It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 123｜Dawn's Worry (Two Chapters in One)

Talking about this, Shang Ke couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Whether in the past life or the present life, Ivan Ross's intelligence agency is a well-known group that is omnipresent.

He nodded and said, "The city attack and defense battle is about to begin. The enemy will definitely want to understand the city's defense deployment. We must be vigilant in maintaining confidentiality and preventing espionage. I don't want to fight when the enemy knows everything."

Monica was slightly startled, looked him up and down, and said, "Colonel, you sound like the commander of the Budapest defense."

Shang Ke shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "But unfortunately, the most I can do is command the royal guards."

Monica expressed helplessness, then smiled and said, "Colonel, you may not know this yet, but your talent makes the enemy extremely hateful. Veronica severely criticized Tukhachevsky, claiming that he was a liar who exaggerated his victory."

Hearing this, Shang Ke burst into laughter.

Tutu! You won't be shot, will you? I really didn't mean to trick you!

After searching the General Staff Headquarters and warning everyone to be vigilant, Monica and her team quickly left to continue the investigation.

Shang Ke did not stay here for long. After informing the FG Arsenal of the progress, he received a new task - to provide tactical guidance to the 4th Infantry Division and carefully examine the actual combat experience.

"Captain, logically the advisory group should be able to withdraw back home, right? How long should we stay here?"

To be honest, Shang Ke is in a very conflicted state of mind. On the one hand, he wants to return to his country to escape the war and reunite with his fiancée, but on the other hand, it is difficult for him to forget the adventure that happened to him.

Various things intertwined to bother him, making him worried and depressed.

I'm speechless! Why can't everything go as planned?

The head of the delegation looked at him kindly and said calmly, "If you insist on going back, you can leave now and return home on the evacuation ship in two or three days."

"The advisory group's return arrangements have been completely canceled?" Shang Ke asked in surprise.

"It will be postponed indefinitely. Zhong Yang will not give up on Hungary just like that." said the team leader.

Shang Ke sighed with regret and said helplessly: "Alas... then I... will keep it for now."

The team leader knew he would make this decision.

Before leaving, the group leader warned: "Don't take risks. The country needs you. Besides, you have to return alive to see your family and friends, right?"

Now that things have come to this, no further words are needed.

Shang Ke saluted the head of the group, left the office and headed straight for the northeastern city of Perth.

The headquarters of the 4th Hungarian Infantry Division was located at the Budapest Business School, and when Shank arrived, the soldiers were clearing obstacles and setting up positions for the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

The division commander, Major General Ratz-Jene, set up the basement of the teaching building as his command center. Sandbags were piled up at the entrance of the building, and electric wires were running out from inside.

"Good afternoon, Colonel Shang, welcome to my command center." The major general greeted warmly.

Shang Ke had an impression of the division commander in front of him. When the supreme meeting was held two days ago, Ratz-Jene was the first general to publicly express his support for defending the urban area.

Latz-Jene gave him the impression of a standard professional military officer, with a straight uniform, shiny boots, and a gentle yet firm approach to his work.

"Good afternoon, nice to see you again, Major General." Shang Ke smiled and shook hands with him. "Thank you for your support that day. Otherwise, Queen Sigrid would have been very embarrassed."

Major General Jene said nonchalantly, "I don't care about politics, but as a Hungarian soldier, I don't want to give up the capital so easily. Colonel Shang, the ideas you outlined at the time gave me great inspiration."

"I just used a little imagination," Shang Ke said seriously. "Unlike field combat, street fighting actually requires some spatial imagination. Multi-story buildings are three-dimensional."

Then, Shang Ke said in parallel sentences: "We will fight the enemy in the sewers, we will fight the enemy at the intersections, we will fight the enemy in the buildings, and we will fight the enemy on the roofs."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at everyone and added word by word:
"Just because the enemy has taken the living room doesn't mean they've taken the house, because we'll shoot them in the bedroom!"

"The enemy's capture of the first floor doesn't mean they've taken the building, because we'll continue to resist on the second floor!"

The other officers present all showed approval on their faces, and their competitive spirit was immediately ignited.

"Excellent!" Major General Yenet praised. "That's exactly what's going on. Urban areas are large enough to accommodate large numbers of troops. The enemy will inevitably pay a heavy price in blood."

Next, he introduced the defense deployment drafted by the city defense headquarters to Shang Moumou.

The Budapest City Defense Command's plan was very traditional and had no outstanding features.

Simply put, four defense zones were planned, with two infantry divisions responsible for two each, one in the south and one in the north. Each defense zone had to identify several buildings (usually reinforced concrete structures) as solid support points, which would support each other and block adjacent blocks.

Shang Ke was very dissatisfied with this and felt that there was still a lot of room for improvement.

In addition, deploying only two infantry divisions in such a large city like Budapest was too few. The troop strength and firepower density of 20,000 to 30,000 people were immediately diluted by the complex urban area.

He spent the entire afternoon discussing city defense tactics in detail with Major General Yenet.

After hearing one vicious and sinister idea and creativity after another, the latter was completely impressed by Shang's talent.

"Colonel Shang, in your country's book 'The Story of the Three Kingdoms' there is a strategist who is famous for his cruelty. I think you may be his incarnation." Major General Yene looked at Shang with a strange look.

Jia Xu? I'm not!
Although he refused to admit it, such a metaphor was more like a compliment to Shang Ke.

The next day, at the strong advocacy of him and Major General Jené, the General Staff agreed to send another infantry division.

The order of the Budapest defense was:

｜4th Infantry Division

｜10th Infantry Division

｜51st Reserve Infantry Division

｜201st Field Replacement Regiment

｜3rd Independent Armored Regiment (remnants)

｜'Janos Hunyadi' Gendarmerie Regiment
｜'Lister' Police Battalion
The city defense force totaled about 4.2 people, but there were only a pitiful 37 tanks; the city defense commander was Lieutenant General Kalloy.

Under the ingenious guidance of Shang, the defense system of Budapest was rapidly improved.

This has surpassed the times and is infinitely close to the level of the late stages of a major war in history.

Many scrapped vehicles were filled with stones and placed on the streets as roadblocks. Six or seven firing points were set up at each intersection. Attacking from any direction would face multiple crossfires. Even the sewers were fortified!
At the most critical traffic arteries, large-caliber Bofors anti-aircraft guns were also dragged to strengthen anti-tank firepower, and the Hungarian army carefully built solid firing positions for them.

Mr. Shang has a strange obsession with things that interest him.

On the surface, he was running around, worried sick, and constantly complaining. But in reality, as the city defense system gradually took shape according to his vision, the sense of accomplishment that came naturally made his eyes light up.

Budapest has become a fortress!

Embassies of various countries have been evacuated, and the Hungarian government has also moved to Gyor in the northwest border. The General Staff was the last to evacuate.

Sigrid did not leave, she insisted on staying in the capital until the last moment.

That day, she received a letter, a letter from St. Petersburg specifically asking for surrender.

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Why do you stubbornly resist my army?
Do you think those cunning and hypocritical Khitans will help you?
Now I mercifully give you one last chance - surrender or be destroyed!
This is the general meaning of Veronica's letter of persuasion. Rather than persuading surrender, it is more of an aggressive question and naked threat.

Sigrid's face looked very ugly. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and handed the letter to Clara beside her.

Clara handed it to Prime Minister Barnfi Laszlo, who glanced through it and said calmly, "She's such an arrogant lunatic."

"The enemy is coming." Sigrid said in a deep voice.

Everyone knew very well that this was an ultimatum.

A few more days passed, and Ivan Rus's army must have replenished its troops and supplies and was about to launch an attack.

Prime Minister László hesitated for a moment and then offered a sincere advice: "I still suggest you leave Budapest. The monarch should not be in such a dangerous situation."

Sigrid smiled calmly and refused, "I should stay. This is my basic duty as queen. Don't worry, Mr. Prime Minister. I will only stay in Buda (on the west bank of the Danube). I won't be in any danger."

After saying that, she added with a smile: "Besides, I also have a very powerful guard."

Prime Minister László nodded and sighed sincerely, "Your presence symbolizes that the Hungarian spirit of resistance will never be destroyed."

He knew that although Sigrid appeared gentle and dignified on the surface, she was stubborn and hard as ice inside.

If we use more poetic words to describe it, we can probably say that this princess from the far north has a heart of ice.

That night.

Prime Minister László and his entourage left Budapest on a passenger train and were the last government officials to evacuate.

This was not a luxury train; it was overcrowded with civilians trying to escape the war.

Even in such a busy day, Prime Minister Laszlo still maintained the habit of writing in his diary. In the shaking carriage, he wrote a few short sentences:
"A large number of civilians have yet to evacuate. We underestimated the difficulty of the evacuation effort. How shameful! The Queen refused to leave; she resolutely stayed. We are fortunate to have such a courageous monarch. Hunricane needs such spirit."

midnight.

The bells rang, echoing throughout the ancient city.

Clouds drifted by, obscuring the crescent moon. Inside the Buda Palace...

"As punishment for your stubborn resistance, I will condone all actions of the army. Be prepared to bear the wrath of me and my army, bitch!" Veronica said angrily.

St. Stephen's Cathedral was engulfed in flames, countless corpses floated on the Danube, a double-headed eagle flag fluttered over the town hall, and the unscrupulous enemy shot and killed unarmed civilians with a grin...

"what?!"

Sigrid suddenly opened her eyes, and what came into view was the dim ceiling.

She then realized that it was just a bad nightmare.

She sat on the bed with a dazed look in her eyes, nightmare scenes flashing through her mind.

She suddenly thought of an ancient rumor - it was said that the Mongol army on the westward expedition would intimidate the enemy after besieging a city.

On the first day, a white tent will be set up, indicating that if you surrender today, everyone will be forgiven.

A red tent will be set up the next day, indicating that if you surrender today, only the men in the city will be killed, and the women and children will be spared.

On the third day, they would set up black tents to indicate that they would not accept surrender, and after breaking into the city, they would massacre and kill everyone in it.

Sigrid could no longer sleep.

She walked to the balcony. At this time, a crescent moon emerged from between the clouds. The faint bright white moonlight sprinkled on the calm Danube River, emitting a cold ripple.

An indescribable feeling of depression and sadness surged in her heart.

She really wanted to find someone to talk to, but who was there in the middle of the night?

She wandered alone in the bedroom, sometimes leaning against the window in a daze, sometimes pacing back and forth, and sometimes sitting on the edge of the bed and daydreaming.

early morning.

Sigrid walked out of the bedroom in her pajamas. The maid on duty outside was dozing off and was startled in a daze.

"I want to call the Royal Guard station."

"Hmm? Now? I understand."

Of course, there are no direct telephones from the palace to various positions in the city.

After two relays, Shang Ke, who was far away at the Budapest Business School, received the summons.

He was tucking into a bowl of canned tomato and potato soup for breakfast.

Ivan Rus's army has begun to advance and is about to reach the city. The defense battle is imminent. Why are you asking me to go there now?
Although he felt puzzled, Shang quickly crossed the river and went to the Buda Palace.

Along the way, there were civilians fleeing with their families. The royal police tried hard to maintain order, and the engineering corps was laying explosives on the famous Szechenyi Chain Bridge.

When they arrived at the palace, Sigrid gave Shank the impression of being melancholy and haggard, with red eyes.

"What happened?" Shang Ke looked around.

"It's nothing. It's just that Veronica's letter of persuasion makes me uneasy. She threatened that the price of resistance is destruction. I can't imagine what they will do to Budapest. A massacre?" Sigrid said in a deep voice.

To be honest, she was a little doubtful about herself last night. Maybe she shouldn't have insisted on defending the city?

Oops! This is just a scare tactic.

There would probably not be a massacre in the city, but there would definitely be robbery, rape, plunder, and theft.

Shang Ke smiled slightly and said comfortingly, "I'm just trying to scare you, Your Majesty. In fact, the city tug-of-war would have severely damaged Budapest."

He sincerely advised: "People will only condemn and laugh at the cowardly defenders who do not resist, Your Majesty, you do not need to transfer the original sin to yourself."

Sigrid said softly, "Thank you, that makes me feel better."

Seeing that she was in a low mood, Shang Ke deliberately joked: "It's okay. After we enter Fort St. Peter and the final trial, I will personally shoot Veronica. You just hand me the bullet."

Sigrid was amused, then sighed, "Will that day ever come? I doubt even your country will participate in the war."

what?
These words left Shang Ke speechless.

He pondered for a long time, and finally said quietly: "This is really a gorgeous misunderstanding."

The old Chinese man only looks generous and kind on the surface. He believes that if no one offends me, I will not offend anyone. Why don't you try kicking his door? Do you know how to write the word "death"?

In fact, the actions of Ivan Ross and Britain have completely disrupted the strategic layout of the Grand Federation.

The most important thing is that it trampled on the reputation of the Grand Federation - it could not even protect the small countries that it had carefully supported.

Shang Ke thought of some of the fragments that Shang and Xiu had mentioned casually before.

I'm afraid the top leaders of the controlling government are already sharpening their knives.

At the end of the conversation, Sigrid said to him sincerely, "You are different from the other advisors. They are just doing their job, but you are putting your heart into it. I can feel your friendship."

"Really?" Shang Ke was stunned for a moment, then smiled faintly. He looked towards the Danube and said calmly, "I just want to work in an easy and leisurely manner, but there's nothing I can do. I can empathize with some of your situations."

(End of this chapter)