“`
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 Slav Women” began to play—oh, 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 Ludmila’s voice: “Walk down, and remember to salute when you’re in front of the Crown Princess.”
He then descended the airplane 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 prey—whether that was just his imagination or not.
It seems that during my time in St. Ye Katerina Fortress, I have to stick with Ludmila 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, “Welcome 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 plan to bestow upon you the title of Duke of Caron, and the related procedures are already being prepared. We are planning to establish a crash course school in the Duke of Caron’s territory to specifically impart experience in combating the Prussian Army to our military officers.”
Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, his voice raising, “You plan 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.
“Relax 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 person—Wang 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 delayed the retreat orders?”
“No, no, we proposed a retreat plan 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 accumulated a large 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 Palace.”
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 glances.
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 Ludmila.
It was as if the Crown Princess only just noticed Ludmila, releasing Wang Zhong’s hand.
Ludmila saluted: “Greetings, Your Highness. I am Captain Ludmila Vasilyevna Malyukhova, a prayer hand.”
“I know.” Crown Princess Olga smiled. “You’re Duke Rokossov’s childhood friend, and you have not yet become engaged.”
Indeed, Ludmila and he had not become engaged. After all, the Westerners have a very complicated procedure for engagements, which takes a long time to prepare.
Ludmila: “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?” Ludmila 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 Ludmila.
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?
Ludmila, however, laughed and said, “Nelly is great, I would be happy for Nelly to be the bridesmaid!”
No sooner had she spoken than a deep laugh echoed through the room.
Wang Zhong had heard this laughter 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 the last time.”
Wang Zhong: “I shouldn’t have, our supplies are plentiful, we basically never starve.”
The Grand Patriarch laughed 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 time comes with a heavy task. We’re planning 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 Zhong laughed, but it wasn’t true; he just had ready-made templates to copy.
Without those, his speeches would turn to complete rubbish.
Wang Zhong was reminded of the last 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 planning 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 Palace.
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 palace 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 exclaimed in shock, “He’s back? How does he have the audacity to return? What about the other high-ranking officers?… This is madness!”