Arc of Gunfire

On August 10, the Central Cathedral of the Secular Church in St. Catherine's Castle, the capital of Ant.

Amidst the solemn sound of the organ, Wang Zhong knelt down on one knee in front of the altar and drew with his hands the gestures that Lyudmila had taught him many times last night.

Belinsky held the scepter high in one hand and tapped Wang Zhong's shoulder with a magic weapon in the other hand: "Alexey Konstantinovich Rokosov, are you willing to follow the teachings of St. Andrew for the rest of your life? To uphold fairness and justice on earth?”

Wang Zhong: "I do."

Belinsky: "Are you willing to treat everyone in the world as equals, regardless of skin color, race and culture?"

Wang Zhong: "I do."

Belinsky: "Would you like to..."

The questions Belinsky is asking now are all part of the Ten Questions left by St. Andrew, which is the most basic program of the secularists.

Before the ceremony, Belinsky's confidant, Cardinal Lavkid, came to warn Wang Zhong and asked him to nod and say yes, and he must not say anything else.

Rafkid manages the Tribunal. Although Wang Zhong is not afraid of the Tribunal, he has no intention of offending the cardinal.

In addition, St. Andrew’s Ten Questions are quite in line with Wang Zhong’s values, and he is indeed willing to abide by them.

After ten questions, the choir began to sing Latin hymns, and warm light fell on Wang Zhong from the ceiling.

This is physically warm light, because it comes from the big searchlight on the roof. Wang Zhong is now as warm as taking a bath in winter and turning on the bathroom heater.

Even though it's summer now.

Patriarch Belinsky: “Now I declare that Prince Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov is a living saint and canonizes him with the title of Saint Rokosov.”

As he spoke, Belinsky hung the ribbon representing the saint's status on Wang Zhong's brand-new marshal's military uniform, and then painted the symbol of the Eastern Holy Church on his chest: "Amen!"

Wang Zhong followed the procedure and shouted: "Amen!"

Then Wang Zhong stood up, turned around, and looked at his wife Lyudmila at the first glance.

Lyudmila was suppressing her smile. After all, on this occasion, she must remain solemn as a clergyman.

A row behind Lyudmila, Miss Emilia was much more relaxed. She watched Wang Zhong's hands gesticulating continuously and his mouth opening and closing, as if he was saying something with his lips.

Wang Zhong thought to himself, Miss, aren't you a new human being? Tell me telepathically. I can't read lips. Even if you bother me for a long time, I won't understand.

The content of the subsequent ceremony was very simple. Less than 20 minutes later, Wang Zhong met with his relatives and friends in the preparation room of the church.

As soon as Emilia saw Wang Zhong, she said, "Now you are an officially certified esper. How about it? Have you seen an angel or Saint Andrew?"

Wang Zhong: "No, I was a little dizzy from the searchlight above my head."

"These rituals," Belinsky entered the preparation room, "are necessary."

Wang Zhong suddenly remembered a famous line from his favorite game before time travel, and said: "Without this solemn ceremony, how would the world know that we hang pots to help the world and save all sentient beings?"

Belinsky smiled and said: "That's pretty much what it means. In long-term practice, we have found that the masses are more receptive to these solemn-looking rituals and doctor sausages than to doctrines."

Wang Zhong couldn't help but repeat: "And doctor sausage?"

Belinsky: "Yes, doctor sausage is very important, as important as the ceremony. Now you are a living saint, but canonization happens every twenty or thirty years, so you don't need to pay too much attention to it, just treat it as a church Just give me your approval.

"In addition, the saint's ribbon is very beautiful, right? But it is also very troublesome, so you don't need to wear the ribbon normally. We have prepared a brief chapter."

Belinsky made a gesture, and a priest came forward and presented a box with a seal in his hands.

Wang Zhong: "This is great."

Vasily stepped forward to take the box, looked at it carefully, moved his mouth, and made an obvious comment. But even Vasily did not dare to say dirty words in front of Belinsky and Cardinal Lavkid.

Belinsky: "Let's get down to business. As you recaptured Agsukov, the Allied forces responded greatly, and diplomats expressed to us their desire to hold a summit meeting."

Wang Zhong immediately thought of three famous conferences in the history of the earth. Judging from the time, it should be the Tehran Conference?

If it opens in August, it will be about half a year ahead of schedule.

It shows that his counterattack is effective and faster than the progress of the earth.

Wang Zhong asked in a low voice: "So where should we hold the meeting? From a geographical perspective, maybe Baras is a good place?"

Belinsky's eyes widened: "Did you receive information from other sources?"

Wang Zhong: "No, I just considered it purely from a geographical perspective. Obviously this meeting needs to be held in a place that is nominally neutral, but is actually completely controlled by the Allies. It should also be as geographically located as possible - in the middle, Bala. It’s just right.”

Belinsky: "It's normal for you to make such a conjecture. You are familiar with the situation in Balas, and there are many Balas soldiers under you who are 'trainees'. If these troops form a guard to be responsible for security work, His Majesty the Tsar's Safety will definitely be guaranteed.”

Wang Zhong: "Uh, Olga is going? Shouldn't it be you?"

Belinsky laughed loudly: "I am just the Patriarch, not the national leader of Ant. This meeting is obviously not suitable for me to go to."

Wang Zhong: "But what Olga decided -"

Belinsky: "If you go along, no one will question her decision."

Wang Zhong frowned. If he followed, Olga's ideas at the meeting would most likely be regarded as his own.

What do you mean? Do you really want me to be the First Consul? Don't try to hurt me.

Belinsky: "There will be a very good opportunity after the war. We will realize all the visions that were not realized at the end of the civil war due to too much resistance. Everything now is planned for this purpose.

"Some of the cardinals are worried that after defeating Plosin, you will take over the military power and follow the example of the conqueror. But I don't think you will do this. After these two years of war, you are already a determined warrior. A secular warrior."

Belinsky's words reminded Wang Zhong of Loktov again. Countless hands pulled him out from under the tank and pushed him forward.

Those big calloused hands were warm and strong.

Wang Zhong: "Yes, the people are the greatest. I am just a lucky person who was pushed to the forefront."

Belinsky smiled and said: "I know you will answer like this. In short, be prepared, and your wife will go with you. In diplomatic situations, sometimes you cannot do without her presence. As for the next stage of the battle, your loyal staff officer You should be able to handle it, right?”

Wang Zhong: "I have a plan to break through the Tiber River, and Pavlov is implementing the plan. I am preparing to use airborne troops——"

Belinsky raised his hand and made a stopping gesture: "There is no need to tell me the specific plan. I completely trust you in the military aspect. Your success in the military at this stage has given us a large enough position on the negotiating table. Advantage.”

Wang Zhong: "That's also because the allied kingdom of Sardinia is not progressing smoothly."

The Allies only had Sherman tanks equipped with 75 guns. They encountered thickly armored No. 4 long-barreled tanks, as well as Panthers and King Tigers. Naturally, they were severely defeated.

If you calculate it this way, the main reason why the Allies are not going well is that the Prossens have also been "evolved" in the purgatory on the Eastern Front.

Wang Zhong was still able to bear it. After all, those who died were his comrades fighting against the enemy on the same front.

"I will try my best to share my experience in fighting the Plosen with the Allied commanders at the meeting," he said. "I can also provide the Plosen tanks we captured to the Allies so that they can study how to deal with them. ”

Belinsky nodded: "That's good. We can use these captured tanks in exchange for more production licenses. We need engines, radars, more trucks, and advanced machine tools."

Wang Zhong: "I will have a good discussion with the allies, so when will we set off?"

"On the 15th, before then you can focus on your own affairs, such as the finalization of new tanks and the summary of combat experience. Many senior generals who have returned to Yebao also want to see you." Belinsky said He patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder and said, "Gather them all over and unite them under the frontline headquarters you are about to establish."

Wang Zhong: "You asked me to bypass..."

"No, I didn't say that. General Turgenev has always played an important role, but he is already very old and is approaching retirement age. After he retires, the position of Minister of Military Command requires someone who can convince the public. The marshal."

Wang Zhong: "I understand."

At this moment, the sound of leather boots came from the door.

Wang Zhong looked towards the door and saw General Gorky pushing open the door and entering the preparation room.

"Marshal Davarisi, I salute you." The general stood at attention and saluted.

Wang Zhong: "Salute to you, General Davarisi. I heard when I returned to Yebao that you strongly opposed your promotion to marshal in March this year?"

"The person with the most outstanding military exploits is a general. My promotion to marshal is hard to convince the public." General Gorky said with a smile, "Before I took off and came back, I heard that my promotion order was about to come out."

Belinsky: "Humph, Turgenev is an old fox."

General Gorky saluted Belinsky: "Your Majesty the Patriarch, I didn't notice you were here."

Belinsky: "Humph, you are also an old fox."

At this time, the ceremonial officer loudly announced from outside: "His Majesty the Tsar has arrived!"

Wang Zhong said to Belinsky: "I just wanted to say that it would be a little uncomfortable if His Majesty was not present on such an occasion."

Belinsky: "This is our statement, so you don't have to worry about it."

When Belinsky said this, Cardinal Lavkid pushed up his round glasses.

At this time the door opened, and Olga rushed in holding up her skirt: "Brother!"

Just as Wang Zhong was about to salute, Olga rushed into his arms: "Brother! You are finally back! His Majesty Belinsky has told you, right? We are going to Balas together!"