December 12, Summer Palace.
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, communicate 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 Melania has made a request to the Foreign Minister to join the alliance and become an allied nation.”
Belinsky reflected, “Melania? I remember when the Prosen Empire destroyed Melania, the people who followed the Eastern Holy Church Secular faction fled here.”
“Yes, we even resettled some bishops from Melania, and most of the refugees have been settled in our vast eastern territories, that was already three years ago.”
After Ravkid finished speaking, Belinsky exclaimed, “They are still fighting? Admirable. So what does the exile government intend? Are they planning to recruit soldiers from the Melania 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 Melania refugees to enlist when we mobilize them?”
“Ever since they arrived in our country, they have been demanding the restoration of their homeland. 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 Ante language skills. I believe it’s an excuse by the nobility, who regard these Melania refugees that fled to our country as fervent Secular faction members.” Enjoy exclusive content from мѵʟ
Belinsky raised an eyebrow, “Are they?”
Ravkid adjusted his glasses, “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 relations with the Melania exile government, we’ll conscript these Melanians. Also, do these Melanian people have a high level of education?”
Ravkid responded, “According to the entry registration data, quite high.”
Belinsky decided, “Then supplement them to Rokossovsky. He’s always clamoring 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 Melania exile government. Until then, let the Melanians stay in the resettlement areas.”
————
December 16, Suvorov Military Academy Principal’s Office.
Wang Zhong watched as his secretary typed the last letter and he breathed a long sigh of relief, “All right, this ‘Guiding Principles in Armored Defense Warfare’ is finally complete.”
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 a lady 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 the last page of the manuscript from the typewriter to dry on the desk and said to Wang Zhong, “Congratulations, 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 of combat 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 glass 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 a combined arms exercise today, hence the Infantry Command students were also present; ordinarily, only the Tank Command majors would clear the school’s largest 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?”
Pavlov complained, “The organizational structure of the model regiment… we’ve nearly gathered the combat 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.