Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 652 - 94 Homeland

Chapter 652: Chapter 94 Homeland

On January 11, the Abawahan Front Army Headquarters moved forward as planned.

Around 1330, Wang Zhong, glancing down from his vantage point, suddenly noticed a road sign ahead.

He shouted loudly to Vasily, who was driving, “Stop at the road sign up ahead!”

Vasily replied and drove the jeep straight towards the road sign, grumbling along the way, “General, how did you see that? I thought it was just a withered sapling.”

Wang Zhong said, “I felt it was there.”

It was a pity that Amelia had taken off in her plane and wasn’t with the Headquarters convoy; otherwise, she would surely have provided cover for Wang Zhong.

Ludmila was sitting next to Wang Zhong. She just glanced at him and said nothing.

Although Vasily didn’t understand, he still drove up to the road sign.

The troops that had passed before had cleared all the snow from the road sign, and the snow on the ground had been shoveled away to ensure the road was passable.

Wang Zhong took out his map and confirmed the place names on the road sign.

“Go this way to Bolsk, and the other way to Kulinka… That’s right!” He put away the map and looked toward Ludmila, his eyes slightly sore, “We are standing on the soil of Kazarlia!”

Ludmila covered her mouth with her hand. From the look of her mouth, she seemed to be smiling, but tears rolled out of her eyes and quickly froze.

Wang Zhong hugged his wife and then took out an iron box he always carried with him from the car, intending to return the soil of his hometown to its homeland — but the moment he opened the lid, he found that the black soil in the box was quite different from the brown soil under his feet.

Could it be because the soil underfoot had just been uncovered from the snow and had just seen the light of day again? But that couldn’t explain such a big difference, could it?

“Why isn’t it black soil?” He asked Grigori, surprised, “The color difference is too big, isn’t it?”

It was Vasily who replied, “Uh, the region we are in now didn’t originally belong to Kazarlia. Less than a hundred years ago, it was rewarded for wartime merit and incorporated into the Kazaria Kingdom.”

Wang Zhong said, “There’s such a history behind it, huh.”

He looked again at the black soil in the box, sighed, closed the lid, tied it with a rope, and put it back in the car.

Grigori said, “Once we’ve taken Bolsk and push northwest, we’ll enter the true borders of Kazarlia, and then we’ll be galloping across the black soil.”

Wang Zhong nodded, “Yes, that day will not be far off, it may even come before the muddy season.”

The muddy season is at the end of February or beginning of March when the rising temperature melts the ground snow. The snow water and fertile mud mix together to become marshlands, making almost all large-scale military operations come to a halt and the battlefield to temporarily quiet down.

This meant that wherever the actual control line was for both sides at that time, there would be no significant changes for the next three months.

The next large-scale operations by both sides would have to wait until May, and some major offensive campaigns might not happen until June — after the mud season ended and there were sufficient supplies stockpiled for large-scale military maneuvers.

Just as he was about to get back in the car, Pavlov’s jeep stopped beside the road sign.

The burly Chief of Staff looked at the road sign, “What’s up with this sign? Is it wrong? Or did enemy spies fake it?”

“No, it’s correct. I stopped because this is the beginning of Kazarlia’s territory.”

Pavlov’s expression paused briefly, then he smiled and said, “We’ve fought our way back, huh? When was it that we left Kazarlia?”

Wang Zhong immediately cited the date, “August 8, at Nameless Station, I filled a lunchbox with black soil. It’s been almost a year and a half, shorter than I expected, much shorter.”

Ludmila said, “Nelly chose the lunchbox, and I remember that it seems that on the same day…”

Wang Zhong looked northwest, towards the direction of Argesukov.

He gazed at the horizon and said softly, “My father and my good brothers were sacrificed at Argesukov. I will always remember it, Liu Da, always.”

Pavlov also looked in the same direction and said, “Yegorov has taken his troops back to rest and recover. He needs to tend to his own wounds. If he were here, he would probably drink so much that even the Military Bishop’s blood vessels would burst.”

Ever since Yegorov’s wife and children died, he started showing signs of heavy drinking, only holding back a little when he was with that female doctor.

Popov happened to drive by and immediately said after hearing this, “If there’s a good reason, I might turn a blind eye to heavy drinking. So, is there a reason?”

Wang Zhong pointed at the road sign, “We are within the borders of Kazarlia now.”

Popov was startled, then burst into laughter, “Well then, I have no objections to you drinking more. But tonight, someone needs to be in charge to avoid giving the enemy an opportunity. In other words, at least one of you two must stay sober.”

Wang Zhong, “Don’t worry, I plan to wait until I get back to the black soil of our homeland to have this drink. We still have an entire Army Group to deal with! Once we wipe out Army Group A, Prosen’s heavy forces on the Southern Front will disappear into thin air, and suddenly our space to maneuver will greatly increase!”

“Indeed,” Pavlov agreed, “then we’ll have many options. We could move north to attack Shepetovka or even head west. However, heading west might be troublesome because of the enemy navy. The few kilometers near the shore would become impassable, covered by naval artillery.”

At this moment, a staff officer rode up, dismounted in front of Wang Zhong and the others, and extended a piece of paper, “General, an urgent report from the front lines.”

Pavlov took the report and his eyebrows twisted into knots, “This is bad.”

Wang Zhong, “What’s wrong?”

Pavlov, “The enemy is attempting to escape. Scouts and cavalry have spotted convoys retreating towards the interior of Kazarlia.”

Wang Zhong was stunned, “How did the Plathen Emperor make such a quick decision? Why didn’t he just throw the Marshal’s Scepter to the Commander of Army Group A and order him to hold at all costs?”

Popov said, “He has already suffered a setback at your hands and has learned his lesson.”

Wang Zhong frowned and asked Pavlov, “Is there a way we can annihilate the Eleventh Army Group within a short period?”

Pavlov shook his head, “It’s difficult. To wage an annihilation battle on the plains, we could only try encirclement tactics, but our troops’ quality isn’t up to that kind of fight yet.”

Wang Zhong, “If we can’t annihilate them, then let’s figure out a way to repel them. Let’s advance straight through Bolsk and carve a bloody path through the city. Fortunately, we have the new tanks and assault guns needed to accomplish this task.”

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At the same time, within the territory of the Empire of Prosen, Eagle’s Nest.

The Emperor looked over the freshly drafted naval evacuation plan, “Based on your plan, how many troops can we evacuate in a day? Have you calculated it?”

The planner, Navy Colonel Richard said, “If things go well, we could evacuate thirty thousand personnel in a day.”

The Emperor, initially brightening up, deflated halfway through his reaction, “Only thirty thousand?”

Colonel Richard, “If we can hold on to the Coastal Fortress and have the port, we could potentially evacuate up to fifty thousand a day.”

The Emperor repeatedly shook his head, “No, no. We need to evacuate at least fifty thousand people a day. Think of something, like requisitioning more ships!”

Navy Colonel Richard nodded vigorously, like a bobblehead.

Celtic Marshal, seeing the matter drawing to a close, then spoke, “Actually, some troops could also be evacuated by land. If the Eleventh Army Group can hold out a little longer, then…”

The Emperor shook his head, “I understand Xiplin. As long as there’s a chance to resist, he will resist and fight the enemy. Before the naval evacuation begins, make sure to send as much ammunition and provisions to Xiplin as possible. Also, collect the soldiers’ letters to their families and send them back home.”

Navy Marshal stood at attention and saluted, “The mission will be accomplished, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor stood up and clapped forcefully, “Let’s get moving. We need to rescue Army Group A from Rocossov’s clutches, gentlemen! Otherwise, the loss will be too great, a loss the Empire cannot afford.”

At least not until total mobilization.