afterglow

Chapter 386 Isn’t it good to be a local emperor?The printing press is preheated

May [-]th, at noon.

In late spring, Yekaterinburg is extremely cool. This city named after Queen Catherine is located on the banks of the Iset River, at the junction of Asia and Europe.

In history, a well-known thing happened in the Ibatev Palace located here-seven members of the last tsar's family were secretly executed, including his wife, four daughters, and one son. None of them survived.

But that was just a matter of the original plane. Today's Yekaterinburg is one of Tsarist Russia's major cities in Siberia, and it is also an important transportation hub. It has a population of more than [-] and has a certain metallurgical industry.

After the elite areas fell into civil strife, the power of St. Petersburg collapsed, and many warlords and armed factions inevitably sprung up on the vast territory of Tsarist Russia.

This is especially true in Novosibirsk and Chelyabinsk to the east of the Ural Mountains, which are as far away as the sky.

Today's Yekaterinburg is also under strict military control, and Lieutenant General Ilya, the original commander-in-chief of the Yekaterinburg Military Region, has become the actual controller here.

He is a "smart man" in the typical sense, or a man who has breasts and is a mother.

After realizing that the situation was out of control, he also sent his cronies to Chelyabinsk, more than 100 kilometers south, and gained approval from local bureaucrats and garrison generals.

于是乎，驻扎于这一带的沙俄第2西伯利亚军全都听命于他，包括第37步兵师、第38步兵师、第7炮兵师、第12骑兵旅、第14工兵旅。

At the beginning, they were seriously short of troops, with a total strength of only more than 2. However, Lieutenant General Ilya soon announced the order to mobilize and quickly recruited available reservists to supplement the army. The total strength reached 5.

Ilya had a relatively clear understanding of the current situation. He had already had a premonition that the broken ship of Tsarist Russia would fall apart soon, and everything happened as he predicted.

He is not interested in the competition among the heroes in the elite area. He just wants to be proud of being his local emperor in this place. With tens of thousands of troops loyal to him, he believes that this is a local force that cannot be underestimated. As long as it can be understood clearly, People's support, then...

"Oh no, honey, I'm sorry, the queen must only belong to my wife. Don't say such things again, you will regret it."

In the office, a beautiful woman with heavy makeup cuddled up next to Ilya. The latter first rejected her probing words with a smile, and then her tone suddenly became stern, which frightened her.

Ilya suddenly had a smile on his face again, reached out to lift up the woman's skirt, and touched the soft long legs tightly wrapped in black garters.

He relaxed for a while, then took out a hardcover Russian translation of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" from the drawer, intending to read some of the wonderful chapters.

But at this moment, there was a sound of leather boots touching the floor tiles from far to near, and then there was a "tap-tat-tat" knock on the door.

"Come in."

It was Lieutenant Colonel Kirill who pushed through the door. He saluted: "Your Excellency, all the bonuses have been distributed. In accordance with the order you signed, I executed seven officers who embezzled the bonuses. Their bodies were hung in two military camps and Three intersections.”

"Very good." Lieutenant General Ilya said with satisfaction: "Power comes from the bottom. At this critical time, soldiers should be treated well, but some people will never learn their lessons, so God can only teach them."

"In addition, the military columns and cavalry units have been prepared and are on standby. They are ready to go at any time."

"Very good, let's leave today."

A week ago, St. Petersburg ordered the 2nd Siberian Army to reinforce Kazan - the garrison generals there firmly supported the Russian regime and were besieged by some rebel soldiers and workers' militias. The two sides were in a stalemate.

Ilya ignored the order at all and threw it into the trash can as waste paper.

He has been thinking about Izhevsk recently and is considering sending a troop to search there.

It is an important industrial base and houses the Izhevsk Arsenal, one of the three major arsenals in Tsarist Russia. In this era of melee, who would think that they have too few guns?
"Jingle jingle—"

Lieutenant Colonel Kirill wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the phone.

After listening to the report on the other end of the phone, Ilya replied dissatisfiedly: "Strange train? Do you still want to intercept them? Stupid! We can't let the Khitans have any dissatisfaction now."

Meanwhile, at Yekaterinburg train station…

Major Gleb hung up the phone, turned around and walked out of the railway station affairs hall, and returned to freight platform No. [-].

Next to the locomotive, five or six people dressed as Ming Dynasty train employees were gathering together, smoking and whispering.

Seeing that the officer in charge of the checkpoint had returned, they tacitly stopped talking and looked at the major approaching.

Gleb felt that there was something unspeakably abnormal about this train. Six years ago, he was just a lieutenant. He had handled countless trains over the years, so he had rich experience.

The soldiers had just searched and found that most of the goods loaded on this train were clothes, porcelain, and lamps, and according to the customs clearance documents, the train's destination was France.

However, considering that they had secretly given him a full twenty pounds before, Major Gleb did not bother to delve deeper.

He felt that at most it would be nothing more than smuggled goods, and besides, the Commander-in-Chief was not allowed to make things difficult for Mingren.

The person holding the hand was short-handed, and he also kindly reminded him, "The next stop will not be so easy. Kazan is currently at war. I suggest you wait here, otherwise if the goods are destroyed, your boss will definitely be angry. of."

After listening to the interpreter, one of the employees present asked: "How long will it take to wait?"

"Maybe a week, two weeks? I don't know." Major Gleb said he was helpless.

The train conductor who had been keeping calm beside him suddenly refused, "No, our goods must be delivered within a time limit, there can be no delay."

After adding coal and water, it didn't take long for the long train to blow its whistle and drive out of the platform.

After leaving Yekaterinburg, they officially came to Europe from Asia.

No one on the train dared to take it lightly. Traveling in the desolate Siberian wilderness was actually the most relaxing time for everyone.

Next stop, Kazan.

It is reported that the place has been swept by war, and the two sides are fighting inextricably. Whether the railway is intact and whether the train can be allowed to pass is still unknown.

The smuggling road seems to be endless. Starting from the east of the Eurasian continent and traveling thousands of miles away, can it be successfully reached?
That day, Nanjing.At the same time, it was only the morning in the Ming Dynasty Capital City, the morning rush hour had come to an end, and the busy streets had become much sparser.

The Army Staff University is very large, but it is divided into several campuses. Majors for mid-level officers such as majors and lieutenant colonels are located in Xi'an and Zhenjiang campuses, while majors for senior officers are offered in Jiangbei, the capital.

"...the elements of combat power can be divided into two categories: basic elements and derived elements according to the needs of performing various specific tasks..."

"...Generally speaking, the basic elements in order of importance are information power, mobility, offensive power, and protective power; the derived elements in order of importance are intelligence power, reconnaissance power, communication power, control power, transportation power, and logistics power. , Guarantee..."

"...The coordinated action strategy is a plan to organize the various services and arms to cooperate in combat. It must not only divide the combat stages, but also distinguish the combat seasons and clarify the differences in tactical levels..."

In the library, Zhou Changfeng flipped through the books at a glance. He had more or less known these "Overview of Campaign Science", "Military Strategy", and "Tutorial on Military Organization" in the past, and many of the knowledge overlapped.

As for the class, because it was too step-by-step, he was naturally unwilling to go. He only occasionally went to consult and discuss things with the old scholars at the Staff University.

As a well-known general, Zhou's life as a further student at the Staff College can be said to be very smooth.

Cheng Han even personally called the Staff University to give some advice. He believed that Zhou, who was born in a major, no longer needed to study step by step. Reading through the entire compulsory subjects would naturally allow him to integrate them with practical experience.

The most important skill for commanding a large corps in combat is actually a change in thinking mode. It is impossible to cope with it by continuing to use the tactics of a tactical commander.

Perhaps an energetic and highly qualified division commander can arrange troops in every aspect, down to every company, but what if he commands three divisions, or even ten divisions?
Therefore, the thinking mode must be changed, and one must have working experience in the general staff business and fully understand the operation of the command system, so that one can command an army with ease and efficiency.

Cheng Han planned to ask Mr. Zhou to stay at the Staff College for a month or so and then come to the Staff Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion to experience and learn firsthand the feeling of strategizing.

When the time hand pointed to eleven o'clock, Zhou Changfeng felt tired after reading all morning, so he closed a few books and stuffed them into his locker, and then flipped through the Jinling Morning News that he had not read since he bought it in the morning. .

"Quick report! Australia prays to the United States for protection, and the United States may send troops to Australia..."

"Ying Tianfu confirmed the bridge construction plan, and the previously suspended Yangtze River Bridge is scheduled to start construction at the end of the year..."

Although the British were very dissatisfied and tried to dissuade them in every possible way, the Australians were not stupid, so they firmly rejected the suzerain's request and formally submitted a request to Washington for garrison protection.

Of course, the rhetoric is to "protect American assets and expatriates in Australia."

The federal government quickly agreed to this request and approved the dispatch of U.S. troops to Australia. According to the order, the Army's 41st Infantry Division was immediately rebuilt and upon completion, boarded a ship for Australia.

The 41st Division was established at the end of the European War. It was formed from the National Guard of Montana, Oregon, Wyoming and other places. It was disbanded after the war.

Historically, after the division was rebuilt, it was put into the New Guinea campaign and fought fiercely with the Japanese in the hot and humid jungle. When they left the next year, the officers and soldiers of the division were already naked and looked like savages, thus earning the nickname "Jungle People".

As for the Yangtze River Bridge, because the flow of water in the Nanjing section is faster, the difficulty and cost of building the bridge are higher. In addition, the imperial court and Yingtianfu often play ball, so construction has not started yet, and the scale of the train and ferry has only been expanded.

But now the 150 train and ferry trips per day alone can no longer meet the transportation needs between the north and south of the capital, so the Yangtze River Bridge must be built.

The afternoon was uneventful. Just after five o'clock, Zhou left the campus and caught the ferry across the river to go home.

What puzzled him was that Xia Xiaoshi told him that an old friend sent him a letter.

"Good old friend?"

"Here, it's on the table. You can see for yourself. I haven't opened it yet."

Zhou Changfeng didn't know why, and he couldn't figure out who could be worthy of the words "old friend".

He picked up the envelope, took a look at it, and said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Xiao Shi, she and I are completely innocent. We could only have a one-time relationship in the past, and we have nothing to do with each other since then."

This letter was from Chris. As he spoke, he opened the envelope and browsed it quickly.

This is actually a farewell letter. The main message is that I will be transferred back to China and will set off on May [-]th, and then I simply say thank you.

"We're leaving now." Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but sigh.

"Sir, aren't you quite nostalgic?" Xia Xiaoshi pouted.

"Ha, that's the wrong word." Zhou Changfeng reached out and pinched her waist and shrugged, "It's not nostalgia, I can only say it's a bit sad."

After recalling the past experience, I inevitably looked forward to the future. I wonder what will happen to this idealist who served in the Stasi in the future.

Looking at the current situation, a million-strong army may move at any time. How can Tsarist Russia, surrounded by smoke and smoke, have the power to resist?

Operation Prague was undoubtedly a success. This deception operation to cover up the large-scale deployment of troops and generals to the Western Front successfully succeeded in concealing the truth.

Everyone thought that the German Society would easily solve Tsarist Russia, which was in civil strife, so as to avoid the dilemma of resource shortage. The masters of the British Empire have been arguing recently about whether to intervene to see if they can support part of Tsarist Russia's forces.

Against this background, the time came to May [-]th.

At 5:10 Berlin time, the War Council passed the decision and sent a telegram to the frontline headquarters - "The paint and printing press are ready and work can start on time."

At 5:25, dive bombers and light bombers took off from more than 20 field airports and air force bases behind the battle lines, taking off in the hazy mist.

Half an hour later, groups of Ju-87 dive bombers, Ju-88 bombers, and Do-17 bombers flew across the border and began to attack the airfields, highway hubs, and train transportation areas of the French, Dutch, and Belgian armies. Conduct air strikes.

At 5:18 a.m. on May 6, at dawn, a huge artillery group consisting of thousands of artillery pieces lifted off the camouflage net on a front line with a total length of nearly 00 kilometers from the coast of Groningen's north coast to the Maginot Line. Roaring in unison, flashing lights, and fierce bombardment made the observation officers on the artillery observation plane raise their hands to cover their eyes.

More than 100 million German troops ended their hiding state, left the assembly area, and quickly entered the offensive starting position, preparing to launch a ground attack.

The long persistence ends here, and everything has a new beginning.

(End of this chapter)