V4CH29: Awakening

Xu Jun slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing that came into his eyes was Hans' face full of joy.

　　"Awake, he's awake! praise God. My marshal. You are awake at last!"

　　Mueller's booming cheers echoed inside the tiny medical cart, followed by the other officers who began to chatter congratulations and cheers. The clamor in his ears made Xu Jun feel dizzy, and the intense pain coming from his shoulder made Xu Jun frown.

　　Seeing the painful look on Xu Jun's face, the military doctor, Colonel Solent, hurriedly scolded the officers, "Can you be quiet! the marshal has just woken up and needs to rest quietly, can you keep your voices down."

　　Hearing the words of the military doctor, those officers hurriedly shut their mouths, but their eyes still showed incomparable joy and excitement, everyone was as happy as if they had just won a magnificent battle.

　　"Well, now that everyone has seen that the marshal is all right, they should all be relieved. You guys go out first and let the marshal rest well. There are just us generals to accompany the marshal." Wehrle smiled and gave orders to the officers. The officers were a little reluctant, but they obeyed the Chief of Staff's order. They gave a respectful military salute to Xu Jun who was lying on the bed and then left the carriage of the medical car.

　　"Marshal! You have finally woken up, do you know how anxious we were when we saw you fall down with a bullet wound? At that time, we felt like the end of the world had arrived." Hans said anxiously to Xu Jun.

　　"Yeah, it's great to see that you're okay, you scared us all this time." Mueller was already crying out with joy.

　　"You two look too ugly, the marshal is out of danger, just rest for a while longer and he will be back to health. However, whether this injury has any after-effects or not, it still depends on the recovery of the wound, at least in this period, His Excellency the marshal should try not to move around casually, and leave everything to them." Wehrle stood beside Colonel Solent and smiled at Xu Jun.

　　Xu Jun's mind was now in a mess, he did not listen to a word of his subordinates' words. He now feels a burst of head pain, especially in the shoulder, he feels a burning pain. He struggled to recall what had happened before, he tried to figure out what had happened to him.

　　"Give me a glass of water, Hans." Xu Jun strained to speak to Hans.

　　"Ah, water. Yes, my marshal, I'll get it for you right away." Hearing Xu Jun's words, Hans hurriedly jumped up and rushed towards the water dispenser on the corner of the carriage.

　　"Mueller." Xu Jun slowly turned his head to look at Mueller and said, "What happened, I remember we were in a meeting, then I seemed to be pushed by something, after that I can't remember anything."

　　"My marshal, you were hit by a bullet."

　　Mueller hurriedly reported the scene carefully to Xu Jun. At that time when Xu Jun fell headlong on the conference table without any warning, everyone was stunned. Only when Hans found the bullet hole in the carriage, did everyone understand that the marshal had been shot. All of them were confused by this unexpected situation, no one thought to check the marshal's injuries, and everyone thought that Xu Jun had been finished, at that time everyone's mind only wanted to rush out and those attackers to fight, to avenge their marshal.

　　But it is not the officers to blame, because after Xu Jun was hit his performance was too gruesome, he fell headfirst like a straight piece of wood down on the conference table.

Then there was a mess of spasming hands on the conference table scratching the table, stirring of the legs, and then no movement, to see that last action is like the legendary death struggle.

　　It was Hans who reacted first, and he went forward to carefully check Xu Jun's injuries, only to find that the bullet had only pierced Xu Jun's shoulder, and the marshal was only temporarily unconscious and not yet dead.

　　Hans's conclusion made the officers breathe a sigh of relief. They hastened to bandage Xu Jun briefly, and then the officers jumped out of the command car in groups according to their ranks and positions. The four generals alternated as meat shields to transfer Xu Jun from the command vehicle to the medical vehicle under the cover of the accurate marksmanship of those middle and senior officers. Together with Colonel Solent's superior medical skills and skilled surgical techniques, they saved him.

　　"Yeah." After listening to Mueller's account Xu Jun finally understood what had happened to him, and the thought that these officers were willing to brave the gunfire to cover him regardless of their personal safety made Xu Jun feel a surge of warmth from the bottom of his heart.

　　"I don't know what to say, I can't put into words how grateful I am for all these things you have done for me. Is everyone okay? Is anyone else hurt? I really don't want you guys to get hurt in any way for my sake." Xu Jun looked at Mueller and said.

　　"Please don't say that, my marshal. For your sake, we are worth even giving our lives because you are our hope for Germany. Don't worry, no one was wounded to save you, those who were wounded were hit while fighting with those attackers, as long as you are safe, we are willing to die even if all of us." Wehrle smiled and said.

　　"Marshal, water." Hans lifted Xu Jun up a little and then brought the glass of water to Xu Jun's mouth. "You don't have to say anything, what we think in our heart you should know very well, for our great fatherland, for you we can give everything we have. So such words of thanks and so on need not be said, it is enough for you to repay us by making the revival of our fatherland. My marshal."

　　After a few sips of water, Xu Jun nodded to indicate that it was enough, and Hans gently put the water cup on the shelf to the side.

　　"Help me sit up, it's hard to lie down." Xu Jun said to Hans with a bitter smile. Hans and Mueller both hurriedly one by one set Xu Jun up gently against the head of the bed and sat up.

　　"Marshal, how do you feel now?" Colonel Solent asked with a smile.

　　"Not bad, though the wound hurts a lot and my head is a fuzzy."

　　"Oh, that's normal, it's all the effects after surgical anesthesia, I'll give you some painkillers after a while, that should take away a bit of your pain. But then again, your body is really very strong, to be honest, I have never seen a body as healthy and strong as yours. Your vitality also amazes me. In less than half an hour after the surgery, you showed signs of awakening, which is the first time I have encountered such a situation in my more than 10 years of my medical career. The fact that you were able to sit up and talk to us in a lucid manner right after the surgery can only be described as a miracle. I don't even know how to express my amazement now, but I guess I can only say that this is a miracle of God, and it seems that God is really watching over our Germany, He has shown His divine power on His messenger, you, as a proof of His care for us, praise the great Lord." Solent said and began to praise God with a pious expression, in his eyes as God's messenger Xu Jun also became a great existence, his eyes emitting the light of fervent worship.

　　"Well, my doctor, I can arrange for you if you want to work part-time as a chaplain with the army, you have not yet introduced his injuries to the marshal." Mueller interrupted that doctor's preaching without mercy.

　　"Ah, wow, is that so, I'm very sorry my marshal, I'll tell you briefly about your current situation here." Solent took out a bullet from his pocket and handed it to Xu Jun.

　　"This is the bullet that wounded you, which General Hans found from the command vehicle. As you can see, after penetrating a layer of fifteen-millimeter steel armor plate and then shooting through your body this bullet did not deform much, that is why your wound is actually much lighter than it looks on the outside, this bullet only pierced a hole through your shoulder, the warhead did not deform or stay inside you, so your wound is surprisingly simple, and more, fortunately, it Surprisingly avoided your bones, blood vessels, and nerves, just through the ordinary muscle layer, except for tearing a few muscles, it did not bring you more damage, so it is simply a miracle. If you recuperate properly in the next period of time, I can guarantee that you will recover as you did before the injury, except for the possibility of leaving a scar it will not have any effect on your future actions."

　　After listening to Solent's words, Xu Jun felt that he might really be favored by God, being hit by an anti-tank gun bullet and only suffering such a wound, which was unbelievable. But when he took a closer look at the bullet he understood exactly why this was.

　　"This is a Wz. 35 bullet, right?" Xu Jun looked at the bullet in his hand and said.

　　"Yes, my marshal. But how did you see that." Mueller replied in amazement.

　　"It's simple, an anti-tank gun with such a small caliber as this is the only Polish model of Wz. 35 up to now. The hardness of this 7.92mm tungsten carbide warhead it used should be clear to everyone, that's why it didn't even deform after shooting through that armor plate of my command vehicle, but if my command vehicle's armor was thicker the result wouldn't have been like that, it probably would have shattered open, and come to think of it I still got really lucky. Even more fortunate that the other side is using this kind of weapon to hit me, if they were using T-type anti-tank guns, I wouldn't be able to sit here and talk to you guys." Xu Jun replied with a smile.

　　"Yeah, the caliber of the T-type is a full 13mm yet, it's not as simple as a tiny bullet hole when you get hit." Mueller nodded his head in agreement.

　　"But that reminds me of something." Xu Jun looked down at the slug and frowned.

　　"What is it, my marshal," Hans asked curiously. Xu Jun didn't answer Hans' question, he raised his head to Solent and said, "Colonel Solent, can you give me a shot of pain killer, my wound hurts badly."

　　"As you command, my marshal, please bear with me a little longer, I will immediately prepare to give you the injection." Solent hurriedly began to prepare his injection tools.

　　Xu Jun turned his head to look at Hans and Muller and said, "I remembered that the anti-tank weapons we are now using in the Army are not very satisfactory."

　　At this time, Solent came over with a syringe, and he respectfully said to Xu Jun, "My marshal, is it time to inject?" Xu Jun nodded slightly, then continued to turn his head to his men and said, "You all know that we don't actually have the same anti-tank weapon suitable for ordinary infantry use yet. Take the anti-tank gun, although the current products may not be able to penetrate the main armor of the tanks in service, the penetration of the weak parts of the tank at a certain distance still exists, and those locations are often the vital parts of the tank, such as the rear armor and engine armor of the tank, a small anti-tank gun round can cause serious damage to these parts of the tank. And it's also enough to deal with those light armored vehicles that our enemies use, so I think the anti-tank gun will never be obsolete and it will be a very important weapon for the infantry against enemy armored targets."

　　"My marshal, I have given you a shot of pain killer, I believe the medicine will affect you in a short while, I think you'd better stop talking and take a good rest first, you have lost a lot of blood and you should rest, anything you have to say wait until you recover a little more," Solent interjected with an empty syringe on the side.

　　"I know, thank you, doctor. I will explain a few more words and then rest." Xu Jun turned his head and smiled at Solent and nodded.

　　He then continued to Hans and the others, "Our German T-type anti-tank gun is indeed excellent but still not suitable for ordinary infantry use. It is simply too bulky, eighteen kilograms, and operating it also requires two soldiers to work closely together. It's a joke to let our soldiers go into battle with such a thing and fight the enemy. Can't we get a przeciwpancerny like the Polish one? It is only nine kilograms, and the recoil is at least half as light as that of the T. An ordinary soldier does not need much training to use it, and the structure is simple enough to obtain sufficient accuracy without such precise machining as the T. It can be produced in large quantities, and if we make modifications on its basis, we can definitely develop a more ideal infantry anti-tank weapon on its basis, I think our soldiers will get a boost in AT capabilities. At least they don't have to use cluster grenades to deal with those enemy light armored vehicles without anti-tank artillery support, especially those paratroopers and mountain infantry, they need a portable anti-armor weapon most of all. I want to wait until we are done with this matter now and have a good talk with those military R&D department heads."

　　Xu Jun found himself suddenly coming up with several ideas now, and he especially wanted to tell all of them to his men, but maybe Solent's painkillers took effect, or because of the blood loss, Xu Jun felt a wave of tiredness sweeping over him like a wave, the wound on his shoulder did not hurt much anymore, but his eyelids also started to get heavier and heavier.

　　"We understand what you mean, we also agree with you, but my marshal, I think you should rest well now, even if you have such ideas you need to have a healthy body to complete it, right? You can rest assured that these ideas of yours will definitely come true." Seeing the kind of tiredness that Xu Jun showed, Hans smiled and said. Then he and Muller two again carried Xu Jun slowly into lying flat.

　　"Yes, Hans, you also agree with me, great, how our soldiers need suitable weapons for them now..." Xu Jun muttered a few words and then went into a deep sleep.

　　Leaving Colonel Solent to watch over him, Hans and the others quietly left the medical car. After walking out of the carriage, Mueller couldn't help but let out a long breath.

　　"The marshal is really a great leader," Mueller said with an exclamation.

　　"Yes, in this case still think about the front line soldiers equipped with the right weapons, for this kind of commander in chief fighting is a soldier's eagerness for glory." Hans also sighed and said.

　　"I feel, however, the marshal is becoming more unfathomable, even with their own injuries, they can still think about the development of weapons. I really admire it, it seems that I will never be able to follow his thinking in my life. He can perform miracles in front of us every time, and I sometimes really believe that he is indeed an apostle sent by God to save us." Wehrle sighed as he shook his head.

　　"Of course, my chief of staff, but now that I think about it, the marshal's idea does make sense then. If we deploy fifty of these lightweight anti-tank guns per company, It will concentrate the 20mm guns to defend the important sections, which will increase the striking power against the enemy by fifty to sixty percent." Mueller said excitedly.

　"Yes, the possibility of your firepower being taken out in one pot has also increased by fifty to sixty percent, my general, didn't you hear the marshal say that this weapon is intended for infantry who are at risk of not being covered by anti-tank guns." Hans chuckled and said.

　　"I say, why are you discussing this again now? let us talk about this until after the marshal solves this problem now. We have now been delayed here for a whole day, time is even more precious to us, you should now consider how we can reach our destination in the scheduled time. My first lieutenant, what are your thoughts?" Wehrle asked indifferently to Hans.

　　"This one. The marshal's body may not be able to withstand the bumps on the road, and it's not safe to march at night, so I think we should stay here for one night and see how the marshal's health is in the morning. According to our original plan time to reach the destination. At most, the difference is half a day."

　　"You've seen the map?"

　　"Indeed, the back section of the road is in pretty good condition, we should be able to catch up."

　　"Let's hope so, we can't keep our fellow soldiers waiting. You know that now that man has decided to go to the French front to personally supervise the war, those colleagues of ours have already sent a dozen urgent points to come." Wehrle said worriedly.

　　"Ah, that man has gone to the front? When did you get the news?" Hans looked at Wehrle in surprise.

　　"Just half an hour ago, just as Müeller was fighting with a little Polish girl."

　　"Then why did you not report this to the marshal?"

　　"What is the use of reporting it now except to worry him, according to the implementation of our present plan it seems that it no longer matters much whether that man goes to the front or not, and it can only be good for us if he runs away from that fortress, I don't think you will let him run back so easily again." Wehrle smiled and said.

　　"That's true, you're right, Excellency Chief of Staff." Muller nodded in agreement.

　　"Well, speaking of which, I'm a little interested in that Polish girl you captured, can you show me her, I'd like to interrogate her properly." Wehrle smiled and spoke to Mueller.

　　"Does the Chief of Staff want to get something out of her? Then let's go now, I'd like to get a good look at His Excellency the Chief of Staff's interrogation methods, too." Mueller replied with a smile.

　　The three German brigadier generals then walked, laughing and joking, toward the supply trucks where the prisoners were being held.