artillery arc

Chapter 604 The Meaning of Victory

Wang Zhong: “Is it Ms. Maria Vasilyevna Bulatov?”

Yakov's last name is Bulatov.

"Yes." Maria first glanced at Wang Zhong's face, then her eyes fell on the five-star military rank, "Could it be... General Rokossov?"

"Yes, I'll do it..." Wang Zhong had rehearsed it many times in his mind, but at this moment he was still speechless. He could only take out the handwritten death notice that was already warm from his arms, and then take the package containing the relics from Lyudmila.

He handed these to Ms. Maria.

Maria turned around, put the sleeping baby on the chair next to the door, wiped her face hard, and then turned around to take the package and notice.

Wang Zhong clearly saw that there were water stains around her eyes, and it was obvious that she was wiping away tears when she wiped them twice just now.

"I..." Wang Zhong was about to say something, but suddenly he remembered that he had a scarf that he had just stuffed into his pocket, so he quickly took it out and said, "And this scarf. During the coldest winter last year, Yakov was afraid that I would get cold, so he gave it to me. Now it has been returned to its original owner."

Maria reached out her hand, gently picked up one end of the scarf, and ran her fingertips over the uneven stitches: "I knitted this scarf for him... He always said that this scarf was itchy around his neck... Do you... feel itchy?"

Wang Zhong: "No, I think this is a good scarf and I can give it to my child in the future."

Maria continued to stroke the surface of the scarf with her fingers, but she had no intention of taking it back. After a long time, she withdrew her hand: "No, since he gave it to you, he hopes that you can use it. There may be countless severe winters in the future, I think he must want you to wear it."

Wang Zhong: "But you looked very reluctant just now."

"Yes, I want to keep everything related to him, but... I also hope that this scarf can follow you and follow you into Prothenia."

Maria paused, as if lost in memory.

Wang Zhong waited patiently, not wanting to interrupt her communication with her old friend in her memory.

Finally, Maria spoke again: "He... My husband has a process of accepting your slogan. At first, he seemed to regard this slogan as a foolish dream. Not only did he not use it himself, but he would also show contempt when others said it to him.

"The Inquisitor targeted us because of this, and regarded us as surrenderists. When the enemy was closest to Yebao two years ago, the Inquisitor simply lived across from our house.

"There were a few die-hard surrenderists living nearby at the time. When they were arrested, the inquisitor looked at my husband meaningfully."

Wang Zhong was a little surprised: "Is there such a thing? Yakov told me that before I drove the enemy back from Yebao, he and you both felt that victory was harder than climbing to the sky."

Maria smiled and said, "Yes. You didn't expect this, did you? When you paraded the 100,000 Prosinian prisoners back, he went crazy and bought the pamphlet you printed. After reading it, he told everyone about his meeting with Prosinia, which made the judge suspect that he was deliberately covering up, so he came to investigate in detail."

Lyudmila: "The judges are also doing this for the country."

Maria: "After they were convinced that my husband had become a staunch victor, they lifted the surveillance on our home. After my husband's death, they even came quietly to deliver some necessities."

She suddenly changed the subject and looked at Wang Zhong: "So, General, please take this scarf and attack Prothenia. This is what he most wants to see."

Wang Zhong nodded and solemnly tied the scarf around his neck.

Lyudmila reached out to help him, straightening the edge of his scarf.

But to be honest, in this weather, it’s a little hot to wear a scarf.

Wang Zhong: “Is there anything else I can help with?”

"No, the community church and the parish priest take good care of us, and we don't have any difficulties in life."

As soon as she finished speaking, the baby that Maria had just put on the chair woke up and immediately let out a loud cry.

Maria quickly turned around, placed her husband's belongings on the shoe cabinet, picked up the baby and rocked him gently.

Wang Zhong: "Shall I send a nanny over?"

"General, do you know how many single mothers like me there are now? Many women want to leave their husbands with a child before they go to the front line, so that they can have a thought in case of any emergency. When they look at their child's face, they can think of their husband.

"Are you going to assign a nanny to every mother like this?"

Wang Zhong was silent.

It is indeed impossible. For Ant now, women are also an important labor force. In factories and in fields, there are a large number of women working like men.

Maria suddenly thought of something and looked up at Wang Zhong: "Our child doesn't have a godfather yet. Can you be his godfather?"

Wang Zhong smiled: "Of course, I'd love to. When will the baptism ceremony be held?"

"The ceremony is very simple now, probably because many priests have gone to the front line," Maria said. "You just need to sign the document."

Wang Zhong: "Well, I'll sign it."

He had never been more happy to sign a document than he was now.

At this time, Lyudmila gently pulled Wang Zhong's sleeve and said, "It seems that a lot of people have gathered here."

Only then did Wang Zhong notice that it was very noisy outside.

Maria: "General, everyone needs your encouragement. Please go and say a few words to everyone."

Wang Zhong: "Okay, you... take care of yourself."

After saying that, he turned around and walked down the stairs. As soon as he turned the first corner, he saw that the second floor was already crowded with local residents.

Women, the elderly, and children, but no middle-aged men.

Countless pairs of eyes were staring at Wang Zhong.

No one spoke, they just stared at Wang Zhong in silence.

But they said everything, and their eyes contained thousands of words.

As Wang Zhong walked forward, the crowd retreated to the sides like a tide, making way for him. He walked through the crowd like this, and seemed to be guided and pushed forward by the crowd.

When he finally arrived at the car, the crowd seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall. They stood in a row a few meters away from the car, consciously not blocking the way for the car.

Wang Zhong looked at them and felt that it would be bad to say nothing, so he said, "Fellow villagers, I..." An old lady interrupted him and said, "Go, General! Go and do your thing!"

The crowd, which had been silent just now, suddenly burst into laughter and everyone was talking.

"We can handle this!"

"Leave the rear to us!"

"Only you know how to defeat the enemy!"

Wang Zhong closed his mouth. He suddenly realized that recovering his homeland, rushing into Prothenia and achieving the final victory would be his best response.

So he raised his right hand and shouted, "Victory!"

The women and the elderly responded with an overwhelming voice: "Victory!"

Only victory can respond to all the sacrifices and all the suffering.

Wang Zhong got into the car and found that Lyudmila had been waiting for him in the car.

The car started and sped away.

----

The Rokossov Estate doesn't seem to have changed much from before.

There are just too many children.

Wang Zhong was wondering, and Lyudmila said, "Mikhail wrote to me and told me that in order to take care of war orphans, he found some teachers who were too old to go to the front line, and used the land of the manor to build an orphanage. There are more than 3,000 war orphans here."

Wang Zhong: "How much?"

Lyudmila: "More than 3,000. This is only a portion of the millions of war orphans."

Wang Zhong looked outside again and saw the children pruning the branches of the fruit trees and turning the soil in the temporarily opened fields in preparation for the upcoming spring plowing.

They are at an age where they should be having fun, but these children act like little adults.

Strangely enough, the more sensible the children behaved, the more uncomfortable Wang Zhong felt.

I really hope that one day, innocence can return to children’s faces.

I wish one day, the angels could sleep peacefully.

When he was at the front line, Wang Zhong was calculating how to destroy the enemy with the pride of a commander. He actually enjoyed the sense of accomplishment when he destroyed a large number of enemies.

Only when he returns to the rear will he remember once again that victory is not only a glory, but also an obligation.

Victory is not about showing off one's own military or literary skills, but about returning to one's homeland in peace one day.

Wang Zhong was immersed in his thoughts until the car stopped, when he suddenly woke up.

Lyudmila: "Here we are, dear."

Wang Zhong nodded, opened the door and got out, then quickly turned to the other side of the car, wanting to pick up Lyudmila, but she opened the door and got out by herself.

Lyudmila smiled and said, "I also want to discard some useless old things and embrace the new era."

This was in response to Wang Zhong’s previous speech at the station.

Lyudmila didn't want to be the king's queen.

Wang Zhong hugged his considerate wife and then turned around. He was surprised to find that there was only one person in front of the main building of Rokossov Manor to greet him, the owner.

The person was a little short, wearing a maid outfit, and had a stern face, as if Wang Zhong owed her a lot of money.

Wang Zhong rubbed his eyes, making sure he was not mistaken, and then he exclaimed, "Nelly?"

Nellie nodded gently: "Well, welcome back."

Wang Zhong took three steps at a time, jumped onto the stairs, picked up Nellie, and turned around three times.

Nellie: "Hat! My hat!"

Her boat hat had been thrown off and drifted far away in the wind before being gently caught by Lyudmila.

Nellie: "I'm still a patient!"

Wang Zhong then put Nellie down and looked at her cheek carefully.

Nellie had an obvious scar on her right eye, but the scar was much smaller than Wang Zhong had expected.

Originally, Wang Zhong thought she was going to become a big sister like Balalaika in "Black Lagoon".

The color of the pupil of the injured right eye was obviously different. It should be a glass prosthetic eye. Nellie thus became a person with two-color pupils.

Still... quite cute.

Wang Zhong: "Not bad, she looks much cuter than before."

Nellie: "I'm not cute."

"Yes, yes." As Wang Zhong responded, Lyudmila came over and put the boat hat back on Nelly's head.

Nellie straightened her clothes and saluted Wang Zhong: "Comrade General, please allow me to return to your war."

Wang Zhong nodded: "Approved!"

(End of this chapter)