Cannon Fire Arc

Admiral Okinlek of the United Kingdom arrived in Balas City on September 11.

By that time, Wang Zhong had already moved Headquarters into the Balas Royal Castle. However, he did not reside in the palace of the King of Balas, but instead occupied a manor belonging to a noble.

The palace was naturally left for the Progressive Balas forces of the Free Officers Alliance.

When Admiral Okinlek arrived at the Expeditionary Army Headquarters, he was clearly very angry. As soon as he entered the door, his eyes scanned the Headquarters, and upon spotting Wang Zhong, he locked onto his target, then strode over, shouting as he walked, "This is not what we agreed on!"

His shouted words were incomprehensible to Wang Zhong, as the admiral's Old LD accent was too thick, but Amelia diligently acted as a simultaneous interpreter.

Yakov had intended to translate, but upon hearing Amelia translate with her pleasant voice, he touched his cheekbone and chose to keep quiet.

Wang Zhong handed the signed documents to Yakov and then leaned back in a leather swivel chair seized from the nobility, looking at Admiral Okinlek. "My friend, what is different?"

Amelia continued to translate.

After listening, Admiral Okinlek roared, "We negotiated for the Tsar's brother to become the new King, not to establish a republic!"

Wang Zhong, "Was it not agreed that the Tsar's brother would become the new King? The leader of the Free Officers Alliance, Mayer Abdullah, also agreed to this. Current Balas needs a King to unite the conservatives, and once the war is victorious and the situation stabilizes, we can gradually carry out economic reforms, persuade the conservatives, and ultimately achieve…"

Admiral Okinlek interrupted Wang Zhong, "Isn't this what your Secular faction did in Ante? Is it really necessary to replicate this again?"

Wang Zhong, "It is necessary. We hope Balas will no longer be your colony, and we hope the people of Balas can also enjoy the conveniences brought by the industrial society, live better lives, and not just produce industrial raw materials for you, the United Kingdom, to reap profits through price scissors."

Admiral Okinlek stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds and then said through gritted teeth, "Is it really appropriate to say this in front of your ally?"

"Why can't I say it? Can you still ally with Prosen?" Wang Zhong spread his hands. "No, no, Prosen is now the main challenger. Until we defeat them, you will just have to endure."

Admiral Okinlek, "Don't forget, you have always been begging us to open a second front! To divert the Prosen Army and reduce the pressure on your front!"

Wang Zhong, "True, but you also haven't opened a second front, right? You even let the Mamluk be beaten so badly by the Prosens, if the Prosens hadn't run out of supplies, the canal would already belong to the Prosens.

"I might as well tell you, if you don't open a second front next year to recover Carolingian, the Ante army might just march all the way to Antwerp."

Actually, that wouldn't be possible because Ante's logistical capabilities were too poor. During the last phase of the Bagration campaign on Earth, another general's army from Rocossov had already exhausted its strength, which is why they couldn't support the rebel forces.

It then took Russians on Earth four months to slowly recover and launch another offensive.

Logistics were Prosen's limiter as well as Ante's.

But the reality didn't stop Wang Zhong from bluffing to intimidate the admiral of the United Kingdom.

Admiral Okinlek huffed, "I've heard that Ante's Rocossov is a renowned general, didn't expect him to be just a braggart! You should first look at the map of your country's situation, look at the large areas of conquered territory!"

Wang Zhong. "I've looked, indeed it's vast, but by the beginning of next year we will have regained most of it."

Admiral Okinlek huffed again, changed the topic, "You said the Free Officers Alliance of Balas agreed to elect the Tsar's brother as King, where are they?"

Wang Zhong, "Inside the palace, they are conducting trials for the deeply guilty nobles and— and His Majesty the King."

As soon as he finished speaking, a liaison officer from the Free Carolingian Air Force burst into laughter, "We are quite familiar with this, perhaps we should go and offer some old-time advice to the progressive youth of Balas?"

Admiral Okinlek squinted at the Carolingians and snorted disdainfully, apparently, the world could never let go of the prejudices between Carolingian and the United Kingdom.

Wang Zhong, "In any case, if you want us to hand over King Tutka, that's not going to happen. We have already issued announcements; the King will be hanged tonight.

"But we agree that after hanging the King, we will give the spotlight to the Tsar's brother. I think he'd better be prepared to deliver a speech immediately after the King is hanged.

"As long as the former King Tutka is described as the root of all problems, I believe the people of Balas will support this new King."

Admiral Okinlek stared at Wang Zhong for a long time before saying, "It doesn't seem like there's any trickery involved."

Wang Zhong just smiled slightly, thinking to himself that there wouldn't be any trickery, as this was plainly an open scheme, just to be carried out step by step.

Since it was an open scheme, Admiral Okinlek had no other options and could only ask, "Are you saying I must go talk to the people of Balas?"

Wang Zhong, "That's correct, I hope you can humble yourself and communicate well with them. Their leader, Mayer Abdullah, is a reasoned and wise man."

"Is he your puppet?" Admiral Okinlek retorted.

Wang Zhong, "Absolutely not, they support us voluntarily."

Admiral Okinlek looked suspiciously at Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong thought to himself, this is bad, on Earth people don't understand why there's always someone who turns sides, so they came up with a brainwashing theory.

When Wang Zhong was young, he thought brainwashing was cool. Back then there was the game "Red Alert," and Wang Zhong's favorite was the Yuri faction, known for its brainwashing as its main feature.

Later, Wang Zhong grew up and realized that real brainwashing didn't need any strange scientific devices, but rather something called "144-hour visa-free" — plain and simple yet effective.

Thinking of these things, Wang Zhong looked at Admiral Okinlek with a pitying gaze.

Admiral Okinlek stormed off, cursing under his breath.

Wang Zhong turned to Popov and said, "He must think we've brainwashed those Balasian youths."

Popov shook his head, "They will never understand what has happened to these youths, and if they ever do, the same thing will happen to him."

Amelia stood solemnly to the side, not saying a word.

————

When the former King of Tutka saw the gallows, he immediately burst into tears, his whole body draining of strength as he nearly collapsed to the ground.

The crowd in the palace square, upon seeing him, immediately grew agitated and began hurling anything they could lay hands on at this negligent king.

Wang Zhong had expected to see common items like rotten eggs, but he realized that the people of the Balas palace couldn't afford eggs. They threw cow dung, and possibly human feces as well.

Wang Zhong could smell it even from the viewing platform.

Mayer Abdullah stepped onto the execution platform and addressed everyone, "People of Balas! Next, I will enumerate the former King of Tutka's transgressions!"
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Wang Zhong silently listened as Mayer listed each charge, each one igniting his fury.

Admiral Okinlek suddenly said, "After you finish reading this, will the people still need a new king?"

Wang Zhong replied, "People won't change so quickly. In Ante, we also distributed doctor sausage, cheese, and caviar champagne for over a decade before we could win everyone to our side. Before that, the old farmers in the countryside still referred to the Tsar as 'little father.'"

Admiral Okinlek did not respond.

The scroll Mayer Abdullah held, documenting the king's sins, was thick. As he read, he unraveled the scroll, letting the read portions fall to the ground, forming a long trail covered in fine print.

Admiral Okinlek looked at the scroll and cursed, "Did you even include that the king didn't wipe himself after defecating?"

Wang Zhong replied, "Didn't you know? The Balasians, just like the Baharians, don't use paper to wipe."

Admiral Okinlek paused for a second then answered, "The Brahmins and Kshatriyas still do."

Really? They actually don't?

Wang Zhong momentarily didn't know how to respond to Admiral Okinlek.

After about half an hour, the long scroll finally came to an end. Mayer Abdullah, holding one end of the scroll, raised it high and proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, the king's crimes have all been announced! Does anyone have any objections?"

The Balasians yelled, "No!"

Mayer Abdullah asked, "Then, what is the verdict for the king?"

"Guilty!"

All the Balasians present shouted in unison, "Guilty!"

Admiral Okinlek pursed his lips, "Damn, after such a trial, no matter how legitimate the brother king's lineage or how orthodox the law, his authority will be greatly undercut."

Wang Zhong said, "It's fine, as long as the conservatives still recognize this king, you do not need to worry about what the Balasian city dwellers think... at least until the end of the war."

"Until the end of the war, huh..."

Admiral Okinlek's expression darkened, evidently foreseeing that after the war, the days of the old colonial imperialist United Kingdom would grow increasingly difficult.

While Wang Zhong and Admiral Okinlek were conversing, Mayer Abdullah announced loudly, "King, guilty! Carry out the execution immediately!"

Inside the prison cart, the former King of Tutka wailed like a slaughtered pig.

At that moment, a handsome, tall Balasian man climbed onto the prison cart and looked at Tutka saying, "Brother, this is unbecoming of you."

Upon seeing the man, Tutka saw him as a savior, crying out, "Save me! Save me, my dear brother!"

The royal brother drew his curved blade and with a swift motion, decapitated Tutka.

He raised the severed head high, "Balas, from today, will see its rebirth!"

The Balasians were still in shock.

Wang Zhong turned to Admiral Okinlek, "Was this your arrangement?"

Admiral Okinlek smiled faintly, "Of course, don't underestimate the old empire, newcomer."

Wang Zhong squinted his eyes, having much to say, but the immediate priority was to end the war and defeat the Prosens.

Thus, he chose to remain silent.