Chapter 79

September 1st was already theoretically the beginning of spring, but the Eastern Port was still enveloped in a biting cold wind. Leonid Fyodorovich slowly walked out of the national cemetery, where many of his comrades—58 Cossacks from Zaporozhia—lay buried. Accompanying these Cossacks were 79 warriors from various countries, including even 3 time travelers, who had fought to the last moment for this country in various wars.

The wind outside was strong, and Leonid adjusted the seal fur cap on his head, about to take a step forward, but suddenly stopped because he noticed someone waiting for him at the cemetery gate.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Ukrainian." Lieutenant John Stone of the Navy, dressed in a dark tweed coat and wearing a beaver-fur hat, stood beside a small pine tree, waiting for Leonid.

Leonid recognized this Englishman. When the Saint Christopher Company attacked Eastern Port, this Englishman seemed to be the captain of one of the ships, and it was Leonid who led the men to capture him. Leonid had no interest in recognizing this defeated enemy, so he turned to leave.

"Stop! Ukrainian! I think we have some matters to settle." John Stone raised his voice, taking his right hand out of his coat pocket. His right hand was gloved, and he held a money bag.

"You'd better make me angry, Englishman." Leonid looked at John Stone with a dangerous gaze, threatening him.

John Stone walked to Leonid's front, facing the tall Cossack's defiant eyes, and said slowly, "Here is 100 rubles, almost all my property. If you give me something, this money will be yours. It is very important to me."

Leonid vaguely guessed what John Stone wanted, but this only made him angrier. "Get lost! Englishman! You've already succeeded in making me angry. You'd better leave quickly, or I'll beat you up even if it means being locked up in solitary confinement! I'll say it again, I don't have what you want."

"It's a ruby necklace made by the London Jewelers' Guild." John Stone stared at Leonid's fierce eyes without backing down. "You took this from me on the battlefield and then presented it to a noble Chinese lady, but as far as I know, she did not accept your gift. Give it back to me, young man. It's a wedding gift from my wife, Catherine, and it's very important to me. Give it to me, and you can take this bag of money. We'll be even, and that's all there is to it!"

Leonid's face turned red. He took his hands out of his military uniform pockets and grabbed the middle-aged Englishman who annoyed him so much.

Captain John Stone sidestepped, grabbed Leonid's hand, and twisted his wrist, pressing him face down. "Hey, Ukrainian giant, don't try to fight me. I've been a captain for six years and have disciplined countless unruly sailors and crew members. No one has ever caused me trouble. Now, promise to give me back what I want, and I'll let you go. What do you say? You might be good on horseback, but you're no match for me now."

"Roar..." Leonid roared, struggling with his left hand injured, and broke free from John Stone's control. He then swung his right fist at John Stone with red eyes.

Two dull thuds, and both men were hit almost simultaneously. Leonid and John Stone clung to each other, wrestling.

"Shh! Shh!" Two sharp whistles sounded, and several internal affairs police officers in black uniforms, carrying short wooden sticks, rushed over. The two men, seeing the situation, gave each other one last punch and stopped only when the police officers loudly scolded them.

The two men were taken back to the headquarters of the police station located in the limestone quarry. The on-duty police officer took a brief statement from them. When he learned that both were lieutenants, he looked at them with a strange expression. John Stone was somewhat embarrassed, but Leonid didn't care and glared back at the young police officer.

The young police officer from Charuia ignored the two officers who had openly fought. He turned to hand the statement to his superior and then left. Before leaving, he walked to Leonid and whispered in a voice only the two could hear, "Hey, you Ukrainian fool, if you have time, you can come and challenge me. I'll beat you to the ground. My name is Avani, and everyone in the police station knows me. Don't be afraid to come, fool."

Leonid was about to burst with anger but remembered he was in the police station and suppressed his anger. He turned his head to ignore the young man but met the mocking eyes of John Stone, who was sitting against the wall.

...

Xu Yu, who was on leave, hurriedly changed into his military uniform and rushed to the police station at the city's outskirts. Knowing the details of the incident, he cursed Leonid, the fool who didn't know his limits, while trying to comfort his new girlfriend, Wu Xiaoli, a former 90s high school girl working in the Ministry of Agriculture. Xu Yu was of average appearance, only 1.68 meters tall, and before the time travel, he was just a small nightclub security guard, with nothing to his name except for his ability to ride a horse. In the time traveler community, he was a nobody, and finding a girlfriend was difficult, let alone getting married. He had given up and was preparing to buy a European woman.

However, he never expected that in the war with the Spanish, he would shine. He was brave in battle, leading charges three times and being wounded twice, personally slaying a Spanish cavalryman. After the war, he received commendation from the Army Department, and his rank was promoted to captain, making him a rising star with a bright future. At this point, finding a girlfriend was no longer a problem.

Xu Yu quickly arrived at the police station. Upon entering, he saw his old acquaintance, Navy Captain Lu Ming. Lu Ming was the captain of the "Eagle of the East Coast" and had just returned with the Prosperity One a few days ago. The two smiled at each other and began signing the statements to take their people.

"Old Xu, I heard your Army is going to change its structure again?" While waiting for the internal affairs officials, the two began to chat.

"I've only heard some rumors. According to the latest popular rumors, the current six infantry outposts and two field artillery outposts will be reduced by half to form a mixed battalion. Additionally, the cavalry battalion will be streamlined, and I estimate it will be reduced to two outposts," Xu Yu said. "The initial plan is for the infantry battalion to have three outposts of 246 people, one artillery outpost of 51 people, one engineering platoon of 16 people, four drummers, two flag bearers, two doctors, one veterinarian, two gunsmiths, one messenger, one battalion commander, one deputy commander, and one training officer, totaling 328 people. The cavalry will retain two outposts, with a total of 72 people. The total Army strength will be 400 people, which is almost half of the current strength. The Executive Committee is really ruthless."

"Haha, it's all the same, isn't it?" Lu Ming laughed. "Who can blame us for the lack of people? We're going to the north to explore and develop mineral resources, and we need people everywhere. In short, we lack population. Your Army is tough, but our Navy isn't easy either. Over 300 artillerymen have been reduced to 120; Prosperity One is now retired, and the Navy only retains three warships, with a total of 256 crew members. In total, the Navy has 376 people, which is about the same as your Army."

"We really lack people now." The two sighed together.

Just as they were sighing, Internal Affairs Commissioner Jiao Tang came out of the office, smiled at them, and said, "Alright, save you a trip. Come, sign this document."

"What document?" Lu Ming picked up the document and asked casually. "Hmm, a transfer order? Coal Working Group? What a crude name. Going north to dig coal? Why am I being transferred?"

"Not just you, Old Xu is going too," Jiao Tang explained. "This time, we're going to develop coal mines in the Patos Lake Basin. You know how important coal is to our country. It's said that some of the coal there is buried just under the surface, and you can mine it with a little digging. Even some Indians can pick up coal from the mountains to use for fire. The Executive Committee has made a big decision to send a group of elite personnel from various departments and units to develop the area despite the severe shortage of people and resources. The Coal Working Group has been officially established, and Comrade Shao Shude, the Materials Commissioner, will lead it. Members come from the industrial, agricultural, construction, military, and police systems. The first task is resource exploration, and your job will be to protect the exploration team as they travel to the destination. The Joint Staff has agreed to temporarily assign the Army's Third Outpost, the Cavalry's Second Outpost, the Navy's 'Galicia Flying Fish,' and the 'Eagle of the East Coast' to the working group, under the leadership of Shao Shude. After signing, report to the city administrative building. Oh, don't forget to take these two who fought in public. Since it's their first offense, they will be fined three months' salary and receive a reprimand throughout the battalion and fleet. Alright, don't dawdle, get going. I have a lot of work to do. The Spanish are always pressuring us to release prisoners, sigh, it's a headache."

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