Aki Waitan, the grain store guy, was standing by the bank of the glacier, looking at the orange-yellow sun flag fluttering across the river, in a daze. The early spring sun shone warmly on him, stretching his shadow into a long strip behind him.

The glacier is also called the river of extreme cold by the people of the country opposite. The river is bitterly cold in winter, but never frozen, and flows inland from Ankenrein and winds eastward along the junction of Ankenrein and the Alonte Empire, eventually joining the Great Eastern Ocean. It is said that there is a semi-circular belt of ice at the junction of the river and the sea for half of the year. It is a natural wonder that the icy river and the sea water meet, losing the cold and biting characteristics without freezing, and condenses into a natural wonder.

"Aki, are you in a daze again?"

Taha Senier stepped out from behind Aki, carrying a large steam backpack. The Type 27 steam rifle, which the two had only recently become familiar with, looked like an unreal toy in Taha Senier's hands.

"Brother Seignier", Archiv Wetann greeted, remembering how the two had met. At the beginning of Blackwood's riots, he and dock worker Taha Seignier met in prison, thinking that both sides would not survive for a few days, but they were suddenly conscripted and thrown into death squads, and then they were dragged to the Glacier Defense Line by the troops of the Southern War Zone, becoming a small member of this war zone that lasted for 800 years.

"I heard from the chief that there is already a fight in the west, and if Grand Duke Luo Ning is really as powerful as the legend, we should be able to go home soon."

Taha knew that the young man in front of him was homesick again, and tried to comfort him. But his words did not ease Aki's worries, but only made him more desperate.

"We are now rebels, and the rebels will not be able to return home. If the emperor knew about it, the whole family would be beheaded......"

Aki's words were filled with tears, he was originally just a small grain store guy, he had never left Brackwood in his life, but he inexplicably and accidentally came to the Glacier Defense Line thousands of miles away, and he was also infamous as a rebel. Whoever it is, Aki thinks that he should be sad and entangled for a while.

"Alright, don't cry", Taha Seignier was much tougher than Aki, and although it was the first time he had left Blackwood, he was more open than this lad. In his opinion, having food to eat, clothes to wear, and being able to live without illness or disaster is the greatest happiness.

"Anyway, no matter what, we are already Roninger's soldiers, and now we can only hope that the Grand Duke will win this battle, and we will go home with military merits, maybe we can still glorify our ancestors."

"How can that be so easy......"

Aki Waitane replied halfway, but stopped abruptly. Taha Senier didn't realize why Aki stopped at first, but he quickly found the reason. Opposite them, I don't know when, a large number of brown soldiers had gathered. It was the Alonte Empire's troops, the troops of Aki and Taha, the ones they were guarding against and fighting.

"They...... What are they doing? ”

Aki was a little unsure, and in his sight, the brown soldiers were carrying a lot of huge barrels towards the river, and more soldiers followed them, most of them holding the barrels alof, like some kind of pilgrimage or sacrificial array.

"Holy! Come on!!!! ”

Taha Seinier realized the gravity of the matter faster than Aki Waitan. Those on the other side, those enemies, seem to be preparing to cross the river! This is something that has never happened in more than two hundred years, and it is also something that the First and Second Legions are determined to do on the other side before they leave.

Taha Seignier stumbled and pulled Aki Waitan to run, and they didn't even look back. It is already a fact that the army of the Alonte Empire began to cross the river, and then, the two of them, I am afraid that there will be no more time to relax by the river.

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Replacing the 1st and 2nd Rowninger Corps in guarding the glacial defense line were the newly formed 8th, 9th, and 10th Army Corps in the Southern Theater. With more than 180,000 men in the three fully formed regiments, it was a large but inexperienced recruit force. Although Charlie Ronin inserted many veterans of the glacial defense line in the grassroots of the army, the size of a few hundred people was not enough for these three troops to have calm and mature war experience. And this, when facing the madman Gukohain Foster opposite, became a desperate death.

The 4th Division of the 77th Army of Gukohein Foster chose to cross the river on a sunny morning in early spring. The recruits on the opposite side were a little scrambling at first, but they quickly stabilized their positions under the command of experienced junior officers. Years of fighting have made both sides wary of the traditional method of attacking the river, and the banks of the glacier are densely packed with wooden piles two or three people high to prevent the enemy from crossing the river by boat. But this time, Gukohein took a unique approach, first using a shield boat to rush forward, relying on the wooden piles on the north side of the river bank to resist the landing of ships, and built a rope bridge connecting the two banks. Then, along the rope bridge, a large pontoon bridge was built with large wooden barrels made by hand. By sending the soldiers onto the pontoon bridge, after fierce fire, the defenders on the river bank were forced back. Even though Ankenrei desperately commanded and resisted the veterans from the glacial defense line, the recruits' unfamiliarity with weapons, landing and counter-landing warfare, and the natural fear of death caused the defending forces facing Gurakos to lose their fighting spirit and begin to collapse after a few formations of guns. By this time, no matter how powerful the generals were, they could no longer turn the tide of the war. Gu Kehein successfully occupied a beachhead, and then began to send his fourth division to this familiar and unfamiliar land.

By evening, the vanguard had consolidated the beachhead, and the defending forces they had repulsed were regrouping a kilometer from the river bank to form an encirclement. It was at this time that Gukohain Foster landed on the land of Ankenrein and became the first general in eight hundred years to climb the north bank of the glacier.

"As you might expect, the enemy is inferior to us in combat skills and experience, and we have now taken the beachhead and repelled two enemy attacks. However, relying only on the Fourth Division, it is difficult for us to hold this position for a long time, and we must find a way to pull others in. ”

Now that the war has begun, intelligence officer Aidan Piro has completely entered war mode. Now Gukohain has a temporary advantage because of the sudden attack. But this small advantage will soon become a terrible and fatal disadvantage because of the huge number difference between the two sides. After all, it is easy to land and difficult to retreat, and if it is not possible to use the pontoon bridges that have been erected to attract more of its own troops and cross the river to launch an attack without permission, there can only be one end.

"Someone else?"

Gu Kehein smiled, "How can I be willing to give such a great credit to others?" ”

Standing at the head of the pontoon bridge, he made the most daring decision in his life, looking at his own soldiers who were building a beachhead in front of him, and the ranks behind the pontoon bridge that were gradually beginning to thin out.

"Pass my order, cut the rope of the pontoon bridge, abandon the beachhead and attack directly at the enemy! Our Fourth Division, coming here this time, has no intention of going back at all! ”

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"What the fuck is this fighting!"

Inside the palace in Roseville, Paul Gibson is on fire. It's been five days since Charlie Ronin launched the offensive, and both the defense of Moon and the provincial front line have been reduced to a puddle of mud. The two combat zones on the north and south sides competed to build an iron shield chest wall defense line, and there was no one side that had the ability to break the deadlock!

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Prime Minister Emile Owen looked down at the floor respectfully.

"How can I be angry! Yes?! Tell me, how can I calm my anger?! ”

Paul Gibson became more and more angry the more he spoke, "One asked me for reinforcements, saying that the enemy was the elite of the glacial defense line, and he couldn't beat it. I gave. The other said he was going to attack, but after two days of fighting, he told me that there was no progress because the enemy was using that damn iron shield bullshit defense line of the Neglo Republic! ”

"Your Majesty, the iron shield breastwork defense line can indeed effectively restrain the gun platoon tactics, if the terrain is suitable, there are no weaknesses on the two flanks, and even the cavalry is not easy to find a breakthrough point. Didn't Prince Wenfeng also use the iron shield chest wall to defend Mu Enze? ”

The emir still bowed his head and tried to persuade His Majesty the Emperor. Henry Claflin, Grand Duke of the Golden Lion, stood next to the two of them, not saying a word.

"Henry Aiqing, tell me, what should I do in this situation? Just stiff? ”

Paul was anxious for a moment, and calmed down a little. He turned to Henry, hoping to get an answer from the expert.

"The most effective weapon we have at hand right now is the artillery cavalry. As far as I know, the factories of the Royal Arms Research Institute have concentrated all the core military industrial forces and are in full production of steam hand cannons, and it is expected that in another three weeks, the equipment of a reorganized division will be completed. ”

"Three weeks?"

Paul Gibson repeated that time, gritting his teeth. Now the strategic environment of Anken Rein is not good, with the Negro Republic in the west and the rebel Charlie Ronin in the east, who claims to change the dynasty. The internal serfs and the working class were not very stable in their thinking, and the slightest carelessness could lead to a crisis that threatened his personal rule. Who has the patience to wait three weeks at a time like this?

"Your Majesty, three weeks is already the fastest. In order to produce steam hand cannons, now even the production of Glory rifles has been suppressed, and every effort is made to guarantee steam hand cannons. The brothers on the logistics side have done their best. ”

Henry Claflin also knew that three weeks was too long and could change a lot. But even so, Anken Rein, because of this war machine, can only start at this speed.

"Isn't the glory rifle going to be all reloaded, if it is pressed for production, how can the redress of the front-line troops be guaranteed?" , Emile Owen interjected, a little worried. A lot of their family's land is in Chang Province, and now they are facing the threat of war, and their family's attitude is also a little anxious.

"Elliot's kid has a factory with good production capacity, and they will come out when they are pressed", Paul Gibson knows about it, "The Glory Rifle is not a problem, now you have to focus on solving it, is to find a way to break the deadlock!" I don't want to wait for the Neglo Republic to call, Charlie Ronin, this, I haven't wiped it clean yet! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Henry Clavelin and Emile Owen looked at each other and were about to continue their discussion when they were interrupted by the herald outside the door.

"Your Majesty", maybe there has been too much bad news recently, and the herald has obviously calmed down a lot this time, "News from Roninger, the Alonte Empire landed on the north bank of the glacier a day ago, routed Roninger's defenders, and began to attack Hulanga!" ”

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On the eleventh day after Gukohain cut the pontoon bridge, news of the war reached Elena.

"I didn't expect your father to have such connections, and this news is very important to me."

Gastens closed the note in his hand and stood by the window of his office, looking out the window at the busy factory, "Once the war between the Alonte Empire and us starts, no one will be able to take care of our little Elena anymore. ”

"So what are you going to do?" Daisy sat on the bed with a lazy expression, and she could be alone with Gastens during this little break after lunch. It made her feel relaxed and comfortable.

"Agrarian reform", Gastens turned around, "Elena's environment is very good, and the foundation is not bad, but the relations of production are still old, and I have given it a layer of skin, but this layer of skin is still not as good as the real land system reform." Launching land reform and dividing land into households can thoroughly mobilize the enthusiasm of the peasant class and enable us to gain the support of the most potential groups in the country. ”

"Launching land reform is almost equivalent to challenging the country's ruling class, aren't you worried that your thigh Elliot and you will turn against each other?"

"Quietly enter the village, don't shoot", Gastens smiled and said something he only understood, "first expel all the remaining landlord class, leave the serfs, and then quietly hold meetings and divide the fields, as long as we don't openly raise the banner to rebel, Eliot he, even if he doesn't like it, can only endure it." ”

"But why are you in such a hurry?" Daisy is still a little puzzled, "After the first harvest of potatoes in the summer, our food supply will be completely independent, will it be okay?" ”

"I'm afraid it's too late, before the real war begins, we must have enough strength to protect ourselves, and if we can, we must also have enough strength to protect Anken Rein."

Gastens didn't say it explicitly. But in his memory, the Alonte Empire broke through the ice defense line, but it was the beginning of the whole great war. Although in this life, the timeline of history has changed beyond recognition, Gastens can vaguely feel that the day of the outbreak of all-out war is not far away.

Daisy was silent, she got up, walked to the window, and hugged Gastens.

"My dear, no matter what you do, I believe in and support you, and I only hope that you will not disappoint so many people who believe in you and follow you."

"Don't worry, I love our business more than anyone else, and I won't let it slip through the cracks."

Gastens took Daisy's hand with his backhand, and began to think about the next stage of work. If Elena's land reform could be completed before the outbreak of the war, he would have erected a banner on the land, a banner belonging to the serfs and the working class. And this banner will become the biggest driving force for him to promote his career.

That's the power of the people.