Cannon Fire Arc

Wang Zhong glanced at Ludmila, who smiled and said, "Go ahead, you staying here won't be of any help."

"Alright." Wang Zhong stepped forward, gently kissed her lips, then turned and nodded to the officer from the Summer Palace.

Then the group quickly left the filming set.

With the staff of the Saint Andrew angel in hand, Ludmila watched him leave.

————

The atmosphere in the Summer Palace seemed somewhat tense; when the guards saw Wang Zhong appear, they all had a look of "as expected."

Wang Zhong was led into the lounge, where he saw a general holding a Coca-Cola, standing by the window looking out at the snowscape.

The general had raised his right hand, ready to take a sip of his Coca-Cola, but upon hearing Wang Zhong's footsteps, he maintained his pose with the Coca-Cola bottle and looked over sideways.

Wang Zhong, seeing the general's insignia, saluted out of habit.

The general hurriedly finished his Coca-Cola in one gulp, put down the bottle, and returned the salute to Wang Zhong.

After they both lowered their hands, the general spoke, "General Rokossovsky? I have heard much about you."

Using his external device, Wang Zhong glimpsed the general's name and said, "General Gorky, I thought you were defending Saint Andrew Fort."

General Gorky: "The situation at Saint Andrew Fort has stabilized. The enemy won't be able to launch a large-scale offensive before next February. Our counterattack pushed the enemy away from the edge of the ice lake, preventing their artillery from threatening the highway on the ice lake.

"That's all we can manage at this stage."

Wang Zhong: "At least the city is temporarily safe."

"Yes, temporarily. The enemy can't strike us, and we can't drive them away either. The situation at Saint Andrew Fort won't fundamentally improve before we receive a sufficient number of reinforcements next year," General Gorky said, picking up another opened bottle of Coca-Cola and taking a sip.

Wang Zhong: "So, you've come to report?"

"No, the order I received the day before yesterday commanded me to come back. It took me over a day to leave the city and fly here." General Gorky finished his Coca-Cola, put the empty bottle down, "I suppose they want me to clean up the Western Front Army's mess. What brought you here?"

Wang Zhong: "I just received news of the Prosen advances this morning, and then I was summoned here."

General Gorky: "What's your take on the Prosen offensive?"

Wang Zhong: "I heard that the Prussians regained some positions they had lost. If the enemy meant to encircle and annihilate a large number of our troops with a pincer move, they wouldn't waste effort taking those fragmented positions at the front.

"I deduce it's not a large-scale offensive, just a move to capture better positions in preparation for a major offensive next year."

General Gorky nodded: "Yes, makes sense. If the enemy has truly taken back a significant number of positions, 'straightening' the front line, it indeed doesn't seem like a prelude to a large-scale offensive."

General Gorky paced twice in the lounge and suddenly asked, "General Rokossovsky, where do you think the enemy will strike next year? Ye Fort again?"

Wang Zhong: "They attacked Ye Fort to end the war quickly, but that plan has already failed. Even if they capture Ye Fort, we will continue to resist. Although Ye Fort, as the major junction of our country's railway lines, still has very high strategic value, but..."

Ante's railways actually seldom intersect; there are only three major junctions. Argesukov has already been occupied by the Prussians, Saint Andrew Fort is currently besieged, leaving only Ye Fort.

If Ye Fort is lost, many of Ante's railways will be cut off, so the enemy capturing Ye Fort next year isn't without strategic significance.

But it might not be worth investing such a vast number of troops for this goal.

Wang Zhong: "I think next year Prosen might shift its strategic focus to the southern line, take the Coastal Fortress, and then expand into the vast steppes, seizing iron, coal, rare metals, and most importantly, Kuba's oil."

General Gorky nodded: "Cavalry across the steppes, indeed a fitting battlefield for their mechanized legions. The surroundings of Ye Fort are less suited, too many forests."

Vasily finally couldn't help but interject, "Are you two just going to theorize without a map?"

Wang Zhong and General Gorky both stared at him.

Wang Zhong: "Vasily, go stay in the adjutants' lounge."

"My adjutant is there too, you can chat with him," General Gorky echoed.

Vasily left resentfully.

General Gorky: "Although we both assume this, who's to say that the Plathen Emperor won't continue the offensive against Ye Fort."

Wang Zhong: "Let him come, this will become the graveyard for the Prussian Army. Once they deplete their fuel reserves, it will be our turn to counterattack.

"No, I think the Plathen Emperor won't be so foolish. What he needs to ensure now is that the war continues. He must have Kuba's oil. Moreover, once they seize the oil fields, we will be the ones suffering, and while there is support from the Federation, they also have to supply their vast army."

Just as Wang Zhong finished speaking, General Gorky said, "I heard the Federation is about to lose their major oil fields in Asia?"

Wang Zhong nodded: "Yes, the Borneo oil fields are almost gone."

General Gorky whistled: "Sounds like Kuba will be the focal point neither side can afford to lose next year."

Wang Zhong nodded.

At that moment, the door opened, and a court protocol officer came in, loudly announcing, "General Gorky Konstantinovich, Lieutenant General Aleksei Konstantinovich, please follow me!"

General Gorky: "Understood. Let's go, General Rokossov, it's our time to take the stage."

————

The court protocol officer led Wang Zhong and General Gorky directly into the royal conference hall.

As soon as Wang Zhong entered, he looked at the map to confirm that the enemy was indeed recapturing positions one by one that had been occupied by the Western Front Army, and then he let out a sigh of relief.

It indeed wasn't a large-scale offensive.

General Gorky Konstantinovich, walking in front, saluted Olga first.

Wang Zhong hurried to follow suit.

Olga, "There's no need for such formalities from both of you. I called you here to seek your assessments of the situation. The enemy has counterattacked just now, before we could launch an attack."

General Golikov glanced at Wang Zhong and gestured with a "you speak" motion.

Without demurring, Wang Zhong picked up the nearly two-meter-long pole and began illustrating on the map, "The enemy's counterattack has only reclaimed the positions they lost earlier, 'flattening out' the entire frontline. This allows them to save troops for defending the line.

"I speculate that the enemy's next move will be to have the troops that switched out begin to regroup and rest."

Olga's eyes widened, "So, this is not another large-scale offensive?"

Wang Zhong, "If it were a large-scale offensive, why bother capturing these insignificant positions? They would have launched a pincer move, breaking through our defenses and cutting off our logistics, and we would have abandoned these 'canines' at the front on our own.

"But the enemy didn't launch a pincer move; instead, they spread the counterattacking troops evenly along the line and initiated attacks at several places.

"No, no, Your Majesty, this is not a large-scale attack."

Wang Zhong put down the two-meter pole and handed speaking rights over to General Golikov.

The General continued, "Although it's not a large-scale attack, if some of us panic and the troops start wavering, the enemy might well turn it into an offensive. The urgent task is to stabilize the troops, telling them this is not a large-scale enemy attack.

"Then, let most of the troops build defensive fortifications and rest in place to prepare for next year's battles."

Olga nodded, "Good, I understand. General Tugenev!"

General Tugenev stood up, picking up the command in front of him, "The appointment of General Gorky Konstantinovich to replace the Commander of the Western Front Army is now in effect. He is to assume his post immediately and take swift action to stabilize both troop morale and the frontline."

Gorky saluted, "I guarantee to complete the task."

At this point, Wang Zhong was very curious. It made no sense to call both him and General Rokossovsky and only give a new post to General Golikov.

Could it be that they want to shove me into the Western Front Army as the Chief of Staff? A Lieutenant General is indeed fit to be the Chief of Staff.

That's something I don't want! I don't want to turn into a baldy like Pavlov!

Fortunately, General Tugenev continued, "Appointing Lieutenant General Aleksei Konstantinovich as the Tsar's special envoy to inspect the Western Front Army and to discipline any incompetent officers."

Wang Zhong frowned, knowing that they intended to use the reputation of the "White Horse General" to stabilize morale, but—

Wang Zhong, "Are you sure you want to give me this appointment? When I get to the Western Front Army headquarters, many people are going to be scared to death."

Olga said with a smile, "That's exactly the aim of this appointment. If they're scared to death directly, the officers of the Aristocratic faction won't be able to complain. However, remember, for people like Tukhachev, let them come back first, and convict them with a procedure that meets with justice, not like last time when you just shot them."

Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows, "Understood."

Olga urged, "Then you two should set off immediately. The situation at the Western Front Army isn't looking good; even the Front Army headquarters is reporting significant wavering."

Wang Zhong nodded his head.

General Golikov, however, asked, "Are the two of us traveling on the same plane? It would be most effective for boosting morale if we appear together."

Olga looked toward General Tugenev.

The General answered, "Indeed, you have been arranged to travel on the same plane, with escort from the Mig-3 of the 11th Fighter Squadron."

Marshal Boris, the Chief of Staff of the High Command, added, "You should leave now, the plane is already waiting at Ye Fort Airport. It will land directly next to the Front Army headquarters' makeshift airstrip, and from there you can immediately reach the Front Army headquarters."

Wang Zhong and General Golikov responded in unison, "Understood."

Then the two of them left the imperial meeting together.

On their way out, General Golikov directly told the palace guards, "Call for me and Lieutenant General Rokossov's aides; we are departing."

The guard complied and left, while Wang Zhong and General Golikov stood chatting by the window in the corridor about the new appointments.

"We must first make the troops understand that it's not a large-scale attack and not to panic," General Golikov said.

Wang Zhong, "First inform the entire Western Front Army that General Golikov and General Rokossovsky have arrived."

General Golikov shook his head, "I don't have as much influence as you do, just announce your arrival at the front. Speaking of which, I've reviewed your proposal to establish model divisions. I think such elite divisions would not be of much use in the kind of large-scale war we are currently engaged in.

"Do you know how many casualties, disregarding the non-offensive Western Front Army, have been officially recorded along the entire frontline in the past few days?"

Wang Zhong had long stopped having Vasily report casualty figures because he still couldn't get used to those cold numbers.

So he replied honestly, "I don't know."

General Golikov, "Six thousand five hundred men, those are the recorded casualties. That's half a division gone. Not to mention the attacking Western Front Army."

Wang Zhong, "That's why I'll be concentrating these elite divisions for use, deciding where they should be deployed personally."

General Golikov pursed his lips, "Well then, I look forward to your performance."

At this moment, the two aides arrived, and General Golikov waved his hand, "Let's go, let's see what's going on at the Western Front Army. Can't they really tell that the enemy isn't launching a large-scale attack? Unbelievable!"

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