Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 59 Test Drive of the T-54
As it turns out, even dogs have to come and report once Lu Lin calls their name.

Three days later, when Enshium was escorted to the military camp, his pale face was filled with despair.

And his damned brother was walking toward him in a crisp military uniform, beaming with a smile.

"Look who's here," Lu Lin said affectionately, putting his arm around Enshum's shoulder as if there had never been any unpleasantness between them. "My dear brother, this military uniform is practically tailor-made for you!"

Enshium's lips twitched as he let the other person pat his shoulder.

How could Lu Lin not be enthusiastic in the face of such a kind person?

He turned to the officer beside him: "Salih, this is our clerk! It's not easy to find someone who can read and write these days. You should mentor him and make sure to train him well!"

Staff Officer Saleh gave a standard military salute. "It is an honor, Major General."

Lu Lin then turned to Enshium and said, "From now on, you must obey the captain's instructions, follow his command, train hard, and strive to bring glory to the country in the future!"

Watching Saleh lead the lifeless Enshium away, Lu Lin couldn't help but sigh. If all royal children were as sensible as him, how could the country not prosper?

impermanence of life.

The thought of the tragic future he was about to face made Enshium feel that the road ahead was bleak and hopeless.

Why did I insist on causing trouble for this jinx back then?

Saleh led Nshum to the office, assigned him a seat, and then piled a stack of files on the desk:
"The military is expanding its organization these days. These are the files of the new recruits, which we need to classify and manage. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Upon hearing the details of the job, Enshium breathed a sigh of relief; at least it didn't seem too difficult. "This is our job?"

Saleh laughed and said, "That's not all. In addition to managing soldiers' files, we are also responsible for drafting official documents and recording meeting minutes. After that, you will also need to learn a series of skills such as transmitting classified documents, code-breaking, radio operation, etc."

Soldiers are easy to recruit now, but literate clerks are really hard to find. Most of the staff officers in the army, like us, come from the royal family.

Enshium was slightly surprised: "You're also from royalty?"

Saleh nodded: "I am from the Turki family."

Shuangzhi was originally a system of tribal family alliance, with the Arasha family as the supreme leader and the other families acting as shareholders in this large company.

Although the discovery of oil resources in modern times led to the decline of most families, a few families, such as the Sheikh and Turki families, still maintain their prominent status.

Enshium had finally met someone of equal standing. He sighed and asked, "Why did you come here?"

Captain Saleh's smile vanished as he replied, "Do you know how many people are desperate to get into a major general's unit? Some people can't even get in by paying money!"

Enshium was puzzled: "We are royalty, there's no need for us to risk our lives like ordinary people."

“I used to think the same way you do.”

Saleh did not get angry. He showed off his warrior medal and said calmly, "But after I charged into battle with the general, I realized that what the royal family gave us was not a privilege, but the qualification to be the first to charge into battle."

The general taught us what honor and responsibility, courage and faith are.

Believe me, you are far more valuable here than anywhere else.

Lu Lin, accompanied by Colonel Bandar, is inspecting the training of tank crews.

Thanks to the Sheikh family sending the T-54 ahead of time, the tank crews had a tank ready for training ahead of schedule.

"Fahd, how many hours of driving experience did you have during your training?" Lu Lin asked.

Upon hearing this, Fahd replied, "Ten hours? It's definitely less than twenty. I only learned the basic operations back then: starting, turning, and shifting gears. And I practiced mostly on scrapped tanks or tractors."

Back then, those old Shermans were incredibly valuable; the instructors wouldn't let us even start them!

Bandar picked up the thread: "But things are looking up now. This war terrified the princes of the royal family. They all raised their hands in support of buying weapons, and some even offered to pay for them themselves!"

Lu Lin nodded. After the military reform, the total number of troops in Shuangzhi's army had surged to 150,000. This number only included the regular army and did not include the National Guard and paramilitary forces.

One-tenth of the regular army was assigned to his command, all of which were the most elite units, including an armored division, a mechanized infantry division, and an air defense brigade.

The Air Force is directly under the command of the Ministry of National Defense and cannot be considered Lu Lin's own force.

Lu Lin said, "Tank soldiers must have at least 120 hours of real vehicle driving experience, including night driving and driving in complex terrain. This is a strict requirement."

Colonel Bandar immediately wrote it down.

If Emperor Xunzong had had such troops back then, why would he have had trouble crossing the river?
Looking at his army gradually taking shape, Lu Lin was also filled with excitement. He called over the armored unit company commander who was directing training, "Get a tank over here, I want to go up and take a look myself!"

"The Major General wants to inspect it personally!"

At the company commander's command, a T-54 tank quickly drove over.

The driver inside the vehicle muttered, "Is the major general driving a tank? Maybe I should give him a ride around."

Then a large hand slapped his tank helmet, and the commander glared at him, saying, "What are you saying? Have you forgotten the major general's feat of personally driving a tank and destroying 180 Zion tanks?" "Do ordinary tanks have that much ammunition? I mean... uh." The driver shut up.

Looking at the massive machine weighing over forty tons in front of him, Lu Lin thought to himself that it really did have a Russian design style.

(T-54)

Then the crew emerged from the turret, and Lu Lin looked at them and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like watching Dugtrio in Pokémon.

The main problem is that the Russians didn't consider ergonomics at all when building vehicles. The working space inside the turret is less than two cubic meters, which means that the crew members must be relatively thin, otherwise they simply can't fit inside.

"Salute to the Major General!"

The three members of the crew saluted Lu Lin in unison.

"I'll go up and take a look." Lu Lin climbed up the turret by stepping on the edge, but he regretted it as soon as he touched the outer armor. The sun was so strong that you could fry an egg on the tank armor. The inside of the vehicle must be as hot as an oven.

Bandar: "Hurry up and come out, make room for the Major General!"

Okay, now I have no choice but to go up.

The tank commander immediately crawled out. Lu Lin glanced into the turret; the cramped space meant the driver had to operate the gun while half-lying down. The Russians were really ruthless to their own people.

"Here's your tank helmet." The tank commander took off his own helmet and handed it to Lu Lin.

Lu Lin put the thick, helmet-like hat on his head, then climbed into the vehicle. Just as he had imagined, the turret was not only cramped but also as hot as an oven.

Fortunately, he was in the commander's position. The T-54's turret top had an oval hatch that opened forward, allowing him to peer out and observe.

Lu Lin had previously served in the armored forces, and returning to tanks reignited his passion, so he shouted, "Forward!"

The driver repeated, "Forward!"

The diesel engine emitted a distinctive noise. Lu Lin first felt a slight obstruction during startup, followed by a strong push that caused the back of his head to slam against the hatch.

This collision almost extinguished his heroic spirit.

"Major General, are you alright?!"

"I'm fine," Lu Lin said, enduring the sharp pain in the back of his head. "Keep driving!"

So the T-54 drove forward, kicking up clouds of dust.

After circling around, the tank returned to the loading point. When it stopped, the engine emitted a heavy sigh, and the entire vehicle visibly swayed back and forth.

Bandar took a few steps to the tank and pulled Lu Lin out of the vehicle.

"how do you feel?"

"Mmm." Lu Lin's lower body was completely soaked, and even with the protection of his helmet, he felt like he must have several large bumps on his head. "It's fine, it's fine."

After Lu Lin got off the bus, the driver was also pulled out: "How were you driving?"

The driver said, somewhat aggrieved, "This is how we always drive."

The conductor glared at him, and the driver immediately fell silent.

Damn it, Lu Lin felt he desperately needed ice. He knew the Russians were rough around the edges, but he never expected them to be this rough!

After Lu Lin left, Fahad quietly said to Bandar, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"What else?" Bandar raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe he'll go race tanks in the future!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

PS: To answer another question that many people have given feedback on, which is about the male lead's name, why are there both Middle Eastern and original names?

Well, because in my mind, the male protagonist is, after all, a time traveler, so he psychologically identifies more with his identity as Seris.

Amir's identity carries a more complex burden, involving a Muslim family, sect, and religion—many of which differ greatly from what we now accept.

But as the war progresses, the protagonist's bond with this world deepens, and his heart gradually changes.

From unfamiliarity to acceptance, and then to identification.

Finally, I will write a major event that allows the male protagonist to completely overcome his reservations and achieve the unification of his two identities, which I think is more reasonable.

Another point I've been considering recently is Zion's offensive routes. I've realized that even with the dual advantages of military strength and time (compared to the actual Third Middle East War), Zion could at most reach the western part of Al-Iraq, and capturing Corvette would be virtually impossible.
Therefore, some modifications were made earlier. I will release an attack route map and capture map of Zion later (approximately), which I hope will be helpful.

Additionally, I've attached a list of corresponding countries here, and it's also in the pinned comment section. I'll continue to update it in the future.

Thank you for your support.

(End of this chapter)