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 supreme commander, 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 plan, you get the credit. You do it, I don’t want to go down in history for this.”
At this moment, Nikolai Andriyevich Oskov, the new commander 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 annihilation battle against the heavily fortified Prosen troops in Karanskaya.
One minute into the barrage, a communications 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 the communications officer.
Everyone in the room looked at him.
Wang Zhong declared, “Ah, am I to give this order? No, no, let’s have Major General Kiriyenko do it!”
His tone was reminiscent of a classic Soviet joke: Please come up to the stage, so-and-so.
Amazed, Kiriyenko simply waved his hand and concisely ordered, “Read!”
The communications officer read the telegram, “Major General Joseph, commander 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.”
The communications 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 Ludmila, too, as she is my fiancée.”
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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 the communications officer came back, “The enemy has replied.”
Wang Zhong asked, “That was quick, wasn’t it?”
The communications officer explained, “Because it doesn’t need decoding, just sent directly using international aviation codes.”
Wang Zhong inquired, “What does the enemy say?”
“Major General Joseph, commander of the Fifth Armored Division, on behalf of all Prosen troops in Karanskaya, extends sincere greetings to General Rokossov and hopes the general will accept their surrender.”
Wang Zhong bypassed protocol directly, “Reply that they can and only may surrender to the Ante people, or else we’ll blast them to pieces.”
As the communications officer was about to leave, Wang Zhong stopped him:
“Can the whole world receive this message, or only us?”
The communications 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?”
The communications 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 play this song to tell of your dire fate.”
After the communications 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.”
The communications officer left.
Priest Popov muttered, “They can and only may surrender to the Ante people? You even have the talent to be a Military Chaplain, 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 contemplate 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 penetrate 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.