Chapter 117
Previously, Wang Zhong led the troops from Bogdanovka to Loktov by train, heading straight there. With a small unit size, the journey went smoothly without much trouble.
So, he had no real understanding of the various troubles Pavlov mentioned about marching*only a superficial, theoretical grasp.
But just two hours after departing from Agsukov, he gained a clear understanding of the "troubles on the road."
There were already two traffic accidents when the troops passed through downtown Agsukov, which required at least five clerks from the division headquarters to handle*and possibly cost a few rubles from the division's funds.
After leaving the city, there were heaps of people collapsing from heatstroke or falling behind due to exhaustion. The medics and carts pulling the wounded were constantly busy.
After walking for three hours and stopping to rest, a soldier went to take a dump and stepped into a hole dug by a field mouse, breaking his foot.
What made Wang Zhong really lose it was that in the afternoon, a rifle misfired.
During marches, it's standard procedure to separate ammunition from rifles to prevent misfires caused by jostling. But a rookie was playing with his gun during a break, loaded a bullet, and forgot to unload it when they regrouped.
When the gun went off, the veterans reacted instantly and hit the ground, while the rookies stared at each other in confusion.
Wang Zhong was not far from where the misfire happened and clearly heard the wail of the person hit by the bullet**this was actually the first gunshot wound case since the formation of the entire division.
And this was just one incident within Wang Zhong's line of sight. With a marching column of 20,000 men, who knows how many such accidents occurred elsewhere.
Fortunately, Pavlov was a professional. He organized a small squad of staff officers, clerks, and doctors to ride along the marching column on horseback and handle emergencies.
The long march reminded Wang Zhong of the critiques he had read before traveling through time about the movie "The Great Battle": if the bald guy's troops could really march in such neat rows like in the movie, he wouldn't have lost so badly.
Damn, he thought that line was just a meme, turns out it was true!
Around 4 PM, the troops encountered a cart driven by a villager.
The driver was an old man, and upon seeing the troops approaching, he immediately pulled the cart into the roadside bushes to let the soldiers pass first.
As Wang Zhong passed the old man, he bowed slightly and said, "Thank you, old man."
"Look at that, look at that*such a polite General! General, where are you headed? There aren't any Prossenians in that direction, are there?"
In the understanding of ordinary folks, there really weren't any Prossenians in the direction the troops were heading**the central cluster was still hundreds of kilometers from Agsukov, something civilians simply couldn't know.
Wang Zhong: "We're going to garrison a post. Do you know Olachi?"
"Of course I do! They have a big market there twice a month. You can buy horses, iron pots, even baby calves!"
That was actually the first time he'd heard that.
Wang Zhong couldn't help but inquire further: "Can't you buy those things anywhere else?"
"Of course you can! Agsukov has everything. Look at me*I'm heading to my daughter's place in the city where she works. Gotta bring some household items."
Wang Zhong: "Has the war affected your life at all?"
"Of course! All the young men from the village rushed off to Agsukov. Barely any came back. Later, the girls went too. Old Ivan at the tavern has a radio*says we'll beat the Prossenians in a few more months!"
"Makes sense. So many good kids went off*surely we'll defeat the enemy soon!"
Wang Zhong didn't have the heart to burst his bubble, so he agreed: "Yes, old man, yes. By the way, do you have any distant relatives? Ones who live far away*preferably east of the Raul Mountains?"
The old man laughed: "Who would have relatives that far away? No one in our village does! What's going on, General? Don't tell me... things are actually pretty bad?"
Yeah.
But Wang Zhong said, "We'll win, old man. It's just that it'll take a bit longer than expected."
Old man: "No problem*as long as it's over before next spring planting. With the way things are this year, harvesting the wheat will be a real headache!"
Wang Zhong quietly bid the old man farewell and rode off on Bucephalus in a flash.
****
That night, the camp was set up in a village called Lieliski. It was much smaller than Loktov but bigger than Kalinnovka, which Wang Zhong had visited.
In fact, Pavlov had selected four such camping villages, spaced along the march route. Units from the division camped according to their position in the marching column.
The village where Wang Zhong stayed was at the very front of the column, along with the Fifth Beshensk Regiment.
The reason the Fifth Beshensk Regiment was placed at the front was because it had the most rookies and fewest veteran sergeants, so many might fall behind during the march.
This way, the 31st Guards Infantry Regiment in the middle could pick up anyone who lagged behind.
Technical equipment was scattered among the infantry so that if anything happened, there would be plenty of manpower nearby to push vehicles or artillery.
Lyudmila and the Divine Arrow company were in the middle of the marching column, so tonight Wang Zhong was supposed to be alone with just his guards for a change.
That was his original thought*until the staff officer led him to his lodging for the night and he saw a maid.
Wang Zhong immediately asked the staff officer, "Why is there a maid?"
Staff officer: "Isn't she your orderly?"
Wang Zhong: "I don't have an orderly?"
While staying at Count Rokosov's estate, Wang Zhong had always lived with his fiancée Lyudmila*she took care of everything, or at least it looked that way.
Since he hadn't told Lyudmila they were departing on the 23rd, he hadn't had time to find an orderly.
That's how it should've been.
The maid looked at Wang Zhong: "I'm Miss Lyudmila Vasilyevna's companion and her personal maid at home. When she arrived in Agsukov, she sent a telegram home, and I came."
"You didn't know?"
Wang Zhong: "Ah... so you've been the one taking care of me?"
"No, the young lady has done quite a bit too. After joining the army, her self-care skills improved." The maid showed a gratified expression, which quickly vanished. "But your self-care skills haven't improved at all*well, maybe a little. At least you can dress yourself now."
Was I really that useless before?
Wang Zhong felt awkward and turned to the staff officer: "Isn't it inappropriate to have a female orderly?"
Staff officer replied: "There's no rule against female orderlies."
The maid sighed: "It's not like I sleep in the same room as you. If you develop something with the landlady, I can even keep watch for you. Back at the estate, I slept in the servant room next to your master bedroom*no different from now."
Wang Zhong: "You actually slept in the room next door? Are you an Assassin?"
He originally wanted to say ninja, but figured people in the Ante Empire during this era wouldn't understand such Eastern elements.
But then again, they probably hadn't heard of Assassins from the Middle East either.
Just as he thought that, the maid showed her ten intact fingers: "I haven't cut any fingers off, so I can't install hidden blades."
Holy crap*you actually know?!
Seeing Wang Zhong's shocked expression, the maid said, "When my mom read you and the young lady that storybook about the Old Man of the Mountain and his heroes, I listened through the door."
I-I see!
Wang Zhong scratched his head: "What should I call you?"
"Just call me Nelly. So, can I come in now?"
"Ah, sure."
Grigori: "I live in the gatehouse. I'm going to tend the horses now*if you need me, come to the stable."
Wang Zhong nodded: "Got it, understood."
As Bucephalus was led away by Grigori, it kept staring at Nelly, snorting through its nostrils.
Wang Zhong: "Nelly, how did you get here?"
"I came with the advance team. Once they arrived, they arranged tonight's lodging. I asked around to find your room and came to clean up."
"Oh," Wang Zhong asked a second question, "You mentioned the landlady*she pretty?"
I'm not interested in the landlady! I'm just curious!
Nelly gave Wang Zhong a sideways glance: "Nowhere near as pretty as Lyuda."
Wang Zhong: "Of course! No one can compare to Lyuda!"
As they talked, the two entered the house, and the landlady rushed up: "General, sir!"
She looked ready to take Wang Zhong's Guards cloak from him.
But Nelly moved faster and hung it on the coat hook nearby.
Landlady: "Uh... ah, the hat, give me the..."
As soon as Wang Zhong heard that, he hurriedly took off his military cap, but before he could hand it over, Nelly snatched it and hung it up too.
...Didn't she just swear up and down that if anything happened between me and the landlady she'd stand guard outside?
But whatever*the landlady wasn't just no match for Lyudmila, she wasn't even on Nelly's level.
Wang Zhong decided to pretend he hadn't noticed the landlady trying to cozy up and told Nelly, "Prepare dinner for me. No pickles."
Nelly: "Any other requests?"
"...Nope. Just no pickles."
It's not that pickles are bad*I'm just sick of them.
The landlady smiled: "Let me make you my specialty Su-style thick soup, General*"
Nelly: "The General only eats food I prepare*it's a precaution against poisoning. If you want to cook for him, please go out, turn right, and head to the end. There's a temporary Tribunal there*have the Inquisitors verify your qualifications."
Wang Zhong was shocked*when did I get security measures like this?
And... I've never even tasted Nelly's cooking before!
But Nelly spoke as if it were an established fact.
And the moment the landlady heard the word "Inquisitor," she visibly wilted.
"Then never mind," she said. "My dad was with the devout faction during the Civil War, and..."
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
The landlady flinched in fright.
Wang Zhong didn't think much of it and turned to open the door.
Nelly tried to beat him to it, but Wang Zhong's frame blocked the way*she'd need some maneuvering to squeeze past.
Outside were the local parish priest and a clerk from the village. When they saw Wang Zhong's "two beans," they froze for a moment.
Wang Zhong: "What is it?"
"Uh, we're looking for the woman who owns this house. She..."
Wang Zhong took the envelope directly from the clerk's hand and checked the postmark and sender*sure enough, it was a death notice.
"Leave it to me."
Wang Zhong turned around, but before he could speak, the landlady leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor, tears bursting from her eyes: "Is it my husband?"
Wang Zhong nodded. "If only one person from your family enlisted, then it should be."
"Open it for me... I'm not sure I can even read the words right now."
Wang Zhong silently opened the envelope, pulled out the notice, and read aloud: "Dear Tamara Lukiyanova Tollep, we regret to inform you that your husband Stepan Alexandrovich Tollep has recently been confirmed killed in action in Ronezh..."
Wang Zhong couldn't help but frown. He had escaped from Ronezh himself, and thinking carefully, that was only a month ago. For the death notice to have already reached the family meant that at least the army's administrative units had mostly recovered from the initial chaos.
Tamara Lukiyanova began to cry.
Nelly, who had just been at odds with her, squatted down and hugged her shoulders, which only made her cry louder.
Wang Zhong hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.
He thought again of the old woman Alekseyevna*the landlady and the old woman were two complete opposites.
The only thing they shared was this sorrow.
****
The next day, while Wang Zhong was getting dressed and shaving, Nelly walked in and said, "I can't find the landlady anywhere!"
Wang Zhong: "What, full of hostility yesterday, and now you're worried about her?"
"I'm afraid she might do something stupid."
Wang Zhong: "We're heading out soon. You're supposed to ride in the wagon, right?"
"But..."
Wang Zhong: "It's fine. She's an Ant woman*someday she'll go into the mountains and wrestle bears. She's not that easy to break."
Nelly frowned. "Why do you say it like you've already slept with her?"
"No, I haven't!" Wang Zhong hurried to clarify. It was true. "I just believe in the women of our country."
Nelly frowned, her face full of worry.
But soon she had no need to worry, because when the troops departed, both Wang Zhong and Nelly saw Tamara Lukiyanova Tollep with her hair shaved off, standing in the line of women volunteering to enlist.
The recruiting lieutenant was shouting loudly: "You must know this! In the coming year, you'll learn how to conceal yourselves on the battlefield and how to snipe enemies with precision and efficiency! You'll become silent killers on the battlefield! You'll make the Prossenians tremble in fear!"
"You're women, and maybe you're at a disadvantage in close combat! But look closely*this Mosin-Nagant model 891/30 sniper rifle can let you easily kill strong and fierce Prossenian soldiers from 300 meters away!"
"You are just as deadly as any male soldier!"
Wang Zhong was riding on Bucephalus, Nelly sitting in the cart used by the orderlies. Together, they watched Tamara Lukiyanova, and it seemed they could already see the enemy's miserable deaths in her icy gaze.
And such deaths, Wang Zhong would soon witness.
In large numbers, constantly.
Morning bonus update complete*see you tonight.
(End of Chapter)