Arc of Fire

In the following days, Wang Zhong kept an eye out to see if anyone was interested in trying out the other two tank specifications he had proposed.

By August 17, he had heard no word of any design team, led by a designer, taking on the task.

Wang Zhong felt an urge to tackle it himself, but he knew he was only half-qualified; he couldn’t perfectly replicate Earth’s designs, nor did he understand design and drafting. He could only provide specifications if an engineer took over.

Until Ke Jing engineers developed the second version of the rocket assault gun, Wang Zhong heard no one challenging the two tank plans he had proposed.

However, new tanks certainly needed to be built, as the Whirlwind could only defend and was susceptible to the Prosen favorite, the smoke bomb, which forced it to retreat using its mobility once covered by smoke.

Once Prosen produced next-generation medium tanks like the Leopard or even the E50, the disadvantages of the Whirlwind’s lack of a turret would be greatly magnified.

Moreover, by the time the Leopard was released, the Ante Army would likely be attacking, and the Whirlwind was very weak in offense.

Tank destroyers like the SU76 and SU85 could elevate their gun barrels to serve as self-propelled artillery, making them somewhat useful in offense.

The SU100 Whirlwind, designed to simplify the elevation mechanism, limited the elevation to below 20 degrees, rendering it useless as self-propelled artillery during attacks.

Therefore, Wang Zhong was extremely anxious and, having no other option, he turned to his dear sister Olga, who issued a decree mandating that several tank design institutions present their proposals.

However, with the departure time approaching, Wang Zhong couldn’t wait any longer for the designs to be ready.

He set a separate review date for the three projects he had proposed, planning to address them upon his return, thus giving these projects more time to develop potentially better plans.

These three projects were: an urban combat rocket assault gun, a 30-ton medium tank with an egg-shaped turret, and a 50-ton heavy breakthrough tank.

The 40-ton medium tank project based on the T34 was directly passed on to the vice-chairman of the review committee as a replacement plan for the T34.

Wang Zhong thought the 40-ton tank was the simplest; just adding additional armor to the T34 would solve the issue, and handing it over to someone else wouldn’t be much of a problem.

After arranging these tasks, Wang Zhong visited the City Defense Command to inspect the rest situation of the First Mobile Group Army, making sure his former troops were all well-prepared.

By August 17, when his child was a week old, Wang Zhong was fully prepared for departure.

That morning, just after he had gotten up, someone knocked on his bedroom door.

Wang Zhong went to open the door, and found it was Mikhail, the old steward, holding a telegram: "Your Excellency, a telegram from General Pavlov."

"I see." Wang Zhong took the telegram, opened it, and read the brief message, "Hurry up, we’re waiting for you."

Wang Zhong shook his head, "My child is a week old, and he doesn’t even say congratulations."

Mikhail: "That’s a sign of responsibility, General."

"I know." Wang Zhong handed back the telegram, "File this away. It might be published someday in something like ’Admiral Rokossov’s Wartime Documents Collection’, becoming historical material."

"Very well, General." Mikhail paused, "Are you preparing to leave today? Should I start packing?"

"Yes, help me with the packing—that should be enough for Nelly to handle. Also, has Vasily’s replacement Deputy Officer arrived?"

Mikhail: "He arrived yesterday, I’ve arranged for him to stay in the guest room."

Wang Zhong: "Send him to my office to wait for me; I guess the documents needing my attention have arrived."

"Delivered at five this morning."

"I knew it! Bring breakfast to my study; I’ll go through the documents while eating."

When Wang Zhong entered his study, he saw a Lieutenant with light golden curly hair sitting on the sofa.

Seeing Wang Zhong, the Lieutenant immediately stood up and saluted: "General! I am your new deputy, Yakov Konstantinovich Blatov. I am here to replace Captain Vasily, who has gone to military school."

Wang Zhong saluted back: "Hello Yakov, what did you major in?"

Lieutenant: "I majored in staff duties, but I also speak Prosenese and Onsa, can converse normally in Melania, and know a little Carolingian."

Wang Zhong nodded, "Quite a variety, but I wonder if you are as skilled at deceiving the enemy as Vasily."

Yakov gave a wry smile: "Captain Vasily won the Venus for his excellent deception operations; I can’t compare to him."

Wang Zhong: "Many say, though, that Vasily got the Venus because of me, as I already had two Venuses, so they let the Deputy Officer have one too."

Yakov was shocked: "They dare to say that, aren’t they afraid of being scrutinized by the Judge?"

Wang Zhong looked at Yakov surprisingly: "Do you actually believe those rumors?"

"Shouldn’t I?" Yakov was even more astonished.

Wang Zhong: "Of course not, I have no special connections with the Tribunal, and my relationship with Cardinal Ravkid, the head of the Tribunal, is just that of ordinary friends."

"But you have a special relationship with Grand Patriarch Belinsky; everyone says you are his illegitimate son."

"No no no, I am one hundred percent born from my parents, not adopted. However, Bishop Belinsky will indeed personally preside over the baptism of my child and become his godfather."

Yakov uttered ’oh’ and then asked seriously: "I shouldn’t tell others about this, right?"

"Err, actually, you can share it as you wish, after all, the baptism is this month, and becoming godfather too, but I will miss it. Alright, enough chit-chat, I need to review these documents."

As if on cue, Nelly came in pushing a cart, glancing at Yakov like a farmer assessing a newly purchased donkey.

Yakov: "Oh, so this is the little maid! No wonder everyone says you are a lucky man."

Wait, what have people been saying about Nelly!

Nelly frowned, clearly displeased, but did not bring out any salt; instead, she pushed the trolley to the desk, opened the lid, took out breakfast and coffee, and arranged them on the table, one by one.

After she finished setting the table, she asked Wang Zhong, "Is the new deputy officer a girl? The name sounds male."

Yakov: "I am a man, and I just got married!"

Wang Zhong gasped, "You got married? You look only eighteen!"

"I am twenty-four years old. Haven’t you looked at my file at all?"

Wang Zhong had to admit: "Yes, I completely skipped it. So, you are much older than Vasily? I thought they sent me someone who just graduated from the tenth grade!"

"Graduating from the tenth grade isn’t enough to complete the staff officer training! Though it’s only preliminary staff training."

After all, being a lieutenant, coming out after advanced staff training, one would be an officer.

Yakov sighed: "Everyone always treats me like a child, even though I’m not short, standing at one-seventy-seven!"

Wang Zhong thought to himself, what are you dreaming about, kid, you would be considered tall in the Empire of Fusang, but this is Ante.

But he didn’t speak the harsh truth, instead, he coughed and said, "Did you just get married?"

"Yes, Lida insisted that I marry her before I went to the front line, she is my classmate, currently undergoing combat medic training."

Wang Zhong: "That’s a good girl, cherish her."

Yakov continued, "I told Lida that I am a deputy officer at Admiral Rocossovsky’s Headquarters and wouldn’t be in any danger, but she wouldn’t believe it. I guess the girls at nursing school must have filled her head with ideas.

"Anyway, we got married yesterday, took photos, and I hurried over here right after without even developing the pictures." Your journey continues at empire

Wang Zhong: "You can ask the photography studio to send the photos to the manor, and then send them to the front line with my family letters; that way, it will be smoother."

Yakov was overjoyed: "Really? That would be great!"

Wang Zhong nodded, picked up the breakfast on the table, and began to eat while flipping through the documents.

Around noon, the airport called to inform Wang Zhong that the plane was ready and could take off at any time.

So Wang Zhong tidied up the completed documents, dressed neatly, and went to the nursery to take one last look at his wife and child.

As he opened the door, he met Ludmila’s gaze.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

Wang Zhong nodded softly: "Yes, the plane is waiting for me."

Ludmila apologetically said, "The baby just fell asleep, though even if he were awake, he wouldn’t understand what’s happening."

Wang Zhong: "Let him sleep. I just came to see the two of you."

He walked over to the cradle, looked at the male infant sleeping like a kitten, and gently touched his delicate cheeks.

This action instantly woke the baby, whose vigorous crying nearly tore Wang Zhong’s eardrums.

Ludmila immediately reached out to rock the cradle, humming as she swayed it.

She hummed "Departure," swaying the cradle to the rhythm of the melody.

"We march the long road ahead/Comrades look forward with anticipation/Our team’s flag waves high/The commander leads at the forefront~"

The baby’s cries visibly subsided.

As Ludmila hummed the line "Dear, I will write to you along the way," the baby smiled, swinging his limbs in rhythm.

Looking at the baby, a massive resolve surged through Wang Zhong, overtaking his mind and body.

This smile, this smile is the reason for fighting.

For the children to laugh without worries, for my country to no longer mourn.

Wang Zhong put on his hat, adjusted it lightly, nodded at Ludmila, and resolutely turned around.

The new deputy officer, Yakov, was about to speak but shrank back at the sight of Wang Zhong’s expression.

Nelly, carrying a huge suitcase, squinted her eyes, her face full of admiration and pride.

Ludmila tenderly watched his retreating figure, continuing to hum: "Soldiers all brave and young/Gaze sharp as an eagle/We bear the highest glory/Having distinguished ourselves in battle~

"Soldiers! Depart! Depart! Dear, I will write to you along the way~Hear the bugle calling~Goodbye, depart."

Having listened to this, Wang Zhong finally said, "Let’s go, clear up the fools deceived by Prosen, and afterward, settle accounts with the Prosense."

Yakov: "Yes."

Admiral Rocossovsky strode out of the nursery.

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