“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 issue later. Have you been given a place to stay yet?”
“No, I’m like an abandoned infant—everyone has forgotten about me.”
Wang Zhong: “Vasily, arrange a place for him to stay.”
Vasily: “Alright, I think there should be plenty of vacant barracks in Kubinka. The place can accommodate 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 regiment commander and a survivor of that ambush. I hope not only the regiment commander 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 with laughter, 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 play a decisive role?”
Anatoly immediately answered, “No, when I was running away, I observed the composition 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 placed his hopes on the church.
The Secular faction of the church had a very good relationship with scientists because they promoted the idea that science could interpret theology; any scientist was part of the Secular 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 Zhong—or 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?” Stay updated via M-V-L
Brigadier General Zhinov: “Because the designed combat range is that far. Beyond that, it becomes inaccurate. 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 annihilate 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 generally lack 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 penetrated, 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 carriers coming 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 to come 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 had come as aid from the Federation—it 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 flame from the 100mm cannon’s muzzle was quite spectacular, and the blast 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 blazed fiercely.
Wang Zhong was astonished; at least the power of the cannon was sufficient.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he decided to name this type of carrier ‘Vortex’.