Arc of Fire

After all, before he had travelled through time, his experience with religious figures was virtually non-existent. The most he had ever interacted with religious figures was when his father had dragged him to a temple to pray to the god of literature before college entrance exams.

While Wang Zhong felt awkward, the Grand Patriarch spoke, “You fought beautifully in Loktov, a true and unequivocal victory! Congratulations to you, Aleksei Konstantinovich.”

The venue fell silent.

After a brief silence, General Skorobo, the commander of the Argesukov Front Army, spoke up, “Your Holiness, the Grand Patriarch, the rumor of the major general being killed is merely heresy spread by the pagans. In fact, according to intelligence gathered by the Front Army, the 15th enemy Armored Division did not cease its operations afterward.”

The Grand Patriarch Belinsky said, “If the death of a division commander could paralyze an entire force, then the Prussians wouldn’t have us in such a difficult position.”

The word “difficult” immediately caused an uproar.

“To say we are in a diffcult position!”

“Isn’t the front line at a great advantage?”

“But many noble families are already in mourning…”

“But look, Aleksei has returned! If he could escape, then the enemy must not be all that formidable!”

Wang Zhong frowned.

At this point, General Skorobo stepped forward and said loudly, “Gentlemen! The front line has indeed suffered a minor setback; we’ve lost the Grand Duchy of Vostrom and two hundred thousand troops. But our great mother Ante still has such vast lands and so many troops available!”

“Now in Argesukov, we have assembled 69 Infantry Divisions, 11 Cavalry Divisions, 21 Armored Divisions!”

“Such is the largest force in Ante’s history! Moreover, there are the forces gathered by Duke Meishikin in Shepetovka. Our two heavy armies complement each other, able to both attack and defend!”

“If the enemy strikes at any one of our forces, the other will deliver a strong and powerful flanking maneuver to the enemy’s flanks!”

“Our current situation can be said to have improved from our initial passivity! We can consider defeating the enemy now!”

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Suddenly, Wang Zhong had a premonition. At a time like this, surely this general didn’t believe “Advantage lies with us”?

No way, right?

Look at the enemy’s technological weaponry, their training level, then look at yourself, with nothing but morale—wrong, in such a state, how many troops really maintain their morale?

At this time, General Skorobo directly stood on a chair and shouted, “We also have sturdy defensive fortifications! We have the advantage of fighting from the inside lines! Your Holiness, spreading news that is detrimental to morale at a time like this… Isn’t that unwise?”

The Patriarch replied, “Is that so? Then let us hear what the recently victorious hero, Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, has to say.”

He turned towards Wang Zhong, “Come, share your thoughts, Brigadier.”

Wang Zhong heard undisguised laughter among the nobles.

Someone was murmuring, “Using the opinion of a brigadier to oppose a general.”

“I heard that Duke Rocossov’s second son scored zero on his graduation exams!”

Damn it, thought Wang Zhong, how can someone graduate with zero points? I might have been the last in class, but at least I passed the threshold for graduation!

But right now, Wang Zhong indeed felt as good as zero points, being just a modern person who had only played war games.

He stepped forward, cleared his throat, “The Prussian Army is an elite, modernized force…”

General Skorobo interrupted, “We are modernized too! Didn’t you just go on a killing spree thanks to the superiority of our armored forces? We have four regiments of T34 tanks; they’ll give the Prussians a tough time!”

Wang Zhong replied, “The T34 is indeed an excellent tank, but its poor design has introduced huge flaws. Its tank commander and gunner are the same person, which means during combat the commander has to keep his eyes on the gun sights all the time, with no spare moments to observe the surroundings.

“In contrast, all Prussian tanks have a dedicated commander and are generally equipped with a commander’s cupola. In tank engagements, they are more likely to spot T34s and take the initiative.

“Furthermore, the enemy’s tanks all have radios, their battalion headquarters can issue commands directly to each tank. During combat, through radio communication, each tank can cover each other’s observation blind spots, providing mutual support!”

General Skorobo sneered, “Even so, as long as the enemy can’t break through our armor, we are still the ones who will win!”

“The strength of tanks is relative, Your Excellency General!” Wang Zhong stepped forward, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and threw it directly into the bonfire propping up a clay pot. The next moment, the bottle shattered, and the alcohol turned into a blaze.

Several maids hurriedly pushed over a water cart and began to put out the fire—it seemed that in order to prevent a fire, the water cart had been prepared in advance.

The firefighting water sprayed in large quantities onto the stewing clay pot, seeping into the interior through the pot’s vents.

The Grand Patriarch showed an expression of intense pain and frustration.

Wang Zhong pointed at the flames that were still stubbornly burning: “Just like this Molotov cocktail, thrown onto the engine cover, could put a tank out of action! Just a single Molotov cocktail!”

“Moreover, the enemy will hit our tanks at their weak spots! They will use shells to jam the turret, they will break the tracks!”

“Our blind tanks, once their tracks are broken, are utterly unable to respond to approaching infantry! They will be butchered by the enemy like slicing sausage!”

General Skorobo retorted sarcastically, “Then we can do the same to the enemy.”

“What if the enemy doesn’t engage you in a straightforward battle? What if the central Army Group from the north heads south? They could encircle us and cut off the supply from the rear.

“Your million-strong army is a voracious monster of resources! When that time comes, you’ll surrender without a fight!”

General Skorobo: “We would never do that!”

Wang Zhong wanted to say more, but General Skorobo added, “If the enemy’s central Army Group heads south, that would be perfect. We’ll just carry out internal maneuver warfare on the vast plains near Argesukov, eliminating the enemy’s central and southern Army Groups on the field, then counterattack and reclaim our homeland!”

The nobles present started clapping furiously, with cheers that seemed to discourage Wang Zhong from continuing.

Wang Zhong still wanted to argue his case, but the Grand Patriarch put his hand on his shoulder: “Let it be, do what we can and leave the rest to fate. Besides, what he says does sound reasonable.”

“Theoretical reasoning, it’s all armchair strategy! It will lead to failure, Your Eminence, the troops here will be almost entirely lost, the people here…”

“Calm down, we’re already arranging to evacuate the factories, starting with the heavy industry. Once that’s mostly done, we’ll also relocate the food processing and similar civilian factories to the rear,” the Grand Patriarch said, patting Wang Zhong’s shoulder, “Right now you just need to rest up and wait for the troops to be replenished.”

Wang Zhong looked at the Grand Patriarch, then suddenly remembered something and asked, “Can my God’s Arrow Company be fully replenished?”

“They will arrive tomorrow,” the Patriarch answered.

Wang Zhong: “Can my Choir be fully replenished?”

“They will arrive tomorrow.”

“Can I be given more of the following wind ears?”

“They will arrive tomorrow,” the Grand Patriarch said, giving Wang Zhong’s shoulder a firm pat.

They will arrive tomorrow?

Wang Zhong looked towards the officers who were toasting and flattering each other, and met the gaze of the host of the manor, his own father, the retired General Duke Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky, who gave him an encouraging smile as if to say “You’ve done well.”

Wang Zhong felt a bit of relief.

It was truly exhausting.

At that moment, General Skorobo proposed, “I think, let’s toast to the upcoming victory!”

The attendees all raised their glasses.

Wang Zhong didn’t want to raise his, but seeing that Duke Rokossovsky had also raised his, he could only join the toast.

After everyone drank up, General Skorobo said, “Oh, yes, there’s another piece of good news. We will soon receive support from four more Army Groups! With this, in facing the enemy before us, we will have a numerical… advantage!”

Wang Zhong thought to himself how that could be, it must be that the Front Army had over-optimistically estimated the damage caused to the Prussians, or they had too little intelligence on the enemy.

At that time, General Skorobo proudly announced, “The advantage is ours!”

Wang Zhong raised his glass and said with “sincerity”, “Chairman’s brilliant foresight!”