artillery arc

Chapter 675 You Can’t Walk Into Yesterday
The reunited mother and son hugged each other for a long time.

Only after Mother Alexeyevna calmed down did her son let go of her and move away.

Then the young man - no, he is actually older than Wang Zhong, so it is wrong for Wang Zhong to call him young here.

He held the rank of second lieutenant and looked 70% similar to Aunt Alexeyevna.

Like most of the Ante soldiers, he wore on his chest the medals he had won so far. Although there were no gold stars among them, the number of medals showed that his performance on the battlefield was not inferior to any gold star winner. He might just lacked a little opportunity.

"General..."

Wang Zhong: "Won't you introduce yourself?"

In fact, Wang Zhong had already asked Pavlov to find the old lady's other sons, but the situation was too chaotic at that time. All the documents were lost, the relevant persons in charge were sacrificed or captured, and the troops were beaten to pieces by Prosen. Even if many people survived, they could not return to their troops.

Of course, Wang Zhong can see the name directly from a bird's-eye view, but the process still has to be followed.

The second lieutenant stood at attention and saluted: "Report to the general, the deputy company commander of the first company of the first battalion of the 54th regiment of the th Guards Mechanized Infantry Division of the First Mobile Army, Lieutenant Pyotr Alexeevich!"

Wang Zhong returned the greeting and praised: "You have a heroic mother and a heroic brother."

"Thank you," said the lieutenant.

The local church priest said: "Your mother participated in the uprising to liberate the city yesterday. Everyone saw her rushing towards the enemy-held municipal building. That was the enemy's city defense headquarters!"

Lieutenant Pietro: "Mom! How can you risk your life like this!"

Aunt Alexeevna: "I thought you were all dead, so I wanted to teach the Proshens a lesson by stabbing to death a son of a Proshen mother. Even if you come back, I won't regret it. I should have stabbed one of you to death!"

Priest: "We are going to apply for the Gold Star for Aunt Alexeyevna. Not only did she fight bravely yesterday, but she has also been protecting the guerrillas and the underground parish in the past two years, and she has also collected supplies for us. She should get the Gold Star, otherwise the whole parish will not agree!"

Wang Zhong looked at the medal on Pietro's chest and suddenly had the idea of ​​teasing him, so he said, "And your brother. Now we give priority to awarding the Gold Star to living people, but after the war is over, your brother will be awarded the Gold Star posthumously."

The corner of Pietro's mouth twitched noticeably. With so many medals on his chest, he must be very unwilling to not have a gold star.

Pietro: "I will also work hard to get the gold star..."

"No," Wang Zhong shook his head maliciously, "I think you are an experienced grassroots officer and should go to the rear school to teach those who are about to become grassroots officers."

"But...I..."

Wang Zhong: "I have decided."

This was a joke that Wang Zhong played on Pietro, and it was also a gift from Wang Zhong to Aunt Alexeyevna.

The old lady hugged Wang Zhong and said, "General, my good general, you are the best man in the world! However, I cannot allow you to give my son special treatment. I am just one of countless mothers. There must be many mothers like me whose sons are all on the front line. Can you let all their children come back?"

Wang Zhong: "I really can't do it, but my sister can. She can issue a decree requiring a census of the entire army. The last male left in each family cannot go to the front line, but will be transferred to the recruit camp to teach the new recruits their experience."

The old lady was still a little surprised: "Who is your godsister?"

The old lady's son, Pietro, whispered: "It is His Majesty the Tsar."

Auntie: "Oh! I see."

Lieutenant Pietro asked, "So General, you know my mother because of my brother? What happened to him?"

Wang Zhong: "He was my gunner. I commanded a T422 tank No. 28 in Haut-Peigne. Only the driver and I survived. The others died heroically."

Lieutenant Pietro's eyes widened. "That T28 gunner is my brother? No one told me that, and it wasn't even written in the newspapers!"

Wang Zhong: "Because I was just an ordinary lieutenant colonel at that time."

After a brief pause, he said in a self-deprecating tone: "The day before the battle of Haut-Peigne, I peed my pants on the battlefield."

Gregory and Vasily both laughed.

Everyone else was stunned, and after checking each other's eyes, they began to laugh awkwardly: "Ha, haha."

Suddenly, Lieutenant Pietro slapped his thigh and said, "I see. So that's how the strange tradition of the Imperial Guards came from!"

Wang Zhong: "Why, they are still peeing on the dead enemies?"

"Yeah, all the new recruits in the 1st Mechanized Infantry were crazy about remembering the first enemy they killed. There was even a case where two people fought over the urine of one enemy." Lieutenant Pietro shook his head. "I originally applied to join the 1st Mechanized Infantry, but it was not approved. The 8th Guards Division wanted me to go there, and the people in the division welcomed me and said, 'Now you don't have to go to the battlefield to find enemies to urinate on.'"

Wang Zhong: "Since the bishop of the Imperial Guards Mechanized Infantry did not stop this tradition, it means it is good for the morale of the troops. So let's keep it this way."

Then he changed the subject: "Lieutenant Pietro, are you back for vacation?"

"No, I still have a mission, so I asked for leave from the military chaplain. I have to go back soon--"

Wang Zhong: "As the commander of the front, I order you to take a three-day leave at home. The written order will be issued through the front headquarters and will reach your regiment within today. Stay at home and spend time with your mother."

Mother Alexeyevna opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but changed her mind: "Just one day, Pyotr, just one day."

Wang Zhong: "Then it won't hinder your reunion! I still need to go see my family's manor."

As soon as he finished speaking, the parish priest looked embarrassed and said, "Your manor was used as a defensive support point because it was relatively solid. It suffered great damage during the battle. No one has lived there for the past two years. It has become a paradise for creepers and various small animals."

Wang Zhong: "Then I want to go back and take a look too."

He saluted everyone and walked out the door.

A large crowd of people gathered on the street outside. When they saw Wang Zhong coming out, everyone started cheering. A young girl rushed forward, hugged Wang Zhong's neck and kissed him passionately.

Wang Zhong: "Okay, thank you, thank you!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, "General! Say something!"

Wang Zhong: "I'm still rushing to see my manor! I'll speak to you at the city's liberation ceremony tomorrow!"

But the public didn’t buy it:
"Say something!"

"Yeah, now just say something!"

Wang Zhong could only climb onto the jeep helplessly, stand on the seat, and look around.

"I originally thought that it would take five years to defeat the Prosens. I thought that when I returned to this city, the children would have grown up, the elderly would have left, and I would have gone from a young man to a middle-aged uncle.

"But now you see! I am still that young man! The Prosen people are not as powerful as they boast! Although we paid a lot of sacrifices, we are the final winners!

"After liberating this city, we will continue westwards! Liberate the rest of the country!"

Wang Zhong raised his right hand and pointed to the west.

"The enemy is on the decline. We will eventually enter Prothenia."

The crowd looked to the west and shouted, "Ura!"

----

It was not until eight o'clock in the evening that Wang Zhong's jeep finally drove into the Rokossov Manor.

By this time the sun was really setting, and the light of the setting sun gave the ruins a layer of blood.

Wang Zhong walked in the courtyard. He had only lived in this manor for a month two years ago, but everything in his eyes seemed so familiar, as if he had spent his entire childhood in this place.

He arrived at the front gate of the manor house and looked at the pillars riddled with bullet holes.

"It looks like there should be a machine gun bunker nearby," he said, "so the enemy is firing machine guns here, trying to suppress the machine gunner."

He raised his head and looked at the door that had been blown open.

"The enemy tank opened fire, using short-barreled Type 75 mm grenades."

The moment the words came out of his mouth, he seemed to be back two years ago, watching the Ante soldiers defending the support point opening fire under the porch, the old Maxim machine guns spewing flames.

Then the grenade hit the big door at the back, and the impact of the explosion swept shrapnel across the machine gun bunker.

The machine gunner was shot in the back and continued firing with gritted teeth, but he had no way to aim. The machine gun just kept firing at the void until the ammunition chain ran out.

The Proson infantry rushed forward, kicked the dying machine gunner away, and hit him several more times with his bayonet.

Wang Zhong sighed, and then he heard a child's voice: "Alyosha! Come here!"

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw the young boy standing among the felled beech trees in the courtyard, waving to him: "Alyosha, hurry up!"

Then another child ran from the porch and called out, "Your Highness! Wait for me!"

"Don't call me Your Highness!"

Then, two girls, one big and one small, appeared: "Ivan, Alyosha, you have locked up Olga again! I will complain to His Excellency the Duke!"

Wang Zhong rubbed his eyes, and the children disappeared. A pot-bellied old man was under the tree directing the gardener to prune the trees in the courtyard.

The old man suddenly felt something, stopped, looked at Wang Zhong, and then smiled.

At this moment, a baby's full-throated cry was heard from the master bedroom on the second floor of the manor.

Wang Zhong looked towards the second floor, but only saw half of the wall collapsed. The remaining half was covered with ivy, and the palm-shaped leaves were swaying in the sunset.

After Wang Zhong came out of the hallucination formed by his thoughts, he heard Vasily say: "General, do you want me to play something?"

Wang Zhong: "Then please play Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 49 and Overture in E flat major 1812."

Vasily: "I only have one harmonica!"

Wang Zhong: "It's okay. When the music reaches the climax, I'll have the artillery commander of the front army fire to cheer you on."

The climax of the 1812 Overture depicts the collapse of the French-Carolingian Army and the pursuit of the Ante Army. At the most famous performance on earth, cannons were fired outside the theater to cheer.

Vasily: "I only have a harmonica! Forget about the climax, I can't even get through the opening!"

Wang Zhong: "Think of a solution, musician."

At this time, Nellie asked, "So you plan to stay in this dilapidated house tonight?"

Wang Zhong thought for a moment and said, "No, when the war is over, I can find the best architect to rebuild this place while preserving the traces of the war. But for now, let the creepers and the small animals continue to occupy this paradise."

After a brief pause, he added: "After all, we can't walk into yesterday."

(End of this chapter)