The joint exercise in spring and autumn is a traditional project of the federal army, and it is a large-scale exercise mode designed by them in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops in a way that is close to actual combat. Although judging from the situation of the last war, this kind of drill did not really achieve the expected results, but without this kind of drill, the performance of the federal army on the battlefield may be even more unsatisfactory, so after the end of the war, this form of exercise still continued, and on the original basis added more actual combat and confrontational elements, the focus is on the experience of the war period, the offensive and defensive technical and tactical concepts have been upgraded, the offensive emphasizes mechanization, motorization, and rapidity, and strives to grasp the opponent's key points. One blow is fatal, and defense emphasizes elastic defense, active defense, and active defense, rather than the "impregnable" positional defense warfare that was originally implemented.

If you want to understand the strength of an army, then it is undoubtedly a more ideal way to watch this kind of large-scale joint exercise than basic training on weekdays. This is true for the top echelons of the federal military, and even more so for foreign powers, especially potential hostile forces, who are interested in knowing the reality of the federal military. Weiss's first time in the Autumn Parade was confronted with this bizarre enemy infiltration and the loss of many of his companions. Now, the parade is held in the federal states of Lorraine and Neuchâtel, and for the local government and the people, apart from the meager sense of honor, it seems to be a difficult test - they have to vacate all kinds of transportation facilities for the use of the army, and the normal travel life of the residents and the operation of the industrial economy also need to give concessions to this large-scale exercise. Politicians will use this opportunity to hook up with the military's top brass or make friends with other military figures and cultivate personal relationships, but this is almost a trivial factor in the face of the general trend.

About a month before the official start of the spring exercise, the military began to carry out various preparations in the planned exercise area. This is the busiest task for the staff officers, from the General Staff to the general staff of the corps and the Higher Staff College, as well as the midshipmen of other military academies, have been booking exercises in the south-west of the federal state of Neuchâtel and north-west of Lorraine, preparing various plans for the upcoming big exercise.

The pre-set exercise plan is only a rough outline, which is a directional guide, and is mainly to survey and design the predetermined positions of the participating troops. Due to the great emphasis on actual combat and confrontation in the course of the exercise, the traditional form of setting the original route and letting the participating troops walk the catwalk like a catwalk was abolished. The participating troops are free to play within the established rules and contingency plan control, and are given the conditions to make full use of various geographical and equipment conditions to achieve their goals.

As the governor of Lorraine and the secretary general of the Lorraine Military Training and Mobilization Committee, Weiss was busy coordinating all parties during the month, and also met with many staff officers who came to Lorraine. Some of them were his classmates at the Dezerfiger Senior Staff Academy, and some were alumni of his Basston Military Academy—if it weren't for the fact that many of the energetic cadets who went to the front because of the tight war on the front and failed to show their true talents, Weiss would have seen more familiar faces here.

The chief of staff for this spring congress exercise was the military genius that Nikolai had mentioned to Weiss earlier, Colonel Ben Timney. For nearly half a century, the General Staff of the Union Army has been a general without exception, and even the most gifted young talent must reach the brigadier general level or above, and Ben Timney is the first person in the past half century to be able to serve as the general staff officer of the exercise with the rank of colonel. The reason why he stood out among the staff officers who were able to shine after the end of the war was inseparable from his academic achievements at the Delafig Higher Staff College. Just as Nikolai said, the blitzkrieg theory he studied and summarized was novel, bold, and creative, and it caused countless ripples in the "pool of stagnant water" in the strategic and tactical field, and thus entered the field of vision of the military's top brass. This spring conference exercise is undoubtedly an excellent stage for him to show his ability to strategize to the top management!

When he first met this famous and talented staff officer, Weiss was a little disappointed, because he looked like a kind ordinary middle-aged man. He was in his forties, and he looked a little like the treasurer of the Clumberg-Haisen factory, and he spoke with a polite manner, without the slightest sharpness or anger. Put the colonel in the crowd if he is not wearing a military uniform. Few people will remember his face at a glance, because his appearance and temperament seem too mediocre in all aspects.

The last war lasted more than three years, and this genius staff officer spent more than half of his time studying military theory at the Dale Fig Staff Academy, and the rest of the time he was "helping" in the General Staff, that is, he did not have a day in the war when he was really in the front-line troops. Back in the pre-war years, he spent nearly a decade in the grassroots army. Judging by his own resume, this is an interesting middle-aged man. He first graduated from Ulster Polytechnic University with a degree in mechanical engineering, a sought-after major, and he could enter the middle-class income level almost as soon as he graduated, but he chose to join the army, starting as a non-commissioned officer at the grassroots level, and slowly rose to lieutenant in ten years, and then entered the Delefig Staff College. At that time, his grades were not said to be particularly outstanding, but he was favored by the dean at the time, and after graduation, he stayed on to teach, accumulated a lot of money, and became a legend in the tactical field of this academy, and his masterpieces have been featured in various tactical courses.

The culmination of military theory is usually reflected in wargames, and this is certainly true of Colonel Ben Timney. In the federal military circles, few people can win three games in a row in his hands, as long as it is a five-game tactical deduction, he can lose the first two games, but the next three games will definitely be able to move back, this is his "strongest skill".

Due to the limitations of his duties, Weiss had to coordinate all aspects of affairs, and there was no way to follow this group of top staff officers to the planned exercise area to survey the terrain design plan, and there were few opportunities to communicate face-to-face with this talented staff officer. This was a bit of a pity, but fortunately, before the exercise began, the staff officers took a short break at Mason, and he finally seized the opportunity to play war games with this genius staff officer. Witnessed by many staff officers, Weiss won the first two games, but started the crucial third game. He found that his tactical routine was almost in the expectation of the other party, and no matter how he changed his moves, he could not escape the seemingly plain but sharp eyes of the subject. The opponent's moves began to become aggressive, and the moves were deadly, making Weiss difficult to parry.

Through these five rounds of war games, he learned the strength of a military genius, realized how lucky he was to defeat the visiting delegates of the Royal Norman Military Academy, and regretted that the genius staff officer had not been able to play a greater role in the last war. It's a pity that there aren't so many ifs in the real world, and putting people who are good at wargame deduction and theoretical research in the position of commanders may not be able to do it all. After all, the war between the Union army and the Norman army is not a five-game war game, and if the early defeat cannot be "stopped" in time, it is possible to fall into a bottomless abyss and lose the capital to recover the situation.

The Spring Parade is about to begin, and the Confederate troops from the various garrison areas are arriving in the Confederated states of Lorraine and Neuchâtel. Some units travel directly to the assembly area by flying transport, while others arrive at the terminus of the feeder line by train and then take a river boat or car to the intended location. This hectic and tense scene evokes Weiss's memories of Barston. Although it is hard, life is simple and fulfilling.

Once the exercise began, even the chief executive of Lorraine could not participate in the details of the exercise, but could only wish from afar, and shortly after the exercise began, Mr. Brooks, the first inspector of the Federal Department of Safety and Inspection, knocked on his office door again, and still chose a time when few staff were present after work.

The great god was full of sadness, and even if there was no third person present, he deliberately lowered his voice: "We have received information from the periphery, and the Normans are here again. ”

"Isn't that normal?" Weiss said calmly, "It would be strange if the Normans did not come!" ”

That was true, but Weiss didn't dare to be careless about it at all. He poured tea for Brooks and motioned for him to take a sip of tea before elaborating.

"It's a very secret clue...... During the war, the Normans controlled many Lorraineans through coercion and inducement, some were independent liberals, some were purely greedy for money, and some were coerced by their families, but in either case, after the war, a considerable number of them continued to work for the Normans. They have a serious identity as a cover, and they also had secret contact with the Normans during the war, and those who did not know the inside story, or those who knew about it, had disappeared, so it was not easy to find out these people. ”

Although Weiss has his own special means, it is impossible for him to identify the more than 30 million people in Lorraine. Only by narrowing the scope of suspicion can we distinguish the true tendencies of these people with the help of a special vision, and then carry out targeted treatment in different categories.

This clue leads to three points: first, the intelligence provider knows the approximate number and equipment of the exercise troops entering Lorraine; Second, the intelligence mentions a considerable number of troops, and these numbers are correct; Third, the intelligence mentioned the senior commanders and key staff members of the exercise troops. Those who have access to the above three types of information, except for the military, may point to the departments of the state government...... Personally, I suspect that the three most suspicious departments are the police department, the traffic department, and your secretarial office. ”

Brooks listed three categories of suspects, the first two involving hundreds of staff members, and the third five or six individuals. Weiss looked at his expression quietly, wondering if there was anything wrong with what he said—to get rid of suspicious people within the state government, you just need to gather them and take a good look at them with your own eyes, but if the problem is with himself, with the governor of the federal state of Lorraine, for the Federal Department of Safety and Inspectorate—for Brooks, it's a different matter entirely.

First, such a vigorous convening is likely to startle the grass and snakes, and in addition, it will also disrupt the current order. Second, digging up the enemy's intelligence agents will not solve all the problems, and there is no guarantee that the enemy infiltrators will take such an extreme approach this time after discovering two hostile elements and cutting themselves in a desperate situation. If you want to find more clues from them and find a way to uproot the enemy's intelligence network in Lorraine, then you must cast a long line to catch a big fish.

"Do you have any clue?" Weiss asked. After the establishment of the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance, he and the Resistance were very concerned about the punishment of those who rebelled against the country, but because their organizational nature was unofficial, members came from many different towns, and they were engaged in various subdivisions of the industrial field, and digging up suspicious people in the name of the organization would inevitably cause unnecessary confusion and influence, so Weiss just told his partners to pay a little attention on weekdays and provide any clues to the government or military in time.

Professional things still have to be done by professional people.

Brooks said that his idea is in line with what Weiss just said, that is, if you want to dig up, you have to dig out the enemy, and you can't treat the headache and the foot, so that you don't know when you can completely eradicate these hidden dangers. Since the Alliance's Security Supervision Department was stationed in Lorraine, a lot of effort has been spent in this area, and a lot of intelligence and clues have been collected.

After thinking about it for a while, Weiss said to Brooks: "If there are any enemy lurkers in the secretary's room, I can give you an accurate answer in the next few days." If so, we'll start with him to follow the leads, and if not, then we'll start with the police department, and then the traffic department. ”

Brooks looked at Weiss with some trepidation: "How sure are you?" ”

"I'm very accurate in seeing people, and I've never missed a shot." Weiss replied confidently.

Brooks nodded: "In addition, I heard that the bill to establish a trading port on the western border has been approved by the majority of congressmen, and it is likely to be implemented in the coming period, which means that the mobility of personnel will increase, and there will be more channels for the enemy to spy on intelligence." If the bill is passed, it will be impossible for us to unilaterally prevent its implementation, nor will it be possible to completely eliminate the infiltration of the enemy. The commanders' consideration is to use this opportunity to find out the enemy's hidden personnel in the Federation, that is to say, we will start with the intelligence officers who deliver the message on the one hand, and on the other hand, we will find out the layout through the transit channels, and act in both directions. ”

After listening to this, Weiss nodded his head thoughtfully, and said in his heart: This is not your job, tell me what you want?

Brooks then said: "From what I have heard, Lorraine will have at least one trading port located in the Monamolin Mountains, and its geographical conditions are very in line with the concept of a trading port, that is, there is only air transportation, and it is difficult to pass on the ground, and other countries transport goods to the trading port through flying transport ships, and we also transport goods there for exchange, so as to avoid the flow of people to the greatest extent, of course, it is impossible to completely eliminate it." Whether the port is centrally managed by the federal government or by the states in which it is located is still debated in Congress, and the bill will ultimately give an answer. If it's run by the cantonal government, I'd like to have a plan in place, because the Federal Inspectorate of Security can't keep a team of this size in Lorraine all the time. We hope to be able to complete the task within six months, by the end of the year at the latest, and then focus more on the eastern region...... Since the end of the war, the previously peaceful eastern region is now not very stable, and many people with suspicious identities have infiltrated the Federation from the sea, obtained false identities through some hidden channels, and mixed into us. This is a terrible thing, because in the east our military defenses are the weakest, and we have always believed that the enemy cannot say that it is impossible to attack us from the sea. However, with the development of military technology, we cannot pin our hopes on the bad weather of the Raging Sea, we must be well prepared. So, the next phase of our work will shift from the west to the east. ”

What Brooks said was not known in advance because of the federal system and his own information channels. In fact, at the previous meeting of the governors, there was only a little rumor, and there was no such definite news. So, he asked tentatively, "Where will that shore mouth be?" If so, I mean. ”

Brooks hesitated for a moment, then called out a place name that Weiss was very familiar to: Bella Casser.

Yes, the Bela Casser Pass, the place where he first met Ze during the war, and the place where he first showed his courage and boldness on the Western Front. In that brutal battle, they captured the flying battleship that the Norman army forced to land, and almost captured the enemy's star source stone equipment, if this technical secret is unlocked in advance, the war can end at least a year early, which is also a big regret during the Weiss War.

Belakaser is a very difficult place, with steep cliffs on three sides, and only the east side towards Lorraine is difficult to navigate, and the west side is the Norman ally, the Kingdom of Basel.