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

Chapter 204 | The Dream of the Third Rome

To show off their military prowess, the official Ivan Ross news agency even organized a team to make thorough preparations, setting up a large antenna to conduct a global radio broadcast, a feat not easy in those days.

"...We have utterly defeated the seemingly powerful enemy. The past humiliations are gone forever. We have brought unparalleled glory to our motherland. The army of the Ivanros Empire is capable of crushing any enemy that opposes it!"

Reporters and photographers, their eyes gleaming, excitedly captured the scene of the military parade, freezing moments of pride, glory, joy, shame, frustration, and dejection onto film.

The soldiers, full of vigor, marched through the Brandenburg Gate!
Veronica tilted her chin slightly, her blue eyes reflecting the midday sun.

She calmly observed everything before her, her right fist clenched tightly, her pride and arrogance overflowing.

The long-held aspirations that had taken root in her heart since her teenage years vanished at this moment, replaced by seeds of greed and pride.

The power of revenge and the desire for victory created unparalleled glory... Suddenly, Veronica shivered, still thinking about that unpleasant thing.

The initial excitement was quickly dampened.

After the parade, she asked General Yudenich, "When can we be ready to attack Hurricane again? We must make them pay the price for stubborn resistance."

"Your Majesty, it is ready at any time. I have already ordered the transfer of one tank division, two tank brigades, two infantry corps, and five Volkssai brigades from the Brest Front to form a new operational force for the attack on Hurghada."

Will we encounter difficulties this time?

"The Hunnic army has actually lost the ability to fight in the field with our army. We can easily advance back to Budapest and capture it in a short time. Tukhachevsky has already greatly weakened the Hunnic army. We will not encounter any difficulties."

General Yudenich did not dislike Tukhachevsky, but he was somewhat repulsed by him.

The general believed that, objectively speaking, Tukhachevsky had at least worked hard, if not made any great contributions. Veronica's anger towards Tukhachevsky, leading to his persecution to death, was indeed inappropriate.

Tukhachevsky's army group numbered only a little over 200,000 men, and was merely a second-rate force. His auxiliary Romanian troops were also largely ineffective. Under such circumstances, storming a major city was no easy feat. Even so, Tukhachevsky nearly won, and the victory would have been achieved in a day at most.

Who would have thought that the elite Mariana Expeditionary Force would rush to join the battle day and night?
It can only be said that the Khitans had too much face. The Mariana people were so passive and cowardly, only wanting to live their lives behind closed doors, yet they were "persuaded" to come to the aid of the people from afar. Who could have predicted that?

I hope Veronica will not become arrogant and reckless. A mad monarch will bring destruction to the country. God bless Ivan Ross!
General Yudenich sighed inwardly.

The power struggle between the Empire of Ivanos and the United Kingdom continues, with the latter demanding that the former immediately suspend its war against the Republic of Marianna and begin peace talks.

If refused, the United Kingdom and its many states will immediately impose a trade embargo and freeze all assets of the Ivanrod Empire.

At this stage of the war, most of Ivanros's upper echelons were ecstatic with the brilliant victories.

Over three million troops had amassed on the banks of the Rhine, their morale exceptionally high. The vast amount of equipment they had captured was incredibly abundant, providing many infantry divisions with two or three hundred trucks—something they had never even dreamed of before. Having defeated the once-invincible Varlandes in just four months, what was there to fear from Marianne Jean, hiding behind the Maginot Line?

There is an old proverb in the East that says: "One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane on the second attempt and be exhausted on the third."

This principle is universal, and Ivan Ross's leadership firmly believes in it, with only a few conservatives opposing it.

Should we press on? Ignore the British warnings and continue the attack?
The choice facing Veronica was quite tempting—her chances of winning seemed pretty good, morale was high throughout the army, and the generals were full of confidence.

If successful, Ivanos would become a superpower dominating Europe, achieving a feat that even Napoleon had not accomplished in thousands of years, and her immortal name as the creator of all this would be forever recorded in history.

Veronica's centuries-old dream of a third Rome—to unify Europe and reclaim Constantinople—haunted her mind!

"Seriously speaking, the Marianna's forces are limited. If the Portuguese are willing to stand with us on the same side and tie down a portion of (Marianna's army) in the Pyrenees, the war will be much easier, Your Majesty." This time, General Yudenich verbally emphasized the importance of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones.

Veronica certainly knew.

The problem is that the upper echelons of the Portuguese were not stupid. Since modern times, the Portuguese had gradually become a third-rate power with negligible industrial capabilities. Moreover, they had just experienced a civil war a couple of years ago and were in dire need of rebuilding.

Given these conditions, would anyone be willing to roll up their sleeves and fight alongside you?
Currently, Italy is taking the initiative, having amassed hundreds of thousands of troops to fight Mariana's army in the southeast, but has gained no advantage whatsoever.

Veronica was skeptical of the fighting capabilities of the Italian army, and she could only console herself that at least the Italians had tied down more than a dozen divisions of Mariana's army.

If the Italians can also tie down some of the enemy forces, then our chances of winning a frontal assault will be even greater.

She had to find a way to make the Portuguese more 'ambitious'—first threaten them, then offer a more tempting price. That's what she was thinking.

At this point, General Yudenich asked again, "Have you considered any strategy for Bohemia recently? From a military perspective, an offensive is somewhat troublesome."

Veronica, with a look of disdain, said dismissively, "But unfortunately, their civilian government is as cowardly as ever. General, I am confident that I can make them surrender at the mere sight of me. You don't need to worry about bloodshed."

The Republic of Bohemia is mountainous, making its terrain easy to defend. It is also home to two of the world's most famous arms dealers. The more than one million Bohemian troops are well-equipped, and the region has historically been known for its strong military culture, making its fighting power a force to be reckoned with.

The problem is that the Bohemian government is not tough enough and had already backed down a decade ago.

At the time, Ivan Rus' and Hurricane were not adjacent, separated by the Carpathian Mountains (which Bohemia acquired after the European war). However, under Ivan Rus' coercion and enticement, the Bohemian government agreed to cede that area to Ivan Rus'.

Today, although Bohemia has been fighting alongside Hurricane, it has never been able to make up its mind to resist to the end. With the defeat of Varland, the surrender faction has suddenly gained momentum.

(End of this chapter)