Woo......

A long whistle blows as a regular liner between Cardiff, Wales, and Cork Harbour, Ireland, retracts its gangways and unmoleashes its sailing. At this moment, a six-wheeled truck painted with a clover military insignia sped into the dock, and in full view of everyone, it stopped properly four or five meters away from the gangway with an incomparably gorgeous tail flick.

"Wait! Wait a minute! ”

More than a dozen soldiers on the truck shouted loudly and flew out of the car, only to see them carrying their luggage and rushing up the gangway, almost squeezing the old man who checked the ticket at the gangway into the sea.

After landing on the deck, the leading young non-commissioned officer put his bag at his feet, crossed his hands on his hips, and breathed heavily: "Thank God, I finally caught up!" A few minutes later, you have to take the afternoon liner and arrive home tomorrow morning, wasting a wonderful night. ”

The soldier who followed behind joked: "Ha, when I think of my new wife, our 'ace killer' is really like an arrow!" That race was enough to join the ranks of the drivers in the first class road race! ”

The soldier who followed closely behind said: "That's right, it's definitely the top level of the first-class road race!" But ah, if we had just been driving in Port Cork, our 'ace killer' might have been stopped by the gendarmes and beaten up! ”

Another soldier interrupted: "Nonsense! Even if the gendarmes stopped our car, when they saw the medal on the chest of our handsome and handsome driver, they would definitely immediately salute and let us go! ”

"Come on!" The leading young non-commissioned officer smiled, "That drink last night wasn't enough to plug your mouths?" ”

This group of young soldiers talked and laughed, attracting the attention of many passengers. Although they didn't know what the soldiers meant by the "ace killer", they couldn't help but be in awe when they saw the golden clover medal on the chest of the young non-commissioned officer in the lead—it was the highest praise for those who had made outstanding military achievements, which meant honor, prestige, and generous lifelong benefits!

After a while, a middle-aged man dressed as a captain walked up to them quickly, and after learning more about the situation, he took the initiative to give up his lounge to these special passengers who did not need to buy tickets but did not have assigned seats.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Captain!" The leading young non-commissioned officer shook hands with him and said in very decent language, "Your generosity has given a short but precious rest to a group of people who have just returned from the battlefield and are very tired physically and mentally. ”

The captain politely replied: "It is a great honor for me and the entire ship to serve the soldiers. In fact, we would be very proud if you could leave your name and let us remember this meaningful voyage! ”

"You're being too modest." The leading young non-commissioned officer paused, "Sergeant Gareth Cardwell, who is currently serving in the 1st Armoured Regiment of the New United Kingdom Army, are all good guys from the same company as me. ”

"Gareth-Cardville......" Captain recounted it softly as he searched his memory for the name. Just like the media frenzy brought about by the quadrennial Olympic Games and the World Football Champions Cup, since the signing of the armistice, the heroic deeds and battle stories of the officers and men of the New Austrian Union have quickly become the hottest section of the media in the new United Kingdom, large and small.

After a few moments, the captain suddenly raised his voice: "Ah...... You are Gareth Cardwell, the 'Ace Commander of Chariots' on the battlefields of Italy! ”

The young non-commissioned officer in the lead laughed shyly.

The captain was not mistaken, in the just-concluded "Street Corner War" (the special name given by the New United Kingdom media to the New Austrian and Italian War), Sergeant Gareth Cardville led a crew to destroy 9 Italian vehicles, becoming the most successful tank commander of the New Austrian Army, thus earning the title of "Ace Chariot Commander" / "Ace Chariot Killer" of the Allied Forces, and was awarded the Golden Clover Medal by the New United Kingdom and the Military Medal of the Knight Maria Theresa by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Objectively speaking, the number of combat vehicles put into the battlefield by the Italian army is not small, their protection is mediocre, and they are easy targets to destroy on the battlefield. If it weren't for the impressive performance of the aviation units of the new United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary, the commanders' achievements would have been more than that......

The captain took out a small notebook and a pen and handed them to the young and handsome war hero in front of him: "My daughter admires soldiers very much, and she begs me to say that if one day I happen to meet a hero like you on the ship, I must ask you for a handwritten message." Of course, uh, she'd be happy if she could get your autograph. ”

Cardwell looked down and touched his nose: "Sorry, I didn't have a decent photo with me, so write her a message!" Well, what's her name? ”

"Doria!" The captain replied, "Doria Kenny, 15 years old!" ”

Cardwell took the notebook and pen, and wrote as he spoke:

"To Miss Doria Kenny,

Thanks to your love and support, we can face all enemies fearlessly, and may health, happiness, warmth and luck always be by your side!

Speaker: Sergeant Gareth Cardwell, 1st Armoured Regiment, New United Kingdom Army. ”

When he was done, Cardwell closed the notebook with a smile and handed it back to the captain along with the pen.

The captain happily put away his notebook and pen, and then personally led the soldiers to the captain's lounge. After settling the group, he suddenly remembered and said, "At this point, you probably haven't had lunch yet, right?" It doesn't matter, I'll ask the chef to bring the food to my room in a moment, and although our liner usually only serves light meals, the chef's chicken sandwich and steak burger are so delicious that even a restaurant in Limerick may not be able to make such a good taste! ”

"You're such a nice person!" "We really didn't have time for lunch, so please give each of us a sandwich, a burger, a glass of juice or water, and make sure we buy it at the same price — that's the discipline and the rule we have to follow." ”

The captain thought for a moment: "Well, we will charge for food and drink according to the price on the liner." Our chef knows he's serving the heroes and will definitely bring out his best. ”

Finally seeing off the over-enthusiastic Mr. Captain, Cardwell rubbed his head with one hand and the other, and turned to look at his colleagues, who had already occupied the beds, sofas, chairs, and carpets, and the fastest were actually undressing and showering.

Cardwell teased, "Hey...... You ruthless and unrighteous bugs, at least leave me a good place! ”

The guy who occupies the bed jokes: "Your good position is not here, just as your heart is not here!" But, Mr. Sergeant, for the sake of the liner sandwich you are going to give us a bonus, we can give you a place to sleep for the time being, for you certainly don't have the heart to sleep tonight. ”

The crowd burst into laughter. Behind the laughter is the expedition's deep longing for home and family. Although the war lasted for a short time, long before the outbreak of the war, the armored units, as the sharpest knives of the new British Army, had been in full swing to prepare for war. The last time these soldiers present left the camp for vacation was three or four months ago, especially for a newly married young man like Cardwell, who missed him for more than a hundred days and nights, which is enough to be described as "love is like a tide".

About twenty minutes later, the captain reappeared, bringing with him a cook, a cook, a waiter, and a cart full of food, juice, coffee, and tea. The captain's lounge used to feel quite spacious, but now it's almost a canned sardine. Fortunately, the armored soldiers were accustomed to such crowded conditions, and they were already hungry, and their attention was completely drawn to the sandwiches stuffed with chicken, the fragrant hamburgers with steaks, and the delicious juices, and they did not care about the eyes of onlookers.

Cardwell honestly pulled out his wallet and paid for the brothers' meal.

The waiter who collected the money roughly counted the banknotes and asked curiously, "Did you guys just come back from Italy recently?" What about pasta and Italian wine? ”

"Uh......" Cardwell shrugged, "to be honest, most of the time we ate field rations from the Limerick Food Factory, or Austrian sausages, Hungarian cheese, and fish floss from the seaside from the Austro-Hungarian allies, and we really didn't taste pasta or Italian wine. ”

Another young cook interjected: "Then how did you board the ship in Cardiff Harbour for a trip or a mission to Wales?" ”

The question was a dilemma for Cardwell. After the end of the war, the new United Kingdom troops sent to the Italian front set out in batches on their way home. Cardville and his colleagues belonged to the 1st Panzer Regiment which withdrew from the Italian front to Austria-Hungary, then transported by rail, transited through Germany and France, and arrived at the port of Le Havre on the English Channel coast, where men and equipment were shipped by ship. The rank-and-file soldiers and junior officers thought they were going to return to the Irish garrison by boat, but to their surprise, they had crossed the Channel and landed at Cardiff Harbour in Wales.

Why is that?

Cardwell was also curious about the answer to the question, and there were all sorts of speculations among his colleagues, the most logical of which was that the new United Kingdom was ready to join forces with the Kingdom of England to teach Scotland a good lesson.

This is an unsubstantiated and potentially hugely negative view, and Cardwell certainly can't say to the crew in front of him. In fact, after the 1st Panzer Regiment landed in Cardiff, it was stationed at the Sain barracks dozens of kilometers away. Upon the arrival of the equipment and the deployment of the equipment, junior officers and enlisted officers began to be granted leave, but not on normal family leave, but on a special one-week leave, which was not available to mid- and senior-ranking officers.