afterglow

Chapter 202 The strange flower absconded; the eve of the decisive battle
The bewildered soldiers quickly caught up with Zhou Changfeng and his party, and then conveyed this sentence intact.

For a moment, Miller, Chretien, and several staff officers all looked at Zhou Changfeng in unison, strange and strange.

Chretien smiled slightly, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Xia, always remember that a man who understands romance will never lack the love of girls, but it's just for entertainment. If you want to enter the palace of marriage, you must Be steady. You should have explained the situation to your fiancée before coming here."

At this moment, how could Zhou Changfeng, who was so speechless, listen to such words, he felt that he was definitely full of black lines now!
How could Xia Xiaoshi come all the way here?Wouldn't that be revealing?
He then came to a nearby tent, and the two "journalists" were also brought over.

As soon as one of them met, he cupped his hands helplessly and said: "Mr. Zhou, you are truly a living ancestor. If this self-talk and walk-away thing is revealed, it will cause a big mess."

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Changfeng naturally understood that the point of the matter was that his whereabouts had been noticed!
He looked at the two of them left and right, and asked, "Who are you from? Outer factory?"

The other person smiled and sighed: "You should be glad that we are not from an outside factory. The outside world didn't find any clues. It was the princess who thought it was strange that you suddenly contracted the disease, so she checked it out, so..."

Outrageous!What happened to that woman?Why did she discover the clues when no one else cared?

After thinking about it, Zhou Changfeng felt that it could only be attributed to her knowledge of medicine and the fact that she had been secretly monitoring her.

"..." He took a deep breath and asked, "What did she say?"

"I don't know, we haven't reported back yet."

"Is there any other explanation?"

"Uh...that's not true. We went to several brigades to visit, in order to confirm whether you are there. Right now...it's better to go back quickly, otherwise if other people from the outside world find out by accident, there will be a big fuss .”

But to be honest, Zhou Changfeng felt that if he was found out, the Military Judiciary Department of the Ministry of War would be amused if he made a wrong judgment.

There are only two corresponding main crimes in the military laws of Ming Dynasty, either mutiny or absconding, but because the International Brigade is not an army of a certain country, but an international volunteer organization, and it is not hostile to Ming Dynasty, Therefore, the crime of treason is not established.

Therefore, it can only be sentenced to absconding, and the crime of absconding soldiers is divided into three categories:

The first class is peacetime, no mission, fifty rods, one year in prison;
The second class is also in normal times, but performing routine tasks, such as maintaining security and stability, suppressing bandits, etc., fifty rods, three years in prison;

The third category is wartime, with eighty sticks and five years of criminal detention, that is, exile into the army instead of imprisonment.At the same time, continue to subdivide it. If you escape in front-line combat, you will be sentenced to one hundred rods and eight years of criminal detention.If it causes one's own defeat and the consequences are serious, the death penalty can be imposed.

It is estimated that the judges are very speechless-others absconded because they were afraid of death and suffering. It is really a rare thing for them to lie about their illness and abscond to other battlefields.

According to the express law, it is basically a second-class sentence, with dozens of sticks, and then a few years of free accommodation.

At that time, it will depend on whether the war has started. Once the war starts, with the start of large-scale military expansion, I will still be transferred to the front-line unit.

No matter how bad it is, that is, they will be transferred to idle positions for a period of time. After the expansion of hundreds of divisions during the war, or the death of a bunch of regimental commanders and brigade commanders on the front line, all kinds of experienced and qualified officers will have to Was thrown to the front line.

There are many cases in history of criminals being exiled to the army, serving crimes and performing meritorious deeds, and going to the government with shackles.

As for the nature of politics, that is secondary. Daming's management in this area... is hard to describe. It requires officers not to join any party. In the past, no one cared about any party, just quit.

But in fact, this is considered to be laissez-faire. All kinds of thoughts between the ruling and the opposition are dancing wildly, with everything from the left, the middle, and the right.

"You probably don't know the situation here. There will be a big battle soon, and I can't leave even if I want to." Zhou Changfeng shrugged.

"cocoa……"

One of them hesitated and didn't know what to say, and the other interrupted him and said seriously: "It is unknown when someone from the outside world will notice it, and maybe no one will find out after a few days or months. Mr. Zhou wants to Weigh it well, if the incident happens, I'm afraid I will go to jail."

"I'll leave after this battle is over." Zhou Changfeng said with a look of disgust on his face: "Spain, this damn place, looks like I'm going to be pissed off, it's hopeless."

Are you contradicting yourself?

"Then why didn't you leave early?" The man was quite speechless, hesitatingly said: "You...letting this cause you to be in trouble, it is the last word to stop the loss in time."

"Of course I can run away alone." Zhou Changfeng sighed, stretched out his index finger and pointed around the surroundings, and said with a wry smile: "There are a group of guys with lofty aspirations here, but they haven't realized that the mud of the Frangji government can't help them." on the wall."

"What... has anything to do with your staying?"

"It's very simple. If we confuse this battle to the end, we should evacuate this poor place. It's a little bit less dead. I don't worry if someone else takes command. It can be regarded as a beginning and an end."

Listening to his explanation, although the two of them had a lot to say, they swallowed it in the end.

Hey, people with personalities are indeed unusual, so I can't persuade them, so I slipped away.

They left immediately and set off to return immediately, planning to send a report to the Toulouse Consulate after arriving in the big city behind.

On the front line, several soldiers were chatting and filling sacks with sand with shovels; someone next to them was holding a cigarette and shouting who had matches or lighters.

Zhou Changfeng, with a calm expression, was slightly distracted looking at such a scene. These people from all over the world obviously have their own lives, but they are willing to come all the way and overcome all difficulties for the "enemy" they have never met before, and devote themselves to the highly dangerous battlefield.

According to statistics, only a shocking 7% of the international brigade volunteers who were able to leave Spain unharmed in the end.

Even without considering the wounded, the pure death rate was as high as 30%, which could be said to be exaggeratedly high in the 30s.

Later generations have mixed praise and criticism for them. Some people regard them as great and noble models of human beings, while others think that they are a group of victims who sacrificed themselves in pursuit of illusory ideals.

What is right and what is wrong involves everyone's standpoint and ideas, and it may be difficult to truly evaluate them fairly.This is history, everyone has a different opinion on the same thing.

But in any case, the behavior of the International Brigade is destined to leave a strong mark on the monument of human history.

On the eve of that cloudy and dark cloud that overwhelmed the city, a group of people, with the ideal of defending basic rights, abandoned their own contradictions and prejudices, overcame many obstacles, and came to the war-torn Iberian Peninsula Take part in a doomed war.

"After the ideal is broken by reality, such behavior will be hard to see. Self-interest is the first priority after all."

Zhou Changfeng spit out a smoke ring, stared at it slowly dissipating, and then snuffed out the cigarette end.

The contradictions that Spain has accumulated for hundreds of years cannot be reconciled, and it is bound to undergo a thorough baptism. However, the republican government with endless internal strife and chaos can be said to be unsupportable.

It had been retreating steadily before, but now with the support of the International Brigade and the Red Eagle Legion, and the purchase of a huge amount of ordnance, the situation was finally stabilized, and a strategic decisive battle was about to take place immediately.

This is like a gambler who has finally filled the pit, and now holds the only chips to plan a stud.

Obviously, it is unlikely to win, even a draw is unlikely, Zhou Changfeng is pessimistic about this.

Looking at the international situation, the British and French non-intervention committees have been doing their best to mediate. After a few months, Berlin has been somewhat shaken.

I'm afraid it won't be long before the International Brigade and the Red Eagle Corps will be ordered to evacuate.

Britain and France are now staring at it. Once there is an obvious strategic imbalance between the two sides, or in other words, as long as the National Army has an advantage in the battle, they will soon recognize the National Army as a legitimate regime.

So Zhou Changfeng can basically predict the direction of Spain. When this decisive battle comes to an end, he will immediately get out of this smoky place.

This is the first time he has experienced a large-scale battle with hundreds of thousands of troops, and it is expected that both sides will spare no effort to put all the cards they have.

Armored forces, aviation forces, it can be said that this will definitely be a magnificent modern land-air battle, and it is also the first time in human history.

Zhou Changfeng is quite looking forward to it, hoping to learn from it and accumulate some useful experiences and lessons.

Interestingly, according to the briefing issued by the International Brigade Command, the combat units and weapons and equipment newly added by the Red Eagle Corps a month ago have been prepared and can be put into battle on time.

The aviation unit acquired two dozen of the latest Bf-109C fighter jets, thirty Ju-87A "Stuka" dive bombers debuted, and twelve He-111B bombers.

The ground troops also received some III tanks, a dozen of Type A and Type B, totaling 31. The Germans finally had a tank with a total combat weight of more than 15 tons.

As the decisive battle loomed, the Republican Army Command suddenly went uncharacteristically and handed over the last batch of ordnance that Daming delivered to Barcelona to the International Brigade, including thirty Type [-] light tanks.

The International Brigade formed them into two [-]-car tank companies, and immediately put them into intense training around the clock.

The 101st Tank Company and the 102nd Tank Company were sent to the front line after completing the initial training. They plan to continue training after being assigned to the combat unit, so that they can participate in the battle at any time.

Perhaps because the 102th Brigade is now at the forefront, the [-]nd tank company was dispatched, along with [-] supplementary soldiers.

It seems that the battle will start at any time, but in fact, everyone knows that there will be a period of game in the future.

After all, it is impossible to start a battle of this level as soon as it comes up. The confrontation at the tactical level, the adjustment at the campaign level, and the game at the strategic level will take ten days and a half months at least.

Both sides are successively transferring their respective heavy forces groups to this area, one south and one north, with the Tejo River as the boundary, the confrontation area is [-] kilometers wide, and Talavera is the key to it, just right in the center point.

Throughout the first ten days of June, a steady stream of various information was fed back to the brigade headquarters, Zhou Changfeng has been considering the current situation.

According to the summary of the telegraph reconnaissance and the enemy prisoners captured by the patrol team, he was surprised to find that the No. 20 Sixth Infantry Division of the Italian Army had also been transferred here?
This made him suddenly interested—isn't that arrogant and stupid Enrique from the 26th division?Is this delivered to your door?
June [-], morning, sunny, hot and windless.

At the gate of a bank in the north of Talavera City, a black Alfa Romeo car slowly stopped.

Major General Antonio, the commander of No.20 Sixth Infantry Division of the Italian Royal Army with a calm expression, got out of the car. After taking off his white gloves, he took the map handed over by the adjutant and scanned it quickly.

The difference from the usual senior generals of the Italian army is that Antonio is a very particular person. He believes that under any circumstances, he must face the public with the most solemn military appearance.

Italians, who are romantic and often lead fashion aesthetics, are commendable in terms of designing clothes. At least, the tailor-made and well-cut general dresses are very straight, the brim of the big-brimmed hat is spotlessly wiped, and the long riding boots on the feet are even more beautiful. shiny.

"The intelligence is too scarce, incomplete, and too vague. Reconnaissance by aircraft alone is not enough. Until now, you haven't even figured out the main firepower and defense lines of the opponent. Is this how you Spaniards treat war?"

Antonio's evaluation made the brigade commander of No.90 of the National Army and all the officers feel ashamed.

please!We don't have a vegetarian meal, because this face-to-face opponent is difficult to deal with.The reconnaissance units dispatched in the past ten days, ranging from a small group of a few people to a large detachment of dozens of people, have had very few successes.

Obviously, the Italians don't want to hear their explanation, or it doesn't make sense.

This is war, how can it be blacked out?There are no basic reconnaissance results, so why fight?

So Antonio immediately ordered the staff to draw up a reconnaissance plan, organize the reconnaissance units of the 26th Division to cross the river for reconnaissance, and find out the deployment on the south bank of the Tejo River.

The next day, at dusk.

Today, the air forces of the Italian and National Army bombed the defense area of ​​the [-]th Brigade for the first time; at the same time, the deep supply stations, roads, and bridges were also attacked by air.

Before the start of the war, the logistics supply was hit first. Both ancient wars and modern wars actually follow the same core - to paralyze the opponent's supply line.

Zhou Changfeng, who was in the reinforced shelter, was distracted by the numbers of the combat units of both sides densely packed on the sand table. He imagined the possible deployment and the corresponding impact in his mind.

"... Seven people were killed and 33 people were injured. Considering that some people were seriously injured, it is expected that ten people will die within 24 hours." Miller reported the losses caused by the air strike in a deep voice.

Zhou Chang didn't raise his head, but replied calmly: "Apply for the air defense unit again for reinforcements."

"Yes."

This is not the first time to apply, and I can't even remember how many times it is, but each time there is no positive response.

When the coded electromagnetic waves were emitted, seven kilometers downstream of the Tejo River...

(End of this chapter)