Cannon Fire Arc

Chapter 788: Chapter 34 Starting Point (6K)_3

“The Priest has been martyred; the company commander went to look for the battalion commander.” The Master Sergeant was almost sober by this time, “We didn’t violate public discipline, we bought our drinks, and when the locals wanted to give it to us for free, we insisted on paying.”

Popov: “It’s commendable that you paid, but parading drunk in the streets in broad daylight, what would the locals think? The war isn’t over yet, aren’t you celebrating too early?”

Master Sergeant: “But, the Prosens are already so weak! When we took Ronied, we didn’t even fire a shot! I think the enemy is already—how do you say it, the Priest used to say it often before his martyrdom.”

Vasily: “The end of the strong bow’s reach?”

“Oh right, Major Davarish is right! The end of the strong bow’s reach! There’s also something about a rabbit’s tail not growing long! The Priest also said that Marshal Rocossov said that the war would end before Christmas next year!”

Ante believes in the Eastern Holy Church, and Christmas is on January 7; isn’t this the classic script of “ending the war before Christmas”?

Wang Zhong hurriedly said: “I never said that. What I said was, to defeat the Prosens, we still have a long and arduous journey ahead of us.”

Master Sergeant: “Hey, you’re not Rocossov! You don’t call the shots—”

His eyes bulged, and the wine bottle he had been clutching in his left hand slipped suddenly and shattered on the ground.

Wang Zhong: “Do I call the shots?”

The Master Sergeant snapped to attention and saluted, but the motion was so vigorous that, combined with the shards and liquid from the wine bottle that had just broken, he slipped and fell to the ground.

Popov stepped forward and offered his hand, pulling him up.

“Salute to you!” The Master Sergeant managed to stand at attention and saluted.

Only then did the others react, saluting Wang Zhong, their faces suddenly free of any trace of drunkenness.

Wang Zhong returned the salute: “I never said that we would end the war before Christmas; I never did. Even though your Priest has been martyred, we still need to properly investigate the source of these statements.”

Master Sergeant, puzzled: “But that’s what everyone says, that by Christmas we will enter Plowsonia and capture the Plathen Emperor.”

Popov, with a serious face: “It seems that achieving victory too fast has led to complacency within the troops.”

Wang Zhong: “I’ll leave it to you, Military Bishop Davarish.”

Popov: “Don’t think you can escape this, you will probably have to write a pamphlet and properly address this issue!”

Wang Zhong: “Vasily, I’m entrusting this to you.”

“Ah?” Vasily widened his eyes, “Am I to compile it? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll come up with an even earlier date?”

Wang Zhong gave Vasily a grin, then sat down and said to Grigori: “Let’s go, let’s see the old command post of the Duke.”

————

The church, which had been turned to rubble by a blast from the Prosen’s battleship, had now been completely demolished and turned into “Glory Park,” with no trace of its former state.

The Prosens built a monument in the middle of the park: a ten-meter high statue of the Plathen Emperor standing on the Double-headed Eagle banner of Ante, holding up high the eagle emblem of Prosen.

Wang Zhong looked up at the Plathen Emperor and asked Vasily: “Did the Plathen Emperor really look like this?”

“You’re asking me? I’ve never seen him either.”

“Marshal Davarish!” A shout came from the distance.

Wang Zhong looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Army Group Commander and the local Bishop running towards him, one after the other, followed by a large group of people.

“Hello, no need to rush! I’m here retracing the paths of the past with friends from the Allied Forces!”

The Army Group Commander reached Wang Zhong’s Jeep, still breathless, and saluted: “Comrade Marshal, we—we were just discussing how to deal with this statue!”

The local Bishop also chipped in: “We’ve just occupied the city, and there’s a lot to handle, not the least of which is food for the hundreds of thousands of people in the city.

“The Prosens deliberately withheld food from the city before they left, and many people have been hungry for a week.”

Wang Zhong: “I see that there’s still alcohol for sale in the stores.”

The Bishop was embarrassed: “This… we did indeed order the prohibition of brewing and distilling spirits, but… prohibition is nearly impossible to achieve in Ante, people would rather catch rats for meat than use grain for brewing.

“However, the supply issue will be resolved tomorrow once the railway is operational. Today, the local farmers have brought over sheep, so everyone will have meat to eat.

“So we were discussing how to deal with the ‘legacy’ left by the Prosens; apart from this ‘Glory Park,’ they also built many constructions boasting of their military exploits in the city, which we plan to demolish altogether.”

Wang Zhong: “Demolish? No, no, no, such an approach is too gentle and won’t make a significant impression on the public. You need to make a bigger show!”

Saying that, Wang Zhong’s gaze fell on the Army Group Commander: “Does your Army Group have Ulban?”

“No, we don’t even have the title of Guards in our Army Group, so we don’t get such fine things.” The Army Group Commander said with a bittersweet smile, “Everyone was geared up, planning to become Guards Army Group after taking Ronied. Many made solemn vows to earn a Venus here. But the Prosens fled, and both the Venus and the Guards cape are now out of reach.”

At the end, the tone of the Army Group Commander was a bit pitiful, sounding quite aggrieved.

Wang Zhong scratched his head: “Then, do you have B4 Heavy Artillery?”

“No. Our Army Group was formed later, equipped only with 122 and 152, without the 203 caliber guns.”

Wang Zhong: “Then I’ll bring a B4 over; it’s accurate, we’ll use it to fire concrete-buster shells to flatten the statue! It has to be done with a sense of ceremony!”

“Okay!” The Army Group Commander saluted and then cautiously asked, “After the B4 fires, can we keep it?”