Chapter 163

Han Hao's French Empire troops, under the transport of vehicles.

In one night, transported over 6,000 soldiers to the front line of the battlefield hundreds of kilometers away.

Before the Imperial troops arrived, they set up a defensive line near the Marne River.

And the streamers on the Imperial side.

Although they knew they were helpless, after all, as a common soldier, they just had to charge, and everything else had to be listened to by the officers.

However, because of the previous battles, plus the advance of these several Imperial armies, it could almost be said that they hadn't encountered any obstacles, and currently, several Imperial troops were stabbing straight toward Paris.

So for Falanxi setting up a defensive line at the Marne River here.

The streamers on the Imperial side didn't pay much attention.

Because Falanxi's combat effectiveness was indeed not as strong as the Empire's, even if they relied on the Marne River to build a defensive line, they might not necessarily be able to block the Imperial army.

However...

The situation wasn't as simple as they thought.

As the Imperial troops arrived at the Marne River, the tug-of-war between the two sides began.

In the early stages of the battle, the Imperial troops were able to occupy some upper hand by relying on their combat effectiveness, which was stronger than Falanxi's.

But they soon discovered something was wrong.

These French soldiers were truly tenacious; one by one, they were fearless, completely adopting a fighting style of perishing together with them to block them.

In Kong Yang's broadcast room.

As over a week had passed in reality, the battle in the game had also lasted for half a month.

From August to September.

They had been slow to break through the positions of the French Empire and the British Empire on the opposite side.

At this moment.

Kong Yang was lying on the battlefield playing dead.

And the commander on the Imperial side was still shouting "For the Empire and the Emperor!" while gathering troops to charge, trying to break through the firepower network of the French position on the opposite side.

However, in Kong Yang's view, this situation was nothing more than sending them to their deaths.

But unexpectedly, no one felt anything was wrong; everyone was listening to the commander's orders.

Boom!

Boom!

Artillery shells from both sides kept falling, and the splashing mud gradually covered the corpses on the battlefield.

On such a battlefield, playing dead was the best choice, and this was also the reason why Kong Yang could live for so long.

Watching those soldiers who died charging while shouting "For the Empire and the Emperor," for some reason... Kong Yang felt these people died truly unjustly.

The soldiers of various countries in "WWII" at least knew what they were fighting for.

And the soldiers in "WWI," under the stupidity of the commander, were killed by the enemy without rhyme or reason while shouting slogans.

Falanxi's tenacity also exceeded the expectations of the Blue Star players.

Watching the plot videos circulating online.

Those French soldiers carried the expectations of the Parisian public, which is why they fought so desperately.

But this stumped the Empire.

Because they were deadlocked here at the Marne River and didn't quickly solve the French Empire.

The Eastern Front battlefield was about to start clashing.

Once war started with the Russian Empire, the Western Front battlefield had to stop, and they had to draw some troops to support the Eastern Front battlefield.

Because the Russian Empire was vast and had abundant resources, not to mention its troop strength.

The "Schlieffen Plan" played on the time difference, betting on defeating the French Empire before the Russian Empire finished mobilizing its troops, and then transferring the troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front to confront the Russian Empire with full force.

But now...

This plan might go bankrupt.

The battle lasted for a day.

It wasn't until dark that both sides slowly stopped, and Kong Yang also took advantage of the darkness to climb up and mix in with the surviving soldiers to return to the military camp for a meal.

The main thing was to lie down on the battlefield and eat when off the battlefield.

In the camp.

Kong Yang was eating when the troops suddenly received an order to retreat.

Retreating toward the Verdun region.

Although the Imperial soldiers were a bit puzzled, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; after all, they didn't have to fight to the death.

And Kong Yang was in the broadcast room.

Opening the "real-time map" on the Polar Star official website, looking at the current situation of the battlefield, and this look revealed something was wrong.

In less than two days, the Imperial 1st and 2nd Corps near Paris had actually been pushed back by the French troops.

And the British-French Allied forces that crossed the river inserted into the gap, and it looked like they were about to form an encirclement.

It was no wonder the Empire would issue an order to retreat.

And he was in the far east, the Imperial 5th Corps, so he didn't know the situation in the west.

But to retreat toward Verdun...

Kong Yang's heart sank; what Verdun represented went without saying.

After all, it was shown clearly in the CG.

This retreat by the Empire was falling into a long war of attrition.

Paris was clearly close at hand, but the opportunity was seized by the opposite side, creating an encirclement.

If they didn't retreat.

That would be the situation where the Imperial 1st Corps and 2nd Corps were completely annihilated.

The battle situation at the Marne River during this time had all kinds of perspectives on the entire network; according to the photon supercomputer grabbing scenes from various broadcast rooms.

And removing the duplicates.

The current statistics were that the Empire had already suffered nearly 200,000 casualties, while the British-French Allied forces' casualties had also reached over 250,000; and in this situation, if the Imperial 1st Army and 2nd Army were surrounded and annihilated... this kind of loss was something the Empire couldn't afford.

But little did they know, this retreat.

The number of deaths alone between the two sides in the Verdun region in the future would far exceed the above casualty numbers.

As the Imperial troops began to retreat.

The British-French Allied forces caught their breath, but the Empire hadn't done nothing either.

After failing to attack across the Marne River, the Imperial troops retreating to the Aisne River and Verdun line also began to dig trenches; before, the Empire couldn't attack for a long time because the British-French Allied forces dug trenches and cooperated with machine guns, barbed wire, and these things.

Every time the Imperial soldiers charged, it would evolve into a one-sided slaughter; as soon as the Imperial soldiers rushed out, they would be torn apart by the crossfire.

Before the bugle of the charge had dissipated, the corpses were already piled up like mountains.

And this time.

It was the Empire that became the defensive side.

September 1914, Falanxi was rainy.

On the muddy land, the Imperial soldiers waved shovels, digging trenches one after another, using the terrain to build defensive fortifications.

And the British-French Allied forces that chased them didn't want to be outdone.

Both sides tacitly dug trenches a few hundred meters apart, but when the British-French Allied forces wanted to break through the Imperial position and drive the Empire out of Falanxi.

They discovered the dilemma the Empire had encountered before.

Trenches combined with machine guns, barbed wire, field artillery, and other weapons allowed the Empire to occupy the high ground and easily slaughter the British-French Allied soldiers.

The British-French Allied commanders, who didn't care at first, finally couldn't hold on after attacking for half a month.

Too many people died.

So many that they couldn't bear it anymore, and they could only fight a war of attrition.

No one dared to charge toward the opposite trenches.

But just being deadlocked like this wouldn't work either, so this trench warfare became a competition of brainpower.

From the initial simple tunnels, it slowly became a complex trench system.

Main trenches, secondary trenches, traffic trenches, machine gun positions, sniper positions, observation posts, barbed wire spread over large areas, and mines and traps were also scattered densely around the trenches.

The original simple trenches.

Under constant "renovation," slowly became the soldiers' homes, with various functions for striking the enemy fully equipped.

But the soldiers still had to sleep in the mud and keep company with rats.

Both sides tacitly dug trenches, launching an attack from time to time, just to seize a few hundred meters of advance distance.

The Empire wanted to drain the "blood of Falanxi," but didn't know they were deeply trapped in it...

On the other side.

Russian Empire.

【Baku】

Streamer Huang Yong was enjoying a big meal in his office.

As a noble of the Russian Empire and the highest local official, Huang Yong's privileges were not ordinary.

Besides being able to investigate many secret materials, he truly enjoyed the addiction of being a noble lord in the game, from time to time ordering troops to go out and catch some rebels, which was simply too comfortable.

In the broadcast room, many people asked Huang Yong how this was selected.

Why, if they chose exactly the same way according to his method, the result wasn't the official in Baku?

Regarding this, Huang Yong didn't know either and could only reply:

"It should be random."

"Look at those who chose merchants, there are a lot of them with ten million in assets, but not everyone's identity is the same; the business, identity, and name are all separate."

The Blue Star friends in the broadcast room were also very helpless.

After all, they had also tried, but not once could they open an official position as big as Huang Yong's.

At this time.

Some questions floated across the barrage.

【Streamer, is there any secret in the Russian Empire? Spill the beans!】

【That's right, that's right, preferably the royal family kind!】

【The yellow kind? Hiss... upstairs, you're not right!】

【Royal family! Royal family!!!】

【By the way, is there anything about Italy? I see why Italy is still sitting on the fence? Aren't they an Allied power?】

【It really is, this Italy wouldn't be like in WWII, wanting to jump ship, right?】

Huang Yong looked at the barrage with a strange expression:

"Royal family? Yellow?"

"There really is."

Hearing this, the barrage in the broadcast room was filled with question marks.

Huang Yong smiled:

"Actually, it doesn't count as yellow."

"It's just the marriage relationships between countries in Europe."

"For example."

"Currently, the British Emperor George V and the Imperial Emperor are cousins; the British Emperor's mother is the Imperial Emperor's cousin."

"There is also Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who is a cousin of the British Emperor George V; their mothers are both princesses of the Kingdom of Denmark."

"And the Imperial Emperor is the cousin of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, because the Imperial Emperor's grandmother is the sister of Tsar Nicholas II's great-grandmother."

Watching Huang Yong's revelations, the Blue Star friends in the broadcast room were all stunned.

【Wait a minute, it's a bit messy?】

【The Imperial Emperor is a cousin of the British Emperor George V, and at the same time, he is the cousin of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia?

And the British Emperor George V is a cousin of the Tsar?】

【What on earth is all this?!】

【Damn, is Europe a big brawl of relatives?】

Watching the confused barrage, Huang Yong smiled:

"That's right, that's exactly it."

"Actually, all countries in WWI have some relative relationships."

"If you count up a few generations."

"In the last century, Queen Victoria bound 9 children to the royal families of various countries through marriage."

"Not only the Empire, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, but also married into Norway, Greece, and other countries, forming a huge network of relatives."

"So."

"WWI is actually a big brawl of relatives."

This explanation made the Blue Star friends in the broadcast room shout 666.

Then Huang Yong looked at the barrage and continued:

"About Italy."

"I do know a little bit about this."

"There has been no movement until now because Italy refused to send troops."

Watching Huang Yong's words, the barrage in the broadcast room floated by.

【We all know Italy refused to send troops; is there any inside story?】

【No need to think, Italy will definitely jump ship.】

【Not necessarily, aren't they an Allied power? Jumping ship would be reviled by thousands.】

【The premise of being reviled by thousands is that you are still alive; didn't you see that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and so on were gone during WWII.】

Watching the barrage in the broadcast room, Huang Yong opened his mouth and said:

"There is some news, but I'm not sure if it's useful."

Saying this, Huang Hao ordered people to clean up the dining table, and then he went to the office and found a map marked with many outlines.

Putting the map on the table, Huang Hao said:

"Look at this map."

"Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kingdom of Italy."

"These three countries are stacked together."

"But the Empire and the Kingdom of Italy are separated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"As everyone knows... countries with bordering territories will have some border problems more or less."

"The Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are like this."

Huang Yong pointed to the border between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and said:

"Because of the relationship between national strength and territory, Italy has always been the one suffering in border territorial issues."

"There are many disputed areas with the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"But the Kingdom of Italy can't beat the Austro-Hungarian Empire and has to face the pressure of the Allied powers, so joining the Allied powers is inevitable."

"But now, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire attacking Serbia."

"The Russian Empire declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the two sides fighting is naturally what the Kingdom of Italy wants to see."

"So when the Empire declared war on the Russian Empire and the French Empire as an ally."

"The Kingdom of Italy, not wanting to get involved, refused to send troops on the grounds that 'the alliance only applies to defensive wars' and declared neutrality."

"Although it hasn't withdrawn from the Allied powers yet."

"But because it declared neutrality, Falanxi doesn't want to have one more pressure, so naturally, it won't care about the Kingdom of Italy."

"And the Austro-Hungarian Empire, because of the pressure from the Russian Empire, has no time to care about the Kingdom of Italy."

"So now the Kingdom of Italy is completely in a state of watching the fun with an Allied power title."

"I just don't know if it will jump ship later."

"After all, Italy jumped quite decisively during WWII."

Huang Yong joked.

But in reality.

Italy really jumped later... as for why the Empire dared to continue cooperating with the Kingdom of Italy during WWII.

Maybe they overestimated the bottom line of the Kingdom of Italy.

After all, jumping ship during WWI, from the perspective of various countries, was because of the long-standing border territorial dispute between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

That made Italy jump ship decisively.

And the Empire and the Kingdom of Italy didn't have bordering territories, so in the eyes of the Empire during WWII, there was no conflict, so how could there be jumping ship.

But who could have thought?

Who says that if there is no conflict, you can't covet your teammate's land...

Huang Yong told the broadcast room about the news he had collected.

As for more details...

He was helpless; after all, although he was a big noble, he couldn't find out everything.

Knock knock knock.

A knock on the door sounded, and Huang Yong looked at the door:

"Come in."

The adjutant pushed the door and walked in, holding a document in his hand:

"Sir."

"The heavy criminals captured before all need your signature to determine their exile or..."

Huang Yong waved his hand upon hearing this:

"Exile, exile."

"Throw them all to Siberia."

The adjutant nodded upon seeing this:

"Yes."

As the order was issued, the prisoners were verified one by one.

Handcuffed and shackled, they were escorted to Siberia.

At this time, the battle situation on the "WWI" side was tending toward stability, and it began to fall into a long war of attrition.

On the other side.

In the 【Cold War Clouds】 section, various streamers were also playing vigorously.

In Yu Feng's broadcast room.

Currently, as the editor-in-chief of an American Federation newspaper, he was collecting news from all over the world.

Considering the identity of an officer, his actions were inconvenient.

So after WWII ended, Yu Feng, who entered the sequel, still chose to change his identity, and the identity of a newspaper editor-in-chief was much more convenient.

Not only did he have reports from branches all over the world.

He could also contact other newspapers to exchange some news, and he had really gotten a lot of news during this time.

About WWI, WWII, the Soviet Union, the American Federation, etc.

Yu Feng was classifying the collected data.

At this time.

Fang Ming sent a communication link, and Yu Feng was a bit surprised, picking up the voice call:

"What's the situation?"

"General Fang, what are your instructions?"

Fang Ming's tone was melancholy:

"What general, I was wiped out."

"【China】 is too difficult, I need to slow down; where have you played to in the sequel, let's team up directly."

Yu Feng opened his mouth and said:

"I'm just proceeding normally, you enter the game first."

"Team up."

Then Yu Feng sent the team-up link to Fang Ming, and soon.

Fang Ming entered the team.

Yu Feng smiled and said:

"How were you wiped out?"

"The 【tactics】 learned in WWII didn't work?"

Fang Ming had a tone of having seen a ghost:

"Don't mention it."

"The tactical theory of WWII did play a little role."

"But damn it... the ancients of 【China】 learned faster."

"I didn't use it many times, and 'Han Xin' of the Han army learned it almost completely, playing blitzkrieg better than I did."

"I was thinking of using cavalry blitzkrieg to sweep the world."

"As a result, I didn't even get out of the door, and was pressed and hammered by that group of NPCs in Liu Bang's camp."

Besides the Slavic, Great Xia, and Freedom Star Cluster federations, which were eye-catching.

The Antarctic Star Cluster was also concentrating firepower to attack the central position.

The Asia-East United Federation was already tanking, and the high-level was already discussing how to reorganize the troops after it ended.

The one that could make the most trouble was the Golden Moon Federation.

Many players of the 【China】 series games almost held back internal injuries watching the operation of the Golden Moon Federation's eldest prince.

Because after receiving the attack telegram, the first thing the Golden Moon Federation's eldest prince did wasn't to order the troops to attack.

But to order.

Let the cooking squad of the troops below steam enough steamed buns for six days, and then smash the pots.

Everyone brought enough dry rations for six days; anyway, the weather was cold and wouldn't go bad; if they could fight in six days, they would, if not... then die!

This was also why many Blue Star players almost held back internal injuries in the 【China】 series games.

The Golden Moon Federation's eldest prince clearly learned the real stuff in the 【China】 series games.

The battle in the game would last for six days.

However, because the game would speed up the plot skipping when there was no war, it only needed to be broadcast for three days in reality.

After one day in reality for the Blue Star side, two days had passed in the game.

After two days of attacking, the situation of the six major federations was also clear.

Among them, the Slavic Federation broke through the central position but couldn't expand the results; the Freedom Star Cluster Federation took some scattered positions and temporarily stood firm, also unable to expand the results.

And the Antarctic Star Cluster and the Asia-East United Federation, because of too many casualties, the real-time data comparison had fallen to the last and penultimate place.

Clearly, not being able to compare is like this... also concentrating on fierce attacks.

The Slavic side broke through to the central position, but the Antarctic Star Cluster's soldiers hadn't, and they suffered heavy losses, and the gap between the soldiers was also revealed.

The Great Xia Federation fought steadily for two days; although the comprehensive score fell behind the Slavic and Freedom Star Cluster federations, the overall strength preserved was the most.

As for the Golden Moon Federation... it seemed "breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats" didn't play much of a role.

The soldiers who attacked with full dry rations were discovered by the red side's troops, and the entire team changed to letting them get close before fighting.

The 100,000-strong army became a 100,000-strong transport brigade, lining up to deliver dry ration supplies...

Although the two days of fighting were different.

But in the end, because of the large number of people, even the Golden Moon Federation fought by attrition and hard-pressed into the central position on the third day in the game.

And the fast Slavic Federation and Freedom Star Cluster Federation had already begun to expand their results.

However, even if the Great Xia Federation occupied the central position, they fought timidly, which made the Great Xia Federation netizens frown.

What are they doing?

How did they suddenly become so cowardly?

Some netizens from other federations came over to mock them; the Great Xia Federation netizens didn't know how to retort.

At this time.

A new CG was suddenly triggered in the game.

The screen switched suddenly.

A farmhouse courtyard, in a simple earthen house.

The buzzing sound of the telegraph machine pierced the silence, and the urgent "beep-beep" sound echoed in the small earthen house.

A general in a black leather coat clenched the telegram and strode toward the outside; the muffled sound of military boots stepping on the ground was as heavy as drumbeats: "Urgent telegram from Tashan."

In the courtyard.

That familiar back in a military coat suddenly turned around, his eyes cold as iron:

"Read."

Then he walked toward the room of the command post.

The general in the black leather coat followed behind, reading the telegram in his hand:

"At dawn today."

"The enemy adopted the tactic of central breakthrough, launching group charges on the Tashan central position defense line by battalion and company."

"The Tashan garrison regiment lost more than half."

Inside the command post, the air was stagnant.

The staff officers' fingers hovered over the map; no one dared to move.

The telegraph operator stared fixedly at the sending key, his knuckles turning white.

After a few breaths of silence, the back in the military coat turned around suddenly:

"I don't want the casualty numbers."