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

Chapter 180 | Is it permissible to kneel in other situations?

"...That's pretty much the surveying work. We'll make two more copies, just in case."

"Alright, alright, thank you all for your hard work these past few days. Tonight it's my treat, let's have a simple hot pot dinner."

Shang Ke generously invited the group to his temporary residence to enjoy a delicious hot pot meal.

Although winters in Europe are slightly warmer than those in North China, the military attaché and several engineers worked for two and a half days in the howling wind and were all quite cold.

There is more than one military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Hungary; this one is a lieutenant colonel in charge of technical reconnaissance.

He rubbed his hands together as he squatted by the stove to warm himself, and complained again, "Brother Shang, the actual measurements of this Russian new tank are really hard to describe. The interior is incredibly cramped. It would be a real ordeal for four people to squeeze in here."

Shang Ke picked up a piece of cabbage, rinsed it in the broth, nodded and said casually, "This vehicle is a bit unconventional. There's no need for a sloping side profile, and the suspension is very conservative. It directly uses the Christie spring suspension from the cavalry vehicle without any improvements."

"As expected of someone from Gandan Academy, Brother Shang knows a lot." The lieutenant colonel praised, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Although it has many drawbacks, it still shines brightly."

“Because the Russian vehicle was groundbreaking overall. Its flaws didn’t overshadow its merits. Do you remember the Lebel rifle?” Shank paused, then continued, “It had a tubular magazine and used big-butt bullets with an absurdly large taper. It had a lot of shortcomings, but so what? It was the first rifle to fire smokeless powder bullets. Against black powder rifles, it was a massacre.”

The lieutenant colonel remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding in agreement, saying, "That makes sense, it's so vivid."

Three copies of the T-34's survey drawings were made, including the original and two duplicates, to ensure that the hard-won T-34 reference documents were kept intact.

In Mr. Shang's vision, the Federal Defense Forces' next medium tank development path will also follow a two-pronged approach: independent innovation and borrowing from existing technologies.

Independent innovation simply means normal research and development: creating a medium-sized tank platform weighing 25-30 tons and mounting a long-barreled gun with a caliber of 50-60 calibers. After all, the Great Unified Federation is a legitimate industrial Cthulhu, and its designers are normal people; it shouldn't be too surprising.

The "borrowing" approach involved copying and improving the T-34. First, the suspension system was replaced. Then, the frontal armor was thickened to 60 mm. Next, the sloped armor on the sides of the hull was changed to vertical. Finally, a large three-man turret was installed, still mounting a medium-caliber long-barreled gun.

Both paths are feasible, and the differences in their macro-level effects will not be significant.

In fact, for the Great Unified Federation, pursuing two paths simultaneously is not impossible; after all, producing 20,000 or 30,000 vehicles is just a drop in the ocean.

As for the super medium tank project that is so incredibly advanced that it is 10 or even 9 out of 10, achieving the technical and tactical targets is not difficult, but ensuring reliability is not so simple. It will probably take one or two years to develop and improve it.

In short, don't put all your eggs in one basket.

The next day, one of the survey copies, along with more than fifty detailed films, was sent to the embassy to be sent back to Xi'an by diplomatic airmail.

Although Sigrid only had mild typhus, it was still considered a 'serious illness,' especially since penicillin was not yet in mass production at that time.

Sigrid, who had just recovered from a serious illness, did not delay and summoned Mr. Shang, dragging her ailing body to personally fulfill the promise she had made.

The sun rises in the east.

In Jell's temporary residence, accompanied by a solemn court melody, Sigrid received a gleaming silver longsword from a servant.

Then, she raised her sword and pointed it at Shang.

A man named Shang, dressed in the standard uniform of the Federal Armed Forces, stood before her.

Even though it was a formal occasion, the feeling of being pointed at with a cold weapon was really unpleasant and made one's heart tremble... "Uh..." He hesitated for a moment, then said seriously, "Wait, Your Majesty, there is something I must emphasize. As a soldier of the Republic, I certainly cannot kneel in this kind of situation, not even on one knee."

Dressed in formal court attire, Sigrid smiled slightly and said calmly, "It's alright. This is my heartfelt affirmation of you on behalf of the Hunnic people. You don't need to condescend to serve us. You are our friend forever."

After speaking, she lowered her voice and asked in a very low voice, "I completely understand why it's not appropriate in this kind of situation, but what about other occasions?"

what?
Just as Shank was surprised, Sigrid regained her serious expression, raised her longsword, and patted him on both shoulders.

Immediately afterwards, a servant came over with a bright red cloak in both hands and hung it on Shank.

And so this simple special investiture ceremony came to an end.

Hunnic nobility system is quite unique, with only three ranks. If compared to the Eastern nobility system, it does not have the ranks of marquis and viscount, but is divided into baron, earl, and duke.

Sigrid kept her half-joking promise and conferred the title of Baron upon the merchant.

The fiefdom of this person, Shang, is an island with a total area of ​​0.96 square kilometers, which is about the size of 134 standard football fields.

It may seem a bit stingy, but the island is called Margaret Island.

Margaret Island, nestled in the Danube River between Budapest and Budapest, is a famous river island with lush vegetation.

In the recently concluded Battle of Budapest, a portion of the Hungarian forces defending Margaret Island suffered over 2,000 casualties but achieved the victory by eliminating over 3,000 enemy troops and eleven amphibious tanks.

Making Margaret Island a fiefdom for Mr. Shang is also an affirmation of his contributions, which Sigrid considers perfectly reasonable.

Afterwards, the servants dispersed, leaving only the two of them in the hall.

“You’ll be leaving soon, won’t you?” Sigrid asked. “Has Mariana granted you transit permission?”

"What? Is Her Majesty reluctant to part with it?" Shang Ke teased her, deliberately avoiding the main point.

A blush appeared on Sigrid's face at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After a two-second pause, before she could speak, Shank changed his tone and replied very seriously, "The transit permit hasn't been issued yet. It's taking too long. I need to ask the embassy to urge them. The situation in Valland is very serious right now. They might be finished at any time."

With a worried expression, Sigrid said in a deep voice, "If we cannot stop Ivanros from advancing, after the defeat at Valland, all of Europe will be shrouded in Veronica's shadow..."

“Although this battle has been a setback, Ivanros will not easily give up the attack on Hurricane, and it is only a matter of time before reinforcements are sent again,” Shank said confidently.

Hurricanes, situated on a vast plain, boasts abundant grain production and is of considerable strategic value.

In addition, according to Shang's speculation, due to the blood pact, that crazy woman Veronica will probably be obsessed with occupying the grain-producing areas.

Once a decisive victory is achieved on the main battlefield, Veronica will certainly send her elite troops south.

(End of this chapter)