Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

Chapter 87 Punishment, Heading to Verdun

After everyone returned to the trench, they were once again immersed in the wonderful feeling they had just experienced. This time, Lu Mingfei did not remind them to be vigilant, as he himself was also immersed in the wonderful feeling he had just experienced.

Although I don't know the name of the mixed-race person, we might be able to become friends if we weren't in different armies.

Captain Henrik was immediately stopped by a communications soldier after returning to the trench.

"Reporting to the company commander! Urgent news has arrived from the rear!"

Henrik's heart sank; he could almost foresee the contents of the order.

War never allows for much hesitation, nor does it allow soldiers to decide for themselves when to shed blood.

[The French army may be complacent due to Christmas and prepare for a Christmas offensive. The shelling will begin in fifteen minutes. Please prepare as soon as possible.]

Although Henrik was prepared, his heart sank when he saw the telegram.

Henrik closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He recalled that not long ago, he was sitting in the no man's land, drinking with Bernard, remembering the soldiers who laid down their guns and picked up shovels, and the corpses that had just been buried in the mud.

But then he opened his eyes and began to issue orders: "Pass down the order, the entire company is on combat readiness, check weapons, and prepare for attack."

The order was given, and soon, the atmosphere in the trenches changed visibly.

The guns were raised again, bayonets were attached to the muzzles, and the soldiers stopped talking, silently checking their ammunition and organizing their equipment.

That lingering warmth was ordered to be stripped away little by little.

"Are they going to attack?" Caesar asked in a low voice.

Lu Mingfei nodded and said, "The higher-ups have ordered a Christmas offensive; the shelling will begin in fifteen minutes."

Caesar paused for a moment, then looked into the opposite trench with his icy blue eyes and said, "They probably received similar orders as well."

Lu Mingfei did not answer.

"Platoon leader—are we really going to shoot?" Otto leaned closer and asked in a low voice. He didn't want to shoot the people he had just eaten and drunk with.

The other soldiers nearby were the same; some even made plans with the soldiers on the other side to visit each other's homes after the war ended.

"That's an order," Lu Mingfei said coldly. He didn't want to fire, but an order was an order.

The soldiers fell silent; military orders could not be disobeyed.

Just as they lay prone in the trenches waiting for the artillery fire, Henrik came out of the company headquarters, entered the trenches, and looked at his soldiers, saying...

"Do you want to shoot the French across the street? Do you want to kill the guys who just brought us champagne?"

There was silence; not a single soldier answered.

"I don't want to," Henrik continued, and then, to everyone's astonishment, he actually climbed out of the trench and strode across the no-man's land to the French trench.

"Captain?!" "Company Commander! My God!" "Has he gone mad?!"

Exclamations erupted instantly! Lu Mingfei's pupils shrank, Caesar straightened up abruptly, and Otto almost dropped his gun. Was this still their cowardly and timid company commander?

"Henrik, are you crazy?! Our agreed time is over!" Bernard shouted incredulously as Henrik approached.

"I've received word that the artillery will be shelling your position in ten minutes. Come and take shelter in our position," Henrik said, bending down and extending his hand to Bernard.

Bernard was stunned, and the French soldiers behind him were equally frozen in place.

"Do you know what you're saying? You're inviting the enemy into your territory." Bernard gritted his teeth and forced the words out of his throat.

"I know this is against orders, but I also know that in ten minutes, shells will be landing here! They'll be landing on your heads! They'll be landing on the heads of those young men who just buried the dead with us! I got the orders, but I fucking don't want to carry them out!" Henrik roared.

"Bernard, you've also received orders to attack, haven't you? Perhaps now, perhaps later, we'll all become executioners slaughtering the enemy, for the orders of those sitting in their warm offices who don't care about our lives!"

He kept his hand outstretched, neither backing down nor urging anyone on.

Finally, Bernard took a deep breath, removed his helmet, tucked it under his arm, and grasped Henrik's outstretched hand.

The two didn't say anything more. Bernard then ordered the other soldiers in the trench, "Attention, everyone!"

Leave the position immediately! Take your weapons and proceed to the Prussian trenches!

The French soldiers were in an uproar: "Captain?! We're really going to go?!"

"Yes, now!" Bernard continued to command.

Meanwhile, similar chaos erupted in the trenches on the Prussian side.

"They're coming?!"

"Is this a surrender?!"

"Platoon leader! What do we do?!"

Lu Mingfei stood in the trench, staring intently at the French soldiers who were crawling out of the opposite trench.

They didn't raise their guns or charge; they simply climbed out of the trenches in groups and walked towards them. At that speed, Lu Mingfei and his men could easily kill a large number of them.

"Attention everyone! Do not fire! Let the French troops into the trenches! Repeat, do not fire!" Lu Mingfei shouted.

Otto and the others snapped out of their daze, quickly lowered their guns, and shrank back, trying their best to make room in the crowded trench.

The soldiers in the other platoons, under the officers' reprimands, obliviously carried out this unbelievable order.

Soon the French troops entered the Prussian trenches. The soldiers on both sides looked at each other but did not speak. After all the French troops had entered, shells began to rain down on the French positions.

The shelling lasted for a full ten minutes. When the shelling ended, the soldiers on both sides looked at each other again.

Henrik was the first to speak, saying, "Alright, the shelling is over, you should go back now."

Bernard paused for a moment before speaking, "You forgot, after you finish shelling, we will definitely retaliate with shells. Come and hide in our camp, that way we'll be even."

Henrik was stunned. He had anticipated various scenarios after the shelling ended, including an awkward standoff, the possibility of conflict, and even the possibility of soldiers accidentally firing their weapons. But he never imagined that the other side would retaliate in almost the exact same way.

A near-chivalrous response based on the principle of reciprocity: you save us once, we save you once, and we're even.

"Attention everyone, take your weapons, follow the French troops, do not crowd, and do not fire."

Thus, this absurd scene, perhaps unprecedented in the history of human warfare, was staged once again.

The moment the order was given, there was only silence. The soldiers climbed out of the trenches, stepped into the no man's land, and came to the trenches that had been bombed by the French.

The moment all the Prussian soldiers jumped into the French trenches, the distant artillery barrage began.

This time, the shells were aimed at the Prussian positions, raining down one after another, as if to completely flatten the empty trench and turn it into a real graveyard.

The bombardment lasted for about seven or eight minutes, which seemed slightly shorter than the previous Prussian bombardment, but was equally intense.

"We're even," Bernard said to Henrik, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

Henrik nodded, then led his soldiers back.

On the way back, Caesar handed a piece of paper to Lu Mingfei and said, "I jotted down some notes over there—the locations of a few key machine gun nests and their approximate firing arcs. They might be useful."

Lu Mingfei took the note but didn't read it; he tore it to shreds.

The same thing happened on the other side.

Christmas Day, December 25, 1915, saw no fighting.

However, this came at a price. The battalion headquarters did not receive a battle report on Christmas Day and soon sent people to check the situation.

On the morning of the day after Christmas, a small team of military police and staff appeared behind the front lines.

"I am Major von De'en of the Battalion General Staff. I have been ordered to investigate your company's actions on December 25, 1915."

"You didn't submit any combat reports all day yesterday, and the forward observation posts reported that your company's defense zone was unusually quiet all day. Can you explain that?" A major staff officer asked Henrik coldly.

All the soldiers who could hear the conversation held their breath. Lu Mingfei, Caesar, Otto, and others were also watching this scene quietly from the trench not far away.

"Reporting, Major, yesterday both sides' soldiers were immersed in the Christmas atmosphere and spontaneously maintained restraint. Therefore, there was no intense fighting throughout the day, which is insufficient to form a formal combat report," Henrik said, trying to appear calm.

"Spontaneously maintain restraint?" Major Von Dehn's voice suddenly rose, laced with undisguised sarcasm.

"Captain, are you telling me that on the Western Front, where the Empire is fighting to the death against the enemy, in your zone, Imperial soldiers and French soldiers are holding hands and celebrating Christmas together, and have forgotten how to fire a gun?!"

His gaze swept over the soldiers in the trenches, and the Prussian soldiers all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

"I have received more than one report that yesterday during the day, large numbers of soldiers from both sides gathered in the no-man's-land in front of your company's defense zone, engaging in non-military activities! There were even informal contacts at the officer level! Captain Henrik, please explain whether these reports are true?!"

Henrik broke out in a cold sweat instantly. He knew he couldn't hide it anymore. The battalion headquarters must have received information from other channels, or other observation posts must have seen part of the situation.

"Major, some atypical situations did occur yesterday. Out of basic humanitarian considerations and to avoid unnecessary casualties during the holiday, I reached a temporary agreement with the French commander on the other side."

"An agreement?" Major Von Dehn scoffed. "What agreement? An agreement to exchange Christmas presents? Or a tacit agreement to not fire on each other? Captain, do you know what kind of behavior this is? This is treason! This is dereliction of duty! This is a serious suspicion of treason!"

After being accused of treason and collusion with the enemy, Henrik panicked and hurriedly said, "No, Major!"

We didn't exchange any intelligence! We didn't leak any military secrets! We simply—simply stopped killing each other temporarily! To allow the soldiers—at least on Christmas Day—to take a breather like human beings!

"Take a breath like a human being?" Major Von Dehn's eyes turned completely cold.

"Captain Henrik, you are an Imperial officer! Your duty is to lead your soldiers to eliminate the enemy, achieve victory, and win glory for His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire! Not to play the role of a merciful priest or a pacifist! Every minute of lapse in vigilance at the front could lead to the collapse of the entire defensive line! Your womanly compassion will kill everyone!"

He turned abruptly and waved to the military police captain: "In view of Captain Henrik von Weizsäcker's serious dereliction of duty and suspected treason on December 25, 1915, I, in the name of the battalion staff, hereby announce his temporary detention pending investigation by a military court! Take him away!"

Two military policemen quickly stepped forward and grabbed Henrik from both sides, and Henrik was taken away.

Lu Mingfei and his team were also relieved from their defensive positions and placed in the rear camp for inspection.

Henrik later used all his connections to save his life, avoiding execution for treason.

However, he still paid a heavy price, being demoted from captain to lieutenant, and had to lead Lu Mingfei and his men to the new attack location as the vanguard to atone for his mistakes.

The new location for the attack was called Verdun.

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