Imperial Elite

Chapter 108 Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Although, in theory, the left is prepared to hang all the aristocrats and capitalists on lampposts.

However, in Lucia, the situation is slightly different.

As a serfdom-based country disguised as an industrial nation, the people in many parts of Russia are numb, simple, honest, and irritable. For them, the world's largest city is just a small county town a few miles away.

For them, neither Moscow nor St. Petersburg was any different from God's Kingdom.

In this context, the nobles of Lucia possessed the same vision as the nobles of other countries in the Old World.

After witnessing this enormous disparity, many nobles in Lucia felt, "Damn it! How did the country become like this!" Thus, a revolutionary tradition miraculously emerged among the nobles of Lucia.

In order to advance the nation and catch up with the advanced countries of the Old World, they could walk proudly to the gallows or go to the harsh Far East to face their fate.

They would do anything to make Lucia rich and powerful.

Anything here, including but not limited to, obeying the rule of a Teutonic woman, fighting head-on against the Emperor who has swept across the entire Old World with the resolve to fight to the last Lustian, even daring to charge the Emperor's cuirassiers head-on with a rifle, and defecting to the left.

In fact, even though their political stance differed slightly from that of the left, a large number of former officers still joined the Lucian left-wing government army after the collapse of the provisional government in order to defend Lucia.

Even Mikhail, known as the "Red Emperor" of the People's Revolutionary League who successfully organized the Battle of Kiev and the Battle of Moscow and was often compared to Joe in Russia, came from an old noble family.

Their family history can even be traced back to before the collapse of the Roman Empire, to the honorable Varangian Guard.

Under these circumstances, the espionage activities between the People's Revolutionary Alliance and the Russian military government never ceased for a moment.

In 1919, during a speech at a factory by the General Secretary of the People's Revolutionary Union (PRU), who was encouraging workers to work hard for a new Lucia, a female gunman nearly shot him with her pistol.

Meanwhile, the People's Revolutionary Alliance frequently incited the military government's troops to stage battlefield uprisings.

Therefore, the People's Revolutionary League had already learned of the secret military cooperation between the military government and the Teutons.

In fact, it would be difficult not to know this news, because one of the three representatives in charge of negotiations in the Lucia military government had secretly joined the People's Revolutionary Alliance.

No one would doubt that an old nobleman would defect to the People's Revolutionary Union, nor would anyone believe that an old officer of the Third Army would personally lead three assaults during the Battle of Moscow.

Ultimately, with both of his brothers killed in action, the officer who successfully broke through the encirclement and led his troops to retreat was a spy for the People's Revolutionary Alliance.

But that's where the problem lies.

During the breakout, the colonel captured a member of the Revolutionary Army.

Based on the principle that to defeat your enemy you must understand their thoughts, the colonel personally interrogated the People's Revolutionary Union officer, wanting to know why these people wanted to overthrow the provisional government and why they wanted to let the Russians kill the Russians.

Even after the division of Russia, it was able to withstand the Teutonic attacks on the eastern front and seize the land that the Russians had dreamed of for centuries on the southern front.

If Lucia hadn't been divided, what a powerful nation we would be now!

Why did you have to ruin all of this?!

He was being questioned by the colonel, or more accurately, interrogated.

The captured People's Revolutionary League officer said, "If you're going to talk about this, I won't be sleepy anymore."

Let's talk about what kind of country you want to build, and what kind of country we want to build.

As a pure soldier, the colonel obviously had no knowledge in this area. For him, the country only needed to develop industry, strengthen the economy, and enhance the military, but he didn't know how to do it in detail.

As for that People's Revolutionary Army officer, he fought the Teutons with bayonets in St. Petersburg, and after St. Petersburg, he fought for thousands of miles without a single day of rest, all for that great ideal that has now been partially realized.

Theoretically speaking, he knew exactly what they were going to do and what goals they were going to achieve.

After this round of questioning, the colonel, who had been clear-headed, became somewhat confused.

Upon returning to Tsaritsyn, the officer from the People's Revolutionary Army was immediately executed.

However, the chaos in the rear, which the colonel witnessed at this moment, made him question what he was fighting for.

He gave up partying and enjoying himself on his own estate to fight the Teutons, Habsburgs, and Sudanese with bayonets, not so that these fat, bloated men could enjoy themselves in the rear.

Especially after seeing the families of those aristocratic officers, whose extravagant and decadent lifestyles were no different from those in St. Petersburg, completely disregarding the fact that they were currently fighting a civil war.

The colonel recalled what the People's Revolutionary Union officer had once told him: "If you succeed, you will only be creating another Russian Empire. Nothing will change except for a new Tsar. If we succeed, we will create a new world where everyone is equal, prosperous and developed."

This made the colonel begin to doubt whether what the executed man was saying was true.
If we win, it will only mean a new Tsar, who is called President.

The subsequent Battle of Tsaritsyn further solidified the colonel's wavering resolve.

More than a major general rank, this colonel, now a major general, was concerned about "Marshal! President! Where the hell is my ammunition?!"

The major general was furious that people in the rear were holding coming-of-age ceremonies when supplies were scarce at the front.

Damn it! How can we build up Lucia while we're with these bastards?! I'm joining the Human Revolutionary Alliance!
If one wanted to join the People's Revolutionary Alliance, the Battle of Charitzin was an excellent opportunity. The interlocking battle lines made it very convenient for the Major General to lead his confidants into the People's Revolutionary Alliance's lines.

The People's Revolutionary Party (PRP) also attached great importance to this major general who joined the PRP without warning.

However, they were not interested in how many troops the major general could bring in; on the contrary, they hoped that the major general could stay in the military government and provide them with intelligence.

So the major general stayed on, and later, as a trusted and steadfast soldier, participated in the secret talks between the military government and the Teutons.

The major general himself participated in the talks, which is no different from the People's Revolutionary Alliance directly observing the talks.

The People's Revolutionary Union (PRU) attached great importance to the cooperation between the Teutonic government and the military government.

After all, the Russian Empire lost most of its former western territories after the war.

After losing those fertile and rich lands, Lucia, which was already weak in industry, has now experienced a significant decline in both its industrial and agricultural levels.

Although there is an exclave in Upper Silesia, and this exclave is considered an industrial hub even in the Old World.

However, it is indeed difficult to develop industry in backward Lucia by relying on half of Silesia.

The industrial base of the military government that swallowed the Balkans would be much better if they also reached a cooperation agreement with the Teutons.

The current military standoff will soon be broken.

Therefore, even knowing that this might expose the major general, the People's Revolutionary Alliance had to take action.

So the day after the Teutonic and Lucia military governments reached an agreement, the agreement appeared in the People's Revolutionary League's Pravda newspaper, and related information was sent directly to the League of Nations by the Lucia military government.

Then the whole world was shocked by the news.

The shock felt by the high-ranking officials of Bruneian and Gaul upon hearing this news was akin to that of their fiancée being force-fed cream puffs by twenty black men every night.

Damn it, without our support, would you, a Baltic nobody, be where you are today?
What did they say when they asked for support? The strongest shield in the East, and after all that hard work, this is what they ended up with?
Moreover, the war has only been over for two years, and the ink on the Treaty of Versailles hasn't even dried yet, and the Teutons are already doing this kind of thing.

Damn it! Did we think we were being too nice to you?!

For a time, both Bonitania and Gaul were filled with righteous indignation and wanted to teach those two bastards a lesson.

Although both the Teutonic Foreign Ministry and the Lucia military government are explaining, "I had an affair with him? I had an affair with him! That bastard still owes me a blood debt!"
If it weren't for that bastard, would the emperor have gone into exile? Would we be where we are today?

Bunitania and Gaul naturally did not believe the explanation given by the Teutonic and Lucia military juntas.

After all, unless caught in the act with irrefutable evidence, no one will admit to cheating.

So, the troops of Gaul and Buntania were put on high alert, and even Joe received an order from the cabinet: "We know you have a contract, but the situation is special now, so don't move your Wagner."

Upon receiving this order, Joe almost cried.

Why the hell did everything have to happen all at once?

I've already sent out my advance troops and mobilized them. Now they're suddenly telling me to stop. I've already received the money. The troops can stay put for a day, but my allowances can't be withheld for a day.

I still have eighty tons of gold waiting to be claimed in the Far East!

At this tense moment, as the newly established postwar order was about to collapse, the Americans on the other side of the ocean stepped forward and said, "Wait a minute. This intelligence was provided by the People's Revolutionary Alliance, so is there any possibility, just a possibility?"

So this news is actually fake news, trying to get us to take action against the Teutonic and Lucia military governments, and then let them come out and take advantage of us after we've worn them down once.
This possibility was naturally considered by the intelligence agencies of Gaul and Bonitania.

At this point in time, although the troops have already entered a state of combat readiness, there is still a dispute between Bonitania and Gaul over whether to send an investigation team or to send troops directly.

The Gauls naturally wanted to send troops. Although the Treaty of Versailles did not allow them to acquire the Rhineland, this incident gave them a perfect excuse to send troops into the Rhineland and occupy it.

This would allow the prosperous yet vulnerable northern region of Gaul to have the Rhine River as a defense, preventing the Teutons from simply accelerating straight to Paris as they had done in the past.

Unlike Gaul, which wanted to send troops directly, Bunitania was in a somewhat precarious situation, fearing that the Teutons might actually be colluding with the Lucia military government.

They also feared that this might be a false message released by the People's Revolutionary Alliance, a carefully planned strategic deception, which could break the balance of power on the continent established by the Treaty of Versailles.

After all, half of Teutons has already joined the People's Revolutionary League. If they choose to send troops because of a false rumor, it is very likely that the remaining half of Teutons will also be forced to the side of the People's Revolutionary League.

The world seemed to have returned to six years ago, to the time when that gunshot rang out in the golden valley.

The whole world is waiting for Bonitania and Gaul to react.

After three tense days, Bonitania, Gaul, and Citizens issued a joint declaration that they would send an investigation team to investigate the truth of the matter.

Although the Teutonic government had signed an agreement with the Lucia military government, no action was taken regarding funding, personnel, or facilities.

And in those three days, the Teutonic people and the Lucia military government had ample time to clean up their mess.

While conducting an internal investigation to determine whether the problem originated on their side, the Teutons also began intelligence cover-up operations.

Because the information was exposed so thoroughly, even their secret method of maintaining the size of the officer corps was revealed.

Therefore, based on the principle that the best way to lie is to mix nine parts truth with one part falsehood, the Teutons simply made the soldiers on the first exchange list actually retire from the army during those three days.

After retiring from the military, these soldiers did indeed plan to go to Constantinople, which was under the control of the Luzan military government.

But they definitely didn't go there to open a military academy; they went there to film a documentary.

The Teutonic army is in dire straits right now. As a bankrupt country still paying reparations, we simply don't have enough military funds to maintain the troops' welfare.

Therefore, it is a very reasonable and logical thing for some people with great ideas to prepare to make movies.

After all, Wagner made movies, so it's not unreasonable for our veterans to make some movies too, right?
We're all human, we all need to eat...

The investigation team in Teutonic City naturally found no useful evidence, although they were somewhat skeptical of the officers who claimed they were preparing to make a movie.

However, considering that the Teutonic Army has been reduced from a force of over one million to its current size of 70,000, it is not surprising that retired officers would seek other livelihoods.

While they were getting by with the Teutonic Army, the investigation team also found no clues with the Lucia military government.

After all, the Teutons haven't come yet, and those places that were planned to be used as military academies or factories are now either wasteland or used for other purposes.

For example, a place intended for officers' quarters is now a bathhouse that isn't doing very well.

At the same time, the major general was also instructed to remain undercover and not expose himself.

Therefore, the investigation by the Lucia military government did not uncover anything.

The final investigation team concluded that this was a conspiracy by the People's Revolutionary Alliance against the free world!
The Lucia military government and the Teutons could never unite, never, never! Soon, as the July Crisis came to an end, Joe, who was able to relax and resume Operation Wagner, hurriedly led his troops straight to Greece, intending to stay there briefly before quietly heading to the Far East to retrieve his 80 tons of gold.

It seemed like the matter was over, but no one expected that this incident would trigger a chain reaction.

At the same time, the troops of Gaul and Bunitania went on high alert.

In Munich, a slightly influential local man with a mustache began to expand his gang, originally intended only for street brawls, under the pretext of defending the Teutonic Kingdom, during the crisis.

When the investigation team announced its findings, as the shadow of war dissipated, the man with the strange beard discovered that Bonitania and Gaul did not seem as tough as they appeared. At a time when they could easily destroy the Teutons again, they did not take action.

Judging from the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, it was definitely not out of these guys' kindness, but rather because they had some other considerations that prevented them from doing so.

I might be able to use this later.

This idea came to mind at the same time that came to this man with the strange beard.

The top brass of the Muscovite Union also made the assessment that these imperialist countries, although they appear to dominate the world, are actually not as powerful as they seem.

Although the world revolution is currently facing some problems, given the weakness of imperialism, it is not impossible to achieve world revolution through a salami-slicing approach.

Meanwhile, the Lucia military government was naturally very dissatisfied with the fact that Bonitania, Gaul, and the United States had sent investigation teams to investigate its actions.

Although I did sign that secret agreement with the Teutons and it was leaked, how can you investigate me? Don't you trust me?

You previously raised the combat readiness level of your troops. What were you trying to do?!

I was right to choose to sign the secret treaty with the Teutons!
After the investigation team left, the Lucia military government not only did not terminate its cooperation with the Teutons, but also began to prepare to deepen the cooperation.

However, this time they changed the locations of the military school and research institute.

They moved from the crowded and chaotic Balkans to the sparsely populated Caucasus region.

Meanwhile, due to this leak, the military government also began to establish a secret service to thoroughly investigate the incident.

At this time, Joe had no energy to pay attention to these political changes after arriving in Greece with his troops.

After meeting the most courageous Greek in centuries, he sought to conceal his whereabouts.

Joe pitched his multi-pronged, back-and-forth battle group strategy to Venizelos.

Simply put, it's because after Joe secured NATO, he kept recruiting Wagner.

After all, even if quality is important, it cannot be effective without sufficient quantity.

Just after this devastating war, the world had little else to offer, except for a great many people whose lives had been altered by the war.

Having endured the brutal torment of war, these people have become unaccustomed to peaceful environments. If they open their eyes and cannot see their own weapons, they will panic.

If such a person were placed in a normal environment, they would only become a destabilizing factor in society.

Wagner needed this kind of person, so Wagner quickly expanded to its current size.

However, this recruitment method also has a small problem, namely that Wagner is full of veterans from Brunetania, Gaul, Italy, and even some colonies and the United States.

Although they had received uniform training, language and cultural barriers prevented Wagner from seemingly being able to muster nearly two divisions of troops.

However, these troops can only engage in company-level or battalion-level combat at most. At the next level, language and cultural issues must be taken into account.

It's like putting a Bunitania armored company and an Italian mountain javelin company together, even though it looks like two elite units working together.

But in reality, unless there happens to be someone in each of the two companies who understands two languages, once a fight breaks out, it's basically a matter of "reading my face and acting accordingly."

Therefore, in order to reduce the occurrence of this "acting according to my whims" situation, Joe's proposed battle plan was to have the Greek troops maintain the front line, while Wagner's troops would kick down the door in battle groups.

Once a breakthrough is established, Greek troops will advance, and Wagner will then search for the next breakthrough.

Of course, given that the mountainous environment of the Anatolian Peninsula is unsuitable for large-scale armored troop movements, Wagner would not deploy too many armored units there.

In any case, as long as the total number of troops sent reaches the size of a division, and some of them are armored, then it is an armored division.

After all, no one with a sound mind would expect armored forces to achieve a large-scale breakthrough in an environment like the Anatolian Peninsula, right?
Venizelos acknowledged this point. As a skilled rebel leader, although he didn't have many armored units, Venizelos knew that complex terrain like the Anatolian Peninsula was not suitable for mechanized forces.

Then we come to the crux of the problem.

Joe's Wagner is wondering where he plans to deploy his forces, given that Venizelos has already paid for the operation and the Greek navy is now preparing to land on the island.

We certainly didn't send the world-renowned Wagner here to steal his salary.

Joe was prepared for this.

Although the last landing operation organized by Winston during the war was badly defeated by the Sudanese.

It has almost become a disgrace to Bonitania.

However, both Joe and Wagner have carried out surprise attacks and landings many times before.

To date, the success rate of such landings has been 100%.

So, in order to give Venizelos an explanation, Joe planned to make a landing in the southern part of the Anatolian Peninsula.

The landing site was chosen in the Chiliqia Plain, one of the most fertile lands in the Sultanate, which has long been known as the Sultanate's granary.

Meanwhile, in the northern part of this plain lies the sixth largest city in Sudan.

This place is suitable for mechanized warfare and is a victory that can shut anyone up.

And Joe has another advantage by logging in here.

In the past conflict between the Sultanate and the Russian Empire, the Sultanate ceded the island of Cyprus, located not far south of this plain, to Buntania.

Although it was initially said to be under trusteeship, now that the Sultanate has dissolved, Bonitania has no intention of returning the island to Greece or the Sultanate; it has simply occupied it.

If Greece wanted to use this route to launch a surprise attack, Bonitania would certainly not be happy about it.

After all, who knows if the Greek troops will find a thousand reasons to stay on the island and refuse to leave once they land.

But if it were Wagner who came, it would be different.

Therefore, Joe was not only able to use Cyprus as a forward base to supply Wagner, but also to allow Wagner's troops to secretly assemble in Cyprus and launch a surprise attack on the Sudanese.

However, Joe is now facing some technical problems.

Since the Sixth Logistics Truck Company has now headed to the Far East, and his own Lucia Guard is simply too distinctly Lucia.

After all, after the Sultanate fought thirteen wars with Russia over three hundred and fifty years, the Sultan could recognize whether the person in front of him was Russian or not even with his eyes closed.

Historically, one of the most important sources of income for Sudanese border cavalry was kidnapping Lucia girls and selling them as slaves.

Therefore, getting the Lucia Guard to carry out an infiltration raid is as difficult as getting a black agent to infiltrate the People's Revolutionary Alliance.

Furthermore, even Joe's influence couldn't secure gunboat support from the Bonitania Navy this time. Therefore, Joe needed to devise a way to ensure the troops could land smoothly, unlike the landing forces of a few years ago, who were trapped on the beach and brutally beaten.

Finally, after studying the terrain and learning about the security situation of the nearby Sudanese, they were able to find out.

Joe decided to take a risk and use a large number of fishing boats and other small vessels to transport the troops up.

The reason why Joe dared to take such a risk was that, as a defeated nation, the Sudanese naval and air forces had been weakened to a great extent; otherwise, they would not have been so easily defeated by the Greeks.

Without sufficient naval and air power to intercept, as long as the first wave of troops can rush up and hold the beachhead to cover the landing of the second wave, the rest will be simple.

Furthermore, this plain is not only crisscrossed by rivers, but also has very gentle beaches, making it ideal for launching large-scale landing operations.

Therefore, Joe's plan was to not only have the main force land on the beachhead on the day of the landing, but also to send infiltration and sabotage teams equipped with Indomitable off-road vehicles to land at multiple locations, including inland rivers.

In this way, the defenders were unable to determine the exact location of Wagner's landing point.

While the defenders are in disarray, have the main force land at the docks near Lake Toulouse.

The main force then advanced along the roads and river network, capturing Tuzla as a forward base before the defenders could react.

Then, the armored forces would defend the city and the nearby river network to fend off the Sudanese counterattacks, allowing the Greeks to use the ports near Lake Toulouse to transport their main force ashore.

Wagner's armored forces were then able to enjoy speeding around the plains thanks to their mobility.

After all, as a giant with feet of clay and the sick man of the Middle East, the Sudanese people's weak industrial capacity meant they never had any decent anti-armor weapons.

So much so that when the Bunitania launched its national uprising here, the Bunitania expeditionary force went on a rampage with armored vehicles.

Joe was very satisfied with the plan, and Venizelos was also very satisfied.

After all, compared to the mountainous landscape of other areas in the eastern Mediterranean, the Anatolian Plain is definitely a fertile land.

Once you can establish a foothold here, the other areas along the coast are not actually that important.

Now that the employer was satisfied with the plan, Joe immediately began preparations for action, aiming to complete the campaign within two weeks.

The reason why this operation needs to be completed within two weeks is quite simple.

After receiving Venizelos's order, Joe immediately recalled Cecil, preparing to have him command the operation.

After all, Cecil performed well in Prag.

At the same time, as a young old-fashioned nobleman, Cecil, unlike Joe, did not need a translator to communicate with officers like the Italians who did not speak Bonitania.

Cecil himself speaks almost all the languages ​​of the Old World, so he has a natural advantage in missions like this one that coordinate operations.

As for Cecil's lack of experience in commanding large-scale operations, that's not important either.

Because Wagner was not responsible for filling in the gaps, but was used as a strike force to break through the defenses.

Cecil's command abilities are more than sufficient to handle this small-scale battle.

Of course, there was another reason for completing the operation within two weeks: Cecil, who had to turn back midway, would need at least two weeks to reach Cyprus.

While Cecil was returning, Wagner's film crew was still on their way to the Far East.

Although Joe had complete faith in the film crew's capabilities, he still felt it was extremely dangerous to venture alone overseas, so if possible, he wanted to lead the main force to the Far East as soon as possible.

As the most outspoken Greek in centuries, Venizelos was exceptionally proactive.

In just two days, enough fishing boats, captains and sailors willing to participate in the operation were gathered for Joe.

To increase the success rate of the operation, Venizelos and Joe also launched a feint attack in the direction of Izmir, creating the illusion that Wagner was preparing to land there.

Although it was a feint, Joe and Venizelos made thorough preparations for it. The naval bombardment lasted for a whole day, and the large number of ships made the Sudanese believe that this was Wagner's main attack direction.

Then, on the very night the shelling ended, hundreds of kilometers away in Cyprus, a convoy of fishing boats carrying Wagner's landing troops sailed away from Cyprus.

(End of this chapter)