afterglow

Chapter 567 Return in a hurry; there will be no twists and turns
The bright moon is high and the temperature is getting colder. If you wear summer military uniforms and stand guard at this time, you will definitely be blown by the night wind between the mountains and sneeze.

The headquarters of the 12th Motorized Infantry Division was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Everyone's faces were filled with joy, but there was an unusual and strange feeling.

"What is certain is that a member of the British royal family came to the front line today and was seriously injured by the shelling. He is the son of the Earl of Harewood and Princess Mary; the new division commander of this armored division, Major General David Evans, was also hit by the shelling. Injuried."

Lieutenant Colonel Lange recounted the latest situation, which was compiled based on the interrogation results of captured British officers and soldiers after the battle.

Immediately someone couldn't help but shout: "What a pity! They are not dead!"

"There were a lot of artillery shells falling next to the convoy. How could they still be alive? I guess they won't survive tonight." The commander of the assault artillery battalion said with great confidence.

What he said was half correct. Major General David Evans survived because he wore a steel helmet, but the important figure, Lieutenant Colonel George Lascelles, had died.

Erwin Rommel slowly walked out of the division headquarters and said calmly: "Then we hope to hear such good news."

He commented in his diary: "An excellent tactician, with keen insight and sufficient wisdom, can skillfully integrate Eastern classical military thought and modern warfare. This is enough to prove why the British and Americans Hate him so much. If he were in Isonzo and Langeluni, he would definitely get the glory of Blue Max.”

This evaluation is not low, especially for Erwin, who is very proud of himself.

"Talavera?" Chris looked suspicious.

The Blue Max Medal can be said to be Erwin's "heart knot". He attaches great importance to military honors. During the European War that year, he missed the Blue Max Medal in the two battles of Isonzo and the subsequent capture of Monte Monte. He was so angry that he would rather fall out with his superiors than file a complaint.

"You have not encountered an ongoing battle, and you should not get anything useful from the current confrontation."

Chris next to her said calmly: "For a general, this should be the basic awareness."

In the cabin, Zhou Changfeng looked sideways out of the square window and sighed: "I originally wanted to stay here for two more days, but the plan couldn't keep up with the change."

After descending the mountain, Zhou Changfeng and others came to the southwest of Highland 109, which was the main position of the th Brigade.

In the end, it was not until the Battle of Langeruni that he finally achieved impressive results and won the Blue Max Medal that he had longed for.

There are still many civil fortifications built at that time on Highland 109, and scattered shell casings and broken debris can still be seen. The forward command post built with I-beams and logs has collapsed, and the twisted I-beams inside Already rusty.

After crossing the bridge, I turned slightly right and felt a familiar feeling. Everything here seemed to be the same as it was three years ago.

For safety reasons, the few people did not wander around to avoid accidentally touching the leftover dumb bombs, and only cautiously followed the paths that were traveled by others. After the battle, many locals came to clean the battlefield and collect anything of value. .

Zhou Changfeng is no longer at the division headquarters. Someone from the inspection team came over half an hour ago to inform him that he would shorten his stay and be ready to return home at any time.

In addition to this, it was a casual relationship with someone from the same week. Who could have imagined at that time that the commander of the 50th International Brigade would have such brilliant achievements as he does now?
The next day, after dawn.

The small mound in front of you is lush and green, and you can't tell that there was a collision of blood and fire more than a thousand days and nights ago. This was Highland 109 at that time.

The Ju-52 transport plane slowly took off and flew towards Madrid in the northeast. It didn't take long for the fuselage to melt into the dark starry sky.

The city of Talavera is just one of the many cities Chris has visited, but it left an extremely deep impression on her.

Chris's identity as the General Investigation Bureau is particularly easy to use no matter where she is, and she has never encountered any difficulties. Although it was already midnight, the temporary accommodation was quickly arranged.

Although the caller said he was ready to leave at any time, he did not ask to leave immediately, so Zhou Changfeng suddenly decided to go to Talavera de la Reina, southwest of Madrid.

Zhou Changfeng separated from other members of the inspection team and left first with only a few entourage members, while the rest continued to observe separately.

There are several artillery positions where damaged artillery remains, and all the detachable parts have been taken away by local people, leaving only the incomplete main body of the artillery.

“You’ve traveled thousands of miles to come here, why don’t you take a look?”

It was the first time she was sent to the battlefield to perform field missions. Instead of catching a few spies and informants, she shot and killed a Republican leader in a rage, so she was severely criticized.

Several people parked their cars, got out of the car, and quickly followed the mountain path to the top of the highland.

"Yes, so in order to compete for this place, both sides paid a total of one to two thousand casualties." Zhou Changfeng replied.

Due to the sun and rain, the trenches and shelters excavated and constructed at that time have basically collapsed, and now only the general outline can be vaguely discerned.

The news came through non-standard channels, and the coded meaning indicated that it was Zhu Lingjing's instruction.

Interestingly, there are still six or seven tank wrecks parked between the river beach and the woods in the northwest. If you identify them carefully, you can see that they are Ming-made Type 33 light tanks and Italian-made CV- ultra-light tanks.

When the bright moon was in the sky, the transport plane landed steadily at the city's airport.

"it is good."

Although this city was invaded during the civil war three years ago, it was lucky to escape last year's war. Most of the buildings are intact, but if you look closely, you can still see some remaining bullet holes.

The plane was going to pass over Talavera and there was no need to temporarily change its route.

"This is not necessarily true. Logistics support, maintaining front lines, building positions, infiltration and counter-infiltration, and air-ground coordinated reconnaissance are all important. Doing these well is equivalent to winning half the battle."

Zhou Changfeng drove onto the rebuilt steel bridge and headed to the south bank of the river.

"This is a good vantage point. If you control it, you can fire on any enemy crossing the river from the north and east." Chris said.

The tired Zhou Changfeng fell asleep. Little did he know that the hotel he was in had been a stronghold of the Italian intervention forces during the Battle of Talavera three years ago, and now it had a brand new look after being renovated.

These tanks are in a very poor state of preservation, extremely tattered and covered in rust. They may not even be eligible to be admitted to museums after many years.

Oh? It looks like it’s going to be windy and rainy in the capital of Ming Dynasty?

In that battle, Erwin led his troops to continuously climb over mountains, deep valleys, and cliffs for more than fifty hours. He went deep alone and annihilated five Italian regiments with less than 500 troops and captured more than 9,000 people. , more than 80 artillery pieces were captured, and only six men were killed.

"This... is correct."

The deep and boundless night sky is studded with countless bright stars. At first glance, it seems to be the same as it was more than 20 years ago.

As he spoke, he picked up the camera.

The former's hull and turret were painted with slogans, which were written by the crew members themselves at the time, but are now blurry and difficult to read.

"It seems that you are particularly concerned about this place." Chris suddenly asked: "Among the battles you have commanded in the past, how high would the battle here rank?"

"This... In terms of ranking, it's in the top three." Zhou Changfeng reached out and knocked on the rusty tank body with crumbling paint. "However, the special nature of the International Brigade determines that this is the only one."

"I thought you would be dismissive."

"Disdain? Do you think it's because of the scale of the battle? No, the significance sometimes doesn't depend on the scale."

Finally, the dozen or so photos taken were developed.

Zhou Changfeng put it into an envelope and stored it carefully. Several people set off again, flying to Barcelona via Madrid, and then transferred to a train to cross the Spanish-French border.

The tasks of the Ming Dynasty's foreign affairs mission and military inspection team have not yet been completed, but Zhou Changfeng's mission here has basically been completed.

"I should get back to work."

"How come your General Investigation Bureau has so many things going on?"

"Because Europe and the world are never at peace." Chris looked at the sunset in the distance, "This war should end as soon as possible."

"It won't take too long, only a few years at most." Zhou Changfeng laughed, "I'd like to come again then."

"I hope your words will come true."

"Most definitely."

November 11th, a cloudy day.

Zhou Changfeng and several members of the inspection team flew to Berlin, and Li Zhijie was solely responsible for the remaining matters of the inspection team.

Here he met with his wife and some family members of the legation diplomats.

Senior diplomats who have been stationed abroad for a long time are allowed to bring their families with them. After their term of office expires, they should return to their country for vacation and wait for the next assignment.

"I heard that Zhou Kexing, you went to the front line again? Why did you go to a place where swords have no eyes?" Xia Xiaoshi asked displeasedly when they met.

"You can't say that. Don't be too satisfied with the rewards of going to the front line this time. There are also unexpected joys." Zhou Changfeng said deliberately mysteriously.

"An unexpected surprise?"

"Originally I just wanted to take a stroll, but unfortunately, the British were too proactive and enthusiastic, so I took advantage of the opportunity that came to my door." Zhou Changfeng couldn't help laughing as he spoke, "I never thought that I could also take care of the incident in Kiev. The enemy was killed with one stone."

Xia Xiaoshi, who had soothing brows, also laughed, "This is an opportunity given by God to repay an eye for an eye, but...did he really die in the explosion?"

"Dead or disabled, I just don't know whether the unlucky one is the general or another member of the royal family."

"It's unlucky enough to just meet you."

Zhou Changfeng stretched out his hand to pinch her waist, came closer and said, "We haven't seen each other for a few days, Xiaoshi, what you said is very unpleasant."

The return route is exactly the same as when we came. After all, this is the most convenient and safest route under the current conditions.

However, the situation in Baku is worse than when we arrived, and the bombing and anti-aircraft confrontation here have intensified.

The British army first deployed the latest Lancaster bombers, and the US military also deployed the latest B-24 bombers. In response, a squadron that had just been equipped with the new Fw-190 fighter jet was urgently assigned to the Red Eagle Corps by the German army.

Zhou Changfeng witnessed with his own eyes the scene of hundreds of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns firing simultaneously. The blue sky and white clouds were completely filled with black and gray smoke. The falling bombs were as dense as raindrops. There were constantly burning bombers dragging black smoke downwards...

"It's so scary, sir, how far can such a big plane fly?" Xia Xiaoshi asked with some fear.

"It's about five thousand kilometers one way and two to three thousand kilometers round trip."

"Then don't worry. Fortunately, the Pacific Ocean is tens of thousands of miles wide."

Zhou Changfeng held her hand tightly, hesitated but remained silent.

What she said is not entirely correct. They are thousands of miles away. According to common sense, it is indeed unlikely that the Ming Dynasty will suffer strategic bombing.

However, it cannot be ruled out that the Americans are being forced to do their best to mass-produce intercontinental bombers with a greater range than the B-29, such as the B-36 Peacekeeper.

The next day, the plane finally took off after a delay of fourteen hours, even though the sky above Baku was still filled with thick smoke from burning oil.

The group landed at the Air Force Air Force No. 167 Airport in Yili that afternoon, which could be regarded as setting foot on their own soil.

There were several fighter jets parked next to the runway, and the ground staff were checking them calmly. Pilots in twos and threes gathered together to smoke and chat.

We have never experienced such a reassuring time before. I am afraid that only those who have personally experienced war will value the rare peace so much.

Xia Xiaoshi complained that it was too painful to travel like this. She couldn't even stand still after sitting on a plane for more than 20 hours.

In fact, Zhou Changfeng doesn't know exactly what happened until now, but he can make a rough guess, because nothing else is urgent enough to require him to travel thousands of miles to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

From dusk to dawn the next day, the plane landed safely and stopped steadily at the end of Runway 3 of Gaoqiao Airport.

Zhou Changfeng helped Xia Xiaoshi limping down the gangway and whispered to her: "You go to your parents' house to stay one night first and don't worry about me."

As the chilly night wind blew, the latter shivered and said nervously: "Watch yourself, Jian Jian and I are waiting for you to come back."

"It's not that exaggerated, just relax."

"Ah."

After the separation, Zhou Changfeng immediately drove to the Forbidden City.

He raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was now 11:6 a.m. on November 5.

The sun rises later in winter, and the night sky in the east has not yet revealed its fish-belly white color.

The security level of the Forbidden City is obviously higher than before. At first glance, there is still a single guard and a single sentry on the outside, but it has been upgraded to double guard and double sentry inside.

Guards sergeants holding Type 31 submachine guns or K rifles were on patrol, keeping a vigilant eye on everyone coming and going. Even in the early morning when everyone should be tired and listless, Zhou Changfeng, who was riding the shuttle bus, was stopped for inspection four times. .

The shuttle bus ends outside Qianqingmen. Once here, you have to walk the rest of the way.

Zhou Changfeng didn't wait too long. He thought it would take at least a quarter of an hour based on Zhu Lingjing's actions, but now he unexpectedly only had to wait three minutes.

The air conditioner made the room warm as spring, but Zhu Lingjing, dressed in an indigo dress, gave people a cold feeling. She was sitting behind the imperial desk, flipping through a book.

"I thought you had to wait until tomorrow."

"The situation is urgent, so of course we must come back as soon as possible."

After a brief silence, Zhou Changfeng, who was quite worried, asked: "Your Majesty, will there really be any twists and turns? I am not prepared at all."

Zhu Lingjing's eyes were sharp and she said calmly: "No...it's unlikely, but that doesn't mean you can't be absent."

(End of this chapter)