Wang Zhong made another call to Pavlov, informing him about the reassignment of the four Melania regiments to form a reserve infantry brigade.
Pavlov, “I’m in the middle of organizing the entire Army Group’s transportation scheme, and now you’re raising the stakes?”
Wang Zhong, “The clerical staff at your disposal has doubled! All led by Class Six veteran clerks! I believe you still have great potential.”
After a few seconds of silence, Pavlov asked, “By the way, you’re personally leading the vanguard, right? The headquarters staff and I will definitely move with the last troops. Who do you plan to have as your staff officer?”
Wang Zhong, “I’ll draw personnel from the Guard’s First Mechanized Infantry staff to form the vanguard staff, and appoint Yegorov’s Chief of Staff, Aleksander Aleksandrovich, as the temporary Chief of Staff for the vanguard.”
“Understood. Aleksander is quite capable, and it’s beneficial for him to gain experience on the battlefield in advance,” Pavlov agreed. “Any other instructions, Major General Davarish?”
Wang Zhong, “That’s all. Oh right, Yegorov will definitely want to join the vanguard. Stop him. Tell him I said to move with the other divisions of the regiment. After all, both of the regiment’s key officers can’t leave. Then have the Military Bishop lead the team.”
“Leave it to me. I’m probably the only one who can persuade Yegorov with his temperament,” said Pavlov.
After all, he was originally Yegorov’s Chief of Staff and had been promoted along the way by following Wang Zhong.
Wang Zhong, “I’m counting on you.”
He hung up the phone, just about to speak to Vasily, when the phone rang again.
Vasily, “I’d bet it’s His Majesty.”
Wang Zhong gave him a glare and picked up the receiver, “This is Major General Rocossov.”
Olga’s voice came through the handset, “Alyosha, the front is in urgent need!”
One could always sense His Majesty the Tsar’s excitement.
Olga, “Alyosha, the moment for your troops to show their mettle has finally arrived!”
Wang Zhong sighed, “Your Majesty, our defensive line is breached. You shouldn’t be so thrilled.”
“I’m not like this in front of others; I’m not afraid to be so with you,” Olga said coquettishly.
Wang Zhong, “Every minute and every second of my phone line is precious right now; I don’t know how many people are waiting to call in. Please don’t tie up my line.”
After finishing his statement, he intended to hang up. However, Olga asked, “Are you leaving today?”
Wang Zhong, “Yes, I’m departing with the first echelon on the first train to get acquainted with the battlefield situation.”
Olga was silent for a few seconds on the other end before asking in a pitiful voice, “May I come to the station to see you off?”
Wang Zhong’s first instinct was to say no, but he softened, “Your Majesty, you are seeing off the soldiers heading for the battlefield. I am just one of those soldiers.”
“Okay! Got it!”
“You don’t get it. You need to focus on the soldiers, not treat me special! That’s what a proper Tsar does!”
“But I am still your sister, what’s wrong with a sister worrying about her brother?”
Wang Zhong was momentarily speechless, after all, he had acknowledged Olga as his sister. After a two-second pause, he said, “But you are still the Tsar, and you must prioritize correctly.”
Wang Zhong then hung up the phone, not giving Olga a chance to retort.
Vasily wore an expression as if watching a drama unfold, “You… hung up on His Majesty the Tsar’s call; if I had a big mouth, you’d be the shadow Tsar by tonight.”
Wang Zhong glared at Vasily, “Damn it, as if you’re not a big mouth! Half the rumors about me in Ye Fort come from you bragging in taverns while trying to pick up girls!”
Vasily: “I just haven’t managed to woo anyone yet!”
“You used my rumors and still didn’t manage to woo anyone, and you’re proud of that, huh? Wait, why haven’t you managed to? There should be lots of girls approaching you just for the title of ‘Rocossov’s aide-de-camp’, right?” Wang Zhong asked in surprise.
Vasily shrugged: “It’s precisely because everyone is after the title that I keep my distance. I hope she likes me for who I am.”
Wang Zhong hesitated, then finally patted Vasily on the shoulder.
At that moment, the phone rang again.
Wang Zhong picked it up and sure enough, he heard Ludmila’s voice: “I heard you’re about to deploy?”
“Yeah, wait for me to come back,” Wang Zhong said.
Ludmila sighed, “I had hoped the child could see his father at first glance. But… I guess that’s the destiny of a child born in war.”
“Don’t talk as if I’m going to get sacrificed,” Wang Zhong said with a teasing tone.
“Sorry. What I meant was…”
“I know, I’m just kidding. Based on previous experiences, we will engage in battle at the front for one to two months before retreating for rest.”
In fact, Wang Zhong was overstating things; even last year’s longest battle at Shostka was just over a month, and the rest were intense conflicts that lasted only a few days but resulted in the loss of half of the personnel and technical equipment.
Modern war is composed of periods of rest and short, intense conflicts—Wang Zhong had fully understood this.
Indeed, this aspect is also reflected in Hearts of Iron: Divisions that run out of organization strength stop to recover, but since half a month in Hearts of Iron passes so quickly, nobody notices that those divisions have rested for over fifteen days.
Of course, the game can’t be taken seriously.
“During the rest period, I will come back to see the child,” he said.
“Mm,” Ludmila said softly, “So what time do you leave today? You’ll be on the first train, right?”
Wang Zhong: “The exact departure time is uncertain. But I am indeed leaving today to get familiar with the terrain of the battlefield in advance.”
He repeated what he had just said to Olga, feeling a bit odd.
After that, Wang Zhong said, “Tell Nelly to pack up and come to the Army Group headquarters immediately, to leave with the first group.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. When Tugenev called, Nelly was having tea with me, then she heard my end of the conversation, guessed what was happening, put down the teapot without even asking my permission, and left immediately.
“She might have been looking forward to joining you on the front line for a long time.”
Wang Zhong: “I see. This time going to the front, I won’t have your embrace, so can I substitute with Nelly’s ‘armor plate’?”
“Don’t trouble Nelly,” Ludmila reminded him, “If she doesn’t like it, you are not to do it. And don’t mention ‘armor plate’ in front of Nelly.”
Wang Zhong: “Got it, got it. Then that’s it.”
Just as he was about to hang up, Ludmila suddenly asked, “Has Olga already called?”
“My lady has sharp insight!” Wang Zhong hurriedly said, “Indeed, my ‘sister’ has already called.”
“She’s going to see you off, right? It looks like I’ll have to go to the station too. Let me know as soon as you find out the departure time, okay, dear?”
“All right,” Wang Zhong answered honestly.
————
On the afternoon of July 10th, at four o’clock, the Ekaterinburg Fortress east station — this was the special military train station of Ye Fort, next to which lay the recruits’ training base. Countless new recruits embarked here in closed cattle cars, heading to the frontline.
The military band, stationed at the east station, played “Farewell to Ante Women” almost incessantly every day.
Today was no exception.
Wang Zhong stepped onto the platform and saw Pavlov, so he asked, “What have you loaded in the first car?”
Pavlov replied, “You, your staff officers, your horses, and all sorts of things to facilitate your reconnaissance missions, as well as a guard company led by Sergeant Major Grigori, and lastly, the clerical team responsible for arranging and coordinating the needs of the entire Army Group — led by my sixth-grade clerk.”
Wang Zhong looked towards Grigori, who was also on the platform, and noticed that the Prussian submachine gun he had captured had been replaced with a version with a thickened barrel, a threading cutter.
So Wang Zhong asked, “Sergeant Major, is that gun any good?”
Grigori replied, “It’s fantastic, the best weapon I’ve ever used. The only downside is that the barrel is quite complex, and it requires a special tool for cleaning.”
It seemed that the sergeant major was quite fond of this gun. Looking at the guardsmen around him, almost all of them were equipped with threading cutters, and Wang Zhong was already looking forward to the sight of the enemy being brutally beaten by these things in the encounter battles.
At that moment, Grigori commented, “However, this thing may not have great bullet power, after all, the velocity is slow. I personally think the caliber should be enlarged, to the size of Federation’s Thomson.”
The Thomson fired .45 caliber pistol cartridges, which in millimeters is 11.43 millimeters, 11.43X39 (the latter being the bullet length) subsonic rounds. That truly becomes a projectile the size of a weight!
The real threading cutter uses large caliber ammunition also due to concerns about lacking power and insufficient armor penetration; as for the results, whether the armor penetration improved remained unknown, but the bullet’s lethality to people was astounding.
Imagine being hit by a subsonic weight, it tumbles inside your body — the wound is bound to be severe.
Regarding Grigori’s usage suggestion, Wang Zhong said, “I will provide feedback to the designers. But producing the 9mm elongated cartridges involves a series of issues.”
Shortening the standard 7.62 rifle cartridge only requires a slight modification to the existing production line, but lengthening the originally very short pistol cartridge is more troublesome.
Grigori nodded.
Just then, his wife Aksinya appeared: “Grishka!”
Aksinya rushed into Grigori’s arms, burying her head in his chest.
The guardsmen began to tease them noisily.
Wang Zhong joined in the teasing, “Now I’m getting envious of you, Grishka!”
The guardsmen all looked towards Wang Zhong and let out uneven jeers.
After all, Ludmila was even more beautiful than Aksinya.
Then, all the guardsmen simultaneously shut their mouths and straightened their faces.
Wang Zhong realized something and turned to look in the direction they were staring at.
Ludmila said, “What are you envious of him for, Alyosha? Tell me?”
Wang Zhong said, “Now, I’m not envious anymore.”
He stepped forward and hugged his wife.
Just then, the military band suddenly stopped playing “Farewell to Ante Women” and started performing the Tsar’s Anthem.
Clearly, Olga was present too.
Wang Zhong, holding his wife’s hand, looked towards the entrance of the station and then saw Olga’s honor guard proceeding in.
Olga herself, dressed in a brand new summer formal wear, draped with a blue sash, wearing a crown on her head, and holding a scepter in her hand, stepped onto the platform.
Wang Zhong let go of Ludmila’s hand and saluted to the Tsar.
Olga looked at the military band, “Continue playing ‘Farewell to Ante Women’.”
The band immediately switched back to the piece, while Olga, head held high, chest puffed out, walked towards Wang Zhong and Ludmila.
“My general,” she said, “I wish you a glorious victory.”
Wang Zhong replied with a tone of officialdom, “Thank you. I will fulfill my duty and beat the Prussians hard.”
Olga laughed, “The way you say it, it’s almost as if beating Prussians is part of your job descriptions.”
Wang Zhong said, “It is.”
At this point, Wang Zhong didn’t notice that the guardsmen and Grigori had quietly boarded the train.
Pavlov came over, first saluting the Tsar, and, after receiving a nod from His Majesty, turned to report to Wang Zhong, “The first train has finished loading, Your Excellency, please board.”
“All right,” Wang Zhong said and hugged Ludmila again, gently kissing her lips.
But Ludmila took the initiative, wrapping her arms around Wang Zhong’s neck, mimicking a certain Su Xunzong.
After a long kiss, Ludmila gently pushed away Wang Zhong, stepping back to create a distance, “Be careful on the battlefield.”
Wang Zhong nodded, “Take care of your health too.”
He felt something was lacking, thought for a while, and added, “Drink plenty of warm water.”
Words failed him.
Olga coughed.
Wang Zhong turned to the Tsar, and with a bow in standard court etiquette, said, “Your Majesty, I am off to war.”
“Wishing you a glorious victory.”
Having said that, Olga extended her hand.
Wang Zhong didn’t know if kissing the hand was appropriate court etiquette at such a time, but since she offered it, he decided to kiss it regardless.
He bent down and lightly kissed the back of Olga’s hand.
Then he let go, turned around, climbed up into the commander’s carriage of the train, turned again to look at the girls on the platform.
At that moment, Nelly showed up with a large bag reminiscent of an in-game item vendor, dressed as a maid, wearing a boater hat, and hurried between them, dashing to the side of the train.
Wang Zhong grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the train.
Nelly stood next to Wang Zhong, gazing at Ludmila and Olga on the platform.
Wang Zhong thought to himself, damn, what kind of hellish composition is this? It looks as if a lolita’s mom and I abandoned leading ladies one and two with ample curves.
Just then, the train whistled, the carriage shuddered, and began to move slowly forward.
Amidst the whistle, the band continued to play the farewell piece for the women of Ante.