Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 66 I Don't Want to Lose

Boom!
The door was kicked open, and the veteran rushed in in a panic.

"Gentlemen, everyone, I... I saw it... I saw it..."

"Are you seeing a ghost?"

"What did you see? Why are you like this?" Someone turned around.

"Huff~" Pavka swallowed hard, catching his breath. "I saw the priest!"

"Which priest?"

"Fool! Of course it's Father Pugin!"

One stone caused a thousand waves!

"Father Pugin!" "Are you sure?!" "Where?!"

The surrounding soldiers swarmed around, crowding together in a chaotic mess, each of them looking excited.

After going through so many events together, the black-clad priest held an irreplaceable position in the hearts of these soldiers. The respect this 300-man infantry battalion held for him was definitely not as simple as that between subordinates and superiors.

In the army, officers treated them as cannon fodder, as worthless livestock, and after they were wounded, they were left to silently await death.

The black-clad priest understood them, cared for them, fed them, treated their wounds, and even led them out of the Jedi twice.

During the most dangerous time, the priest led a small group to cover the rear for everyone. Everyone vividly remembers the wounded soldiers sitting on the carriage, wailing and crying towards the sky.

These soldiers, with their limited education, had even come to regard him as a prophet who would save them.

To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, even if the black-robed priest were to lead them in a rebellion now, these poor souls, who are oppressed by the lords every day, would probably immediately pick up their weapons and turn their guns against them.

“I saw it with my own eyes; the priest was in the stands next to the emperor, with those gentlemen.”

"Oh~"

Upon hearing that the priest wasn't coming, the soldiers' faces showed disappointment.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Telephone operator Ivanovich interrupted.
“A priest is a merciful and respectable man, and also someone who can perform miracles. Does he have to revolve around us? If he were to stand in a higher position, more people would have a better life.”

.........

Hearing this, the soldiers fell silent. One of them muttered, "Although what you said is true, I really still want the priest to lead us, even if it's just to fight the Germans again."

Many people around him showed expressions of agreement, and the scene became somewhat quiet for a moment.

“Guys, I have an idea!” Ivanovic stepped forward again.

“This time, the priest is watching us fight. Do we really want to let him see us running away without our boots?”

The soldiers looked at each other, and finally someone raised their hand.
"We don't want to!"

"I don't want to either!"

"Me too, especially in front of those pampered soldiers!"

The soldiers started making a ruckus, but someone raised a concern: "Is this a good idea? After all, this is an order from above. What if we don't let the Guards Division win? Won't that cause trouble?"

"Kozlov didn't say they couldn't win!"

The veteran chimed in, "But we don't want to lose either."

Click!

Vasily, the big guy, cleaved another piece of wood with his axe.
-
The parade began. In the warm autumn sun, soldiers stood in neat columns and marched past the reviewing stand. Ten-year-old Alexei, accompanied by Chief of Staff Yanushkevich, reviewed the troops from the high platform.

As the soldiers passed through the center of the platform, they raised their heads in salute. Under the gaze of thousands of eyes, Alexei was so nervous that he could only stand by supporting himself with his hands.

Qin Hao stood in the corner, watching the fairly orderly line pass by, and quietly yawned.

After all, he had seen the "Ultimate Parade" in another world and was completely immune to these things.

“Great team, isn’t it?” a voice came from behind.

Qin Hao turned around and saw that it was Grand Duke Nikolayevich.

"Your Excellency," Qin Hao bowed slightly, then said against his will, "They are indeed an outstanding unit."

"Yes! They're all young men from free people, nine out of ten of them can read, their weapons are all new models produced every three months, and the cavalry are equipped with Don horses." The Grand Duke looked at the troops in front of him and casually mentioned those inspiring figures.

But in the end, he sighed regretfully, "It's a pity that there are too few troops like this. I can only muster three divisions from the whole of Russia."

"If we had such troops in East Prussia to hold off the German offensive, perhaps things would not be like this."

Qin Hao didn't want to argue about such a meaningless topic, and at least in terms of paper strength, the team in front of him was indeed one of the "richer" in the Russian army.

As for whether they could actually defeat the Germans?

Hey, does that matter?
The priest in black robes concealed his emotions and nodded slightly. "I agree with your point of view, Your Excellency!"

"I heard that Father Pugin personally led troops in battle?" The Grand Duke casually brought up the topic.

"That was just an amateur's helpless choice under duress." The priest in black did not appear proud; instead, he adopted an even more humble demeanor.

"You are too modest. An outsider has no way of stopping thousands of Germans from moving an inch."

The Grand Duke coughed lightly. "What I mean is, if you are interested in military affairs, you might as well come and discuss them with me."

"Even wanting to try leading a unit like this is not out of the question."

???

Qin Hao paused for a moment, then did not answer immediately.

Is this an attempt to win me over?
why?
Where is the bottom line?

Should I refuse?
A series of questions flashed through Qin Hao's mind. Based on his memory of Russian history, this "Great General King" was no pushover when it came to politics.

After his nephew removed him from his position as commander-in-chief, he attempted a coup d'état with the support of frontline officers, Duma liberals, and British and French forces. However, he failed due to a lack of support from the Guards.

Ironically, after the Tsar abdicated in 1917, he intended to pass the throne to this Grand Duke.

However, the emperor's uncle refused, saying that "God does not allow me to be crowned at this moment." After the establishment of the Soviet Union, he went into seclusion in Crimea, then traveled to France, where he had a relatively good end.

"This is not a decision that can be made immediately. Please allow me to think about it." Qin Hao ultimately decided to stall for time.

"Well, why do you Easterners always have to be so reserved when making decisions?" The Grand Duke spread his hands, seemingly regretful.

He then pointed to a plain on the riverbank and said, “You can watch a drill first and then make a decision later.”

Qin Hao squinted in the sunlight and looked around.

But then they found the opposing team somewhat familiar.

(End of this chapter)