Chapter 111
When Wang Zhong arrived at headquarters, he specifically reminded himself to avoid General Skorobo, so before entering the map room, he first greeted the guards and peeked through the cracked door.
Then he saw the Army Group Chief of Staff and the regimental bishop together with General Skorobo.
At the door, he could hear them discussing the situation.
General Skorobo: "That idiot son of the Rokosov family has absolutely no military sense! If the enemy heavy troop cluster to our north moves south, wouldn't our front-line forces attack their front? This is complete nonsense!"
So, they're still talking about what I said yesterday, Wang Zhong thought*it's best not to go in and provoke General Skorobo further.
Just as he was about to leave, the door that had only been slightly ajar was opened from the inside, and a staff officer shouted loudly: "Who's eavesdropping?"
Damn, even that tiny crack was noticed.
The staff officer saw it was Wang Zhong and froze for a moment, then turned to the guard by the door and said, "Why didn't you let the Major General in?"
Guard: "Reporting, Major General told me not to say anything!"
Wang Zhong was extremely embarrassed: "Uh, I didn't want to disrupt the normal operations of headquarters."
At that moment, General Skorobo shouted: "Isn't this the military genius, Major General Rokosov? What brilliant insight do you bring us today?"
Wang Zhong: "No brilliant insight, I just came to..."
He looked toward the Chief of Staff. According to Lieutenant General Chekhov, the Chief of Staff was a good man*unlike General Skorobo.
But saying directly that he was looking for the Chief of Staff*wasn't that too obvious?
Wang Zhong was still hesitating when the Chief of Staff spoke: "Are you here to request troop deployment?"
"Uh, yes!" Since the man had said it directly, Wang Zhong admitted it without hesitation.
Chief of Staff: "We do have some scattered units just transferred from the rear. We haven't decided which division to reinforce. Since your 151st Temporary Division was just formed, assigning these troops to you would be reasonable."
"Unreasonable!" General Skorobo interrupted the Chief of Staff, "Those valuable troops should be given to real soldiers! I heard that on the battlefield, Rokosov, you wet your pants!"
Damn it, how does everyone know?
Sergei, I swear I'll kill you!
General Skorobo continued mocking: "Do you really believe someone who pissed himself on the battlefield could achieve those results? No, I absolutely don't believe it!"
Chief of Staff: "But even the Prossenians speak highly of Rokosov..."
"They speak highly of the White Horse General! This guy just happened to have a white horse and stole the credit! The real White Horse General must have died long ago!"
Chief of Staff: "The enemy 15th Armored Division's commander, Randolph, died in Loktov, and the one defending that area at the time was Brigadier General Rokosov. It also aligns with what happened in Upper Peniye."
General Skorobo pressed his lips together. When he did, his mustache made him really look like "you know who" from Earth.
The General held it in for a few seconds and then replied: "Even if it's true, that only proves he's a good tactician! Strategy is more theoretical*someone who graduated at the bottom of a military academy wouldn't understand it!"
Wang Zhong: "Since you admit I'm a tactician, shouldn't you fully reinforce my division? Isn't it perfect for a tactician to command a division?"
Chief of Staff: "What kind of units do you need?"
Wang Zhong raised his voice before Skorobo could speak: "I want a motor vehicle regiment, a communications battalion, an anti-tank gun regiment, and laborers!"
"As for laborers," the regimental bishop spoke up, "go to the church. The church is organizing laborer camps, as well as laundry teams and field cooking teams. All logistics-related personnel can be found through the church. After all, the secular faction is closely tied to the people and has stronger mobilization power."
So that's how it is*laborer camps and logistics can be requested from the church. Back in Loktov, it was Pavlov who handled logistics, so Wang Zhong really didn't know.
Wang Zhong: "Then what about the anti-tank guns..."
"No way!" General Skorobo shouted, "Even if it's just 45mm anti-tank guns, don't even think about getting them!"
Chief of Staff: "Anyway, we're about to launch a counterattack. Giving him a battalion of anti-tank guns, which are defensive weapons, isn't a big deal, right?"
General Skorobo looked at the Chief of Staff: "Are you siding with him? Do you really believe those exaggerated battle achievements of his? If he had destroyed six hundred tanks, the enemy's spearhead facing us would've dulled beyond recovery by now!"
Wang Zhong cried out in his heart*I swear I never said I destroyed six hundred enemy tanks.
Skorobo turned to Wang Zhong: "Anyway, if you want laborers or whatever, go to the church! If you want a motor vehicle regiment, go to the church! I'm not giving you a single soldier or technical weapon! I won't let these precious weapons fall into the hands of some amateur!"
Well great, now I'm an amateur again.
At this point, Wang Zhong was furious and wanted to punch General Skorobo in the face.
The old him might have done just that.
But now he couldn't afford to do anything that might cost him his command. The Ant Army's high command was full of these parasites*losing command meant pushing his troops into a pit of fire.
Wang Zhong suppressed his anger, saluted General Skorobo, and said: "Thank you for your assessment. Then I'll take my leave."
As he turned to leave, he heard Skorobo shouting: "Guards! From now on, Major General Rokosov must make an appointment before coming in!"
The Army Group Chief of Staff reminded him: "We also have his brother, Brigadier General Rokosov, in the staff. Isn't it inappropriate to keep him out too?"
Skorobo cursed something, but Wang Zhong couldn't make it out.
****
Once they were outside and in the jeep, Lyudmila asked, "What now?"
Wang Zhong: "First, go to the church and request the laborer camp, laundry team, and field cooking team, plus the regimental tailors and blacksmiths."
If the troops had lots of mules and horses, they'd need blacksmiths to maintain the horseshoes*and if a horseshoe fell off, it had to be reforged by a blacksmith.
From the driver's seat, Grigori turned around to confirm: "To the local church?"
Wang Zhong nodded.
Lyudmila laughed: "We might end up making a full tour of Agsukov's administrative offices this afternoon."
****
Over at the church, perhaps the Grand Patriarch had made arrangements in advance, because everything went incredibly smoothly*a few thousand logistical personnel set off in grand procession toward the Rokosov estate.
However, they still didn't get the motor vehicle regiment*just a large group of volunteer drivers.
Pleased with what he got from the church, Wang Zhong asked Grigori: "Do you know the way to 43 Krugen Street?"
"I asked around beforehand," Grigori replied. "But I haven't actually been there. Maybe we can ask someone when we arrive."
Wang Zhong: "Then let's go."
****
43 Krugen Street was a multi-story apartment building, made of brick and stone, and clearly quite old.
On the iron sign at the apartment entrance, the words "Malazov Apartments" were embossed, but the word "Malazov" had been painted over.
Wang Zhong personally pushed open the apartment door and saw, in a room to the left of the hallway that looked like a reception office, an old lady sitting and knitting a sweater.
He was about to speak when Lyudmila stepped forward and gently rang the bell on the windowsill.
At the crisp sound, the old lady looked up and her gaze lingered on the stars on Wang Zhong's shoulders for a few seconds: "Hello, General. Whose child has died this time?"
Wang Zhong was struck speechless by that question.
It seemed that lately, death notices had been arriving at this apartment frequently.
Seeing Wang Zhong remain silent, the old lady added, "If a general came to deliver it, the deceased must have been a hero, right?"
Wang Zhong suddenly understood and nodded: "Yes, a very brave hero."
"That's wonderful. Every death should urge the living to live better lives."
Wang Zhong felt this old lady had something to her*she could casually spout philosophical things like that.
He decided to get straight to the point and pulled out the bloodstained letter he'd kept in his pocket, reading the address aloud: "Agsukov, Krugen Street, Alekseyevna. Do you know a woman by that name?"
"I'm sorry. Death came so suddenly, I didn't have time to learn who Alekseyevna was or how old she was."
The old lady in the reception room sighed, put down her needlework, found her reading glasses and put them on, then replied: "She's 73. Her eldest, middle, and youngest sons all went to war. So which one died?"
Wang Zhong reported the gunner's name.
Old lady: "So the youngest died, huh? Give me the letter."
Wang Zhong: "You're Alekseyevna, aren't you?"
"Who else could I be?" The old lady's voice carried no sorrow. She calmly accepted the bloodstained letter.
Lyudmila couldn't help but ask: "You... aren't you sad?"
Old lady: "I'm used to it. During the Civil War, my husband, my older and younger brothers*all died. I've become quite good at receiving death notices. Just yesterday, Sharapova from 306 cried so hard. I just wanted to tell her, when war comes, the sooner you get used to this, the better."
As she spoke, the old lady opened the letter and glanced through it, then said, "Still messed up the tense shifts. Hopeless."
She put the letter away, looked up at Wang Zhong, and said, "My youngest son was terrible at expressing himself. The bloodstains on the letter said more than the letter itself did.
"Kind General, do you know how he died?"
Wang Zhong immediately recalled the moment the gunner was killed.
"So you do know, huh? That's a surprise," the old lady said. "Tell me about it, kind General!"
Wang Zhong couldn't refuse her request, so he began recalling the battle that day*how, when they were hit by an enemy armor-piercing shell, the gunner was still shouting: 'Loader is down! Someone replace the loader, quick!'"
He concluded with how he urged them to fire quickly, only to look down and find that, except for Su Fang who had just joined as a loader, everyone in the turret was already dead.
Lyudmila looked sad: "So that's how it was. This is the first time I've heard you talk about front-line combat."
The old lady looked kindly at Wang Zhong, then suddenly stood up and poured him a cup of tea: "General, you need this more than I do. Drink it*it's red date tea I made myself. It'll soothe your sadness."
Wang Zhong held the cup with both hands and gently took a sip.
"In short, your son died very bravely. He died for... for the protection of the motherland, for the protection of..."
The old lady softly recited: "All life in the world shall eventually meet its end.
"And so, to guard the ashes of the ancestors and the sacred temples of the gods;
"To die battling powerful foes carries supreme value.
"To protect the mother who once cherished me,
"To protect the wife currently nurturing her children,
"To protect the pure maidens who kindle the Eternal Flame.
"To shield all from the despicable villain Sextus,
"Such a death is truly glorious."
Wang Zhong happened to know this poem, "Horatius on the Bridge," and continued reciting: "Consul, tear down the bridge at once.
"With the thousand foes on the bridge, we three shall hold them off!"
"Come now, which two brave souls will stand with me to defend the bridge?"
The old lady said, "Yes, my son is as valiant as the heroes of old*just knowing that is enough."
The old lady gazed at Wang Zhong and added a bit of hot tea to the cup in his hand.
Wang Zhong took a sip and found the tea bitter with a hint of sweetness.
The old lady said, "You still have many things to attend to, don't you? After all, the invaders still rampage across the land. Go on now, General. I'm just an old lady who can only knit sweaters in her apartment*aside from sending children to the battlefield, there's nothing more I can do for Mother Ant. But you still can!"
Wang Zhong took another sip of tea, set down the cup, and turned to leave.
He never looked back.
(End of Chapter)