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 Ludmila’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 fiancée.
On February 20th, Ludmila’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 Ludmila’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 flags – 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 blamed, 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.
Ludmila was truly the first one.
All in all, on the evening of February 20th, when the old butler explained 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 relatives could come – Ludmila had relatives 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 occupied territories.
Some had even gone to meet Saint Andrew.
To prevent the engagement ceremony from being too bleak, Wang Zhong invited some old comrades from the First Guard Mechanized Infantry, like Yegorov and the like.
These people were also old comrades of Ludmila.
Early in the morning of February 21st, Wang Zhong looked at Liu Xia in her new dress and sincerely complimented, “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 declare your victory to her face?”
Ludmila said, “No, I just suddenly thought that since she’s a sister, she should attend her brother’s engagement ceremony.”
“Do you believe she’d come 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 Ludmila.
Ludmila 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, their combat 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 relations with Wang Zhong should not have a strong force like this right next to the capital.
Wang Zhong placed 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 could compose 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.”
Ludmila 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 replaces the parish priest in presiding over our engagement ceremony, it will be difficult to break the engagement later.
“The Church probably doesn’t want you to become Prince Rokossovsky – I mean us to win the war.”
Although Ludmila 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 Ludmila would come knocking on the door, returning in tenfold the humiliation received from the broken engagement…
What an ultimate chimera.
Ludmila, “My dear?”
Wang Zhong, “Ah? It’s nothing, I have only wanted to marry you from the beginning.”
Ludmila, “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 Palace, 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 Palace called. His Majesty the Tsar will attend General Rokossovsky’s engagement ceremony.”
Ludmila 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 planning something inappropriate, she would attack us by surprise.”
“You really do understand your sister,” Ludmila said with a laugh.
————
Olga didn’t arrive at the Rokossovsky Estate until an hour later.
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’ve come 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 relatives.
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 Ludmila said, “Dear brother, since His Majesty has made a kind offer, why don’t you accept it? The Tsar must have considered it carefully.”
After speaking, Ludmila and Olga looked each other squarely in the eye.
It was only then that Wang Zhong realized what was happening. The Grand Patriarch was coming to officiate the engagement, and the Tsar had swiftly arranged for a cousin to marry the widowed Pyotr. His Majesty was quite the strategist!
Ludmila was probably treating this as a transaction: “compensate” for Pyotr and acknowledge her title as Lady Rokossovsky.
Caught in the middle, Pyotr looked from His Majesty the Tsar to his prospective sister-in-law, 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 from coming 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!
Ludmila 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 the last minute?” Olga said in surprise, her tone seemingly tinged with sarcasm.
Belinsky smiled, “The last 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’re coming from the north, Prosen paratroopers? But why? Dropping paratroopers into enemy territory is just like sending lambs to the slaughter, 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 accommodation 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,” explained Belinsky.
“Based on our preliminary investigation, there’s a large 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 Plathen 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 successful, but it’s been useless.”
Wang Zhong stroked his chin, recalling an episode he watched on Khan John’s show, about a real friend—a real one—who 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?