Arc of Gunfire

November 14, St. Catherine's Castle, summer palace.

Tsar Nicholas V rushed out of the room early in the morning and loudly asked his butler: "How can there be thunder at this time?"

The butler looked troubled.

Nicholas V continued to question: "Tell me! There will be no thunder this season!"

The housekeeper then looked at the corridor window.

Nicholas V rushed to the window, held the window sill with both hands, and leaned forward as if he wanted to press against the glass.

He looked at the source of the distant thunder.

The housekeeper explained from the side: "That is Kalanskaya's Eternal Fort. It has a history of a hundred years. After the conquerors retreated from Ye Fort, it was built by military engineering experts at the time to protect Ye Fort forever."

Nicholas V held his hands on the window sill, stared at the fortress being bombed, and murmured softly: "Always defend Ye Fortress... Now he is going to be blown up by the enemy!"

The housekeeper immediately winked at the maid next to him and asked her to quickly find Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess.

In recent days, as the Prussian Army approaches, His Majesty the Tsar's mental condition has become more and more fragile. He loses his temper and yells from time to time. Only when the Crown Princess is around will he return to normal.

Of course, this is the situation in the eyes of others. In the eyes of Nicholas V, there is no princess at all, only his son Ivan Nikolayev Antonov.

It is said that Crown Prince Ivan once wore women's clothing and played with people at a masquerade party. His appearance was also somewhat androgynous.

But generally speaking, no one would think of Princess Olga Nikolayevna Antonov as the late crown prince.

After all, Olga's height and figure are far different from her brother's. Although her face is somewhat similar, it is only a similarity.

Everyone knew that Nicholas V was almost driven crazy by the death of his son and the approach of the Prosin Army.

Now that the Plosen Army is shelling the Eternity Castle within sight of the Summer Palace, there is no need to think that it will definitely aggravate His Majesty's "illness".

As soon as the maid left, Nicholas V became hysterical, picked up the vase placed in the corridor and smashed it to the ground. Not happy after smashing one, they rushed to the second one, but the two maids who had been prepared picked up the table with the vases and ran away.

Nicholas V chased for a few steps and stopped. He knelt on the ground and pressed his hands on the carpet: "You guys are liars! Liars! You said that the enemy will be blocked, and that General Mu and General Dong will make the enemy stop. !

"Is the mud coming? It's coming, but has the enemy stopped? No!

"General Winter is here too. Look what is falling in the sky? It's snow! But has the enemy stopped? No! The enemy's artillery has hit Eternal Fort! Eternal Fort! Or some other fort! The war has been lost. !”

At this time, Marshal Boris and General Tukhachev arrived.

Marshal Boris said: "Your Majesty! The front line reported that the enemy does not have many artillery shells anymore, and their offensive has been weak. And although winter has come, it has not reached the coldest time..."

"Liar, liar!" Nicholas V interrupted Marshal Boris, "You are all liars! You are deceiving me! Not a word of what you said is fulfilled! You are all liars! You are a liar, Tukhache My husband is a liar, Belinsky is a liar, and that Rokosov is also a liar! I want to shoot Rokosov, now, immediately!”

Nicholas V seemed to have thought of something, and stood up directly and said to everyone: "Where is Rokossov? He lied to me, saying that mud will block the Plosin people, and the cold winter will block the Plosin people. , none of them came true!

"The iron wall of his empire doesn't block anything! But it made my daughter's belly bigger!"

Marshal Boris: "Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is not pregnant. As far as I know, she has just had her period..."

"Do you think I will believe what you, a liar, say? The only truth you have said so far is that the enemy is getting closer! I want to shoot that Rokosov! Shoot him!"

At this moment, the Crown Princess Olga appeared. She said directly in a male tone: "Father, what's wrong with you?"

Nicholas V looked at him, visibly calming down.

"Here you are, Ivan." He said softly, "I'm talking about that damn dandy friend of yours who is misleading people."

His Majesty the Tsar gently took Olga's hand, completely unaware that the girl's hand was much slender and softer than the prince's.

Olga said softly: "Come inside, it's cold outside."

"No, no, Ivan, I want to sit in your study and let's have a good chat like old friends."

With that said, Nicholas V dragged Princess Olga forward.

————

In Ivan's study, Nicholas V sat down on the single sofa next to the fireplace and looked at the ground slumped.

"The war is lost."

Olga looked behind her and made sure the door was closed, and then replied with confidence: "Father, we haven't lost yet, the enemy is at the end of its strength. Yesterday, the number of artillery shells they fired across the board was greatly reduced."

Nicholas V: "That's a scam! The enemy's artillery has already hit that damn castle! It's the castle you can see every day! That castle has become part of the scenery of the summer palace, and now he is being bombarded ! Bombardment!"

After a brief excitement, Nicholas V curled up on the sofa and looked at the ground: "Everything is over. Why don't the generals know? What are they fighting? The war has been lost..."

Olga's expression was complicated.

At the state funeral, my father's fighting spirit was ignited by the death of my brother, but now this fighting spirit has completely dissipated.

Olga thought: This fighting spirit is so easy to extinguish, which makes people doubt the importance of my brother in my father's heart.

She looked at him carefully as if she saw her father for the first time, and her expression was involuntarily contemptuous.

——After all, he was a puppet who was supported. Later, the old nobles and old forces united around him, not because of his ability, but because of the crown.

Suddenly, Olga suddenly realized how terrible her thoughts were just now, how - treasonous.

However, a voice whispered in her ear: "Aren't all the empresses in history like this?"

Olga drove away this idea and concentrated on playing the role of her brother, coaxing His Majesty the Tsar.

————

In the neutral zone far away from the battlefield, the port city of Sofia.

Fyodorovich, the only agent of the "Krat Bureau", was checking the latest newspapers in the two countries of Proshen and Ant. The front-page headline of the Proshenya Daily, the largest official newspaper of Proshen, caught Fyodorovich's attention.

This article has only one meaning, that is, under the fierce offensive of the Proson Army, the Ante Empire will surrender soon, just like Carolingian, the subjects of the Proson Empire can wait for the news of victory, and the great Proson Emperor will hold a grand celebration.

Fyodorovich fell into deep thought after reading this report.

In fact, the Krat Bureau has no way to contact the so-called remnants of the Chongsheng Sect. Fyodorovich doesn't even know whether the Chongsheng Restoration Organization really exists.

He only knows that he is indeed a remnant of the Chongsheng Sect.

The large amount of intelligence sent out by the Krat Bureau every day is actually made up by Fyodorovich based on newspapers from various countries. Of course, as a writer, even if Fyodorovich makes up, he will try not to contradict each other, and sometimes even take care of each other.

In addition, Fyodorovich pays great attention to compiling intelligence according to the preferences of his employer, the Proson Empire.

He reads newspapers to speculate on the views of the top leaders of the empire, and even the views of the emperor.

After seeing this front-page headline, he found a tabloid published in October in Ant, read the article saying that the Tsar might have health problems, thought about it for a while and started writing.

————

November 15, Eagle's Nest.

Duke Redweci walked into the office of Emperor Reinhard of Proson with joy, and said to the emperor who was studying the map with the generals: "Your Majesty! Great news!"

Reinhard looked up: "Why are you happy?"

Duke Redweci took out a document: "Our Krat Bureau sent a new batch of documents, three of which are related to each other, from the supporters of the Saint Cult who worked as maids in the Summer Palace, the supporters of the Saint Cult who burned boilers in the Summer Palace, and the supporters of the Saint Cult who were lurking in the Ant headquarters.

"Combining these three pieces of information, we can know that the Tsar of Ant has been forced to bedridden by the war situation and can't do his job!"

Reinhard was shocked: "Really?"

"Yes! "

The Duke came before His Majesty and handed over the document respectfully.

Reinhardt snatched the document, flipped through it quickly, then put it down, put his hands on the edge of the map, and looked at the vast territory of Ant: "Great, great, the Tsar was originally the glue pushed up by the secularists, and now the glue is almost gone. Even if Ant does not surrender, there will be civil strife! Our chance has come!"

Gil Eis, who has recovered, persuaded: "But the bad situation on the front line will not change."

Reinhardt: "As long as the enemy is in civil strife, von Moltke and General Hawke of the Third Panzer Group will catch it! They will rush into Yekaterinburg!

"Moltke's cannons are about to hit the center of Yeburg and the Summer Palace! Victory is in sight, Giles! Do you understand? It's literally in sight!"

After saying this, Reinhard turned around and paced beside the map, rubbing his hands as he paced: "The only thing left is to deal with the United Kingdom and the United States. We will find a way, we will find it!"

————

At 13:00 on November 16, Kalanskaya, controlled by the Plossen Army.

The commander of the Plossen Armored Grenadier Division that occupied Kalanskaya personally led the team to wait at the gate of the Eternal Castle.

The snow on the ground was already three centimeters thick, and the world had basically turned white, but there was still a little black that was still showing its presence.

The car of the commander of the Second Armored Group drove up the uphill road in front of the Eternal Castle, but stopped halfway.

The driver got out of the car immediately and opened the front hood to check.

General von Moltke got out of the car and came to the engine: "What's going on?"

The driver: "There's a problem with the lubricant. Our lubricant is not suitable for the severe winter."

"Troubleshoot as soon as possible." Moltke said, and walked towards the Eternal Castle on the top of the mountain.

The grenadiers division commander came forward: "General, we have prepared the cannons to bombard the Summer Palace, and we are waiting for your order."

"Okay, I'll take a look at Ye Castle and the Summer Palace first."

"This way, please." The division commander hurriedly led the way.

Twenty minutes later, Moltke climbed the highest tower of the Eternal Castle and came to the east window.

He raised the telescope and looked at the city that countless Plossen soldiers dreamed of.

Finally, the scale on his telescope was aimed at the Summer Palace.

Moltke: "I heard that the Tsar is still in the Summer Palace, so we will give him a big gift. Fire."