May 14, noon.

Yekaterinburg is cool in late spring, and the city named after Empress Catherine is located on the banks of the Iset River, on the border between Asia and Europe.

Historically, it is known that the Ibat Palace is located here - seven members of the last tsar's family were secretly executed, and none of his wife, four daughters, and one son, including himself, survived.

However, that was only a matter of the original plane, and now Yekaterinburg is one of the main cities of Tsarist Russia in Siberia, and it is also an important transportation hub, with a population of more than 300,000 and a certain metallurgical industry.

After the civil strife in the elite areas, St. Petersburg's prestige collapsed, and the vast territory of Tsarist Russia inevitably sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, with many warlords and armed factions.

This is especially true in the east of the Ural Mountains, in Novosibirsk and Chelyabinsk.

Today, Yekaterinburg is also under strict military control, and the former commander-in-chief of the Yekaterinburg Military District, Lieutenant General Ilya, is the de facto commander here.

He is a typical "smart person", or a mother with milk.

Realizing that the situation was uncontrollable, he also sent his cronies to Chelyabinsk, more than 100 kilometers to the south, which was approved by the local bureaucrats and the generals of the garrison.

As a result, the 2nd Siberian Army of Tsarist Russia stationed in this area was all under his orders, including the 37th Infantry Division, the 38th Infantry Division, the 7th Artillery Division, the 12th Cavalry Brigade, and the 14th Engineer Brigade.

At first, they were severely short-fought, with a total strength of just over 20,000 men, but Lieutenant General Ilya soon announced the order for mobilization, and quickly recruited available reservists to replenish the troops, bringing the total strength to 50,000.

Ilya had a relatively clear understanding of the current situation, and he had a premonition that the broken ship of Tsarist Russia would fall apart after a short time, and everything really happened as he had a hunch.

He is not interested in the elite area, he just wants to be his own soil emperor in this place, with tens of thousands of troops loyal to him, he thinks that this is a local force that should not be underestimated, as long as it can get the support of the Ming people, then ......

"Oh no, baby, I'm sorry, the queen must be my wife's own. Don't say such things again in the future, you will regret it. ”

In the office, a beautiful woman with heavy makeup snuggled up to Ilya, who first smiled and rejected her tentative words, and then spoke in a tone that frightened her.

Ilya's face suddenly smiled again, and she reached out and lifted the woman's skirt and touched the soft long legs tightly wrapped in black suspenders.

He was dashing for a moment, and then took out a hardcover Russian translation of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" from the drawer, intending to look at a few more wonderful chapters.

But at this moment, there was a sound of leather boots touching the floor tiles from far and near, followed by a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Pushing the door in, it was Lieutenant Colonel Kirill, who saluted: "Your Excellency, the bonus has been paid in full, and in accordance with the order you signed, I have executed seven officers who embezzled the bonus, and their bodies are hung in two barracks and three road crossings. ”

"Good." Lieutenant General Ilya said with satisfaction: "Power comes from the bottom. In this critical time, the soldiers should be treated well, but some people will never learn the lesson, so they can only be taught by God. ”

"In addition, the military columns and cavalry units are ready and on standby, and they are ready to go at any time."

"Very well, let's go today."

A week earlier, St. Petersburg had ordered the 2nd Siberian Army to reinforce Kazan, where the garrison generals, who had staunch support for the Imperial Russian regime, were besieged by a number of insurrectionary soldiers and workers' militia, and the two sides were at a stalemate.

Ilya ignored the order and threw it in the trash as waste.

He has recently been fighting the idea of Izhevsk and is considering sending a force there to loot a wave.

It is an important industrial base, and the Izhevsk Arsenal, one of the three major arsenals of Tsarist Russia, is located - in this era of melee, who would think that they have fewer guns in their hands?

"Jingle jingle bell—"

Lieutenant Colonel Kirill was about to say something, but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the phone.

After listening to the report on the other end of the phone, Ilya replied rather dissatisfied: "Strange train? Do you still want to intercept them? Stupidity! Now the Khitans cannot be allowed to have any dissatisfaction. ”

At the same time, at the Yekaterinburg railway station......

Major Gleb hung up the phone, turned and walked out of the railway station hall, and returned to platform 3.

Next to the locomotive, five or six people dressed as Daming train workers were gathering together, smoking and whispering.

Seeing that the officer in charge of the checkpoint had returned, they tacitly stopped talking and looked at the major who had come by.

Gleb felt that there was something indescribably unusual about this train, he was only a lieutenant six years ago, and he could be said to have a lot of experience in handling countless trains over the years.

The soldiers had just searched and found that the train was loaded with clothes, porcelain, lamps, and according to the customs clearance documents, the train's destination was France.

However, considering that they had quietly stuffed themselves with a full twenty pounds, Major Gleb did not bother to delve further.

He felt that it would be nothing more than smuggled goods at best, and besides, His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief would not allow people to be troubled.

With a short manpower, he also kindly reminded him, "The next stop is not so good, Kazan is now at war, I suggest you wait here, otherwise if the goods are destroyed, your boss will definitely be angry." ”

After listening to the translator's words, one of the employees present asked, "Excuse me, how long will it take?" ”

"Maybe a week, two weeks? I don't know. Major Gleb said he couldn't help it.

The conductor, who had been silent beside him, suddenly refused, "No need, our goods must be delivered within a time limit and cannot be delayed." ”

After finishing the coal and water, it didn't take long for the long train to leave the platform with a whistle.

After leaving Yekaterinburg, they officially came to Europe from Asia.

Everyone on the train did not dare to take it lightly, and it was the most relaxing time when they were walking in the deserted Siberian wilderness.

Next stop, Kazan.

It is reported that it has been swept away by the flames of war, and the two sides are inseparable, and it is still unknown whether the railway will be in good condition and whether the train will be allowed to pass.

The road of smuggling seems to be endless, starting from the eastern part of the Eurasian continent to thousands of miles away, can it be successfully reached?

On the same day, Nanjing.

At the same time, it was only in the morning, and the morning rush hour had come to an end, and the busy streets had become much thinner.

The Army Staff University is very large, but it is divided into several campuses, with majors for mid-level officers such as majors and lieutenant colonels in Xi'an and Zhenjiang, and majors for advanced officers in the capital city of Jiangbei.

「…… The elements of a campaign force can be divided into two categories, basic elements and derivative elements, according to the needs of carrying out various specific tasks......

「…… Generally speaking, the basic elements are, in order of importance, information power, mobility, offensive power, and defense power; The derivative elements are, in order of importance, intelligence, reconnaissance, communications, control, transportation, logistics, and support......

「…… The strategy of coordinated action is a plan for organizing units of various services and arms to fight cooperatively, and it is necessary to divide the operational phases and combat seasons and clearly define the differences between the tactical levels......

In the library cabinet, Zhou Changfeng flipped through the books at a glance, and he had more or less understood these "Overview of Campaign Studies", "Military Strategy", and "Military Organization Course" in the past, and many of the knowledge overlapped.

As for the class, because it was too step-by-step, he naturally did not want to go, and only occasionally went to consult and discuss with the old scholars of the staff university.

As a well-known general, Zhou's days of studying at the Staff University can be said to be very smooth.

Even Cheng Han personally called the staff university to tell him a few words, he thought that Zhou, who was born as a bachelor's student, did not need to study step by step, and he would naturally be able to combine the actual combat experience by browsing the compulsory subjects throughout.

The most important skill in commanding a large corps in combat is actually a change in the mode of thinking, and it is impossible to cope with it with the same set of tactical commanders.

Maybe an energetic and highly qualified division commander can arrange all the troops in detail, down to the bottom of each company, but what if he commands three divisions, or even ten divisions?

Therefore, it is necessary to change the mode of thinking, and it is necessary to have work experience in the operations of the General Staff and to fully understand the operation of the command system, so that we can command a large army with ease and efficiency.

Cheng Han planned to let Zhou stay at the Staff University for a month and then come to the Staff Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion to experience and learn the feeling of strategizing.

When the hour hand pointed to eleven o'clock, Zhou Changfeng, who had been reading books all morning, felt tired, so he closed a few books and stuffed them into a locker, and then flipped through the Jinling Morning News, which he had bought in the morning and had not read since then.

"Flash! Australia prays to the United States for protection, and the United States may send troops to ...... Australia."

"In response to Tianfu's confirmation of the bridge construction plan, the construction of the Yangtze River Bridge, which was previously suspended, is planned to start at the end of the year......

Although the British were very dissatisfied and tried every means to dissuade them, the Australians were not stupid, so they firmly rejected the request of the suzerain, and formally submitted a request to Washington for the protection of the garrison.

The rhetoric, of course, is to "protect U.S. assets and expatriates in Australia."

The federal government quickly agreed to the request and approved the dispatch of American troops to Australia, and according to the order, the 41st Infantry Division of the Army was immediately rebuilt, and when it was completed, it was embarked and sailed to Australia.

The 41st Division was formed at the end of the European War by combining the National Guard forces in Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, and other states, and was withdrawn after the war.

Historically, after the division was rebuilt, it was engaged in the New Guinea campaign, fighting the Japanese in the hot and humid jungle, and by the time it left the following year, the officers and men of the division were already clothed and looked like savages, which earned it the nickname "Bushman".

As for the Yangtze River Bridge, because of the fast flow of water in the Nanjing area, the difficulty and cost of building the bridge are high, and the imperial court and Ying Tianfu often play ball, so far the construction has not started, but the scale of the train ferry has been expanded.

But now, only a total of 150 train ferries a day can no longer meet the transportation needs of the north and south of the capital, so the Yangtze River Bridge must be built.

The afternoon was just as dull, just after five o'clock, Zhou left the campus and rushed the ferry across the river to go home.

What made him wonder was that Xia Xiaoshi told him that an old friend had sent a letter.

"Hello?"

"Well, it's on the table, see for yourself, I haven't opened the package."

Zhou Changfeng didn't know why, and he couldn't figure out who could afford the words "old and good".

He picked up the envelope and glanced at it, and said with a smile: "Xiaoshi, I am innocent with her, and I can only be regarded as a one-sided relationship before, and there is no intersection after that." ”

The letter had been sent by Chrissy, and as he spoke, he opened the envelope and skimmed it quickly.

This is actually a farewell letter, to the effect that he will be transferred back to China, and will leave on May 18, and then briefly thank you.

"I'm leaving." Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but sigh.

"Sir, aren't you quite nostalgic?" Xia Xiaoshi pouted.

"Heh, it's a bad word." Zhou Changfeng reached out and pinched her waist and shrugged his shoulders, "It's not nostalgia, I can only say it's a little embarrassing." ”

Reflecting on the past, it was inevitable to look to the future, wondering what the idealist who had worked in the Stasi would do in the future.

Looking at the current posture, a million-strong army may act at any time, and how can Tsarist Russia, which is full of gunsmoke, have the power to parry?

Operation Prague was undoubtedly a success, and this deceptive operation to cover up the massive deployment of troops to the Western Front succeeded in deception.

Everyone thought that the German Society would easily solve the civil strife in Tsarist Russia, so as not to avoid the dilemma of shortage of resources, and the old men of the British Empire have been arguing recently about whether to intervene to see if they can support some of the Tsarist forces.

Against this backdrop, the time has come to May 18.

At 5:10 Berlin time, the War Council passed the decision and sent a telegram to the General Headquarters at the front - "The paints and printing presses are ready to start work on time."

At 5:25, dive bombers and light bombers took off from more than twenty field airfields and air bases located behind the battle line and rose into the air in a hazy mist.

Half an hour later, groups of Ju-87 dive bombers, Ju-88 bombers, and Do-17 bombers flew across the border and began to carry out air raids on the airfields, highway hubs, and train dispatch areas of the French, Dutch, and Belgian armies.

At 6:00 a.m. on May 18, at dawn, on a nearly 400-kilometer-long front from the north coast of Groningen to the Maginot Line, a huge artillery group of thousands of guns broke off the camouflage net, and then roared in unison, flashing light, and the fierce shelling caused the observing officers on the artillery observation aircraft to raise their hands and cover their eyes.

More than a million German troops ended their concealment, left the assembly area, quickly entered the starting positions of the offensive, and prepared to launch a ground offensive.

This is the end of the long standoff, and everything has a new beginning.

(End of chapter)