Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1243 Will it take a long time to understand?

The sudden victory news stunned everyone. Mitch was the first to react and subconsciously asked, "When did it happen?"

"Five days ago." Ling said.

It was about the same time from the Iron Forge City, Bad Ain, to the Evernight Forest. In other words, the Grayhill Eagle sent a messenger to the rear at almost the same time the battle ended, and he traveled non-stop all the way to deliver the news to Lingge in time.

"How could it be... so fast?" Mitch looked a little dazed.

Seeing his reaction, Ling Ge couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "It seems that you don't seem very happy?"

"No, that's not the case!" Mitch quickly shook his head to deny it, and explained anxiously: "I just didn't expect the war to go so smoothly..."

The Iron City of Bat Ain is a major city in the north, a true fortress city, on the same level as the Gray Hill City of Suare. If the latter is the center of politics and economy, then the former is the center of industry and military. All the ores mined from the Mineral Town of Lostra will eventually be transported to that city. After a series of complex processes such as melting, smelting, and forging, a large number of weapons are produced to strengthen the city defense and arm the colonists' army. The defenders of Bat Ain are not at the same level as the defenders of the Mineral Town of Lostra. It can be said that it is equivalent to the difference between the Gray Hill Eagle and Mitch - although it is a bit derogatory to say this, he does think so.

Of course, the Liberation Front had to recover the entire Gray Hill region, including several important cities such as Bad Ain and Suare. However, in Michel's expectation, that should be a long time in the future, at least until the rebels were strong enough to confront the colonists head-on. Otherwise, they would have suffered heavy casualties just by attacking a mining town, not to mention a heavily guarded fortress city.

"Your idea is exactly what the defenders of Bad Ain City think, so they fell into Mr. Carson's trap." Seeing that Mitch was still confused, and even Metien and Kadora didn't understand what he meant, Lingge paused and decided to explain the whole story of the war to them in a more understandable way, just like when he taught children in school: "Remember the celebration banquet?"

"Celebration party?" Mitch scratched his cheek. "You mean the celebration party after the recapture of Mineral Town? What does it have to do with this matter?"

"Of course it is related." Linger glanced at him. "The celebration banquet was just a false appearance of Gray Hill Eagle to cover up the real intention. At the celebration banquet, Carson Borg deliberately let several captives go, allowing them to escape back to Bad Ain City. At the same time, he also passed on the news that the rebels were holding a celebration banquet after capturing Mineral Town. The commander of the Bad Ain City garrison made a wrong judgment and thought that the rebels had become complacent and relaxed after winning a victory. So he immediately decided to send troops to Lostra Town, hoping to launch a counterattack when the rebels underestimated the enemy. This was not originally a It was a wrong decision. After all, Lostra Town was of great significance to Bat Ain City, so naturally, the sooner it was recovered, the better. But in fact, before the news reached Bat Ain City, that is, on the night of the celebration banquet, the rebels had regrouped and evacuated Lostra Town, leaving only a small number of people as decoys while the main force headed towards Bat Ain City. Moreover, they deliberately took a long detour to avoid the reinforcements sent by Bat Ain City to Lostra Town. In this way, the offensive and defensive positions changed, and when the commander of Bat Ain City reacted, the rebels had already arrived at the city and completed the counter-encirclement of them. "

"Isn't this too risky?" Metien opened his eyes wide, surprised at the bold decision of Grayhill Eagle: "If they fail to capture Bad Ain City in the end, won't they also lose the town of Lostra that they captured at the beginning?"

"Adventurous? Not at all."

Linger shook his head slowly: "Mr. Carson has already planned everything. Don't forget that it was the Kingdom's army that helped the rebels capture the city of Bad Ain."

Kadora reacted almost instantly: "You mean, the news that the Kingdom Army is still gathering is also false. In fact, General Fransander has already made preparations to march, and has only been waiting for our cooperation?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, that's it."

Linger couldn't help but laugh as he spoke: "It's a simple but effective strategy to set up a confusing formation and conceal the real from the fake. Both Mr. Carson and General Fransander's performances are amazing."

It is no exaggeration to say that the entire war situation is linked together by one scam after another. General Fransander's visit to the North was a scam, the Kingdom Army was still gathering was a scam, and even the Liberation Front's attack on Lostra Town was a scam. It was precisely because of so many scams that the enemy never discovered their true intentions. Of course, this may also be related to the current situation of the Kingdom of Noah. The Kingdom's political defense line is useless in the face of the military oppression of the Axis Powers, and the intelligence is even more shattered. If this method of deceiving even his own people was not adopted, I am afraid that General Fransander would not even be able to leave the capital, let alone assemble the Northern Army and provide timely support.

What is more important is the personal ability of the leader. If it were not for the absolute appeal of the Eagle of Gray Hill among the Ash Guerrillas and even the entire Liberator Front, which enabled everyone to unconditionally believe in and follow him; if it were not for General Fransander's good command of the army, even the temporarily assembled Northern Legion was made by him like an iron barrel that could not be poured in by water, and no news leaked out during the whole process... if it were someone else, this effect would not be achieved.

After capturing Bad Ain, the rebels and the royal army had a complete logistical base and long-term stronghold. The situation was already very good. Next, as long as the rebels represented by the Eagle of Gray Hill and the royal army represented by General Fransander cooperate sincerely, perhaps the liberation of Gray Hill will no longer be just a lofty dream, but a reality within reach.

After recovering from the initial shock and confusion of hearing the news, Mitch observed the young man's expression and asked out of the blue, "Did you know this a long time ago, Pastor Ling?"

Metien and Kadora also cast suspicious glances.

Linger thought about it and felt that this was not something that needed to be concealed, so he admitted it frankly: "I didn't know at first, but when I heard that Mr. Carson was going to hold a celebration banquet and specifically asked you to escort the ashes of the dead in the war back, I roughly guessed it."

Mitch was stunned: "You mean, Brother Carson deliberately found an excuse to let us avoid this battle?"

"Ah."

"So you kept us here not to build a cemetery, but because you were afraid that we would run back after we knew the news?"

Linger shook his head: "Mr. Carson sent you here, so I have to take good care of you. Besides, building a cemetery is not just an excuse. After being busy for a while, you should have some different feelings, right?"

He looked at the boy deeply and said, "Are you still like before, angry, sad, and not knowing what to do?"

Mitch couldn't help but remain silent. He wanted to refute that he was not so decadent, but he couldn't tell a lie after all. The boy knew exactly what his mental state was at that time, and what the mental state of his companions was. I'm afraid that others also saw it clearly. Otherwise, Gray Hill Eagle would not have found this excuse to send them out of the battlefield. Recalling the conversation that night, Mitch was a little surprised. Why did Brother Carson insist on bringing all the companions of the Youth Army with him, and said some heartfelt words to him and Kadora. But now that he understood the truth of the matter, he could not be dissatisfied with these people's behavior of concealing himself. Instead, he should feel ashamed of himself who was childish, immature, and always needed others to take care of him. As Pastor Ling said, during the time he stayed on Yunjing Sky Island, although he and his companions did not participate in the battle to recapture the city of Bad Ain, what they gained from it was an emotion that could not be compared with the joy after the victory of the war.

calm.

He was thinking about doing something for his dead companions, so he immersed himself in the work of building a cemetery, temporarily forgetting the troubles of the outside world, and forgetting the pain and unwillingness that accompanied the war. Every time he erected a tombstone, planted a sapling, and filled a pile of soil, he felt that something in his heart was buried with it. When he came to his senses again, the boy was surprised to find that his heart no longer had any throbbing, it was as calm as the surface of the water without waves, but it was not because he had forgotten everything, but precisely because he wanted to remember, so he let it go.

Just as high tide must be followed by low tide, when the tide rises and recedes, everything that was once on the beach is washed away. Mitch once thought that his anger and sadness were scars carved on his body, but it turned out that they were just words written on the beach, which would eventually recede into the vast ocean after being washed away by the tides.

Perhaps one day in the future, Mitch would recall what happened that day, accompanied by an uncontrollable pain, like a wound on the body, sometimes with a surge of pain, and sometimes with a dull pain when he tossed and turned at night and couldn't sleep. But no matter what, now he felt only peace, the breeze blowing through the saplings, the green meadow, the leaves of the morning glory on the fence rubbing against each other, making a distant sound like the sound of waves, and under the sunlight, it seemed that even hatred would be dried up and diluted into hope that was smaller than the dust in the light.

This is what Linger wants to teach Mitch. He spent a long time to figure it out after his adoptive father passed away, and he took many detours because of it. He doesn't want the boy to repeat the mistakes he made. He is still young and has a bright future and beautiful dreams, which deserves everyone's expectations.

"I think..." Mitch lowered his head, unconsciously tightened his grip on the shovel, and said as if talking to himself: "I understand a little bit."

"Get it? Then make your choice."

Ling said, but not only to Mitch, but also to Kadora and the other members of the Youth Army. When they were talking, they had already noticed something, and they gathered around and listened quietly to the young man's story: "Mr. Carson sent you here, obviously not wanting you to continue to participate in this war; but he did not make it clear, perhaps it can be considered that he hopes you will make your own choice. This is correct, because other people's opinions are not worth mentioning. Even the Eagle of Gray Hill and I cannot interfere with your choice. The key is your personal will - what do you want to do next? Continue this war and contribute to the liberation of Gray Hill? Or stay here and contribute to its reconstruction after the war is over? The former is the present, and the latter is the future. This choice is actually not difficult at all. It depends on whether you want the present or the future."

Mitch and the others were speechless for a moment, with expressions of hesitation or struggle on their faces, and it was obvious that they found it difficult to make a decision.

It's not difficult, but it depends on who you are. If it's Carson Borg, he can make the choice without hesitation, because he only has the present, and the future has nothing to do with him; if it's the children in the school, they should choose the future, after all, they have never mastered the power to change the present. It's the boys and girls like Mitch who are caught in the middle who are the most embarrassed, because they have both the present and the future. If this question is understood as not choosing one but abandoning the other, then it will become extremely difficult.

Lingge was not in a hurry to get an answer, but Metien looked anxious. He couldn't help but speak several times. He wanted to say something, but was blocked by his brother's eyes. The girl knew what this look meant, and she knew that she was not qualified to interfere with them. But as a friend, wasn't the feeling of wanting to do something for them also real and urgent?

Ling Ge still shook his head at her. The pink-haired girl bit her lower lip lightly, feeling helpless. She only hoped that Mitch and the others could make the right choice, although she didn't really know in her heart whether it was the right choice for Mitch and the others, or the "right" choice derived from her own selfishness.

"I--"

Mitch suddenly raised his head. At this moment, there was no longer any confusion on his face, only a firm awareness, just like when Linger first met him. But in the past, he was just a young man with a passion for life. Now he finally understood what responsibility and obligation were: "I don't know what other people think, but I want to continue this war because I think that's what I really want to do!"

Linger smiled.

Before he could say anything, Kadora beside him said, "Then I want to go too."

She glanced at the embarrassed boy and snorted, "But it's not because Mitch wants to go, but because I want to go."

There was also a burst of echoing voices from the companions behind him.

"That's it!"

"Mitch also said he didn't know what we would choose. Is this looking down on his companions?"

"Not a qualified leader!"

"It would be better to let Katara be the leader!"

Mitch's face immediately turned red, and he yelled at them, "Shut up! If you say something like that again, I'll beat you up!"

There was another burst of laughter from the crowd.

Meidian stared at this scene blankly, and suddenly felt envious... But what was she envious of? She herself didn't know.

That may be a truth that takes a long time to understand.