The sun never sets

Over the years, assassinations against alliance officials have become less frequent, but they are not absent. Some cannot be called assassinations, but are open attacks. In the border areas of the alliance, such as Saudi Arabia and Australia, people often die. There have also been attacks on alliance leaders in the mainland, but those were several years ago.

The Human Innovation Alliance has existed for 15 years, and society has generally stabilized. Assassinations against alliance leaders have almost disappeared over the years. Even during the most rampant assassination period, few foreign intelligence agencies were involved.

If there is no evidence, then it does not exist.

If there really was an assassination plan against Chairman Lin, it would have been classified as top secret, and no clues would have been revealed. The fact that the news had already spread to the alliance before the operation even started seemed very amateurish. The code name for the operation was also not professional at all.

Zhdanov once wondered if this was a joke by his European counterparts, but no one would make such a joke. Assassination attempts against national leaders do happen, but they are serious political events that could lead to war.

So why does this situation happen?

Zhdanov had a bold idea. It was possible that the Lin Yongchangists in Germany secretly passed the news, or it was possible that the British and French intelligence officers sent to Germany did it... There were too many possibilities.

After coming out of the Kremlin, Zhdanov tightened his coat, thought for a moment in the snow and ice with the howling north wind, and then got into the car.

"Comrade Zhdanov, do you want to go back?"

"No, we're going to the Pushkin Theatre."

The alliance's national strength is growing day by day, and the spies sent by various countries not only like to steal intelligence, but also like to sabotage everywhere. Destruction is always easier than construction. A factory that has been built with great effort and cost a lot of money can be paralyzed for a long time by a bomb, resulting in millions of losses.

There have been many cases of serious damage over the years, such as fires in chemical plants, explosions in steel mills, etc. The media in the alliance characterized those incidents as production accidents caused by improper operation or weather reasons.

Nowadays, the defense forces in various parts of the alliance have been strengthened a lot. In key projects and engineering sites, there are militia organizations to protect them, but this is not enough. The soldiers of the militia organizations have good combat capabilities. They not only have rifles and grenades, but also machine guns and mortars. Some places even have armored vehicles. However, the struggle on the secret front is not about the size of combat effectiveness, but requires more clever means.

Zhdanov believed that the German Army Intelligence Department's "Dragon Slaying" operation was not that simple, and he would spend more energy on it.

Chapter 817 Spring Festival Travel

The Spring Festival has become the most important festival in the alliance. Whenever the New Year is approaching, the vast land of the alliance is filled with restlessness and joy. As long as the place is not too far away, people always go home to celebrate the New Year. More than half a month before the New Year, train tickets become hard to come by. The green trains are packed with people. The aisles, under the seats, and any other places that can be squeezed in are full.

Even though it is so crowded, passengers still squeeze up.

Trains were extremely popular, as were cars and other means of transportation. The period around the Spring Festival was the busiest time for the alliance's transportation lines, and the German General Staff even used the Spring Festival travel rush as a standard to calculate the alliance's maximum mobilization speed.

The result of the calculation was shocking. In just over a month, the transportation network of the People's Revolutionary League could transport up to 20 million people to the designated location. An army is not only about people, but also weapons, equipment and various supplies. So if we divide the number of people by ten, that is 20 million people.

It is more difficult to gather people than to disperse them. Divide it by two, and that is still 10 million people. If 10 million people can be mobilized in one month, as long as there are enough weapons and equipment, that is a 10 million-strong army.

The alliance's annual Spring Festival travel rush is seen by the outside world as a mobilization

Exercises. Once a year, even if there are disasters such as avalanches or hurricanes in some areas, they have never stopped. The Spring Festival and Spring Festival travel are the characteristics of the alliance and they are experienced every year.

However, around the Chinese New Year, all kinds of crimes, especially theft and robbery, are rampant. Many of the suspects caught have a simple reason: "I want to have a good year."

There are many pickpockets in train stations, bus stations, trains, buses, and other transportation during the Spring Festival. In rural areas, when the Spring Festival is approaching, some people wander around and steal chickens and dogs. Stealing chickens and dogs is not an adjective, but a description of the fact. In restaurants in towns, a dog can be sold for dozens of yuan.

Every year, people get killed for stealing. There are militiamen in the village, and they have guns. If they encounter someone, they will use their weapons. If they are unlucky, a bullet will hit a vital part, and many people will die.

However, petty thieves usually don’t suffer such misfortune. They will just be beaten by the villagers and hung upside down on a tree. When the police arrive, the thieves with bruised faces and noses will most likely cry and say, “Comrade police, you are finally here.”

Zhdanov felt the popularity of the Spring Festival travel rush. He changed into casual clothes and squeezed into the green carriage with the workers, chatting away over peanuts and cheap Red Star Erguotou.

"Give it!"

"Pull your feet back!"

"Hey, I'm talking to you, make way!"

"Good Le!"

"Peanuts, melon seeds, and beer!"

Because of the mandatory promotion of Chinese and Mandarin throughout the country, people from all over the alliance can communicate without any obstacles. Even if some people have a heavier accent, you can still understand the general idea.

Zhdanov retracted his feet and made way for the flight attendant. After the snack-selling attendant left, he quickly grabbed a seat so that he had a place to put his feet.

"Brother, where are you from?"

"Ah? What did you say?"

"May I ask where your hometown is?"

"Oh, I'm from Hengshui, Hebei! Did you know?"

"That's quite far!" Zhdanov moved his body to make himself more comfortable on the ground. "You haven't been back for several years, right?"

"Yeah, I've been out for three years, it's time to go back and take a look! Brother, you are a student, right?"

Zhdanov asked shyly, "How did you know that?"

"Ha, I saw it right away!"

Zhdanov likes to talk to workers face to face, so that he can get more accurate information. The information reported by workers from all over the country is processed and biased. Moreover, many workers do not have information sensitivity and often turn a blind eye to truly useful news.

In fact, Zhdanov also knew that some of the staff members under him were not insensitive, but they did not dare to be sensitive.

After chatting with a few people around him for a few hours, the sky darkened. Zhdanov took out steamed buns and pickles from a sack and enjoyed his dinner with relish amid the smell of sweat and feet.

A few hours later, at 10: p.m., the attendant pushed a cart through the aisle for the last time, shouting "Peanuts, beer, and melon seeds." Then, the lights went out. The carriage was suddenly plunged into darkness, with only a few starlight shining through the windows, allowing people to barely see the outlines of objects.

"Go to sleep!"

"It's time to go to bed!"

The old man from Hebei shouted a few times, and soon fell asleep on the ground. Most people in the carriage began to sleep, and the crying of children became louder and louder. Zhdanov shrank his shoulders, adjusted his position, pressed the things he kept close to him under his body, and then relaxed his mind and slowly fell asleep.

In the morning, Zhdanov woke up to the sound of "Kukukukuk" and the long whistle. Although it was winter, and there was no fireplace or heater in the carriage, it was not cold at all. There were too many people, and the heat emitted turned the carriage into an oven. Many people took off their coats because of the heat and put them on at night when they went to bed.

Zhdanov woke up very early, and he hurried to the bathroom to clean his stomach, and then used the porcelain pot to get hot water, ready to eat steamed buns with hot water. Even though he was a top student in the Department of Mathematics at Moscow University and a capable member of the Union Intelligence Department, he still needed to eat.

In the carriage filled with the smell of sweat and food, I chatted with others during the day and slept in my clothes at night. I repeated this process over and over again. After eleven days, the train finally arrived at its destination.

After passing Jiuquan, when the green train stopped at the station, more people got off, but not many. It was not until it arrived at Chang'an West Railway Station that people poured out of the carriage like a school of fish.

Chang'an is the starting point and end point of the Eurasian Railway. If the man from Hebei wants to go home, he needs to change trains here. Zhdanov walked out of the carriage with a sack, followed the flow of people to the exit, and after checking his ticket, he left the train station.

"Brother, do you want a place to stay? 20 yuan a night, very cheap!"

Originally, several people gathered together, but one of them got there first. The others cursed at him a few times, then dispersed to look for their next target.

Zhdanov waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, someone is here to pick me up!"

The middle-aged woman in a cotton-padded jacket refused to give up. "If there is something fun, add 30 yuan and I guarantee you will be satisfied."

! ”

"Ok?"

Seeing that the young man seemed to be interested, the middle-aged woman tried harder to sell him the products. "As long as you like, we have all kinds, black, white..."

"Shhhh-"

A shrill whistle sounded, and the middle-aged woman turned her head to look in the direction of the sound. Zhdanov took the opportunity to take a few quick steps and blend into the crowd in front of the train station.

Chapter 818 Zhdanov

The alliance has two leadership teams, one in Moscow and one in Chang'an, but Chang'an is still the main one. Chang'an is the core of the [Human Revolutionary Alliance] and the heart of the [Human Revolutionary Alliance], an unprecedentedly large country with an area of more than 4000 million square kilometers.

After leaving the train station, Zhdanov went to the office of the Purge Committee in Xishan. The Purge Committee had an office in Jianzhang Palace, but as an intelligence department, many things were semi-public or completely private.

Key personnel like Zhdanov are those who are completely secretive.

There are many secret units in Xishan. The Anti-Counterrevolutionary Committee hung a sign with the name "Military Horse Statistics Section". Its station was in a closed community with guards at the gate and on the watchtower. Zhdanov changed into a military uniform, showed his ID at the gate, and then walked in and entered the innermost building.

A staff member greeted him at the door, "Comrade Zhdanov, please follow me. Vice Chairman Wang is waiting for you."

The two went up to the third floor. The staff member walked a few steps into the corridor, knocked on the red-painted wooden door, and said, "Vice Chairman Wang, Comrade Zhdanov is here."

Wang Hu put the information in his hand into the file bag, walked out, saluted Zhdanov, and then shook hands. "Comrade Zhdanov, did you find anything along the way?"

The staff left and closed the door. Zhdanov said: "There are still many pickpockets on the train..."

"Sit down and talk. Would you like tea or coffee?"

South America has the largest production and highest quality of coffee beans and cocoa in the world, but the quality of the coffee and cocoa grown by the Alliance in Yunnan and Southeast Asia is also good, but the production volume is not as high as Peru.

Wang Hu made Zhdanov double the amount of coffee, adding sugar and milk. He had always wanted to lead troops to fight and do something big, but now he was not young anymore and had two children. He could not travel around the world anymore and could only choose to return to Chang'an and sit in the office.

Zhdanov talked about the police catching thieves on the train, which was just a prelude to the story about the Cheka. "Whenever we stopped at the train station, we could see some passengers collecting intelligence."

"Were they ours or were they from the General Staff?"

The Alliance has several intelligence departments. The Second and Third Departments under the General Staff were established earlier than the Purge Committee. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Industry also collect some open information.

Zhdanov shook his head. "It doesn't look like he's an intelligence agent of the Union."

"A spy sent from abroad?"

"should be."

Wang Hu said with emotion: "Knowing that the Alliance will not kill people casually, those spies are sometimes simply unscrupulous."

"It also saves a lot of trouble when arresting people."

The intelligence department of the alliance generally does not carry out physical destruction, but instead locks up the spies of other countries they capture, and exchanges them with other countries when a certain number of spies are collected. Over the years, the alliance has suffered a bit in exchanges, and it often takes two or three to exchange for one person. However, because of the alliance's consistent good reputation, those spies who only collect information or steal intelligence, rather than sabotage and assassination, have a relatively peaceful mentality, and do not resist much if they are discovered, anyway, their lives are not in danger.

After Zhdanov finished telling about what he had seen and heard, Wang Hu said, "Write down what you just said, and give one copy to Chang'an and one copy to Moscow. You said before that there was something important that needed the assistance of the General Staff. What was it?"

Zhdanov talked about the [KD] incident. Wang Hu couldn't help but frown after hearing it. "[KD]? They are so brave!"

In the League, dragons are mythical beasts, while in Europe and America they are vicious beasts. Dragons often burn villages, extort treasures, and kidnap princesses, which sounds similar to the rulers of Europe. Although dragons in European and American culture are not the same as dragons in the East, many people still equate them.

Since the Germans used "Dragon Slaying" as the code name for the operation, it was inevitable that the "People's Revolutionary League" would think too much.

Wang Hu was very angry after hearing this, but soon calmed down. "William III and his party arrived in Chang'an a few days ago. You are not following them, are you?"

"No, I want to ask for assistance from the General Staff."

"Is it because of this?"

"Yes."

Wang Hu pondered for a moment, "Let me think about it. How about this, you go back and rest first, and I will notify you if there is any news."

"Yes!"

Zhdanov stood up, saluted Wang Hu, and left. Wang Hu looked at the tea table and saw that the cup of coffee was untouched. "This is the best Yunnan coffee. It would be a pity to waste it."

After that, Wang Hu picked up the cup and drank it all, then smacked his lips and said, "It tastes good, but it's a little cold."

This was not the first time William III visited the League.

He was asked, “Ten years ago, he was sent as an envoy to Moscow and held talks with Chairman Lin in Moscow. But this was his first time to come to Chang’an and take the Eurasian Railway.”

The Trans-Siberian Railway was once a major artery connecting Europe and Asia, but the Eurasian Railway has replaced the Trans-Siberian Railway and become the busiest railway line in the world.

On his way from Moscow to Chang'an, William III saw endless farmland and cities on both sides of the railway line.

In ancient times, most large cities were located near rivers or the sea. Water and sea transportation could reduce transportation costs, which made it possible for large cities to form. If modern cities want to develop, they also need convenient transportation, either near the sea or near railways.

After the Eurasian Railway was built, many places on both sides of the railway had the opportunity to develop rapidly. There are a lot of minerals under the land of Central Asia, including oil, natural gas and non-ferrous metals. After the railway was built, these resources were developed.

Agriculture and animal husbandry have also developed in Central Asia. This land is not suitable for growing rice, but it can produce meat and dairy products, and can grow wheat and cotton. Central Asia is the largest lotus producing area in the union.

William III did not see cotton, but only herds of cattle and sheep. The vastness of the alliance shocked the German emperor and his entourage. The depth of the [People's Revolutionary League] was many times larger than that of Germany. It could be seen on the map in the past, but it was not as shocking as seeing it with one's own eyes.

The Union's land area is about 100 times that of Germany, but most of it is barren land; its population is more than ten times that of Germany. Whether in Moscow or Chang'an, the train stations are packed with people, and the city's airports are also full of people buying New Year's goods.

Everything he saw along the way strengthened William III's determination to form an alliance.

Prime Minister Bismarck once said: Everything can be abandoned, except the alliance with Russia. The current alliance is twice as large as the Russian Empire. If we can join forces with the People's Revolutionary League, many things will be easier to handle.

Chapter 155 mm Howitzer

After arriving in Chang'an, William III first visited the Weiyang Palace, Changle Palace and Jianzhang Palace, which are located in the core area. These three palaces are tall and majestic, and can be regarded as classics in the history of architecture. Even if William III did not understand oriental architecture, he could see that these three palaces were excellent.

More is better, bigger is beautiful, how true it is!

However, William III was not very concerned about the palace complex in Chang'an. He wanted to visit the steel mills, heavy machinery processing plants and military factories of the alliance. If possible, he also wanted to visit shipyards and chemical plants.

Among the entourage that accompanied William III to China, many were experts in various industries, including senior engineers from the German Navy. Even if there were Alliance staff accompanying them, they could still see a lot during the visit.

The alliance did not agree to open the most advanced technology and equipment to the Germans for viewing, but only agreed to some of the requests and recommended some companies and factories.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Revolutionary League refused to open the shipyards in Qingdao and Lushun, but agreed to allow us to visit the arsenal in Henan."

Zhengzhou has a large heavy artillery production base in the alliance, which produces a large number of 155mm caliber howitzers and 305mm gun barrels every year. The specific production capacity is a military secret. According to the estimation of the German intelligence department, at least 3000 heavy artillery pieces of various types can be produced every year.

"Has the Alliance agreed to let us test their artillery?"

"We only agreed to test the 105mm and 155mm guns."