Chapter 102
Wang Zhong was thinking about what to do next when Lyudmila tugged on his sleeve.
He turned to look at the girl, but she pointed with her lips in a certain direction.
Wang Zhong looked where she was indicating in confusion, and then he saw a short, chubby version of himself.
Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov was overall decently good-looking, mainly because he worked out enough.
But the man in front of him, while about the same height, had significantly more bulk and had completely failed at weight control, giving him a short and fat appearance.
A polite way of putting it would be: solid and honest-looking.
But even with such a difference in body shape, Wang Zhong still felt, "My god, he looks just like me."
So even without seeing the name, Wang Zhong knew this had to be a relative.
He glanced at the name: Brigadier General Petro Konstantinovich Rokosov, Count Rokosov.
Based on the patronymic Konstantinovich, Wang Zhong inferred that this man shared the same father as him. In the Ante Empire, nobles had a tradition where the first heir, even without inheriting lands yet, would receive an honorary title.
In other words, this man was likely his older brother, the first heir, which is why he was also called a Duke**even if he hadn't inherited anything.
Petro looked at Wang Zhong, quickened his pace, and spread his arms: "My dear younger brother! Alyosha!"
Wang Zhong was pulled into a crushing hug, nearly cracking his ribcage.
Are you trying to murder your younger brother, Fatty?!
After letting go of Wang Zhong, Petro was still very excited, his mouth trembling as he spoke**not that Wang Zhong looked closely; it was just that the guy was so fat that even a small tremor was exaggerated by his fat and became obvious.
Petro: "When the hymn choir received news of how dangerous it was in Upper Peniye, I immediately tried everything to subtly suggest they send you reinforcements. I don't know what they ended up sending. It wasn't until I got word that you'd arrived in Bogdanovka that I finally felt relieved......"
......Hmm? That KV1 Vehicle 67 was sent by you?
But judging by Petro's wording, why couldn't he directly order the troops below? And as a brigadier general in Agsukov, how did he give orders to the troops in Bogdanovka? He shouldn't have jurisdiction over that area, right?
The moment Wang Zhong had that doubt, it was immediately resolved: because Petro was so fat, Wang Zhong had only noticed his front and overlooked the staff officer insignia on his shoulder.
This guy, despite holding the rank of brigadier general, was probably a senior staff officer in the Front's staff department.
If that's the case, then it makes sense he could think of ways at headquarters to send some hints and get reinforcements dispatched.
No wonder only a single KV1 came to help**turns out the ones guarding Bogdanovka just found whatever backup they could to appease the higher-ups.
Everything started to make sense.
Petro grabbed Wang Zhong's hand: "It's good you're back! Father and I only ever hoped you'd be safe. You didn't need to brag that much!"
......Hmm?
Petro: "I've already greased the wheels with the Personnel Department, and you'll be transferred to the logistics department soon!"
Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, staring in disbelief at the chubby man who looked like him. So this was how Western nobles 'protected the people'? Not only did they pull their own bloodline off the frontlines during a national crisis, but they did it so blatantly in public?
What would all those commoner sons who were willing to die for the country think of this?
That strong sense of disconnection came flooding back again.
Wang Zhong recalled the Protectorate Army's heroic sacrifices during the defense of Loktov, and the men, women, and children who took action.
Could it be that what drove everyone to act back then had nothing to do with the nobles, but was a belief in national salvation?
Wang Zhong's favorability toward the citizens of Ante +1000 points.
He flung Petro's hand away: "I will not leave my unit! I will fight until Prossen is completely destroyed, until Prossenia is reduced to ruins, until I wash my treads in the Prossen emperor's blood and eat pickles at his dining table."
The surrounding dandies clearly misunderstood Wang Zhong's words, thinking he was just bragging as usual, and started whistling.
But Petro had a completely incredulous look on his face, staring hard at Wang Zhong: "You... what's wrong with you? No no, for the sake of the frontline units, you should go to logistics! Preferably a department that manages unimportant supplies, like the warehouse for storing and distributing pickles... Oh, is that where you want to go? That can be arranged!"
Wang Zhong: "No. I'll say it again*I will not leave the frontlines! I won't abandon the soldiers who have shed blood with me! I'll fight alongside them until the day we defeat Prossen once and for all!"
Petro laughed: "Don't be like that. Just look at your soldiers*they've probably had enough of you! Uh......"
Petro looked toward the Rokosov Battle Group soldiers lined up on the platform, his expression as if he'd seen a ghost.
At that moment Lyudmila said, "Petro Konstantinovich, he's not the same man he was yesterday."
Petro re-examined his younger brother, and seemed to finally sense that something was very different in his blood relative's aura, until he saw Bucephalus nibbling at Wang Zhong's hair.
Bucephalus: "Whinny (vibrato)~~~~"
Wang Zhong silently pushed the horse's head away.
Petro: ......
Then Petro decided to ignore this overly bizarre scene. He cleared his throat: "So... you're not actually going to tell me that you truly led troops in battle and earned their recognition, are you?"
Wang Zhong: "What do you think, my dear Older Brother!"
Petro: "Then... are you saying you really destroyed six hundred Prossen tanks?"
Wang Zhong was instantly choked and almost lost composure. He cleared his throat: "Well, not that many. But I did destroy a hundred. And twenty of those were taken out under my direct command."
"I also personally commanded my Vehicle 422 to kill the commander of the enemy's 15th Armored Division, Major General Randolph**he's probably been posthumously promoted two ranks to full general now."
The dandies behind Petro exchanged stunned glances; clearly none of them could accept that "that" Alyosha had become a true iron-blooded soldier.
Petro was clearly bewildered. He covered his mouth: "This... Father and I thought those war reports were just sycophants spouting nonsense, or that some capable officer under you had done the fighting, and you took the credit. We thought the best solution was to reassign you to manage a pickle warehouse."
Well damn, so it turns out that Father and Big Brother weren't trying to let the original host slack off, but to minimize the damage he could do.
Looks like Lyudmila was right**everyone in the Rokosov family except Alyosha is actually pretty decent.
Petro: "I'll have to talk to Father, but I don't think he'll believe you've become a competent soldier. In the end, you'll probably still end up managing the warehouse......"
At that moment, Vasily could no longer stay silent: "Brigadier General, uh, Brigadier General Rokosov...... uh......"
Only after he spoke did he realize*both brigadier generals were "Rokosov."
After a brief hesitation, he said, "Fat Brigadier General! Just let us station at the estate! If the Duke hears our stories, he'll definitely see how much we trust the Brigadier**I mean, the skinny Brigadier!"
Petro pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat furiously before saying, "I'll go talk to Father right away. My god, he's never going to believe this. I'm going to get scolded!"
"But Father originally intended for your unit to be stationed at the estate anyway. He believes that any unit that can perform so well under a commander like you deserves to be treated well."
With that, Petro Konstantinovich Rokosov hurried off.
At that moment, Crown Prince Ivannya, who had been eavesdropping on the brothers' family chat, finally spoke: "Now I understand why I faced so much resistance when I tried to promote you. So it was the Duke interfering. But... did you really kill a Prossen major general?"
Wang Zhong: "Yes, I saw him killed by a high-explosive round with my own eyes."
"Oh... that's kinda impressive. You... you actually became a war hero? How is that possible? You even scored lower than me!"
Wang Zhong looked at the Crown Prince in confusion: "You don't believe I became a war hero? Then why did you arrange for me to get heavy artillery and T34s?"
Ivannya: "Ah, that was Olga's idea. She said giving you some parade specialists would make things more interesting. Also, she borrowed my name, took my seal, and went off to arrange it all."
Wang Zhong frowned, immediately realizing**Ivannya had used female pronouns for Olga.
In the Ante language, Olga is a gender-neutral name**usable by both men and women.
So here comes the question: who is this "Olga"?
Surely not the Tekkadan leader named Orga from Iron-Blooded Orphans... that guy's male.
Lyudmila leaned in and whispered in Wang Zhong's ear: "Olga Nikolayevna Antonovna, the Crown Prince's younger sister, second in line to the throne. Because the current emperor, Nikolai V, has no second son."
Crown Prince: "You all forgot about Olga? She's always berating you! Calling you a pile of dung! So when the battlefield reports came in, I jokingly showed them to her, and she seriously read every one!"
"Then she suggested sending you some flashy-looking gear to make you look foolish!"
Well damn, no wonder the Crown Prince didn't seem like the type who'd send me so many reinforcements**turns out it was Her Highness the Princess who did it. And this fool had no idea.
The Crown Prince kept talking: "So how did the parade gear work out? When they showed up on the battlefield, did they scare the Prossenians stiff? I was even thinking of sending over the cool-looking T35s. You always said how tall and mighty they looked!"
"But Olga scolded me and sent you T34s instead."
"That thing's no good. Looks weak. The T35 is way more impressive!"
Wang Zhong gave a noncommittal "Oh," then seriously asked, "Is Her Highness Olga Nikolayevna Antonovna also in Agsukov right now?"
"Of course not. Her Majesty the Empress forbade her from approaching the frontlines. Now she's in Saint Yekaterinburg making speeches to the soldiers, handing out hot water herself and all that. My sister, you know, really loves to put on airs!"
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue.
So it was Her Highness the Princess who used her brother's seal to issue fake orders and send over the equipment... now that the Crown Prince is in Agsukov, it means we can't count on gear coming from the capital anymore.
Looks like I'll really need to have a good talk tonight with Count Rokosov. If he could reassign his dandy son to manage the pickle warehouse, he can surely mobilize troops for a son who's become an iron-blooded soldier.
He was already eager to meet this "father."
Wang Zhong turned to Yegorov and said, "Get ready to move. Let's get to the estate as soon as possible."
Yegorov: "Uh, we actually don't know where your estate is."
Wang Zhong thought, What a coincidence. Neither do I.
He silently pushed away Bucephalus, who was nibbling on his hair again, and looked at Lyudmila.
Lyudmila: "I'll guide the way. You're all officers*you should be able to figure it out once I point to it on the map."
****
At that moment, on the third floor of the train station, in the massive clock tower's mechanical room, Grand Patriarch Belinsky of the secular faction overlooked the platform, his gaze fixed on Rokosov.
Popov stood beside him with utmost respect, saying nothing.
Finally, Belinsky spoke: "He is indeed a warrior wholeheartedly devoted to national salvation. But is he really, as you say, willing to stand with the common people? There are noble officers who also share hardship with their soldiers*they see it as the basic standard for a good officer."
"What makes you think this Rokosov is different from them?"
Popov: "Through observation, I believe he's not like those nobles. That's precisely why even civilians are willing to follow him, fight under his command against the invaders, and even die for him."
Belinsky: "Hmm, more observation is needed. And he needs to show more accomplishments. Merely killing one major general and destroying over a hundred Prossen tanks is not enough to prove anything."
"This war is a clash between two steel giants. We are far weaker, so we need commanders with even greater capability."
"At the very least, we must hold off Prossen's offensive this year and shift the situation from collapse to strategic stalemate. Only then will the United Nations and the United Kingdom provide us with aid."
Popov: "Your Grace, these things don't mean much to a bishop of brigade rank like me."
"I know, I know. I just wanted to say it aloud, to help you understand how important this mission is."
At that moment, the Rokosov Battle Group began to move within the train station.
Belinsky: "Go now. The Church will spare no effort in replenishing the battle group**that is, if you don't mind the reinforcements being passionate young people with nothing but courage and hot blood."
Popov: "Then it'd be better to fully restock Brother Yatsemenko's Divine Arrow company with Prayer Hands and launchers."
Belinsky: "Hmm, that request can be granted. Go back and wait for news."
As he spoke, the Grand Patriarch waved his hand.
After saluting, Popov turned and left.
At that moment, the bishops who had been listening in from the shadows of the gears all stepped out, and one of them said: "One of our secular faction's core beliefs is that there has never been a messiah*or rather, we ourselves, each one of us, are the messiah."
The Grand Patriarch smiled: "Exactly, and that's why we must discover the capable ones among the people. There's no contradiction in that, Bishop Chernyshevsky. Whether he is a noble or a steelworker doesn't matter. What matters is military talent. To stop the invasion of the Prossenian demons, this is necessary!"
The Grand Patriarch once again looked toward the platform, gazing at the youthful faces made resolute by the forging of blood and fire, and softly repeated: "This is necessary."
(End of Chapter)