, who had never been south of the Tropic of Cancer, with a face full of shock. Wang Zhong promptly educated the general on tropical fruits, and of course, he ended by saying, "That''s what Crown Prince Ivan told me; where would I get to taste these fruits." "I see," the general nodded repeatedly, believing it because, after all, the Royal Family, with their exorbitant luxury, even used golden shoulder poles for menial tasks. While they talked, Nelly brought the canned food and beer, "There''s only rye beer, and it''s been produced a while ago." Wang Zhong, "No problem, I know a recipe His Royal Highness the Crown Prince told me about. The authentic version requires ginger beer, but I have no idea what ginger beer even is." As he spoke, Nelly opened the can of lemons with a can opener. General Gorky said, "My father''s a cobbler, and there''s a sailor who always came to him for shoe repair. He said they often eat this kind of lemon canned food, saying it''s an old tradition left over to prevent scurvy." Wang Zhong, "Do they still eat canned lemons to prevent scurvy now?" In the past, scurvy was an issue because voyages were too long, usually taking a year or two, and they needed to supplement with vitamins. Now, with steamships, you can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. There''s no need to eat lemons on the ship anymore. General Gorky, "He said it''s a habit." Nelly, "Should I pour out the lemon canned food?" Wang Zhong, "No no, just go get the pineapple canned food and give it to me." He stood up, went to the liquor cab in the study, and returned to the table with a cocktail shaker and juicer to start his own performance. In fact, he had never learned bartending, but he had watched many short videos, just so that one day he could "show off". He had never dreamed he''d be showing off for an old man, though. Wang Zhong squeezed the canned lemon into the juicer, and with a firm press, he squeezed the lemon juice into the cocktail shaker. Wait, are you supposed to put in the ice cubes first? Never mind, forget it. Wang Zhong took some ice cubes with tongs and threw them into the cocktail shaker, then poured in beer and vodka. Right, finally, you''re supposed to add a pinch of lovebut since the recipient is a guy, Wang Zhong decided to skip thisst step. He covered the shaker and, imitating the bartender from the short video, started to shake it. After symbolically shaking it for a dozen seconds or so, Wang Zhong opened the lid and poured the drink into a ss. It lookeduh, quite ordinary? General Golikov: "What is this?" Wang Zhong: "It''s called a Jack Welch, a type of liquor from the West Coast of the Federation. Ivan told me about it." Previously, in the game, Wang Zhong was so movedmemorating a good brother, but now using a recipe stolen from the game tomemorate a real good brother, Wang Zhong was very calm. After taking a sip, General Golikov blinked and said, "It''s... okay? But I''d rather just drink vodka." Wang Zhong also put down the shaker and said, "It was just a whim. Let''s toast with vodka instead." Just then, Nelly came in with a can of pineapple. Looking through the ss jar, General Golikov stared at the serrated pineapple chunks inside: "What''s with these yellow saw des?" Wang Zhong: "They''re very sweet." Nelly skillfully opened the can: "I... don''t know how to eat this." "How else would you eat it?" Wang Zhong directly reached into the can, grabbed a chunk, and stuffed it into his mouth. Ah, it was the delicacy that Ceres'' southern friends would eat in the summer. However, in Wang Zhong''s hometown, people would soak it in brine before eating it, as the canned version from the Federation was a bit too sweet. General Golikov also tried a piece and immediately praised it: "It''s quite good, this is fruit grown in the tropics. Damn it, the Federation is really enviablewith vast, fertilends for grain production, oil, coal, steel, and pineapples too!" Buddy, isn''t it a bit inappropriate to lump together pineapples with coal and steel? General Golikov grabbed another piece of pineapple. It seemed he really liked this fruit. Wang Zhong: "Nelly, do we have more canned pineapples? Give General Golikov some to take back." Nelly nodded and then curiously asked, "Is it delicious? Is it... sweet?" Although Nelly just asked that way, and her expression didn''t give anything away, as someone who had lived with Nelly for so long, Wang Zhong immediately understood that Nelly was tempted. Wang Zhong had once identally seen Nelly wash out a c bottle with water and drink the slightly sweetened water. Since then, whenever he opened c, he made sure to open two bottles, with the leftover one being given to Nelly "to pour out." Wang Zhong: "You can have a piece." Nelly: "There are guests here." If there had been no guests, she probably would have eaten it already. General Golikov: "Am I interrupting your pleasant master-servant interaction?" "No," Wang Zhong and Nelly said in unison. General Golikov: "I knew it! I am interrupting! Forget it, we can talk more at the court meeting tomorrow." Wang Zhong: "You''re leaving already?" General Golikov: "I came to have a drink and chat with you because we are friends. In fact, the purpose of my visit was achieved the moment I bumped into you at the doorstep." Wang Zhong: "A show for the Swift Victory faction?" "For all of Ye Fort. If I didn''t do it, tonight there would be a bunch of people trying all sorts of ways to test my stance." General Golikov had sessfully avoided a defeat, and his firefighter moniker had already spread around Ye Fort. Although it wasn''t quite on par with the Star of Victory yet, there certainly were many who sought to court him. Soing straight to Rokossovsky Estate upon his return was like dering his stance to those who had expectations. Wang Zhong stood up: "Let me walk you out." General Golikovughed: "You''ve gotten the hang of it too." Wang Zhongughed along. At that moment, Ludm entered the room: "My dear, I''m not feeling very well. I''m going to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow." Wang Zhong didn''t think much at first: "No problem, I''ll arrange for a car. Get some rest early, and drink more hot water." Ludm: "You have toe with me!" Wang Zhong: "I''m very busy, uh... hmm?" He finally sensed something was amiss. Ludm added, "I missed my period this month." General Golikov: "Congrattions. One of my motivations for fighting is to protect you youngdies who are about to ignite the holy me." Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: "The Heracles on the bridge? I like that poem too." Then he looked at Ludm and gently touched her abdomen: "Does the timing fit? If something''s wrong now, it would be around the time we were together in Shostka that you got pregnant? Why did I go through so much trouble teaching about public grains? I''m sick of deer meat, snake meat, hedgehog meat!" General Golikov: "Be mindful, I''m still here. I''ll take my leave now; you two have a nice celebration at home." With that, he picked up his hat and coat from the coat rack. Wang Zhong: "Hold on, I should still walk you out." Ludm: "Go ahead, I''ll wait for you toe back." The next day, after a doctor''s examination, it was confirmed that Ludm was pregnantshe had conceived during their time stationed in Shostka, making all of Wang Zhong''s efforts with deer meat and hedgehog meat in vain. This event added an extraordinary end to an otherwise mundane January. February of the year 915 arrived quietly. Chapter 370: Chapter 52: A Confrontation before the Engagement Ceremony In the following days there was nothing noteworthy to mention, the front line kept shelling each other, and there were still thousands of casualties daily, while Wang Zhong behind the lines kept working nonstop. However, Wang Zhong developed a new hobby, lying on Ludm''s stomach to listen to the movements inside her belly. Though the doctor and Liu Xia told him that it was still too early to clearly hear the baby''s movements, Wang Zhong couldn''t help but try to listen. Of course, he also enjoyed the excuse to be embraced by his fiance. On February 20th, Ludm''s family finally took a train from the rear at Raoul and arrived at Ye Fort after several transfers. Wang Zhong''s older brother, now Duke Rokossovsky, rarely came back from the logistics headquarters'' dormitory but joined Ludm''s family for a meal. The engagement ceremony was on February 21st. Wang Zhong had no idea how to prepare for an engagement ceremony, his impression of it was entirely based on diplomatic signing ceremonies, where parents from both sides would sit behind a table, with their national gs - no, family banners - behind them. Then both sides would sign the engagement contract, and under the host''s arrangement, they would exchange the book with the contract written in it and sign again. Wang Zhong couldn''t be med, given the media environment he came from before he traveled through time, where even if Wang Zhong longed for a beautiful romance, he would still have apprehensions about marriage. It might also be because Wang Zhong hadn''t met that woman who could make him think of what their kids would be named at first sight before he crossed over. Ludm was truly the first one. All in all, on the evening of February 20th, when the old butler exined the whole engagement process to Wang Zhong, he finally understood what an engagement ceremony was all about. It was essentially a simplified version of a wedding, just invite a nearby priest, the couple would hold hands and make a vow, then slip the engagement rings on, and that was it. The ceremony on February 21st was held within the Rokossovsky Estate, and the invited priest was the parish priest from the church nearby. As for guests, due to the war, not many rtives coulde - Ludm had rtives trapped in the encirclement of Saint Andrew Fort who couldn''t make it. And friends of their age were either in the military or evacuated to the far rear. Others remained in the upied territories. Some had even gone to meet Saint Andrew. To prevent the engagement ceremony from being too bleak, Wang Zhong invited some oldrades from the First Guard Mechanized Infantry, like Yegorov and the like. These people were also oldrades of Ludm. Early in the morning of February 21st, Wang Zhong looked at Liu Xia in her new dress and sincerelyplimented, "You look beautiful." Liu Xia smiled and suddenly said, "Since you regard His Majesty as your sister, shouldn''t you invite her over?" Wang Zhong, "What, do you want to dere your victory to her face?" Ludm said, "No, I just suddenly thought that since she''s a sister, she should attend her brother''s engagement ceremony." "Do you believe she''de even if I didn''t invite her? How about we make a bet?" Wang Zhong suggested. "Alyosha, you shouldn''t always think of her as that little girl; she will seriously consider the implications of appearing at the engagement ceremony today," said Ludm. Ludm looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly gave a bitter smile, "But after careful thought, she might still show up; the Royal Family needs your support now." After all, besides the original city defense troops, the field army closest to Ye Fort is Wang Zhong''s mobile army. Although the three divisions of this army are still receiving reinforcements, theirbat force is nearing seventy thousand, plus they have a lot of technical equipment, and the soldiers'' quality is much higher than Ante''s average troops. So many people interested in having good rtions with Wang Zhong should not have a strong force like this right next to the capital. Wang Zhong ced his hands on the seated Liu Xia''s shoulders and said, "The Tsar needs my support, eh... Sounds like I am about to grant myself the title of a protector of the country." "Shush, even at home, be careful of walls having ears," warned Liu Xia. Wang Zhong nodded, and just then the sound of cars came from outside. He turned to look out the window, "Cars? At least five of them. There aren''t many in Ye Fort who couldpose such a motorcade." He had just finished speaking when the butler Mikhail entered the room, "The gatehouse called to say that Her Excellency Belinsky''s convoy just passed the main gate, and by the time I came to report, they had already reached the front door of the estate." Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, "I told you." Ludm gave a wry smile, "Now the chances of Her Majesty showing up have greatly increased. I can guess why Her Excellency Belinsky is here; if he reces the parish priest in presiding over our engagement ceremony, it will be difficult to break the engagementter. "The Church probably doesn''t want you to be Prince Rokossovsky - I mean us to win the war." Although Ludm was talking about political matters, Wang Zhong was distracted. He was thinking about "breaking off the engagement" and "the three-year agreement," after three years, when the Fighting Emperor Ludm woulde knocking on the door, returning in tenfold the humiliation received from the broken engagement... What an ultimate chimera. Ludm, "My dear?" Wang Zhong, "Ah? It''s nothing, I have only wanted to marry you from the beginning." Ludm, "I was talking about after victory is achieved." Wang Zhong, "Olga is a smart girl; she has inherited wisdom from her brother. Ivan''s study has been preserved intact in the Summer Pce, and if Olga has read the same books Ivan had, she would surely read them. Maybe she even has Ivan''s diaries and reading notes. Trust her." "Hmm." The telephone rang at that moment, and Mikhail''s butler immediately went to answer it: "Rokossovsky Estate. Yes, yes, I''m aware." After hanging up the receiver, he reported to Wang Zhong, "The Protocol Office from the Summer Pce called. His Majesty the Tsar will attend General Rokossovsky''s engagement ceremony." Ludm said, "Look, Olga has arrived." Wang Zhong replied, "Since she made a point to notify us through the Protocol Office, she probably won''t do anything inappropriate. If she were nning something inappropriate, she would attack us by surprise." "You really do understand your sister," Ludm said with augh. Olga didn''t arrive at the Rokossovsky Estate until an hourter. When Pyotr Konstantinovich, Wang Zhong''s brother, saw Olga, he was extremely restrained, even his handshake seemed awkward. To his surprise, Olga took Pyotr''s hand and said, "Duke Rokossovsky, I''vee to propose marriage on behalf of my cousin." Wang Zhong frowned, "How am I not aware that Vanya has a cousin?" Since Olga and Ivan are siblings, the cousin should be a child of their mother''s rtives. Olga turned to Wang Zhong with a smile, "I have many cousins, and she has returned from the Federation. Her parents fled to the Federation during the civil war." Pyotr was sweating, "Well, I''ve been married once, but my wife passed away. It wouldn''t be right for someone like me to marry your cousin, would it?" Then Ludm said, "Dear brother, since His Majesty has made a kind offer, why don''t you ept it? The Tsar must have considered it carefully." After speaking, Ludm and Olga looked each other squarely in the eye. It was only then that Wang Zhong realized what was happening. The Grand Patriarch wasing to officiate the engagement, and the Tsar had swiftly arranged for a cousin to marry the widowed Pyotr. His Majesty was quite the strategist! Ludm was probably treating this as a transaction: pensate" for Pyotr and acknowledge her title as Lady Rokossovsky. Caught in the middle, Pyotr looked from His Majesty the Tsar to his prospective sister-inw, not wanting to provoke either side. So, he said, "As long as Her Highness doesn''t mind, I have no objections." Her Highness, of course, referred to Olga''s cousin. Olga beamed with joy, "Great! Then there''s no day like today to get engaged. However, my cousin is still three years away froming of age, so we can only get engaged for now." Wang Zhong suddenly envied his brother! A 15-year-old princess, ah, even though I already have Nelly, I can''t help but feel extremely envious! Ludm chuckled, "His Majesty truly cares for his family. He hasn''t even gotten engaged himself, yet he''s already worried about his cousin''s marriage. You should also find a responsible man quickly. After all, those old nobles believe that a Tsar who isn''t married will lead to instability in the country." Olga replied, "If I meet someone who can move my heart, I will naturally get engaged." As she said this, she looked at Wang Zhong, who pretended to be admiring the scenery. At that moment, Belinsky appeared, "I heard Your Majesty was here, so I rushed out from the prep room." "You actually have to memorize your sermon at thest minute?" Olga said in surprise, her tone seemingly tinged with sarcasm. Belinsky smiled, "Thest time I officiated an engagement was twenty years ago. It''s normal to review the prayers, isn''t it?" Just as Olga was about to speak, Wang Zhong suddenly heard what sounded like fireworks in the distance. He immediately realized it was gunfire, shouting, "Gunshots! And they''re very close." He quickly ran to the window, opened it, and listened carefully, "They''reing from the north, Prosen paratroopers? But why? Dropping paratroopers into enemy territory is just like sendingmbs to the ughter, isn''t it?" Belinsky spoke seriously, "No, that direction is the prisoner of war camp. Capturing over a hundred thousand prisoners at once has turned their amodation into a challenge. Every day, the camp has to shoot prisoners trying to riot, sending dozens to the gallows." "It''s probably just another normal prison riot, no need to deploy the yet-to-be-assembled mobile forces." Wang Zhong asked, "The prisoners are that resistant?" "We thought the same at first. Although these Prussians shouldn''t be allowed to take up arms on the front lines, letting them work in factories in the rear to produce equipment is possible," exined Belinsky. "Based on our preliminary investigation, there''s arge number of high school graduates among the prisoners. If we could get them to support us, that would be thousands of industrial workers!" After Belinsky finished speaking, Wang Zhong asked, "It doesn''t seem to be going well?" Without needing Belinsky to answer, as a veteran returning from the field, Wang Zhong could tell the intensity of the firefight was unusual, indicating the church''s attempts at persuasion had basically failed. Belinsky sighed, "Indeed, these Prussians are tougher to handle than we thought. It seems the then Emperor''s ideology has taken deep root in their hearts." Suddenly, Wang Zhong had an idea and asked, "How have you been trying to persuade them?" "We''ve tried all sorts of methods, even showed them your article discussing why Ante was sessful, but it''s been useless." Wang Zhong stroked his chin, recalling an episode he watched on Khan John''s show, about a real frienda real onewho talked about how he turned hardline Japanese prisoners of war and established a Japanese anti-war alliance. Maybe it was time to try out what he had learned from the show? Chapter 371: Chapter 53 Engagement Ceremony "Just giving it a try shouldn''t do any harm," he said. So he said to Belinsky, "Perhaps I could have a chat with them." Belinsky was overjoyed, "Prosen officers have a good impression of you, having a chat with them could indeed be a possible way to sway them to our side." Wang Zhong said, "No, most officers are probably nobles, right? They wouldn''t betray their country for various reasons. I can have a talk with Prosen soldiers, especially those from the lower-ss civilians." Belinsky raised his eyebrows, intrigued, "First of all, I am not doubting your abilities, I''m just quite curious as to how you''re going to begin." Olga was also listening with anticipation on the side, she really wanted to know how Wang Zhong intended to proceed. Wang Zhong said, "I n to start from two directions. First, I have already witnessed many atrocitiesmitted by the Prosen army, and anyone with a conscience would surely find it agonizing to be part of that force. I intend to find these people. "Second, the spoils of Prosen''s expansion have undoubtedly mostly gone to the upper echelons. As long as we help the lower-level soldiers realize that the benefits they''ve fought so hard for on the battlefield have been swallowed up by the higher-ups, that should be sufficient. "We need to make them understand that surrendering is not betraying the country. The real traitors are the generals who started this war and traded the blood of Prosen''s people for their ownvish lifestyles. "They should organize a Prosen People''s Army, return to their homnd, and bring the Tsar to the guillotine." Even with his broad experience, Belinsky gaped after hearing Wang Zhong''s n, "This... I just asked you to find a way to reassure the Prosen people to work in our factories, and you''re thinking about forming a Prosen People''s Army?" Wang Zhong said, "I only mentioned the possibility. Prosen would definitely also try to organize a puppet army to use as cannon fodder." Bishop Ravkid, who had been listening to the conversation all along, suddenly spoke up, "They have indeed begun to do so. ording to the intelligence we''ve acquired, many Ante people have be puppet soldiers and police inrge upied cities such as Argesukov and Ronied." "Moreover, our mole in the POW camp has sent intelligence that a Kazarlian goes to the ce where Kazarlian POWs are held every day, urging them to join the Kazarlian Freedom Army. "There is also intelligence indicating that the enemy has recruited from our surrendered forces 15 battalions of a puppet army, named the Eastern Battalion." Wang Zhong said, "See, since the Prosen can form the Eastern Battalion, we too can establish such a unit. Of course, we can''t rule out the possibility of some feigning allegiance and then turning on us on the battlefield, so we must be careful in our selection. "Also, we can rely on establishing a collective sense of honor to prevent such individual acts of defection." Belinsky looked Wang Zhong up and down again, "You make sense. Popov had earlier submitted a very detailed report titled ''Observations on General Rokossovsky''s Working Methods'', which introduces your methods in detail and believes they are more effective than ten thousand sermons. "Having read the description of your working methods in the report, I find them very good. I have already ordered that the report be used as an official document distributed to every Military Bishop to fully implement. "And now you''re nning to turn over Prosen prisoners and form a Prosen People''s Army?" Wang Zhong said, "It''s just an idea; it''s not certain it can be achieved." Belinsky clicked his tongue, "Fine. Tomorrow, I''ll write you a pass. Go to the POW camp and try to your heart''s content, even if it fails it''s no problem; this wasn''t something we expected to seed in anyway." He paused for a moment, then changed the subject, "Let''s discuss your engagement ceremony now. Everything here is ready." Wang Zhong said, "Then let''s start right away." Belinsky asked, "Aren''t you going to wait for any guests?" No sooner had he spoken than a military vehicle drove up along the internal road of the estate. Belinsky said, "Look!" Olga craned her neck to see the approaching car and asked, "Whose car do you think that is?" Having already used his "cheat" to see who was in the approaching car, Wang Zhong confidently said, "It''s Tugenev and his adjutant." As the car drew closer, Olga spotted the person in the back before Ludm did, "It really is Tugenev! Are your eyes that good?" No, I just cheated. Wang Zhong said, "Of course, how else could I spot the enemy''s generals from so far away?" In fact, what Wang Zhong referred to here was the first time hemanded the T34W tank in a counterattack in Loktov. But Belinsky took it as a joke andughed heartily. Wang Zhong alsoughed along, after all, he couldn''t exin the "cheat" openly. The Grand Patriarch had not finishedughing when another jeep arrived, filled with Air Force pilots. The driver was Dchenko Grigoyevich,mander of the fourth attack aircraft regiment, and the jeep''s back seats were crammed with pilots, as if they were stuffed in like Indians. Wang Zhong quickly shouted, "Dchenko! If you flip the car, a whole regiment''s pilots will be gone, and you''ll be responsible!" Dchenko replied, "By that time, I''ll be dead too; how can I be responsible?" Wang Zhong said, "I''m not joking. Stop fooling around, be serious! Stop the car, get out, and pay attention to traffic safety! If you''re going to die, you should die in the sky! Don''t waste your lives in a car crash!" Dchenko turned to the pilots and ryed, "Did you hear that! General Rokossovsky says we should die in the sky! Remember that! If you get shot down by Prosen bullets and find yourself over enemy territory, don''t bother with the parachute, just dive straight into a tank collision! Remember to empty your bullets before crashing!" The pilots were roused, "That was the n anyway!" "Better dead than captured!" Belinsky added, "That''s not good, you should still try toe back. Even in a POW camp, you can escape!" Wang Zhong continued, "Moreover, even if you''re going to crash, don''t crash into a tank. You might be able to wreck the tank, but the Prosen are capable of repairing it quickly, and it''ll be back in action in a few days." "No, don''t target the tanks, you should crash into the fuel, that''s more likely to catch fire, more likely to explode big. The ammunition depot is also a good choice." Dchenko: "The General thinks our targets aren''t well-chosen! What do you say?" "Then don''t hit the tanks, the General is the expert in this area after all!" "Right, right, hit the fuel!" Wang Zhong: "But remember, you only do this if you''re sure you can''t parachute into friendly territory. Survival is still the priority." The pilots exchanged nces, and finally, Dchenko spoke on everyone''s behalf: "Understood, General!" Wang Zhong: "Speaking of which, how did you all know I was getting engaged today?" "Vasily told us, it was yesterday at the officers'' club in the city area, next to the grand theater," Dchenko said. Wang Zhong turned to look for Vasily, only to find that the rascal had already slipped away. Dchenko: "General, please forgive Vasily, he was just trying to make the girl happy!" Clever boy, using my story to amuse the girl, wait and see! Wang Zhong opened the book of grudges and made an entry for Vasilysomeday, he promised himself he''d make Vasily pay. At that moment, more vehicles arrived and entered the estate. Wang Zhong looked down from his bird''s eye view to see a swarm of military personnel with name tags heading his way, just like monsters spawning when the time is right in a tower defense game. Indeed, with the Grand Patriarch and the Tsar showing up, now the whole city of Ye Fort knew Rokossovsky was getting engaged. The high-ranking officials who weren''t heading to the Rokossovsky Estate now were either those who had to be on duty at crucial posts, or those who had something to be guilty about. Seeing the situation, Wang Zhong sought Ludm''s opinion: "Shall we dy by an hour? That way there won''t be anyone embarrassed for not making it on time." Ludm nodded: "That works. You go greet the gentlemen, and I will entertain theirdies." Wang Zhong gave a thumbs up. An hourter, the engagement ceremony finally began. The originally prepared venue was not nearly big enough, so it was moved to the grand ballroom of the estatebecause ever since Wang Zhong took over the estate, there really hadn''t been any balls, and so the ballroom had been neglected for quite some time. Since the number of maids had been reduced and unused areas generally were left uncleaned, this ballroom too had gathered dust over a long period, and only now had it been cleaned in haste. Though the ceremony was moved to the ballroom at thest minute, the Secr faction priests who came with the Grand Patriarch were professionals, and they quickly set up a very formal altar inside the ballroom. The ceremony personnel were also assembled at the highest standard, with four bell-ringing priests stationed at the four corners of the altar. Belinsky donned a solemn robe and stood at the altar, looking over the guests. Even the unruly pilots bowed their heads. Since it was only an engagement, there was no entrance procession, so Wang Zhong and Ludm simply stood in front of the altar. Belinsky began the prayer: "Today, under everyone''s watchful eyes, another couple hase together because of shared interests. I have witnessed the budding and growth of their love, and I am aware that this is not merely an illusion caused by the joy of procreation!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that this sermon seemed a bit off. God? Not a single mention of God in the sermon? You, of the Secr faction, are you perhaps too secr? "Now, under the witness and blessings of us all, they make their sacred vows!" As he spoke, a priest brought forth a velvet-covered tter with two rings on it. Since Wang Zhong was from Ceres, when it came to engagement, he instinctively thought of red; the sight of the blue velvet was somewhat disconcerting to him. Belinsky came forward to both individuals, cing the engagement rings on the ring fingers of their right hands. In the Eastern Holy Church, engagement rings were worn on the right ring finger for both men and women. Belinsky: "May everyone bless you!" It was everyone, not God. In a world of miracles, a church prayer doesn''t mention God oncewhat kind of person was Saint Andrew, the founder of the Secr faction? Could he have been a fellow countryman? Wang Zhong wondered to himself. At this moment, Belinskypleted the final step, dabbing both Wang Zhong and Ludm''s foreheads with Holy Water. Belinsky: "I am very much looking forward to the day when I can baptize your child." On hearing ''baptism,'' Wang Zhong immediately thought of the ssic montage from "The Godfather," where a child''s baptism is intercut with the solemn oaths taken by Al Pacino''s character, the new Don, during the hymns; simultaneously, the clean strikes of hitmen eliminate all of the Corleone family''s enemies. Wang Zhong: "I am looking forward to it as well." Chapter 372: Chapter 54 Planting the Seed The day after the engagement ceremony, Wang Zhong, apanied by Cardinal Ravkid, visited the prisoner of war camp on the outskirts. Pointing out the window in the reception room, Ravkid introduced, "This main road in the middle is the dividing line. To the left of the road is the officers'' area, and to the right is formon soldiers and junior NCOs. Which side would you like to visit?" Wang Zhong replied, "Separate those among themon soldiers who have finished high school." Ravkid asked in confusion, "Why?" Wang Zhong chuckled, "Because smart people are more likely to be part of the Secr faction." After pondering for a moment, Ravkid said, "You''re right. When Saint Andrew established the Secr faction, it first spread among the educated in the cities." "Exactly! That''s why we need to identify the high school graduates among the soldiers, and they muste from the lower ss; those born into wealth probably won''t be easy to mobilize." Ravkid said, "I''ll select some who have shown good behavior and have them gather in the auditorium." Wang Zhong added, "Also, spread the news that I''ll being; let''s see if I have any fansI mean, admirers. There shouldn''t be too many, gather them all." "Okay. I''ll make the arrangements. You continue to enjoy your tea," Ravkid said, then left the prisoner of war camp''s reception room. A momentter, he returned, frowning, "General, upon hearing that you''reing, nearly all the prisoners want to see the extraordinary person who captured them." Wang Zhong said, "That''s even better. Select those among them whoe from poor backgrounds and have a high school education. They''ll be our key members in the future. Let me know once you''re ready, and I''ll head over." Ravkid adjusted his sses, "They''re ready now; you can go to the auditorium right away." Wang Zhong eximed in surprise, "How did you know I would make such a request?" "Guessing this wasn''t hard, at least easier than guessing where the enemy willunch their main offensive this year," Ravkid said with a stern face. Standing up, Wang Zhong said, "Fine, let''s go and see these potential allies." The prisoner of war camp''s auditorium could amodate about four thousand people, but Wang Zhong felt as though at least eight thousand were crammed inside. As soon as he entered, everyone''s eyes were fixed on him. Arge group of people suddenly stood up, making the soldiers, alert with submachine guns, very nervous. Wang Zhong waved his hand, "Don''t be nervous. Everyone is just a bit excited to see me." He personally pushed down the submachine guns of the alert soldiers. Seeing this, some prisoners boldly reached out their hands, speaking in Prosen. Vasily interpreted, "He wants to shake your hand." Wang Zhong firmly shook the prisoner''s hand, "Hello, I hope you can get used to our food." After Vasily tranted, the man excitedly said a bunch of things. Vasily ryed, "He says the coffee and tea here are quite good, and the canned goods recently provided are even better." It seemed that Spam had conquered the Prosen soldiers! This reminded Wang Zhong of the story from Earth about a British officer who was astonished upon tasting Spam. Wang Zhong remarked, "Good." He continued to walk forward, and more people reached out their hands to him. Wang Zhong was somewhat surprised, "It seems that I''m quite well-liked among them. Why is that?" Vasily, not sure whether to feign ignorance or genuinely curious himself, tranted Wang Zhong''s words. The NCO shaking hands with Wang Zhong eagerly said a lot in response. Vasily interpreted, "He says that you, on your own, held off the invincible Prosen army; you must be a military genius, a reincarnation of Suvorov. Prussians respect such genius." Wang Zhong was taken aback, gazing at the speaking NCO, "But I am Ante, the inferior race you speak of." Vasily tranted this with a hint of mockery. The man''s reply seemed somewhat proud. Vasily conveyed, "He says that one of the marks of a superior nation is the ability to ept the strengths of other nations." They''ve rationalized it! It appeared that the then Emperor''s policies had received considerable support among the public. Wang Zhong shook his head and stepped up to the podium, surveying the entire auditorium, and said loudly, "Gentlemen! Today I''ve called you here because I want to talk with you. "I''m very curious, since the Prosen Empire started its wars of aggression, what changes have urred within the empire itself?" After Vasily tranted, the crowd began to look at each other in confusion. Wang Zhong continued, "The changes here refer to the conditions of your homes. Let me be frank with you all, after careful background checks, there are no nobles, no major merchants or factory owners among youI mean, you are all nothing more than ordinary people. "The empire has been expanding for three years now. Has your quality of life improved?" Having asked, Wang Zhong began to hesitate, because he suddenly remembered that, on Earth, Germany had just recovered from the Great Depression before embarking on invasionspared to the Great Depression, of course life would have improved. Could it be the same in this timeline? If that was the case, the methods Mr. Lin Zhe used to win over the Japanese couldn''t be applied here. He nervously awaited the response while the prisoners also exchanged nces. The resulting silence left the auditorium suddenly quiet. Suddenly, a captive shouted something loudly. Wang Zhong quickly nced at Vasily. Vasily tranted, "He said that the streets seem busier since the war started, the soldiers make the businesses along the street thrive, his own family owns a restaurant, and his mother wrote in a letter that when the soldiers dine and see the enlistment sign hanging at the restaurant''s entrance, they tend to leave a bigger tip." Wang Zhong thought to himself that it was over, it seemed that the n to undermine the loyalty of the Prosen soldiers through their family circumstances had failed and he could only appeal to human conscience now. Unexpectedly, the sergeant whose family operated a restaurant spoke up again. Vasily tranted, "He says, but there''s been a decrease in civilian patrons at the restaurant, only civilians working for military industries can afford to eat there. He also mentioned that the variety of dishes at the restaurant has reduced because most of the vegetables are being bought up by the army. The furniture in the restaurant hasn''t been updated for a long time, as the factories that make furniture are now producing stocks for Mauser rifles." Wang Zhong suddenly felt there might be hope, so he nodded and said, "Very good, thank him for sharing that, Ravkid, please give him a pack of cigarettes." Ravkid nodded to the Priest beside him and a pack of Federation-made cigarettes was handed to the officer. Seeing that cigarettes were being distributed, the captives all became excited. It looked like Wang Zhong was right, cigarettes were rare items in the prisoner of war camp. He hade to this conclusion based on movies depicting POW camps, like "The Bridge on the River Kwai." Another sergeant took the stage and began to share his story. Vasily continued tranting, "This one says, his father was a worker in a factory, which had almost shut down and could hardly pay wages before Emperor Reinhard''s reforms. After the war started, the factory was acquired by Hensher and began producing screws, making it possible to pay wages normally. "But his family can afford even less each month than before because the big merchants have spread the cost of their war bonds purchases into the prices of goods!" Wang Zhong thought to himself that hiring high school graduates for this meeting was really right, as it also revealed that the prices had gone up because the cost of war bonds was being averaged into the product prices. Suddenly, Wang Zhong had an inspiration and asked, "Do you know any other stories about the lords profiteering from the war?" After Vasily finished tranting, the worker''s son thought for a moment and said, "I know that when they upied Carolingian, the divisionmander emptied out the local nobility''s wine cers and looted all the gold and silver jewelleries." Wang Zhong, "Did you guys get a share?" After Vasily finished, the captives allughed. A sergeant below shouted something. Vasily said, "He says, how could they, that was for the division and brigademanders, even battalionmanders couldn''t get a share!" Wang Zhong, "Very good, any other stories about war profiteering?" Someone below said a bunch of things rapidly, Wang Zhong didn''t wait for Vasily to trante but pointed to that person and said, "Come up to the stage and tell us!" That person, too, didn''t wait for Vasily to trante and went straight to the stage, pushing aside the worker''s son who had just spoken and began to speak passionately. Vasily tranted sentence by sentence, "''In Kazarlia, the officers allowed us to go down and loot food during rest times, forcing the civilians to collect grains at gunpoint. Then, all of the wheat was transported back to the rear. In November, my sister wrote me, saying that wheat and flour from Kazarlia began to be sold in the city, but they were very expensive, apparently because of added transportation costs and a levy for supporting the army!''" Wang Zhong, "Good! The lords took away the food from the civilians of Kazarlia, but the people of Prosen can''t even eat it! These grains have all gone into their own pockets! The so-called army support levy never reached your hands!" As he spoke, he thought that this trend was very good, if it continued like this, it would turn into a full-fledged grievance airing session! Subsequently, more and more soldiers took the stage and recounted all they knew about officers and nobles reaping war profits. These shocking facts would make people involuntarily question their veracity. But Wang Zhong, having read rted materials before crossing over, knew that the Sturmtiger was quite corrupt, possibly only slightly better than President Chang''s Nation-Squeezing Party. So, Wang Zhong felt that these seemingly outrageous happenings were possibly not entirely fictitious. More and more Prosen soldiers went on stage, perhaps because there was neither officers nor nobles present, they became increasingly unrestrained. Seeing that the situation was ripe, Wang Zhong raised a hand to stop more prisoners froming on stage and walked to the center of the podium himself. Wang Zhong, "The war has been going on for so long, you have upied vastnds, the lords are living in luxury, yet the citizens suffer terribly! You have not even started total war mobilization yet, and the situation will get worse once you do! "Prosen will inevitably mobilize because they have started wars with most of the world for their own greed! The people of Prosen will suffer increasingly, while those lords touting the superiority of their nation will continue to prosper! "I am here today to tell you, cooperating with us is not surrendering, it''s choosing the right path for the future of your country! "I don''t expect you to change your minds right away, I only ask you to think about who has benefited from the continuous expansion, think about your fathers and mothers, think about your sisters!" After Wang Zhong finished speaking, he nodded at Ravkid. Changing minds was not something that could be done overnight, he had just started the process, and the meticulous work would continue from there. After the meeting, Ravkid found Wang Zhong, "Starting from the family is a very good approach." Wang Zhong, "You need to quickly trante the books of the Secr faction into Prosen''snguage for them to read." "There is actually a Prosennguage version already. In fact, the Secr faction had a fairly good spread within Prosen even before, it''s just that we''re under the name of the Eastern Holy Church, and the Prosen People generally don''t believe in the Eastern Holy Church. "Reinhard expelled all of the Eastern Holy Church from within Prosen, and arge number of Secr faction members fled to Mnia and then to us." Wang Zhong, "Then let theme, first we need to spread the teachings of the Eastern Holy Church, and then recruit volunteers from the prisoners of war." Ravkid nodded, "Understood, I''ll see to it." Wang Zhong was very satisfied, but he suddenly realized that he was acting like a leader giving orders to a Cardinal. Who the hell was he? He decided to pretend he hadn''t noticed. Chapter 373: Chapter 55: The Situation in March 915 At the end of February, as the temperature began to rise, the snow started to melt, but only the surfaceyer thawed, while the deeper ground, frozen solid, remained as hard as ever. This formed a barrier that prevented the melting snow from prating deep into the soil. And so, the muddy season began. Even in arge city like Ye Fort, where roads were paved with asphalt, the shadow of mud could be seen; after an outing, trouser legs would be dotted with sshes of mud. In such miserable conditions, even tanks had to shake themselves off three times, and cars simply couldn''t drive off the asphalt roads. Thereby, the battlefield wentpletely silent, all major military operations, from north to south, ground to a halt. Both sides were hustling to stockpile ammunition and replenish their troops, preparing to make a big push in the summer. On March 6, Colonel John Wick made a sudden visit to the Suvorov Military Academy, finding Wang Zhong who was about to go to ss in the principal''s office. Upon meeting, he asked, "Have you heard?" Wang Zhong responded with some confusion, "Heard what?" "The United Kingdom''s intelligence just conveyed some information to your High Command." Wang Zhong: "If it was just conveyed, how would I have heard?" "That''s true," Colonel John Wick said as he sat down in front of Wang Zhong, smiling, "then let me be the one to tell you. The Prussians are nning an assault on the southern front, with the first phase being a breakthrough from the Coastal Fortress to Bolsk''s defenses. The specific time of attack and the main direction of the offense haven''t been identified by the United Kingdom''s intelligence officers." Wang Zhong: "What good does that do? Everyone knows that the Prussians will hit the southern line." John Wick: "Confirming previous guesses is also important. After all, deploying troops based on guesses can lead to mistakes and be a case study of errors in military textbooks." Wang Zhong: "There won''t be any mistakes. When they attacked Ye Fortst year, we were at our weakest. Now if they think about attacking Ye Fort again, they''ll face units that have been replenished and have defensive battle experience. They won''t have as easy a time as they didst year. "As for the northern line, even if they manage to take Saint Andrew Fort, there''s not much worth attacking to the north. It''s all forest and tundra up there, with even worse infrastructure and fewer settlements. They would get bogged down, while we, on the other hand, could rely on the north''s Ice-free Port for ample supplies." Originally, the Ice-free Port was mainly used for shipbuilding, and the city along with its surrounding industrial belt couldn''t support a Front Army - the north had no real agricultural capacity, and you can''t feed an army on salted fish and wood, can you? But now the situation had changed. The Ice-free Port was the endpoint of the Arctic Ocean transportation route. The allies'' supplies amassed in the Ice-free Port were enough to support an army of a million men. So, even if Saint Andrew Fort were lost, the Andrew Fort Front Army could simply change its name and continue the fight, setting up defenses along the railway line from the Ice-free Port to Ye Fort, with good supply lines all along the front. Wang Zhongid all this out in his analysis and then said with certainty, "The enemy can only hit the southern line; it is practically an open secret. Any rumors they have about attacking the north or center are just deception operations." Colonel John Wick smiled, "Your judgment is pretty much in line with that of our generals. Do you think the Prussians can seed?" Wang Zhong: "I''m not sure. Duke Meishikin is a very outstanding general, and he has good insight into defensive operations. I don''t know if he can withstand the enemy''s assault." In fact, the Army Group led by Meishikin already had several hundred thousand men, with tens of thousands more Naval Infantry at the Coastal Fortress. Given such a mass of troops and amander who wasn''t inept, they should be able to hold off the Prussians for some time. The question was, for how long. Colonel John Wick shifted the topic: "I''ve heard you''ve made significant progress in turning the Prussian prisoners of war to your side?" Wang Zhong: "You''d be better off asking Cardinal Ravkid from the Tribunal about that matter." "Come on, I''m not a reporter. I''m asking you as a military attach, because in the future, we will also need to win over as many Prussian prisoners of war as possible." Wang Zhong: "The situation with the POWs is not bad so far, some have agreed to enter our factories to help produce equipment. But turning POWs is a long-term effort, and results won''te overnight." John Wick: "I thought the Prussians, seeing themselves as a superior race, would disdain to mingle with inferior ones!" Wang Zhong just smiled and did not respond to John Wick''s baiting. So, John Wick changed the subject: "When exactly is your child expected to be born? The Federation government is nning to send a small gift." Wang Zhong: "You should ask the obstetrician." John Wick: "Of course, our intelligence has already inquired with the obstetrician, but I thought our friendship would allow me to get an answer from you directly." Wang Zhong: "Certainly, the earliest would be in August." "Will Belinsky preside over its baptism or be its godfather?" John Wick continued to inquire. Wang Zhong: "He will preside over the baptism. We have not decided on the godfather yet." In fact, many people had been inquiring about the child''s godfather in recent days. After all, that could potentially affect the bnce of power in the Ante Empire in the future. Wang Zhong found this kind of jockeying for a share of the spoils before the battle had even been won deeply distasteful, so even with John Wick, a foreign friend, making inquiries, he did not hesitate to show his displeasure openly. John Wick immediately said, "Actually, this isn''t what I intended to ask, but the ambassador is very concerned about this matter and asked me to inquire." Pinning it on the ambassador, huh! Wang Zhong: "We haven''t decided who the godfather of the child will be yet, because thepetition is too fierce. Once we''ve made a decision, I will definitely notify the ambassador." John Wick seemed quite satisfied with this answer and continued with another question, "May I visit the test of the ''Vortex'' style tank destroyer?" The Vortex improvement has progressed to the third-generation prototype, which addressed some issues of the second-generation prototype. It increased reliability and once again adjusted the structure of the mantlet. Now, at distances over 1000 meters, even if hit by an 88mm gun, the Vortex has a decent crew survivability. Yes, it''s crew survivability, not the vehicle''s survivability. Even if it''s hit by an 88mm gun at that distance, the gun would be damaged, and it would lose itsbat effectiveness. In such a case, it''s already good if the tank operators survive. Moreover, the Prosen PAK40 anti-tank gun can also destroy the Vortex''s parts and disable it at a distance of 1000 meters. At 1000 meters, the PAK40 poses basically no threat to the crew, and the crew would definitely survive. Those who have observed the Vortex''s tests generally have high praise for this tank destroyer. The only issue is its production feasibility; this thing really isn''t easy to manufacture. Despite removing the time-consumingrge turretponent, the production time actually increased, breaking the general rule of assault guns being cheaper to produce than tanks. The main issue is that the vehicle has too many precision-engineered parts. Wang Zhong also wanted to make a bare-bones version for mass production for general use, but General Sergey shut him down with one sentence: "Do you want the stripped-down versionpeting for the 100-gun barrels?" The output of the 100-gun barrels is so limited. Currently, the prototype vehicles are using the barrels originally prepared for the destroyers and battlecruisers'' secondary guns, but with the start of mass production, these barrels could be used up in a week. After that, the production rate would be bottlenecked by the barrel output. Indeed, there was no need to create a stripped-down version topete for gun barrels. In conclusion, the "Vortex" became exclusive to elite troops, much like the Tiger tanks it''s designed after. On Earth, Tiger tanks were all assigned to heavy tank battalions, which then acted as fire brigades that ran around the front lines, leaving behind impressive exchange ratios wherever they went. Of course, Wang Zhong did not n to organize the Vortex into independent destroyer battalions, nor did he intend to use them as fire brigades to run around everywhere. It was meant to only be equipped by Wang Zhong''s freshly granted First Mobile Group Army. This made everyone even more interested in this weapon because, to outsiders, it seemed that General Rocossov was using his authority to provide special equipment for his own loyal troops. Everyone wanted to see for themselves. Faced with John Wick''s request, Wang Zhong readily agreed, "No problem, I''ll arrange for Vasily to organize a visit right away." "I''m very grateful," John Wick stood up, then took a document folder out of his briefcase and ced it on Wang Zhong''s desk. Wang Zhong, looking puzzled, untied the string of the pouch and took out the stack of documents inside. The cover of the document disyed the Prussian Iron Cross. Wang Zhong: "Prussian battle ns?" John Wick gave a wry smile, "No, that would be too hard to get hold of. These are summaries of the conditions of the various units by the Prussian High Command in February, including critical data like the number of tanks ready for battle." Wang Zhong flipped the cover open, skipped over the frontispiece and the summary page, and went directly to the main text. The first thing that came up was a table of the number of ready tanks and the personnel replenishment status in each of the Prussian Armored Divisions. Wang Zhong frowned: "Why are the Prussianbat-ready tank numbers so low? The First Armored Division has only 81 ready for battle, 25 in repair, and 40 sent back to the factory? The second and third divisions add up to a bit over 100 for both repair and return to factorybined!" John Wick: "It seems that the director of the Armored Troops has fallen out of favor, so the Prussians are no longer pursuing his dream of therge 400-tank Armored Divisions. They''ve cut down the number of armored battalions in most divisions to two, and some divisions even have just one." Wang Zhong turned to the next page and eximed in surprise, "The number of tanks has decreased, but the apanying forces haven''t been reducedin fact, an Armored Grenadier Battalion has been added. Are they scared after seeing the end of our divisions, which have nothing but tanks, and decided to increase the degree ofbined arms in their forces?" After all, it''s quite embarrassing for a tank division with two hundred tanks to be beaten by an infantry division; it''s normal for the Prussians to be rmed. John Wick: "It''s not all about reducing the number of tanks. This report doesn''t include the Asgard Knights. Reportedly, the regiments of the knights are still organized with three armored battalions." Wang Zhong: "The Asgard Knights aren''t under the control of Prussian High Command?" John Wick nodded: "That''s right, they report directly to the emperor. And by the way, everyone now thinks that your First Mobile Group Army operates in the same way." Wang Zhong: "That''s absolutely not the case!" This time, it was John Wick''s turn to smile without saying a word. Chapter 374: Chapter 56 Mobile Army Formation Wang Zhong''s First Mobile Army indeed had significant differences from Asgard Knights of the Prussian Army and was not the Tsar''s imperial guard either. The official name of the First Mobile Army was the High Command''s directly subordinated instructional unit First Mobile Army, and ording to the documents Wang Zhong personally oversaw drafting, it was "a unit formed to explore more war-adapted methods of troop organization". This army was only affiliated in logistics and personnel matters with the Yeborg City Defense Commandthe troop was a significant consumer of supplies, and even without engaging inbat, the daily expenses of nearly two hundred thousandbatants and hired workers for food, drink, and the like, were a considerable expenditure. These regr consumptions were processed through the logistics of the city defense troops. Therefore, there was no need to generate many spections upon seeing the troop listed under the name of the City Defense Command. Of course, the First Mobile Army did indeed get some convenience in acquiring equipment, but that was only because this unit had many logistical support units. The reliability of new equipment was low and they could cope with it, whereas typical units would probably discard malfunctioning new equipment by the roadside. First Mobile Army had three divisions under itsmand: the Guards First "Red Banner" Mechanized Infantry Division, the 225th Mechanized Infantry Division, and the Mnia People''s Army First Division. All three divisions were formed based on the temte of the Guards Mechanized Infantry. The Guards Mechanized Infantry consisted of one tank battalion, one reconnaissance battalion, one engineer battalion, one anti-aircraft battalion, one tank destroyer battalion, one anti-tank artillery battalion, and they also had a mechanized infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, an automobile regiment, and a support regiment. In addition, a cavalry toon was reinforced to serve as reconnaissance and emergencymunication forces. The fifth Blysk Infantry Regiment, which originally belonged to the Guards Mechanized Infantry, was reorganized into the 41st Guards Infantry Regiment and transferred to the 225th Mechanized Infantry Division as the division''s core force. The current organization of the Guards Mechanized Infantry reflected Wang Zhong''s summary ofbat experiences over the past year. Other technical services in the division had only one battalion each, while infantry, artillery, automobile, and support troops were organized into regiments. The division''s Guards 31st Mechanized Infantry Regiment was Wang Zhong''s old unit, which was the original Third Amur Group. This regiment was reinforced with arge number of M3 half-track vehicles to achieve true mechanization. The most exaggerated aspect of this regiment was its infantry gun deployment. Due to therge number of M3s, Wang Zhong stuffed arge number of 75mm infantry guns into this unit, with M3s towing them, increasing the number of 75mm guns in each battalion to 12, and 82mm mortars were even distributed as supporting firepower down to the infantry toons. Without exaggeration, just by counting the number of artillery pieces, one battalion of the Guards 31st Regiment could match a typical Ante Infantry Division with moderate equipment. The tank battalion below the Guards Mechanized Infantry didn''t have excessively luxurious tank equipmentone toon consisted of 4 tanks, onepany of 12 tanks, and threepanies formed a battalion. Production of the T34W had risen considerably, so an armored battalion with this number of T34Ws wasmon within the Ante Army. What was truly outrageous was the number of apanying troops Wang Zhong equipped for this battalion. He stuffed into each armoredpany a reconnaissance toon with three squads in jeeps and a mechanized infantry toon equipped with four M3 Grant Lee tanks. Yes, a mechanized infantry toon, but the infantry fighting vehicle was the M3 medium tank. It wasn''t a jokethe interior of the M3 tank was very spacious, able to cram in eight fully-armed Ante soldiers, so Wang Zhong used it as an infantry fighting vehicle. If a half-track couldn''t match the T34W in terms of off-road capability, then the same was applied to a full-tracked tank. This way, even if the tankpany moved rapidly forward, at least there were 60 infantrymen apanying the advance, who could dismount and scout ahead inplex situations to "clear the view" for the tanks. Besides mechanized infantry, Wang Zhong also squeezed into each tankpany an SU76 self-propelled artillery piece as apanying indirect fire support. Adding infantry to tanks was drawn from Wang Zhong''s own experiences, while shoving indirect fire guns into tankpanies was a direct copy of Soviet Union tactics on Earth. When a Soviet tankpany advanced, it was not only equipped with mechanized infantry but also a 122mm gun mounted on vehicles. In this way, once a tankpany encountered entrenched enemy infantry, they could use the 122mm gun alongside the apanying infantry to attack. Wang Zhong didn''t yet have a vehicle-mounted 122mm howitzer. For now, he made do with the SU76. It was just 46 millimeters smaller in caliberenough to get by for now. Once the SU152 became avable in the future, that would be allotted to the tankpanies. Besides the infantry and artillery, the tank battalion under the Guards Mechanized Infantry was also provided with a support force far surpassing that of other tank battalions. Wang Zhong even followed the standards of Earth''s U.S. military and inserted a tractor into eachpany to tow immobile tanks. Wang Zhong also wanted to acquire Dragon-type trailers, but unfortunately, the Federation currently needed them for themselves as they hadn''t begun to explode in production capacity. The artillery regiment of the Guards Mechanized Infantry wasvishly equipped: 36 pieces of 152mm heavy artillery and an additional 24 pieces of 122mm howitzers. To tow these cannons, Wang Zhong assigned 150 tractors and 100 automobiles to the artillery regiment. Yes, besides the automobile regiment, an additional 100 trucks were provided. The automobile regiment also had 500 vehicles, making a total of 600 trucks just within the division! Thanks to the generosity of the Federation. Wait, the anti-aircraft artillery battalion also had eight Crusader anti-aircraft guns, it should be thanks to the generosity of the Federation and the United Kingdom. With such generous provisions in the division, the First Mobile Army had three of them. Of course, only the Guards Mechanized Infantry had a tank destroyer battalion equipped with Whirlwind tank destroyers. The other two divisions temporarilycked this formation because the Whirlwind was a newly designed piece of equipment with extremely low production capacity. By the end of April 915, there were only 36 vehicles, just enough to outfit one battalion. By the end of April, aside from the underequipped tank destroyer battalion, each division was essentially fully staffed, and support personnel and hired workers were also fully-equipped. In addition to the divisions, Wang Zhong also formed arge field hospital and arge battlefield repair workshop under the army, utilizing the battle tank repair vehicles provided by the Federation. Beyond these, the army headquarters directly controlled a rocket artillery brigade and a tube artillery brigade, giving Wang Zhong''s army over two hundredrge calibers of 152mm and above, initially possessing the capability to shave a meter off a hilltop. Yet, Wang Zhong still felt the firepower was insufficientthose who have been on the battlefield probably all have this concern. If you can bomb the enemy to death, why bother to engage in closebat and risk your life, right? Wang Zhong, with his military equipment, should no longer have too much of a gappared to the forces of Prussia. The keyy in training. From the moment they stationed at Kubinka, intensive training had never ceased, and Wang Zhong even emted the monthly exams from his high school days. During thest week of each month, for the three days of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, they would holdprehensive martial contests. On one hand, it stimted everyone''s enthusiasm throughpetitionand prizesand on the other hand, it allowed the soldiers who had trained intensely for a month to take a break. Latter, he simply extended the contest period to a whole week, first having eachpany conduct internal contests, followed by the battalions, fighting their way up level by level, and then awarding a mobile red g to the division that garnered the most victories ording to the results of the contests. Thus, during thest week of every month, Kubinka was filled with an atmosphere akin to that of a sports meeting, with exceptional results! Especially after Wang Zhong added Havana cigars from the Federation into the prize pool. Everyst Sunday evening of the month, in the Kubinka barracks, one could always see the individual event champions striking a very show-offish pose while smoking their cigars, enjoying the envious gazes of others. Wang Zhong had never expected that the things he learned in military training, as well as in high school, would be so useful! By the end of April, Wang Zhong was fairly certain that the training level of his troops wasn''t much different from that of the Prussians. However, there was still some gap in terms of cultural education. Over the past few months, he had asionally interacted with the captured prisoners and realized something: the high school enrollment rate among Prussians was truly high. The students were intellectually nimble, with a strong sense of initiative, which was why the Prussian Army was of such high quality. In contrast, on the Ante Army side, there were soldiers who hadn''tpleted tenth grade and whose hometowns had not been overrun. Many joined the army simply because "the local priest called for it," so Wang Zhong had to start with teaching them the meaning of "protecting our homes and defending our country." Fortunately, the priests in charge of the night school had abundant experience dealing with children from rural areas. They quickly made them understand the meaning of the battle and also why Ante would inevitably win and Prussia would fail. By the end of April, the First Mobile Army was also ideologically prepared to engage the enemy inbat. However, the attack by the Prussian Army on the Coastal Fortress-Bolsk defense line that Wang Zhong predicted had not started. Early in the morning of May 1, just as Wang Zhong got out of bed and was having breakfast, Mikhail, the butler, entered the dining room and reported, "General Golikov is waiting in the reception room." Wang Zhong, "If he hasn''t eaten, invite him to have breakfast together." Mikhail saluted and left. A momentter, General Golikov sat down opposite Wang Zhong and his wife-to-be, looking at the dishes on the table, "Even you can only eat SPAM canned meat now, huh..." Wang Zhong, "Many livestock froze to deathst year. Supplies won''t recover until the second half of this year. Thanks to SPAM canned meat and the catch from the North Sea for feeding the people of Ante. So what brings you back?" General Golikov, "It seems they want to make me the Chief of Staff." Wang Zhong asked in surprise, "Wasn''t Marshal Boris doing well?" The one who answered this question was Ludm, "The marshal has fallen ill and might retire. That''s what his wife said." Wang Zhong, "I see. Are there any other adjustments?" General Golikov, "General Tugenev is going to be promoted to full general. He got his general rank after the civil war ended, but so many years have passed without a promotion. Now, he''s finally getting his general stars... although I think he might not care much about that." Having said that, the general shrugged his shoulders. He continued, "Also, Chekhov will be promoted to general and might be transferred to the General Logistics Department, taking over for General Sergey of the Ordnance Department." Wang Zhong, "Is Sergey being reced... To be honest, aside from always opening doors for his son-inw, he doesn''t have many faults." That was true, as Wang Zhong, the head of the Ordnance Review Committee, interacted with the Ordnance Department daily. General Sergey handled most matters without ws, except for his fondness for protecting his son-inw. But clearly, Major General Chekhov, who was ''non-stick,'' was better. General Golikov observed Wang Zhong''s expression andughed, "It seems you are quite satisfied with these changes as well. The Military Orders Department and the Ministry of Defense have been entrusted to the reliable General Tugenev, while logistics will be under the responsibility of the reliable Major General Chekhov..." Wang Zhong corrected, "The reliable and ''non-stick'' Major General Chekhov." "Hahaha." General Golikovughed heartily. Just then, Mikhail entered with a solemn expression, holding a telephone in one hand and a receiver in the other, stepping forward to hand the receiver to Wang Zhong, "A call from the pce." Wang Zhong took the receiver and heard Olga asking anxiously, "General Golikov is there with you, right?" Wang Zhong, "Yes." Olga, "The enemy has attacked. I think High Command has already been notified, but I got the jump on them." Wang Zhong, "They''ve finallye, is it the southern line?" "Yes, the Coastal Fortress is reporting heavy artillery preparation, and Prussian Army battleships have been spotted at sea, currently exchanging fire with the coastal defense batteries." Wang Zhong, "Understood." "Will youe to the pce for an emergency imperial meeting?" "Of course." Chapter 375: Chapter 57: Open Fire One day before, April 30th, 915. General Erik von Xiplin, the Army Group Commander, was inspecting the railway gun position that had been fully deployed. He had to tilt his head back to see the muzzle of the Gustav mega cannon. Xiplin, "Can this thing really work?" The Major General in charge of the cannon replied, "If it can''t work, you can only hope for Fritz bombs from the Air Force." "Good heavens, it''s better that it works," General Xiplin looked around and finally settled his gaze on the number two tank that was on the support frame of the cannon, "Why does the cannon have a number two tank on its back?" The Major General exined, "Because the tractor we used to push the shells into the breech broke, and therge tractor for resetting the cannon can''t be mounted on it, so we used the number two tank with its turret removed to take on the task, as it fits perfectly." General Xiplin frowned, "How big are the shells that you need a tank to push them?" "The head of the shell weighs four tons, and with the propent, it''s seven tons. There is also a special armor-piercing shell with a heavier head, for attacking the enemy''s solid concrete forts." General Xiplin clicked his tongue, "It sounds immensely powerful, but even the most powerful attack is nothing if it doesn''t hit the target." The Artillery Major General assured, "Rest assured, with the experience umted on the Leopold, we can guarantee an error within 300 meters." "Half a kilometer?" General Xiplin was shocked, "You actually think this error is eptable?" The Artillery Major General, "Trust me, General, with high-explosive shells, we can ensure that anything exposed within a 500-meter radius will be incapacitated, so a 300-meter error is not a big deal. "Moreover, errors like this can be corrected through calibration. We have already built an observation post at amanding height and connected it by telephone to here, so by the third or fourth shot, we will have a quite decent hit rate." General Xiplin pursed his lips, stared at the mega cannon for a while and asked, "How many shots can you fire in one day?" "If it is continuous firing at a single target with only minor adjustments in between, we can fire 14 shots a day." "Fourteen shots! Why so few?" General Xiplin asked. The Artillery Major General exined, "This is because after shooting, a tractor is needed to reset the piece, and the entire process takes this much time." "Alright, you''ve convinced me. Fourteen shots a day seems eptable after all," General Xiplin sighed, "What about if it''s at different targets?" "That depends on the distance between the two targets, mainly the distance in the north-south direction. The greater this distance, therger the angle the cannon needs to rotate. Currently, it takes 12 seconds to turn the gun 1 degree, and if there is a malfunction during rotation, it would take a considerable amount of time to troubleshoot." General Xiplin, "Don''t tell me all that, give me a general range." "Nine to ten shots, General. We still rmend attacking only one important target a day, then stopping to maintain the cannon after destroying the target, which is better than aplete breakdown and having to send it back." General Xiplin, "Well, since you all insist, so be it. I want to climb up this big guy and take a look!" "Right this way." The Artillery Major General quickly made a weing gesture. Soon General Xiplin climbed up the back of therge gun using the gangway, and he closely examined the tank modified for loading shells, then turned to look at the breech the tank was facing. "It''s so big! What''s the caliber?" "80 centimeters, General." General Xiplin admired, "This must be the biggest cannon after the Urban mega cannon. If we limit it to modern rifled artillery, then this is thergest. It represents the industrial power of the Empire! We will use it to destroy the resistance of the Ante People!" Having said that, the General looked around and suddenly stopped, pointing at something that looked like a giant fly swatter not far away and asked, "Is that radar?" "Yes, it''s an air surveince radar. Although the Air Force has assured that no Ant Air Force ne will reach the mega cannon''s airspace, we have still spent a fortune on equipping a radar station and rted power generation equipment, so we can have our anti-aircraft guns ready in advance." Xiplin nodded, "Very, reasonable. We can''t rely on the Air Force, it''s better to depend on ourselves for air defense. The cannon will start firing tomorrow morning at eight, by that time the fire preparation will be finished and the enemy will have entered their positions, just in time for them to taste our power." "Yes, sir," the artillery major general saluted. General Xiplin also cautioned, "Don''t use armor-piercing shells, just fire high-explosive shells. By the time you open fire, our infantry should have already set off. The huge dust clouds caused by the high-explosive shells will boost morale." At four-thirty the next day, the fire preparation on the Coastal Fortress began. Even at the Gustav mega cannon''s position, the sounds of the distant artillery firing could be heard. The mega cannon waited quietly for the time to fire. During this process, hundreds of maintenance personnel carefully inspected every part of the system, ensuring that this massive beast could operate normally. Then the ammunition began to be loaded. Six gunners worked together to push a tcart, bringing the shell to the crane, where it was then lifted by the crane and ced on the loading track on the back of the cannon barrel. Then, a tank converted into a loading tractor pushed the huge projectile into the cannon breech. It withdrew, waited for the crane to ce the propent charges on the track, and then dutifully pushed the charges into the breech. This type of cannon required different amounts of propent depending on the target. The first firing required the loading of two bags of propent charges, so the loading tractor repeated the previous steps once more. The final step was breech locking. The breech locking mechanism of such a massive cannon required three people to operate simultaneously toplete the task. After the cannon was loaded, there were still forty minutes until the end of fire preparation. Despite this, the cannon''s crew members still stood at their posts, with no sign of cking off, intently waiting for the end of fire preparation. At eight o''clock, the phone rang, and the signalman immediately brought it to the major general, respectfully offering the handset. As soon as the major general picked up the handset, he heard Xiplin''s calm voice say, "Fire." Xiplin''s words brought the entire position to life from a dead silence; the engineers and technicians, who had been cking off a moment before, now sprang into action to perform onest check before firing. The major general went straight up to the tform on the side of the cannon, where the cannon''s control board was located. After the final check waspleted, the engineers practically flew from the cannon, lining up beside it and quietly waiting for the moment of firing. The major general gave the firing elements onest check to confirm there were no issues, then turned and saluted the Prosen national g hanging directly to the west of the cannon position. As he saluted, the lined-up gunners below performed a uniform action, covering their ears. After the salute, the major general turned back, pulled on a rope next to the control board, shouted something loudly, and yanked it hard. The cannon muzzle shed with a blinding me, and a st swept the surroundings in an instant. The gunners'' action of covering their ears happened to press down the capes of their service caps, ensuring that their caps were not blown away by the st of the shot. As the st swept across the entire position, the massive cannon and the tform beneath it recoiled along the rails, converting the energy provided by the gunpowder into work on the cannon. When the recoil had finished, the cannon came to a stop. The gunners who had been lined up covering their ears immediately sprang into action, driving over three tractors to tow the cannon. It took thebined effort of three tractors to reposition the railgun, which weighed over a thousand tons, and then the second round of loading began. Chapter 376: Chapter 58: Defending Like General Rokossovsky (4K Mega Chapter) Prosen Army offensive line. When the sound of the shells tearing through the air came, all the infantry behind the tanks looked up. The Prosen troops had been reinforced with a considerable number who had basic military training but no frontline experience, or only experience from the Mnia era. However, about sixty percent of the troops were veterans who had been on the Eastern Front since the beginning ofst year''s offensive. This was still due to nonmissioned officers being pulled out to form new units or being absorbed into the Asgard Knights. Otherwise, the proportion of veterans would be even higher. After all, duringst June''s offensive operations, the Prosen Army didn''t suffer heavy lossesexcept for the few divisions that were surrounded and annihted at Ye Fort during the battle at Karanskaya. Immediately, the veterans recognized that the velocity of the shells flying overhead was not fast. "These shells areing from quite a distance," a nonmissioned officer remarked. Soon after, a new recruit curiously asked, "Why do you say that?" Old nonmissioned officer: "A shell fired from a distance, when passing overhead, will be slower because its trajectory is high. If thending point is far from you, it''s now at the peak of its entire trajectory..." The nonmissioned officer gestured with his hands. Just then, far ahead, a thick plume of smoke suddenly rose, clearly the explosion of a shell. It took a dozen seconds for the sound of the explosion to btedly arrive. The nonmissioned officer clicked his tongue, "The impact point is at least five kilometers away from us. To be able to see such arge cloud of smoke, this must be a super-heavy artillery shell, probably a Leopold!" "I think it might be a Karl," another veteran nonmissioned officer offered a different opinion. "Are you stupid? Karl shells fly even slower, and the sound just now as it passed overhead couldn''t have been from that!" At this moment, the curious new recruit asked, "Why only one shell? During the earlier artillery preparation, I saw the enemy positions were all exploding fireballs." "Idiot," the old soldier pped the new recruit''s steel helmet, "A single shot from arge caliber like that is serious trouble. If it hits a city, that one shell would have already killed a thousand people and injured who knows how many. A shot like that could wipe out apanyno, a battalion!" At that moment, a junior officer who had been listening to their conversation spoke up, "You new eggheads will understand once you''ve been shelled by Ante heavy artillery." The new recruit protested, "I''ve served for three years before bing a reservist; don''t treat me like a greenhorn." Junior officer: "You are a greenhorn. Let me tell you, some of those Ante bastards have a particrly malicious streak, they scout out civilian dwellings in advance, and once they make contact with us, they open fire on those houses in the dead of night." All the veterans on the scene frowned solemnly. The junior officer continued, "Then you''ll know what it''s like to be hit by heavy artillery. A shellnds a hundred meters from your bed, and you''re so scared you jump up only to find your nose bleeding non-stop, because the overpressure tore through your delicate nasal passages. And if you''re more seriously hurt, you might cough up blood because your alveoli were destroyed by the overpressure, and blood spurts out through your trachea." The new recruit became solemn, "I''ve read in the newspapers, that''s the tactic of that General White Horse, and the papers condemn him as scum who doesn''t care about the lives of his own people." The expressions of others became very ambiguous. Finally, the junior officer said, "It''s not entirely his fault. Before, we treated the Ante people like scum and ughtered them without constraint. He probably concluded that there were nopatriots left in the upied areas." The new recruit was taken aback, then he asked, "Sir, have you also killed Ante civilians?" Junior officer: "I haven''t. But when my men did it, I didn''t stop them, and evenughed alongside them. That''s why we must win this war, because if the Ante peoplee back to our homnd, they''ll do the same. And by then, they''ll be seen as just, because we were the viins." "We believe ourselves superior to the Ante people, so we carry out atrocities without any restraints. If the Ante people prove they''re no worse than us, then those atrocities will lose their footing." The new recruit said, "Sir, you''ve been using the word ''atrocities''." Junior officer: "Yes, with or without reason, whatever the reasons may be, they''re still atrocities. Anything of that sort done to humans is an atrocity. Dammit, why did they have to target Ante women at the time, wouldn''t going for a couple of sheep have sufficed?" It was then that an old nonmissioned officer said, "The captain wasn''t like this before, but since we were defeated near Ye Fortst year, he became like this." "Because now, in my dreams, I see that house on that day. Only, it''s no longer my soldiersmitting those atrocities on the Ante mother and daughterit''s Ante soldiers doing the same to my wife and daughter. And that General White Horse stands where I was, pping and mocking,menting on my daughter''s figure, her face." The captain nced at the Ante Army defensive line still in the distance. He said, "And in the dream, I can only watch all this because I''ve already fallen to the ground, turned into a corpse." At that moment, a tank passed by a snapped tree, and the captain, as if possessed, looked back and saw a patch of red. At first, he thought it was blood but then realized it was red paint. He immediately understood it was a target marker for the defenders and shouted, "Get down quick, mortar shells iing!" No sooner had he spoken than shellsnded a few tens of meters away, followed by a barrage of intense mortar fire. The captainy on the ground, shouting, "Dammit! This defensive method, it''s Rokossov! We''ve run into Rokossov again!" At themand post of the fifth division of the fortress defense forces, the divisionmander observed the effects of the mortar barrage with satisfaction through his binocrs. Chapter 377 Chapter 58 Defending Like General Rokossovsky (4K Mega Chapter)_2 ``` "Very good, very good," heughed heartily, "taste what I learned at the Suvorov Military Academy! The general personally answered my questions!" At this time, the chief of staff asked, "Is the general really that young? There''s a theory that it was actually his elder brother Petro who aplished the deeds, and the younger brother was chosen to be the figurehead because of his outstanding appearance." The divisionmander shook his head, "No, no, I swear it was the young Rokossov I met, because during the sses, his eyes sparkled with understanding as he had truly grasped war, answering every question I posed with ease." In fact, all this was present stock from various military writings in another time and space, of course, no one here could know. The divisionmander leaned on the edge of the division headquarters'' shelter observation window, looking out at the battlefield filled with explosions and gun smoke, and sighed, "Unfortunately, General Rokossov has not studied offensive tactics, so we can only defend like him." The chief of staff chuckled wryly, "A general who has achieved the only organized annihtion of the enemy in all of Ante, to say that he does not know how to attack doesn''t seem quite right, does it?" "No, no, that''s what General Rokossov said himself; he imed that the enemy at Karanskaya actually lost to General Winter and General Mud, not to him. He also said that the attack was basically like giving a kick to a dry tree already riddled with termites, hardly a testament to his skill." "That''s why he only taught us defense, waiting until he had experience with attacking an enemy that had ample supplies and had established fortified regions before writing a book to teach us how to attack." He looked again at the defensive line, "See, this is the defense constructed in the manner of General Rokossovsky! Unfortunately, by the time I returned from my studies, the enemy had already upied the front, preventing me from personally scouting the regions possibly controlled by the enemy like the general did." The chief of staff said, "You mean, based on firsthand reconnaissance, anticipating where the enemy''smand post and supply center might be and then shelling them at night and during mealtimes as a kind of harassment tactic?" "Yes," the divisionmander bit his lip, "no matter, when we move to another ce, we can give it a try." At noon on May 1st, the headquarters of the 11th Army Group in Prosen, General Erik von Xiplin held the phone, talking to themander of the First Armored Corps, General Ewald von Steier-Mark. "The first attack was halted, and the casualties were much higher than expected," Xiplin said, "The enemy at least has shown a marked improvement in defensepared tost year." General Steier-Mark said, "One of my armored divisionmanders mentioned that this defensive method is very much like what we''ve seen in the summary reports of Rokossov''s defensive tactics at Orachi. The Ante People no longer insist on holding the same position to the death against us, but prefer covering newly upied positions with artillery fire, inflicting heavy casualties and then counterattacking to take back the position." General Xiplin responded, "Exactly, the infantry also reported that the anti-shell bunkers in the positions were very hidden, there were booby traps, and our forces, unfamiliar with the terrain, couldn''t find the bunkers or dared not enter them, resulting in heavy losses under enemy fire." "The trenches in the positions were also cunningly designed, not conducive to defending against their bombardment." General Xiplin paused and added, "It seems the intelligence from Rabowell was correct about Rokossov being reassigned to the rear as a teacher, but whether it was due to a political struggle and a demotion in disguise, that''s unknown." General Steier-Mark said, "Getting half of that kind of intelligence right would be good. So, what are your ns? Attacking such defensive positions head-on will result in heavy casualties." General Xiplin: "Didn''t Tsar''s favored courtier Giles demonstrate it? Trench warfare. Otherwise, let''s make the navy work harder andpletely cut off the Coastal Fortress''s supply from the sea." "I don''t really want to rely on the other branches of the military," Steier-Mark said, "I''ll try to maneuver around as much as possible, you continue with the trench warfare." Xiplin: "Good luck to you." "And to you as well." The conference at the Tsar''s court in Saint Ye Katerina Fortress was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wang Zhong and General Gorky arrived at the Summer Pce at 10 a.m., and first met with the officers designated to attend the court meeting in the waiting room. Upon entering the waiting room, they immediately saw General Tugenev adorned with new epaulets. "Oh, have you finished being decorated?" Wang Zhong, having recently be quite familiar with these "literary giants," had reached the stage where he could directly address them with an informal "hey," teasing in such a manner. General Tugenev nced at his epaulets: "Another star doesn''t feel much different. I''ve objected many times, but His Majesty still insisted on appointing an old man like me, who only understands clerical work, as the chief of staff." Wang Zhong: "If you don''t want it, you could let General Gorky take over, right?" After all, they were all literary giants. General Gorky: "Don''t even think about it. I''m still working on my offensive n; right now, I certainly don''t want to relinquishmand of the Western Front Army." While they were speaking, [General] Chekhov came over. Wang Zhong: "You got promoted too?" Chekhov said, annoyed, "Who keeps moring to send Sergey''s son-inw to the front to let him see how terrible his own designs are? They nned to retire together to the countryside, so I kept getting pushed up for more training." Wang Zhong: "My fiance mentioned he had health issues." Enjoy new adventures from empire "Isn''t that the same thing?" Chekhov sighed, "You should try to change this impulsive way of doing things." Then he abruptly changed the subject, "So, what''s the situation at the front really like?" ``` Chapter 378 Chapter 58 Defending Like General Rokossovsky (4K Mega Chapter)_3 The newly appointed Chief of General Staff answered, "We''ve already repelled the enemy''s first offensive, but the Prussians will definitely not attack just once. By the way, the Coastal Fortress has reported being bombarded by artillery of unimaginable caliber, more powerful than the main guns of a battleship; we''re not clear what it is." Your next read is at empire Wang Zhong: "Railway guns, like the Leopold or the Karl-Ger?t." Admiral Chekhov: "It sounds like we can hold back the enemy this time." Wang Zhong: "Yes, but the question is for how long." General Gorky: "Likest year, we''ll try to drag out time until the muddy conditions of Octobere, meanwhile luring the enemy deeper, and fight a decisive battle in our hintend." Admiral Chekhov: "Are you suggesting we don''t resist?" "No," General Gorky shook his head, "It''s only April now, letting the enemy into the ins this early is a bad idea; we''ll lose the war with the speed of rotting wood falling." Admiral Chekhov nodded: "I see." At this point Tugenev asked Wang Zhong: "Is your new army ready?" Wang Zhong: "They are ready now, but the more preparation time we have, the better they will perform inbat, Your Excellency the General." Admiral Chekhov chimed in, "Moreover, his army now includes nearly 200,000 nonbat personnel; transporting such arge force to take a detour to the Coastal-Bolsk line is problematic. If they depart now, the vanguard will take half a month to arrive, followed by subsequent forces reaching the area over the course of two weeks." That means it would take Wang Zhong''s showcase army a month to be fully transferred to Duke Meishikin''smand. Wang Zhong hadn''t really considered this. Seeing Wang Zhong''s expression, Admiral Chekhov exined further, "The transport lines are not just for your army; the railways are crowded with the troops and supplies being moved." Tugenev then pitched in, "Yes, many people suggest that your force shouldn''t just be called an army; it could be confused with those that only have twenty or thirty thousand soldiers and no logistical personnel. How about changing the name?" Wang Zhong: "Then let''s call it an Army Group." At that moment, Olga suddenly appeared, suggesting, "While you''re at it, change the name of the troops too. ''Mobile Army'' doesn''t convey the feeling of an elite force." The others hurried to salute Olga: "Your Majesty." But Wang Zhong continued the conversation: "Then what should it be called? ''Assault'' is already in use with the Assault Army Group." Olga nodded to the others and then continued to Wang Zhong, "The Prussians put together the Asgard Knights; maybe you shoulde up with a corresponding name." Wang Zhong thought for a moment and said, "No need; names aren''t that important. Even if my Army Group''s number is unremarkable, as long as we achieve battlefield sesses worthy of the history books, this number will be remembered in military history." Olga nodded: "Then let''s call it the First Mobile Group Army. After all, your Army Group is not just for breaking through, yet it seems you also don''t n on focusing solely on defense; ''Mobile'' is most fitting." Wang Zhong: "Thank you for the honor of naming it." Olga looked at Wang Zhong for a few seconds, asking, "You''re going to the front lines again, aren''t you?" Wang Zhong: "Not necessarily, just now Admiral Chekhov told me that it would take a month to move my Army Group to the southern front." Admiral Chekhov: "It won''t even be the front line, a month will only be enough to get you to the critical supply hubs, and then you''ll need time to integrate with the local logistics system before marching to the front." General Gorky: "There''s actually no need to rush the new reinforcements into battle. For the moment, the direction of the Coastal-Bolsk is fairly solid. If we hold the enemy''s advance at the Valdai Hills River line, we can make use of river transport, starting from Ye Fort, and directly moving downstream without issues." Wang Zhong: "We can transport partway by ship, then head south to join the contest on the ins. We have whirlwind-ss tank destroyers that can eliminate enemy tanks from a great distance, and we also have the best gunners." Olga: "So you''ll be staying in Ye Fort for a while?" Wang Zhong: "That depends on the development of the battlefield situation. It''s unpredictable, Your Majesty." Chapter 379 Chapter 59 Vetoing the Plan to Recapture Shepetovka ``` The situation on the battlefield was indeed unpredictable. The Coastal Fortress had resisted for eighteen days, consistently reporting "not much pressure" and "Rocossov-style defensive positions performing well," but on the morning of May 19, the Coastal Fortress suddenly reported that its outer defense ring had been breached. Of course, the Coastal Fortress still had two other lines of defense that could hold out for some time, but the expressions of everyone at the imperial council meeting were not good. May 19, Ye Fort, Summer Pce, Imperial Council Meeting. General Tugenev was presenting the Air Force reconnaissance results: "Our PE-2 improved high-altitude reconnaissance nes were constantly intercepted by the Ploson Air Force during their missions, so we couldn''t get a clear picture of the surroundings of the fortress. "However, the IL-2s flying low-level pration missions reported that the enemy has arge number of anti-aircraft guns in this position." The general drew a circle on the map. "Also, the pration reconnaissance troops of the defense forces reported an increased patrol density in this area, and they are equipped with military dogs, making it really impossible to infiltrate. "Combining this with the survey of craters left by the enemy''s heavy artillery, we conjecture that this might be a heavy railway gun. At first, the fortressmand thought it was fire from the enemy''s battleships, but even naval artillery couldn''t leave such terrifying craters, let alone prate the thirty-meter thick cover of the underground ammunition depot." Wang Zhong: "Are there any intelligence reports from the Allied Forces?" "No," Cardinal Ravkid shook his head, "We''ve been maintaining intelligence exchange with the Allied Forces, and they haven''t mentioned this super cannon either." Wang Zhong: "In short, it means that what was previously a good defense is now suddenly breached through the ammunition depot, and the explosion was so loud that the front line couldn''t stabilize the troops in time, leading to the loss of some defensive positions, right?" "Exactly," General Tugenev nodded, "Moreover, there''s a practical problem, the fortress''s artillery firepower is basically provided by the Naval Coastal Artillery Group, which chiefly operates the fortress''s coastal guns, and the artillery support for the area that is now breached was supplied by the underground ammunition depot that was destroyed." Wang Zhong: "So the destruction of one underground ammunition depot cut off the ammunition supply?" An engineering brigadier general in attendance exined: "Not cut off, the coastal artillery can still receive ammunition from other depots. "The approach to the Coastal Fortress ammunition depots is that each supplies a battery, connected to the gun positions via an underground rail track, allowing the transportation of ammunition to the gun positions by ammunition trains. "Transporting it from other depots is not so convenient; the ammunition must first be carried to the surface and then transported by truck. The enemy air force is currentlyunching heavy air strikes, rendering truck transport impossible." After the engineering brigadier general finished his exnation, General Tugenev quickly took over: "Previously, we believed the Coastal Fortress, utilizing new defensive tactics, could withstand for a longer time. Now it seems we must prepare for the loss of the Coastal Fortress. "After the fortress is breached, Meishikin''s troops may be nked, and we might have to abandon Bolsk." Wang Zhong: "Then retreat to where? The steppes are not suitable for defense." General Tugenev answered: "There are still options, the Suhaya Weili River can provide the necessary barrier for defense, as we have been fortifying along its banks since January this year. "To ensure their logistics, the enemy will definitely try to break through the Suhaya Weili River to the east first, before advancing toward the Valdai Hill River. "There are numerous industrial zones along the Valdai Hill River, and we rely extensively on river transport from Ye Fort southward for the supply of goods. "As soon as the enemy pushes the front line to the banks of the Valdai Hill River, our supply transport to the south to the Front Army can only depend on the Ind Sea routes." Wang Zhong added, "Transporting fuel from Kuba would also have to rely solely on Ind Sea routes." "Yes," General Tugenev nodded, "Therefore, the defense of the Suhaya Weili River is critical. We have dispatched Major General Kashuk''s 51st Army Group, which was expanded based on the 51st Army, and the 52nd and 54th Army Groups have also been sent to the banks of the Suhaya Weili River." Wang Zhong: "I remember these army groups were involved in the fighting from September to Octoberst year, and Kashuk''s army suffered significant losses." General Tugenev: "They havepleted their reorganization and are now fully staffed." "That being said, my First Mobile Group Army isn''t needed to defend the Suhaya Weili River?" Wang Zhong asked. "Yes, you can get more training time." General Tugenev continued exining with the map: "Of course, the defense of the Suhaya Weili River is not as reliable as that of the Duva River, because both banks of the river are open steppes,ckingrge cities as support points. Last year we were sessively breached by the Prosen people in simr terrain. "The good news is that these army groups have been strengthened with heavy tanks. Following the rmendations of General Rocossov, we organized the heavy tanks into battalions of 21 tanks, reinforcing the necessary infantry divisions as a kind of ''mobile support point.'' Wang Zhong, hearing his own name, immediately puffed out his chest and held his head high. In fact, he had copied this arrangement from the Soviet military organization on Earth. In thetter stages of the war, the Soviet Army didn''t userge numbers of heavy tanks because their maintenance support was really bad; a unit of 21 heavy tanks was thergest unit they could sustain. The maintenance support capabilities of the Ante Army were just as bad; heavy tanks, being heavier, naturally had a higher rate of breakdowns than medium tanks, so it made sense to disperse the use of heavy tanks to reduce the difficulty of maintenance. What Wang Zhong did was to simply point out in advance the experience that the Ante Army itself would have eventually concluded, and then he took credit for it. ``` General Tugenev continued, "Additionally, in ordance with our new field defense manual, we have dug many tank entrenchments by the riverbank, which only expose the turrets." This new field defense manual was also concocted by Wang Zhong. The entire Ante Army is currently utilizing thebat doctrines Wang Zhong borrowed from Earth. General Tugenev, "Judging from the defense battles at the Coastal Fortress and Bolsk, the new defense system performed well. Personally, I expect it to do well at the Suhayaveli River. "That''s about it for now." Wang Zhong, "Is there no attacking action from the enemy on the central and northern fronts?" "None. However, we have received many intelligence reports indicating that the Prussian''s target this summer remains Ye Fort." General Tugenev looked at Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong, "That''s a feint. The enemy''s target is the oil fields, General Golikov and I have bothe to this conclusion." "The High Command thinks so as well. That''s why I just mentioned it in passing." General Tugenev said, "So that''s the situation, Your Majesty, I have finished speaking." Olga, who had been holding back, immediately spoke up, "Alyosha..." Wang Zhong, "Use military ranks in a work setting." Olga pouted, but immediatelyposed herself, "Lieutenant General Rocossov, the operations department has submitted a proposal for an offensive on the southern front aimed at recapturing Shepetovka. What do you think?" Wang Zhong, "Sounds feasible, what forces are being prepared for the operation?" "Mainly the newly formed tank brigades, nning tomit five brigades, plus two infantry divisions." Wang Zhong''s eyebrows knitted into twists. The Soviet forces on Earth saw some rather abstract formations in the second year of the war, such as the creation of vast tank army groups with six hundred tanks, which turned out disastrous becausemanders had no experience leading suchrge-scale armored forces. Additionally, this tank army group had very few support units and was thoroughly outmaneuvered by the highlybined Sturmtiger. In the end, even themander of the tank army group was directly killed by the Sturmtiger. Starting from the mid-stage, the Soviet forces came to understand that tank forces required arge number of support units, and a tank army was reorganized to include a lot of self-propelled artillery and infantry, reducing the number of tanks to around 200, though they stubbornly continued to be called tank armies. The Ante people, fortunately, took a shortcut with the help of Wang Zhong. But this does not mean that the tank brigades formed by the Ante Army were without issues. These brigades indeedbined infantry and artillery, but in very small numbers, giving the impression that resolving the issue of quantity could lead to a sudden jump in strength. Moreover, these brigades still suffered from a severeck of support capabilities, having only a few maintenance personnel. Not everymander has the clout to borrow arge number of technical workers from the Church and the Navy to form support units. Of course, not every tank battalion can afford to distribute tractor recovery vehicles to thepanies like Wang Zhong did. Wang Zhong had strongly rmended reducing the number of these tank brigades, but General Tugenev had convinced him. At that time, General Tugenev said, "You are special, able to create luxuriously equipped and highlybined forces, but that does not mean the Military Command can do the same. I''ve done my utmost to provide them with support units. Let''s first create the tank brigades and fill the lines, after all, we have produced so many tanks. "Seeing tanks gives the infantry a significant boost in fighting spirit, at least they won''t throw away their positions and flee at the sight of Prussian tanks advancing to within a hundred meters of their lines." Wang Zhong''s own forces had been tested through blood and fire and were able to endure over half casualties without copsing. However, most of the Ante Army stillcked such fighting will and needed another year of tempering. It was the same with the Soviet forces on Earth, even by ''43, units still fled before the enemy reached their lines. Even the post-war film "Liberation," which covers the events of ''43 at Kursk, depicted scenes of fleeing Soviet soldiersfocusing on Kursk in ''43. Now, tounch an offensive against the Prussians with these tank brigadescking support capabilities, having a low degree ofbined arms integration, and infantry that flees at the sight of enemy tanks, aiming to recapture the important town of Shepetovka, seems overly optimistic. Therefore, Wang Zhong said, "Shepetovka is a city with numerous reinforced concrete structures in the vicinity. Deploying such arge number of tank forces and so few infantry unitswhat was the operations department thinking? No, it won''t do." Olga, "But didn''t you support General Golikov''s offensive n?" Wang Zhong, "General Golikov''s offensive n relies mainly on infantry and artillery; the Armored Troops are only performing a supporting role. The goal is just to tie down the enemy forces on the front and, by the way, train our troops'' offensive capabilities. "That''s different from confidently wanting to recapture an important town. I oppose this rash offensive n, I oppose wasting precious equipment and the lives of soldiers on such a venture." Olga nodded, "Alright, I won''t approve this n!" Wang Zhong nodded and offhandedly praised, "Very good," and then realized that wasn''t rightit appeared as if the Tsar were just my puppet! No, no, no, you''ve got it all wrong! Chapter 380 Chapter 60 The Empires Sword and Shield Although General Tugenev expressed his concern at the royal meeting on May 19 that the fall of the Coastal Fortress would force Duke Meishikin to abandon Bolsk, it was not until June that the Coastal Fortress remained in the hands of the Independent Army Group. The fortress reported that it suffered bombardment by 8 to 12 super-heavy artillery shells daily, and most of the outer peripheral defense supports had been destroyed by this heavy artillery, greatly reducing the coastal artillery''s support for the fortress garrison. However, the fortress defense forces relied on their fighting spirit to stand firm against the assaults, holding on for more than ten days against the enemy''s super-heavy railway artillery and battleships'' fire on the sea, managing to keep most of their positions in hand. Therefore, the battlefield is a stage of unpredictable destiny, and Wang Zhong understood this once again. Because the Coastal Fortress held, the possibility of Bolsk being encircled greatly decreased, and thus Duke Meishikin also held back the Prussian attack, and the front temporarily fell into a stalemate. However, the Independent Army Group of the fortress reported huge casualties under enemy heavy artillery attack and requested reinforcements. Aerial photography reconnaissance of the fortress indicated that Prussian heavy artillery had destroyed the core parts of the perimeter support points of the fortress. The Prussian Navypletely blockaded the sea outside the Coastal Fortress and could block the coastal road to the southeast of the fortress. And the Prussian Army''s artillery observation posts established on the forward positions covered the ind transportation lines of the Coastal Fortress. On June 3, the High Command concluded that the Coastal Fortress should not continue to be defended and ordered the fortress garrison to begin a breakout. Once the Coastal Fortress fell, the nk of the Bolsk Front Armymanded by Duke Meishikin would be exposed, and the High Command estimated that by early July, it would have to order the Bolsk Front Army to retreat in the southeast direction. Wang Zhong also attended the royal meeting that made this decision. After the meeting, General Tugenev stopped Wang Zhong, who was leaving, "Rocossov, wait a moment. I thought you would raise a strong objection." Wang Zhong was somewhat surprised, "Objection to what?" "Letting Meishikin retreat in the southeast direction," General Tugenev stared at Wang Zhong''s face, "Bolsk is thest important Kazarlian city under our control, with coal and iron mines. Giving it up, would mean that only vast grasnds would remain under our control in Kazarlia." Wang Zhong, "Isn''t the Suhaya Weili River still in our hands? My friend Kashuk''s army is still conducting defensive operations there." Tugenev, "You are calmer than I imagined." Wang Zhong, "Does getting emotional prevent my homnd from falling? No, there is no such good thing, General Davarish. One day in the future, I will liberate my homnd, and by then I guarantee I will be much, much more emotional than you can imagine." General Tugenev showed an approving expression, "Good, I was also worried that your emotions would get the better of you because you are young." Wang Zhong only then realized that his current body was quite young, possibly younger than Su Xunzong on Earth, who fought obscurely against the Sturmtiger. So it was normal for Tugenev to worry that he might act emotionally like the young." Wang Zhong, "Don''t worry, General Davarish." "Is this a new popr term? I''ve heard the young staff officers from the Military Orders Department calling each other this too." Wang Zhong, "It started as a sailors'' term, referring torades who fight together for the same goal. I thought it was good and used it to address therades of the Mnia People''s Army, they seem to like it. By the way, my troops also like it, it may have gradually spread, you know, I and my troops are kind of big stars in Ye Fort." Tugenevughed heartily, "Quite a ''kind of''. So how is the mood of your troops now?" Wang Zhong, "When I left Kubinka yesterday, they barricaded me and questioned why they hadn''t been sent to the front line. Rather than firing practice rounds on the training field, they would much rather use their new weapons to give the Prussians a good thrashing. "I think the troops are ideologically mobilized and ready to enter the battlefield at any time." When Wang Zhong spoke, Cardinal Ravkid, who sat in on the meeting as an intelligence officer, also came over and listened intently with a serious face. General Tugenev nced at the cardinal before saying to Wang Zhong, "I have discussed with His Majesty the Tsar, the deployment of your troops needs to be cautious. She hopes that when you move out, you will achieve immediate results, not just filling gaps on the front lines as a fire brigade. "So we need to wait for the right opportunity." Wang Zhong, "Necessary opportunities can also be created." Tugenev, "Where do you think the first battle will take ce?" Wang Zhong, "I''m not an astrologer, I don''t know how to predict the future. But if you''re asking where I hope to fight, I''ll tell you it''s on the west bank of the Valdai Hills River." Tugenev, "Why there? Because supply lines would be better with the backing of the great river?" Wang Zhong, "Yes, and we would also get support from the Ind Sea Fleet. A pity we don''t have shallow draft gunboats. The shallow draft gunboats used by the United Kingdom in the canal zone can''t be transported bynd to the Ind Sea." After all, the United Kingdom is not Rome; it can''t make boats travel on drynd. Tugenev, "The United Kingdom''s Mediterranean Fleet seems to n to pass through the Dardanelles Strait and engage in a fleet battle with the Prussian fleet, but the neutral countries refuse to allow passage. The neutral countries, to express their neutrality, also prohibit Prussian ships from going through the strait. "Additionally, the United Kingdom''s fleet in the Aegean Sea and the Prussian fleet fought a major battle; the United Kingdom''s HMS Warspite hit the Prussian Empire''s Aegean Sea fleet gship ck Prince, and now the Aegean Sea is under the control of the United Kingdom. The Emperor Friedrich must have no chance to return to port for the time being. "The good news is, naval officers from the United Kingdom estimate that the Emperor Friedrich must soon undergo major repairs, and the Prussians don''t have a dry dock on the White Sea coast that can repair this thing. "The bad news, even if it doesn''t undergo major repairs, it canst for a while. As long as we operate near the coast, we''ll suffer its 381 mm main gun barrages." When Wang Zhong heard the 381 mm main guns, his head throbbed with phantom pain, since he had been hit by a barrage soon after crossing over and had miraculously survived. Another survivor was the duchess''s male favorite. Where had that guy gone, Wang Zhong wondered? He had been at Ye Fort for more than half a year but never once seen him. As Wang Zhong''s mind wandered, General Tugenev spoke again, "The United Kingdom''s Air Force is nning an operation that involves their Lancaster Bombers dropping a special type of bomb. They are hoping we can provide arge airfield close enough to this ship, yet also safe enough tounch an attack." Wang Zhong recalled the operating radius of the Lancaster Bomber and, after ncing at the map, remarked with a click of his tongue, "Then we currently don''t have any airfields that meet their requirements. How about we make do and have them refuel at a frontline airfield?" General Tugenev said, "They estimate that a single round of attacks is unlikely to seed, so they need us to hold the airport and its surrounding ground for twenty days and ensure logistics support." Wang Zhong said, "You''re bringing this up on purpose because you''re nning to deploy my mobile army group for this, aren''t you?" General Tugenev said, "No, you misunderstand. In my view, there''s no need to worry about this battleship for now, as we''ve decided to abandon the Coastal Fortress and won''t engage in battle within range of the ship''s guns for the time being. "If this ship dares to sail south and bombard our ports in the Caucasus Mountains, then they''ll enter the attack range of our permanent airfields in the mountains. We can coordinate with the United Kingdom then." As he said this, General Tugenev circled areas on the map with a pencil. Wang Zhong asked, "Can''t we use submarines to sneak attack this huge ship?" "We''ve tried that. Torpedoes hit the battleship, but the effect was poor. This battleship''s anti-torpedo bulge is too thick. However, based on aerial reconnaissance, the battleship, having consumed a significant amount of ammunition, fuel, and supplies, now sits deeper in the water. We suspect it has taken on water, though not enough to sink it yet," Tugenev shrugged. Wang Zhong nodded his head. The ck Sea''s control had always been in the hands of the Russians on Earth, which is why the Coastal Fortress held out for so long. With Jude holding maritime supremacy here, the Coastal Fortress could not endure for long. However, since the Navy of Ante had lost sea control, did that mean more Naval Infantry could be transferred under hismand? Wang Zhong pondered this. Just then, the door suddenly opened, and the Chief of the Secretariat from High Command quickly approached General Tugenev, about to whisper in his ear, but Tugenev stopped him, "There''s no need, General Rocossov and Cardinal Ravkid are both absolutely trustworthy persons." The Chief of the Secretariat nodded, "Understood. The Western Front Armyunched an attack today, aiming to envelop Shostka from the nk. The assault is going well so far." Wang Zhong asked, "Shostka? Are the Asgard Knights still defending there?" "No, ording to our intelligence, the Asgard Knights withdrew when the muddy conditions improved at the end of March. They were reced by three Infantry Divisions of the Ninth Army Group. The 197th Infantry Division is stationed in the city, with the 206th and 246th on the left and right wings. "The 337th Infantry Division is defending the crossing, and currently, our vanguard has broken through the defenses on the eastern bank of the crossing and has reached it. The spearhead forces have already crossed the river." Wang Zhong asked, "Is the 337th Infantry Division a new unit? It seems they had their defensive line cut through quite easily?" The Chief of the Secretariat shook his head, "I don''t know, we may have to wait for the interrogation reports from the front to determine when this division was formed." Wang Zhong said, "I''ll just give General Gorky a call and ask." With that, Wang Zhong picked up the telephone on the desk, "Operator, connect me to the headquarters of the Western Front Army." After a moment, an unfamiliar voice from the other end of the line said, "Headquarters of the Commander of the Western Front Army." Wang Zhong said, "This is General Rocossov, get yourmander on the line." Another ten seconds passed, and the voice of General Gorky came through, "Are you calling me after receiving the initial assault battle report?" Wang Zhong said, "You''ve broken through the crossing faster than I had imagined." "That''s because this 337th Division was converted from a national guard division; most of the personnel were fighting gueris a few months ago. Not all Prosen soldiers are elite; there are also weak links. In the future, we canunch attacks along the entire line to probe the enemy''s defense and locate vulnerabilities, thenmit the second wave of troops at those weak points." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong realized this was the Sovietbat method fromter onattack along the entire front, identify where the weak soldiers were, and then break through and advance rapidly behind them. And the elite units of Sturmtiger were to bepletely surrounded and avoided; if encountering Sturmtiger''s armored units, they also were to be surrounded without engaging. The Eastern Front was vast, with plenty of ces to break through; it made no sense for a handful of elite units to fight for a high exchange ratio. Wang Zhong said, "I wish you sess." General Gorky was pleased, "In the future, you will be the Empire''s Iron Wall, and I will be the Empire''s Sword!" Wang Zhong replied, "Great! That really makes us the Empire''s Twin Jewels." As he offered these well-wishes, Wang Zhong was sincere, yet he vaguely remembered that on Earth, the Ninth Army Group had a story to it. Later on emerged Modol, the strongest defensive master from Sturmtiger, nicknamed by military enthusiasts as Modol "The Untouched"in a somewhat more animated way of speaking, "because he was too afraid of pain, he allocated all his points into defense." Themander of the Ninth Army Group in this world seemed to be named Mendel, sharing the name with the man who studied peas. Could it be that he could grow pea shooters and wall-nuts to withstand General Gorky''s offensive? The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!