Arc of Gunfire

Wang Zhong was in a hurry when the response from the 10th Tank Corps came: "We have seen the head of the queue, your team is finally almost finished!"

At this time, Wang Zhong really wanted to take a closer look at the situation, but the Tenth Tank Corps was not under his command, and its commander was a lieutenant general, older than his major general.

But he soon saw the end of the procession on the road.

There was still a queue about one kilometer long, all made up of skitarii and laborers, with many fellow countrymen’s horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts mixed in.

A platoon of BT tanks was protecting the group on the roadside.

Wang Zhong waited anxiously for the group to finish.

Finally, the last carriage passed by No. 422, and there were no more people left behind—at least no organized ones.

As for how many scattered soldiers there are, Wang Zhong can't control that many.

"You guys should retreat together!" he shouted to the tank platoon helping to protect him.

The platoon leader pushed open the canopy and got out, responding: "The commander ordered us to cover you, you guys, let's go, let us deal with the enemies who are chasing us!"

Wang Zhong nodded and ordered through the internal communication: "Belyakov, let's go!"

Tank No. 422 backed up about five meters, then turned right and drove onto the road, then ran a few steps at full speed to catch up with the rear of the marching column, and began to move forward at a speed similar to human walking.

Nellie couldn't help but ask: "What's going on with this pounding sound?"

"Oh, this is the sound of hitting the joystick with a hammer. If you don't hit it, you can't control the vehicle." Wang Zhong explained.

"Is this still going on?" Nelly looked down at the tank, seeming to have a new understanding of this big guy.

At this time, the aunt in the carriage at the end of the team asked: "General, are you the General Rokossov that everyone is talking about?"

"I am." Wang Zhong nodded.

He thought the aunt was going to ask, "Do you know how my son who joined the Skitarii Corps is doing?" But he didn't expect the aunt to say, "Thank you for sending my grandson away and finally giving me a seat."

Wang Zhong: "This... was not arranged by me. It was the position assigned to you by the executive below. You should thank that person."

The aunt smiled: "I thanked him before, now I thank you."

Wang Zhong: "When you get to Shepetovka, you can take your grandson on the train and go all the way to the rear."

"Okay." The aunt nodded, and the smile on her face looked sincere and without impurities.

Wang Zhong suddenly thought, is his current situation similar to Liu Bei's retreat from Xinye?

Like, very similar.

Is it possible that there will be many more retreats like this in the future? Until we finally retreated to the gates of St. Catherine Castle, "Ante is huge, but we have no way to retreat"?

Wang Zhong turned around and glanced at the direction he had just evacuated, and found that the thick smoke from the fire around Aolaqi could be seen even from such a distance.

————

When they were still twenty kilometers away from Shepetovka, Wang Zhong saw the Ant infantry occupying a small slope on the roadside, setting up a simple position on it and setting up a machine gun and a 45mm anti-tank gun. There are two carriages behind the slope.

Wang Zhong waved to them: "Hello!"

The captain who commanded this small force gave a thumbs up: "Hello! Salute to you!"

It seems that the captain did not recognize Wang Zhong's rank of major general.

After passing this "post", Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief: "We have entered our military defense zone. I can finally feel relieved."

Lyudmila gently touched his hair: "You worked very hard, Alyosha, please take a rest."

————

Captain Mardali Apolovich watched the T34 with the red flag go away.

He heard the gunner Vasya chewing next to him: "Did you see, there are two beauties on the tank! One is a big one, and there is a beautiful little maid. The noble man is really having fun!"

Captain Mardali cursed: "What are you talking about? That's General Rokossov! His division blocked several times the enemy's strength in Orachi for three days, and then he ran out with so many civilians!"

"What?" Vasya was shocked, "That's General Rokossov? Where's his white horse? Didn't he say that he rode a white horse and rushed to the enemy's headquarters single-handedly and hacked three generals to death? Where's his horse?"

Captain Mardali: "You are blind! Isn't there a white horse painted next to the tank's tactical number? That's his white horse! Don't you recognize that tactical number? No. 422! There is also a red flag! When the enemy sees the red flag, he Scared to death!”

Vasya was speechless: "This is the first time I have heard of it, but why does he bring so many women to the battlefield?"

At this time, the old loader next to Vasya spoke: "Silly boy, what do you know? That is an angel sent by St. Andrew. The bishop said it when he preached. When St. Andrew established the secular sect, there were ten people around him. Two angels. Those twelve angels all came from poor families and were blessed with their character and courage...

"The general has been blessed by St. Andrew!"

Vasya said "Oh": "So that's it!"

Mardali: "Why, are you going to the tavern to brag again? Next time the priest catches you drinking like that, you will be the one to look good on!"

Vasya: "How can we? We don't know how long we will be stationed on this slope. Who knows when we can go to the tavern."

————

After seeing the anti-aircraft gun positions deployed outside Shepetovka, Wang Zhong truly felt relieved.

The soldiers at the anti-aircraft artillery position all looked at car No. 422 curiously. Someone asked loudly: "Is that General Rokossov?"

Wang Zhong: "Yes, I am!"

"I heard that you killed another General Prosen last night?"

Wang Zhong frowned: "When did it happen? Why didn't I know?"

The anti-aircraft gunners looked at each other.

Someone else asked: "I heard that you killed another 100 tanks last night!"

Wang Zhong: "No! This is a rumor! You are too outrageous! Are you going to say that I wiped out an enemy armored division next time?"

The expert gunners immediately burst into joy: "Did you hear that, the general has annihilated an enemy armored division!"

Wang Zhong was two heads tall, so he could only change the topic: "Where is Duke Meishkin's headquarters?"

A captain pointed to the east: "Go straight and turn left when you see the cathedral, next to the hospital."

As soon as he finished speaking, the engine of Tank No. 422 suddenly made a strange noise, and then a large cloud of black mist spewed out of the exhaust pipe.

Then the tank began to slow down, and under the influence of inertia, it advanced a few meters before coming to a complete stop.

Belyakov cursed and climbed out of the cockpit: "I knew it was almost time! General, you'd better go on foot! I guess a wrench won't work."

Wang Zhong: "Thank God, it persisted until here before laying down. There is an anti-aircraft gun next to here, at least you don't have to worry about being blown up by a Stuka."

As soon as he finished speaking, the captain of the air defense battalion shouted: "Want to help? We have blacksmiths and mechanics here!"

Belyakov: "It would be best if you can help! If there is a master who knows how to repair tractors, please call over! Thank you!"

The captain of the air defense battalion immediately gave the order, and a fast-legged gunner rushed out of the gun position and disappeared in a hurry.

Wang Zhong held the edge of the turret with both hands and tried to climb out of the turret. As a result, his joints became stiff after sitting for too long, and he almost fell.

Lyudmila and Neli held him on the left and right.

The captain of the air defense battalion next to him asked worriedly: "Are you injured?"

"No." Wang Zhong said and with the help of the girl, he stood firm and got down on the tank.

The child sitting on the tank asked: "General, where are you going? Can we follow you?"

Wang Zhong: "Stay! The nuns from the church will come to pick you up later!"

At this time, only the church nuns can take care of these children, and the nursery and the like have long been closed.

The child clenched his submachine gun: "We can fight! We are soldiers!"

Wang Zhong: "Yes, I know! Sister Sister will give you battle orders."

As Wang Zhong moved his numb body bones, Lyudmila also got out of the tank and rubbed his shoulders: "On the way here, I felt that your shoulders were too stiff."

Nellie also got out of the car: "Shall I find a carriage? I'm quite good at driving carriages."

As soon as he finished speaking, a jeep drove down the street and stopped in front of Wang Zhong.

The lieutenant who was driving got out of the car and saluted Wang Zhong: "We received a call from the anti-aircraft gun position and are here to take you to the headquarters, General Rokosov! Duke Myshkin is waiting for you."

Wang Zhong: "Okay. Uh... should I go alone?"

The lieutenant glanced at Lyudmila's monk uniform and said, "The church people are on the way. Bishop Popov, who arrived first, will arrange for the monk lady to rest."

Wang Zhong: "I still have an orderly, what should I do with her?"

Nellie took the initiative and said, "Send me to the general's residence."

Your statement will cause misunderstanding!

The lieutenant obviously thought wrongly. He glanced at Wang Zhong and replied: "Then you come too, just sit in the back seat."

Wang Zhong was speechless and walked directly to the passenger seat and got into the car.

————

Wang Zhong originally thought that Duke Mei Shijin was a mature and steady middle-aged nobleman.

Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a young man not many years older than himself.

When Wang Zhong entered the door of the map room, the Duke was coughing, and there was a sickly aura surrounding him.

The Duke coughed for twenty seconds before he stopped. Wiping his mouth, he raised his head and looked at Wang Zhong: "You are here, His Excellency General Rokossov!"

Wang Zhong: "Are you... okay?"

Meishkin smiled: "It's an old problem. It's been like this since I was a child. I went to Liechtenstein for some time before the war started, thinking it would get better."

He spread his hands.

Wang Zhong: "Tuberculosis?"

This is a terminal disease in this era. If it cannot be cured, it can only be delayed, but it cannot die immediately.

If you are in Seris, you may have to take Bai Gupi Pills.

Duke Myshkin waved his hand: "Let's talk about the situation of your troops. We have received many skirmishers and small groups one after another. I have designated the dormitory of the old railway school next to the station as your gathering place. .

"Your chief of staff has passed away. Your bishop...ahem...is in the church. I have no control over church affairs."

Wang Zhong nodded: "It's a very appropriate placement. We will soon set up a guidance point on the edge of the city to guide people there."

Mei Shijin nodded: "When the train is organized, you will retreat backwards."

Wang Zhong: "What? We still maintain our organizational structure, and we can still fight."

Myshikin waved his hand: "I know you can fight, and I also need troops to guard Shepetovka, but what you have retained now are the backbones, and they will play a greater role when they are replenished. I know this very well. . No, I can't waste my elite troops here. You have to leave."

Suddenly, Duke Myshkin stopped: "However, Her Royal Highness the Princess just sent over 30 T34s. I hope you can leave these to us. When the troops of the 10th Tank Army withdraw, we should be able to gather enough crews to drive these 30 tanks."

Wang Zhong: "I can command these 30 T34s! My car No. 422 can also continue to fight!"

Duke Myshkin smiled: "It broke down, didn't it? I guess it needs to be returned to the factory for a thorough overhaul. Our tank factory has already dismantled it and sent it away, and no one can repair it.

"And we know that you need a separate command position to command the tank, and other T34s don't have this special command position. "

This is true.

Wang Zhong wanted to persuade Duke Myshkin to agree to let him stay and continue fighting.

But the Duke said: "Okay, you've been tired all day, take a good rest. We'll discuss other things tomorrow. "