Imperial Elite

Chapter 115 Return
Because of the disruption caused by the Shengyang people, in order to eliminate the threat posed by Qiao on the road ahead, they had to first engage in a skirmish with the Shengyang people in Ulan-Ude.

Although Wagner, who went all out, easily annihilated those poorly equipped, tactically inept Rising Sun troops who were basically just easy targets on the battlefield.

However, this has an impact: no matter how weak the Shengyang people are, they are still a joint force of more than two thousand people.

Even Wagner would need some time to eliminate such a unit.

This prevented Joe from providing timely support to the 7th Truck Transport Company.

And that would be a big problem.

Although the 7th Truck Transport Company successfully controlled the railway line without leaking any information, and even with the help of experienced engineers, the bombs were dismantled and thrown into the lake.

But the Far Eastern Republic isn't stupid.

As one of the world's most prominent military defense groups, they had also heard of Wagner's reputation.

Therefore, in order to prevent Wagner from launching a surprise attack.

They used an old but effective method: randomly calling stations along the railway line at regular intervals.

Different sites have different requirements; for some sites, it's okay if they don't answer after you call.

Some sites require answers to safe words, while others don't require answers and just let you chat about the situation.

Because there was neither the means nor the time to conduct preliminary reconnaissance, the Far Eastern Republic quickly discovered that almost all the stations along the railway line were experiencing problems.

It was obvious that Wagner was coming for them, and considering the Bohemian Legion that had been entangled with them in the west, the Far Eastern Republic immediately understood what was going on.

Now that they understood, the Far Eastern Republic began to prepare to try to retake the railway line, or at least blow up a part of it, such as bridges or tunnels, to keep the Bohemian Legion there.

Soon the Far Eastern Republic began to organize troops to try to recapture the bridge.

The 7th Truck Transport Company did not know why the main force had not arrived after the scheduled time.

But given the current situation, all they can do is hold out here.

Despite their small numbers, the 7th Truck Transport Company held their ground firmly thanks to their terrifying firepower.

After annihilating the pursuing Sun Regiment, Joe didn't have the six-wheeled armored vehicles and trucks loaded before setting off, in order to save time.

Besides the time wasted loading, another counterintuitive thing is that armored trains actually run much slower than trucks.

This thing can only reach a top speed of 25 kilometers per hour, while Wagner's six-wheeled truck, when the accelerator is floored, is three times faster than an armored train.

So after leaving behind the rearguard to clean up the battlefield, Joe ordered the main force to set off in trucks and armored vehicles.

As the trucks sped along, Joe's main force finally arrived at the battlefield just as the 7th Truck Transport Company and the Lucia Guard were about to collapse.

Despite having an overwhelming advantage in equipment and firepower, the Far Eastern Republic, as a powerful force capable of dominating a region, possessed artillery.

Even though there was a huge gap in combat effectiveness between the infantry and the 7th Truck Transport Company.

The old-fashioned combat model of artillery bombarding infantry charges still left the 7th Truck Transport Company with a bitter pill to swallow.

The losses of the 7th Truck Transport Company also taught Joe a valuable lesson.

That is, elite units like the 7th Truck Transport Company, if deployed to the front lines, would have a very low cost-effectiveness ratio, and such situations should be avoided as much as possible in the future.

After all, as an elite force, the selection and training costs for this unit are simply too high.

The losses from this battle are unknown, and it's unclear how long it will take to recover.

If there was anything that could bring Joe any comfort amidst the heavy losses suffered by the troops, it was that the film crew braved a hail of bullets to record part of the battle.

It's like spending a hundred dollars on a lottery ticket and only winning a bottle of iced tea – it's hard to describe.

But it's better than nothing.

With Wagner having gained complete control of the railway, Joe sent a telegram to the Bohemian Legion.

"Preparing to go home, Kafka."

After the telegram was sent, Joe boarded the armored train again and began heading north.

Although he was prepared for battle, Joe was unable to join the fight this time.

After lingering near Irkutsk for some time, the Bohemian Legion, eager to return home, received news that Wagner had reopened the railway line.

They immediately launched a full-scale attack on Irkutsk, a full-scale attack that was a no-nonsense tactic against the Bohemian Legion.

The Far Eastern Republic's garrison was also very decisive: "If you dare to attack, I'll die right here."

Due to a significant gap in the quality of the troops, the Bohemian Legion's armored trains entered Irkutsk and completed their occupation before Joe's armored trains arrived.

In Irkutsk, Joe also met the commander of the Bohemian Legion, a man who seemed quite energetic. Although he had already made a name for himself on the Eastern Front, he looked more like a university professor than a soldier.

However, his personality was in stark contrast to his appearance. After shaking hands, the man immediately asked Joe a question.

When will the goods be delivered? Now? Or at the port?

Logically speaking, when to take delivery is a question with infinite possibilities.

Since Wagner's reward was eighty tons of gold, if the transaction were to be completed now, Joe would have to bear the losses himself if any problems arose.

However, if the transaction is settled at a port, then no matter how much the gold is lost, the Bohemian Legion will have to give Joe eighty tons of gold.

However, Joe had previously agreed to pay a portion of the payment upon meeting them, so bringing up the issue of final settlement now was clearly a test.

So Joe said, "Since we've already signed the agreement, let's do everything according to the agreement. Let's pay the first installment now."

Then, Joe led his guards to move the heavy boxes onto the armored train.

Then Joe gave her guards a strict order: from now on, they would stay with the boxes, and they could not leave them for a moment, whether they were eating, sleeping or using the toilet.

Although they realized the importance of these boxes, the guards still had some reservations about Joe's order.

After all, the cramped carriages of armored trains are not places suitable for human habitation. Even a group of women would be crammed into such a carriage, eating and sleeping there without ever leaving it.

The food here obviously wouldn't taste very good; it's practically a gas chamber, just one or two overturned chamber pots away from being one.

So the women said they were willing to guard this place, but wasn't it a bit too much to stay here every step of the way?
They also need to shower and rest.

Faced with the women's protests, Joe didn't say much. He simply pried open one of the boxes, took out a gold nugget with a double-headed eagle emblem, and held it up.

The moment the gold nuggets were seen, the carriage fell silent.

Then, without Joe saying anything more, the women patted their chests and said, "We'll stay here. The box is here, and even if we're not here, the box will still be here."

Faced with the women whose eyes were shining, Joe put the gold nuggets back into the box, about to say, "I'll leave this to you."

The women closest to Qiao pressed her down next to the box, and while gesturing to her from head to toe, they said that they were currently short of one, two, three, four, or five sets of jewelry, and asked if Qiao could share some of these cute little yellow pieces with them.

They have new jewelry to wear, and Joe is happy to see it too.

Faced with this group of guys who were trying to force him to buy something, Joe could only make an excuse that he had a meeting to attend and escape from the carriage.

The Bohemian Legion passed through Irkutsk and then, together with Wagner, crossed the southern shore of Lake Baikal, which had previously seemed like an insurmountable barrier.

The two units embarked on their return journey together.

Just like when we came, the return trip will also take about seven days.

However, unlike when they came, on the return trip, the local garrison and guerrillas, who had already been taught a lesson once, did not come to cause trouble for Wagner again.

In fact, this time when Joe's armored train appeared.

The guards readily laid down their weapons, and then the railway station workers began to supply water and coal to the massive convoy.

By this time, the whole world knew that Joe had traveled all the way to the Far East to meet up with the Bohemian Legion. Taking on two jobs at once and completing them almost simultaneously—those who didn't understand the significance of this feat simply marveled at how truly remarkable Joe was.

Those with even a slight understanding of military affairs, or those working in military-related fields, were taken aback by this.

Joe's actions on the Anatolian plains were already shocking enough.

And now, after some quick calculations, they realize... well, you know.

To reach the other side of the world in two weeks, and to be able to fight as soon as they arrive, and even to seize the railway line in the southern section of Lake Baikal, is a complex project that can be cut off with just a bomb and a finger.

Is this really a job that earthlings can fight for?
To think that a global deployment could be completed in just two weeks and then win the war is simply too unrealistic.

Even considering that Joe used the exercise as an excuse to gather troops and steal a lot of time, it's still a significant amount of time.

This efficiency is simply too frightening; is this really something that the Bunitarians could pull off?

So, while forming elite small-scale commando units, military personnel and observers from various countries began to study Wagner again, trying to figure out how these guys did it.

Even if Wagner was a veteran, the war had just ended and there were plenty of veterans from all countries. How could Joe have done it?
Joe had no idea that he was now in the eye of the storm again, because he had more troublesome things to deal with.

That means the Shengyang people are obviously very vengeful. Even though they attacked first and sent more than two thousand men to chase after him and prepare to launch a sneak attack.

He didn't even give himself a single opportunity for diplomatic talks throughout the entire process.

Now that he wanted to go back, these Shengyang people not only dug up the railway tracks, but also set up defenses along the railway line, clearly not intending to let him pass.

Faced with this situation, Joe also got angry.

After receiving the Bohemian Legion, Joe originally planned to run back to the Old World, deal with Greek affairs, and then focus on other things.

For example, investing in aviation development, establishing air transport units, fulfilling his duties as the Inspector General of Armored Forces of the Bonitania Army, and planning the development of the next generation of tanks.

If possible, Joe would like to welcome the birth of her first children.

In fact, Joe had already thought of names for the children.

Although Joe's old friend strongly recommended names like Guilliman, Firus, and Luo Jia, and said that if they could chat and not send packages, he would definitely send Joe a golden toilet.

However, Joe decided to choose some simple and unpretentious names, such as Andrei, which would be very suitable for Elena's child.

So when Qiao was in a hurry, these Shengyang people dared to block his way, which Qiao couldn't tolerate.

Damn it, do you Shengyang people not know how to speak?
If there are any problems, please send a representative to discuss them!

Even if they go to the League of Nations, who in my court can sue me?

So you're going to dig trenches and build defensive lines at the drop of a hat, right?
Alright, alright, watch closely. I'll only demonstrate once what an armored assault is.

Even the Bohemian Legion didn't intervene, and the battle between Wagner and the Rising Sun forces was a foregone conclusion.

The armored forces that even the Teutons couldn't stop were clearly not something the Rising Sun forces could withstand.

Joe easily broke through the Sunborn's defenses, and then the Bohemian Legion's engineers quickly repaired the railway line, allowing the troops to continue their return journey.

However, Joe broke his promise this time.

Because then, Joe's armored assault scenario was repeated five more times.

Every time, it was the same formula: the Shengyang people would tear down the railway, then dig trenches and lay barbed wire around the railway to set up defenses, while setting up mountain guns in the distance.

So every time, these people of Shengyang felt the same thing: tanks and armored vehicles would launch a surprise attack, break through their defenses, then begin to divide and encircle them, and finally wipe out the remaining troops.

Basically, the way people from Shengyang die each time is beyond their imagination.

After the same thing happened a third time, the armored train was already approaching the port area.

So this time Joe was at a loss. Since the tanks' forward speed was about the same as the armored train, Joe simply ordered the tank units to stop boarding and instead clear the way for the armored train together with the mechanized infantry.

It also saves us from having to run around getting on and off the bus all the time.

Tricks like armored trains charging into someone's face, suppressing fire while simultaneously deploying tanks and infantry, are fine once or twice, but doing them too often feels inefficient.

However, allowing armored units to clear the road directly in front of armored trains to advance did increase the overall speed of the troops' movement.

However, this also brought another problem: after speeding all the way, these tanks and vehicles inevitably suffered damage.

Generally speaking, these tanks can be repaired and put back into service after being towed away by logistics units.

However, both Wagner and the Bohemian Legion are in a hurry to return home and have no time to repair these tanks.

So Wagner's tank crews chose to simply follow the instructions, destroy the tanks, and then abandon them.

They just don't know what the consequences of these abandoned tanks will be in the future.

Finally, when Joe broke through the Twin Cities again and arrived outside the port area.

Joe found himself completely unable to understand these Rising Sun people.

While besieging the port, they built countless defensive fortifications around it, seemingly preparing to wait for our arrival.

Faced with this situation, Joe had no idea what was going on with the Shengyang people, who seemed to be holding their child as they jumped into the well.

You guys were the ones who started it all the way, so why are you acting like I'm some kind of great demon king now?
Alas, things have come to this, and Joe has no other choice.

Although, theoretically, the Ascendant people deployed a large number of troops and built defensive fortifications here.

Even if Joe wants to break through here, it will be quite troublesome.

After all, Joe didn't have that many troops.

Fortunately, after discovering that the Ascendants had blocked the road, the Bohemians, who had been enjoying Wagner's security services all along, also couldn't sit still.

We've traveled almost halfway around the world for the independence of our motherland. Now we can go home as soon as we get on the ship, and you're still blocking us here?
Okay, you just wait!

As the seemingly refined and easy-going Bohemian commander announced to his troops that this would be their last battle before returning home, once they broke through this point, everyone could go home.

The Bohemian Legion displayed a frenzied fighting spirit.

Some Bohemian soldiers even charged faster than Wagner's tanks.

Although their firepower wasn't as insane as Wagner's.

However, in close combat, they were still able to keep the Sun People at bay and performed their mission of covering the armored forces' breakthrough very well.

However, during this attack, Joe finally figured out what he had used to wrap those knives.

While breaking through a position, Joe saw that the Shengyang people had burned a similar military flag and flagpole, and then, just like last time, they launched a slow "charge" towards him.

Perhaps I have captured something extraordinary?
However, this time Joe actively sought to capture another similar flag.

But the people of Shengyang clearly didn't give Joe that chance.

Even after Joe broke through the blockade and stormed into the port area, and began directing his troops to board the ships, he never managed to get his hands on anything like it again.

Although he captured some warships, Joe did not take them away, as these things were probably older than him.

Instead, after boarding the cruise ship, they prepared to embark on their return journey.

However, just as Joe left the port, he saw a fleet flying the flag of the Bunitania confronting a fleet flying the flag of the Rising Sun.

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Studying and copying the Bunitania Hound tank obtained from the Far East, and developing new tanks based on it, was an important task for the military industry during the first Five-Year Plan.

——————Outline of the First Five-Year Plan of the People's Revolutionary Party

(End of this chapter)