artillery arc

Chapter 187 State Funeral (36000 monthly votes plus more updates)

Five days passed in a blink of an eye.

On the morning of August 8, Wang Zhong stood in the ceremony preparation area and looked at the grand scene outside. Suddenly he found that his mind was blank and he quickly took out his speech and took a look.

Seeing this, Lyudmila comforted her softly: "Don't worry, your speech last night was very good. There will be no problem today."

Wang Zhong: "Well, I just took a look."

Lyudmila: "Don't worry, there will be staff with prompt boards in front of you. This is the purpose of letting you teach you how to write a speech! Relax. Then, let's go to the viewing gallery."

Lyudmila has not yet married Wang Zhong, so she is not a duchess yet. She cannot accompany him on this occasion. Instead, she and Neli went to the nearby viewing seat with a special invitation from the royal family.

Wang Zhong nodded, and then watched the two of them walk towards the audience seats.

Now only his guard Grigory and the ceremony staff were left standing with him in the preparation area.

The grand auditorium of the royal family was still empty. Wang Zhong heard the generals and marshals in the distance chattering: "Will your Majesty show up today?"

"It would be troublesome if he didn't show up. It seems that the Crown Princess became close to the church because of Rokosov's close relationship."

"We will definitely not be able to win this situation without relying on the church. If the royal family doesn't become more assertive... I don't dare think about it."

"Looking at the bright side, the crown prince's sacrifice has actually boosted the royal family's influence among the people, and also allowed Agsukov's heavily armed group to resist until now."

"It would be great if more troops could be rescued. If we can rescue an army group in this situation, we can declare that we have won."

Wang Zhong was originally reading the speech, but his attention was attracted by the generals' chat.

Listening to the conversation of the generals, he subconsciously glanced at the church's main auditorium, which seemed to be deliberately competing with the royal family. The auditorium was just on the other side of the road, across the widest avenue in Yebao from the royal family's auditorium. see.

Agsukov's current logistics has been almost completely cut off. There is still less than ten kilometers of fortification zone between the two armored fists of the Prossen. The enemy did not capture it because both armored groups ran hundreds of meters. Kilometers, need to stop to make up for it.

Moreover, the distance of ten kilometers looks very wide, but in fact it is blocked by artillery and aviation, making it impossible for troops to pass.

The enemy's encirclement has actually been completed. It depends on when Proson's propaganda phase declares victory.

It is currently confirmed that there are 800,000 troops in the encirclement according to the organizational structure, but most of the troops have been fighting tenaciously, so the number of troops has been seriously reduced. In fact, the number of troops still able to fight may only be 500,000, and many of them are wounded.

Although the Southwest Front Army dismissed its staff and destroyed its code books, the radio station continued to send reports in clear codes, reporting on the situation every day, and proudly declared that "the Southwest Front Army is still fighting."

It is said that it was this clear message that prevented the Prosen Empire's propaganda department from declaring victory.

Wang Zhong lowered his head and looked at the speech in his hand.

Ivan, were you sure from the beginning that your sacrifice would have such an effect?

Wang Zhong didn't know the crown prince well, after all, he had only known him for a short time. Perhaps for the rest of his life, he would think of the Crown Prince's smile again and again, wondering how far he had reached.

If the southwest front army that continues to resist drags the enemy's main force into the mud, the pressure on the front will be completely reduced.

In this way, the enemy may be able to survive the severe winter in a place with sufficient supplies, and will not be frozen to death by General Winter, which will cause next year's war to become more cruel.

But in the current situation, it would be a good thing for Ant to take a breather.

Once the factory moved to the east is up and running again, and the new recruits are trained, the elite Prosen army may find itself facing several times the Ant army.

Wang Zhong was thinking about this when someone behind him cleared his throat.

It's a refreshing male voice.

He thought that officials related to the ceremony were coming to finalize the details with him, so he turned around and said, "I have memorized the speech, now I am just reviewing it a little..."

Wang Zhong stopped because he saw military uniforms that were completely different in style from Ant and Prosen.

However, this military rank is an oak leaf, and Wang Zhong happens to know a country that uses oak leaves as its military rank.

In this country, the golden oak leaf is the major, the silver oak leaf is the lieutenant colonel, and the colonel is the eagle emblem.

The young male was supposed to be a lieutenant colonel.

Wang Zhong: "Who are you?"

"John Wick, General Rokossov, Attaché of the Embassy of the United States." The visitor first saluted Wang Zhong and then extended his hand.

Wang Zhong held his hand: "Hello, what do you do for me?"

"I heard that you once expressed your judgment on the war situation at a sharing meeting for young officers. Sorry, I am a straightforward person. Can you tell me again?" Lieutenant Colonel John said with a sincere face, "Lianzhong "The country is very concerned about this, which is related to a top-secret negotiation that is ongoing and a bill that is being discussed in Congress."

Wang Zhong: "Is this the Lend-Lease Act?"

Lieutenant Colonel John's eyelids twitched: "You actually know..."

Only then did Wang Zhong realize that he was talking too fast. Theoretically speaking, it was impossible for him to know about the Lend-Lease Act at this time. So he started to lie: "The United Kingdom already knows about this matter, and the United Kingdom's knowledge of this matter is equivalent to our knowledge."

Lieutenant Colonel John smiled and said, "It's okay if Rabelais doesn't know."

Although this is the first time Wang Zhong has heard the name of Raberville, the name of Santoku's intelligence agency on the other side of the earth is well known. The biggest characteristic of this agency is its incompetence, and it has made an indelible contribution to the world's anti-FXS cause. contribute.

Rabbeville may be the other-time and space counterpart of Abbéville, after all, the name only differs by one sound.

Wang Zhong laughed and then went straight to the point: "We will block the enemy."

Lieutenant Colonel John: "What's your basis?"

Wang Zhong: "The basis is the vast territory of Ant, and the upcoming generals Ni and Dong. No, no country can conquer the vast territory of Ant - well, maybe the Mongols can."

Lieutenant Colonel John laughed loudly: "You have a great sense of humor, yes, the Mongols can. What about the right time and place?"

Wang Zhong asked back: "You have the right time and right place, so what else can you ask for?"

"The will to fight," said Lieutenant Colonel John.

Wang Zhong: "Agsukov is still fighting. Doesn't this explain the problem? They have been de facto surrounded. The hundreds of thousands of troops must have eaten up their supplies, but they are still fighting."

Lieutenant Colonel John shrugged: "The sacrifice of the Crown Prince inspired the fighting will of the Agsukov group, and the continued resistance indeed encouraged the domestic lawmakers who supported the Lend-Lease bill. But the performance of His Majesty the Tsar inspired the opposition.

"Look at the Carolingians. The Carolingian soldiers still have the will to fight, but the higher-ups still chose to surrender. It is clear that most of the country has not fallen, and there are still millions of troops, a vast African colony, armored forces and Air Force, but the top brass chose to surrender.”

Wang Zhong: "As far as I know, General Dagao is still fighting."

"Ah, yes, General Dago and his Free Carolingians are still fighting, but the Carolingians surrendered. If Ant surrenders, you can also go to the United States to continue fighting."

Wang Zhong: "I won't. My best friend and my dear father have died fighting on this land. Their sacrifices have allowed me to stand here.

"In order to preserve my vitality, I have given up on those who trust me twice - no, three times. I can't stop fighting, otherwise even if I die and go to hell, they will not forgive me." Lieutenant Colonel John just said When he wanted to speak, Wang Zhong continued: "Furthermore, I am a smart man. It is clear that this is a battle that must be won. As long as I persist, I will win in the end, and I will also become a partner with Suvorov and Kutuzov." As a well-known military strategist, as a smart person, I will choose to continue fighting."

Lieutenant Colonel John squinted his eyes and stared at Wang Zhong. He stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds before showing an admiring smile: "No wonder they call you the Star of Victory. I have felt your obsession with victory, and I will keep this confidence intact." Immediately convey this to His Excellency the President.”

Wang Zhong: "It's not obsession, it sounds like a kind of pathological paranoia, and I'm just stating the facts to you."

Lieutenant Colonel John just smiled and saluted Wang Zhong. Compared with the first salute, this time it was obviously full of respect.

The Lieutenant Colonel of the United States turned around and left with a quick stride.

Wang Zhong took a deep breath. At this time, he heard the voices around him suddenly increase.

Everyone looked towards the royal viewing platform.

Wang Zhong also looked over, and saw the haggard His Majesty the Tsar appeared with the support of Princess Olga, and slowly came to sit on the most luxurious chair.

Wang Zhong suddenly noticed that His Majesty Belinsky also appeared on the auditorium of the church across the street holding a scepter.

The two sides looked at each other across the street, across the crowds lining up on the street.

"Holy War" sounded.

His Majesty the Tsar seemed startled by the sacred war and looked around blankly, like a timid little animal.

Wang Zhong sighed, His Majesty the Tsar would have been better off not appearing in this situation.

The "generals" on both sides appeared, and the ceremony began to advance.

Wang Zhong didn't think about anything else at all and was just observing the state of His Majesty the Tsar.

He always felt that the Tsar now looked like someone from the movie "Downfall". The feeling of exhaustion, madness, and being on the verge of collapse is almost exactly the same.

As the ceremony progressed, it was time for Wang Zhong to speak.

The master of ceremonies signaled Wang Zhong to prepare.

Just then, His Majesty the Tsar stood up.

Everyone looked at him.

There was originally a microphone on the royal viewing platform, but the Tsar directly motioned for the microphone to be moved to him.

"My son, Ivan Nikolaev Antonov, died a heroic death for his country!"

The Tsar began, his voice full of madness: "We have lost a hero! But does this mean failure? No! This is just the beginning!
"Our military strength now seems to be far inferior to that of the Proscenians. Although we continue to expand our army, our army is as vulnerable as a castle on the sand! The enemy advanced crazily in the first two weeks of the war. One hundred and seventy kilometers!
"And my generals are still bragging shamelessly! They said they would counterattack into Plosen within a month! What's the result?
"They actually want to put the responsibility for Agsukov's failure on me! No... huh?"

Olga whispered something in the ear of His Majesty the Tsar.

The Tsar laughed loudly: "It is true! That General Skorobo is a shameful traitor! A traitor! He deceived me and the people of Ant!

"Everything that happened before was a scam created by them! It was an illusion!

"My son, my dear son Ivan, died. He died just to wake you up from that naive illusion! Now, the war has just begun!
"Our military strength is gradually recovering; the Prosen Empire is no longer to be feared.

"Your fathers and brothers also died in the massacre of Prosen. We must not forget this sadness and anger! This is the revelation that my Ivan gave us with his own death!

"We should now gather this anger to destroy the Prosen Army and win the real victory for the first time! This victory is the greatest consolation for the dead!

"Citizens, rise up! Turn grief into strength, rise up, citizens! Ant needs your strength!"

Wang Zhong was shocked. This speech sounded a bit familiar.

At this time, the master of ceremonies said to Wang Zhong: "The ceremony command has changed the ceremony process. You don't need to give a speech."

Wang Zhong frowned. He looked at the viewing stand where the generals were, and found that Tukhachev had just put down the phone.

In the row behind him, General Turgenev shook his head slightly and winked at Wang Zhong.

Boy, these people blocked my speech in order to fight against the church!

Wang Zhong looked at his speech.

Most of the content in this speech is indeed repeated from His Majesty the Tsar's speech, and there is really no need to repeat it again.

But if this continues, it always feels like the people's sense of existence has been weakened - although the tsar also mentioned "your fathers and brothers", it feels like they are accessories to the crown prince.

If this continues, the sacred war will turn into another noble war between the royal family and the royal family.

In that case, you really may not be able to win.

After all, Prosen is ridiculously strong.

And I always feel that this is not in line with Ivan’s wishes.

Wang Zhong suddenly remembered the scene when he set off from Agsukov. At that time, Ivan said to him: "Take care of Olga."

He glanced at the Crown Princess.

Then he looked towards the church's auditorium.

It always felt like Belinsky was nodding.

Wang Zhong pushed away the emcee, rushed to the podium, and walked to the microphone.

The person holding the sign in front of the microphone didn't know what was going on, but he still held up the sign with the speech written on it.

Wang Zhong glanced at the sign and thought that the current situation was useless as it was.

The whole tone needs to be reversed.

So he said loudly: "Everyone!"

The sound echoed over the entire state funeral venue.

After Wang Zhong caught everyone's attention, he raised the speech in his hand high, tore it up with a sizzle, and threw it into the wind.

Now everyone's curiosity was aroused.

Wang Zhong began an impromptu speech.

(End of this chapter)