Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 64 Losers' Bracket
Two days later, at Mogilev's base camp, three kilometers away, on the banks of the Dubrovnik River.

A tall wooden platform was erected, and a long red carpet was laid all the way to the carriage door decorated with palace ornaments, so that the boots of the nobles would not get dirty with mud.

In the distance, a division of the Guards was ready for inspection. All the soldiers had changed into new uniforms, the officers wore their medals and sashes, the Cossacks' sabers were polished to a gleaming shine, and even the warhorses had been carefully washed one by one.

Some say that the more you lack something, the more you should shout about it. Qin Hao believes this applies at least to His Majesty Nicholas II.

After suffering a major setback at the front, His Majesty the Emperor chose to hold a grand military parade followed by a medium-sized military exercise, using the approach of turning a tragedy into a celebration to quell the doubts from the surrounding regions.

To ensure the success of this military parade, the Tsar went to great lengths, not only bringing along a host of "meritorious" troops from the front lines, but also his entire family to lend their support.

Empress Alexandra, along with her two eldest princesses, served as nurses (symbolically) in the field hospital, while Crown Prince Alexei directly inspected the troops.

This is definitely a big challenge for a boy who is only 10 years old this year.

Not to mention that His Highness needed to consider how to behave properly in front of so many soldiers, the palace attendants had to rack their brains just to get him safely to the training ground.

Due to a family history of hemophilia, Alexei himself suffers from severe hemophilia, and even minor bumps and knocks can have very serious consequences.

It should be noted that His Highness the Prince once suffered a groin hematoma due to the bumpy ride in the carriage and was forced to stay in bed for three weeks.

To ensure the safety of this most distinguished "patient," the attendants used a combination of a special train and a modified horse-drawn carriage. Accompanied by a full entourage of maids and protected by two battalions of Cossack cavalry, he finally arrived here a few days ago.

However, the work on the details of the exercise has only just begun.

Early in the morning, Anna Verubova found the Frenchman Philippe.

"Master, Her Majesty the Queen says she needs your help to appease His Highness," the head maid said.

This would have been a normal thing in the past, but Philip suddenly found himself in a dilemma.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I've been unable to use my strength recently due to health reasons, and I'm afraid I can't help you today." The Frenchman was still trembling uncontrollably.

"Is it a physical problem? Are you feeling unwell? Would you like me to find a doctor for you?"

"No need, I just need some rest. I should be able to recover in two or three days," the French charlatan said immediately.

"Please let me know if you need any help." The head maid gave a half-bow, raised her head slightly, and walked away. She needed to find some calming drinks for Alexei.

The Tsar and Tsarina attended the event hand in hand, but they were not the main figures; instead, they stood with Grand Duke Nikolayevich, who served as Commander-in-Chief.

Qin Hao stood at the very edge of the entourage, casually observing the situation in the arena. However, he was more interested in the little prince in the middle than the showy figures.

Due to the lack of a male heir, and the fact that the Empress gave birth to four more princesses, Tsarist Russia was once ridiculed by the great powers as "a country held hostage by women's wombs".

Alexei, a child with a serious illness, would have been unlikely to become an heir in other countries, but he had no choice but to shoulder this pressure at this time.

In some ways, he and his father are very similar.

The ten-year-old boy, who was surrounded by people, was clearly trying to control his nervousness. He kept wiping the seam of his pants with his hand and his lips were tightly pursed.

Plop plop~~
The sound of flapping wings rang out, a crow circled overhead, cawed twice, and then flew away into the distance.
-
In the distance, at the camp where soldiers were being reviewed, the newly formed Siberian soldiers were eating their lunch. "What bad luck, to see crows at a time like this," the bombardier Nosayev grumbled, looking up at the sky and putting down his spoon.

"So what? You see them every day when you're with the Germans, don't you?" Machine gunner Igor swallowed a piece of black bread and said nonchalantly.

"Hey buddy, you're not feeling well? Here, take this." Someone reached for the plate in Nosayev's hand, but he shoved it away.

"I didn't say I wouldn't eat," the bombardier muttered, then scooped up some onion soup beans from the plate and put them in his mouth.

"To be honest, I thought I was already a hero. I never imagined that we would have to eat this kind of lousy bean after we left the battlefield." A voice continued to complain.

"Hehe, be content. In their eyes, we're not some heroic unit, just a bunch of routed soldiers who have regrouped. At least they put some pork skin in the soup."

"Pork skin? I can't see it!!"

"Damn it! Pavka! Did you sneak some food all by yourself?!"

"You rat! I curse that all the cigarettes you receive will be broken!"

The camp was in chaos, but you could tell that these guys got along very well; the rude insults were just a bit of fun in their daily lives.

After a series of great battles, everyone here is a comrade-in-arms whom you can entrust your back to on the battlefield.

They were also unfortunate souls who suffered the same injustice.

After joking about their lunch, someone muttered, "Why should we be on the losing side? Those spoiled brats, I could take on three of them by myself!"

"There's nothing we can do. Unlike us rats in the tunnels, they come from good families. They're the Imperial Guard. Look at that, what a grand name," someone said sarcastically.

That's right. After their outstanding performance at Lake Masuria, these retreating soldiers were "honored" to be incorporated into the exercise force after their organization was restored.

The only regret is that they were in the loser's bracket.

In other words, on the training field, facing the valiant Imperial Guards, they had to put on a show of fighting back. Then, once the enemy stormed into the trenches, they would flee in disarray.

The soldiers protested against this unfair treatment, but what they didn't know was that after they ousted the third commander and sidelined the fourth, this treatment was already a favor given to them for their meritorious service in blocking the enemy's advance.

There was no other way; these soldiers, tempered by war, were no longer the sheep who would flee at the first sign of trouble on the battlefield. The only thing that could make them willingly obey orders was the man in the black robe.

Unfortunately, he is no longer here.

"Forget it, wouldn't it be better to just play along and act with them? At least we don't have to go back to the front." Old Pavka shrugged, stuffing a dried sausage he had just exchanged with someone into his pocket with his other hand.

Crackle! ...
A dark shadow flashed past, and a crow grabbed a dried intestine and flew away, cawing loudly.

"Damn thief! I traded a pack of cigarettes for that! Come back here!" the veteran shouted as he chased after him, but once he was outside the camp, he froze.

On one side of the opposite platform stood a figure that was all too familiar.

(End of this chapter)