afterglow

Chapter 39 An Advance Celebration Banquet
The night in Assam was half an hour later than the night in the Ming Dynasty capital, so when the officers and soldiers who stood firm on Height No. [-] struggled to fight with the British and Indian troops rushing to the position, the people in the capital were enjoying the evening time.

At this moment, the Tonghui Hotel on the west side of Tongjimen Avenue is full of joy.

Eighteen floors above ground, two floors underground, reinforced concrete frame structure, double eaves and gable top, gray and beige exterior walls, fretwork and well pattern window lattices, and dazzling neon lights, the "Chinese style" that architects struggled with in later generations The conundrum of how to fit perfectly with "modern architecture" has been solved quite well here.

In fact, the designers of Tonghui Hotel also had a headache because the large roof with slanted cornices was difficult to match the expected 36-storey high-rise building. Idea - instead of nondescript, it is better to turn to a low-height, large-area shape.

Therefore, the current Tonghui Hotel is only 72 meters high, but it occupies a large area. It is well coordinated with the top of the mountain with double eaves. The style of the whole building is very calm and generous.

In fact, it is not owned by the imperial court, but an asset under the government of Qian Guogong.

Because of its special nature, the imperial court likes to hold some unimportant, semi-public and semi-private banquets here; as for serious state banquets, you have to go to the Imperial Hotel in the West Garden of Mochou Lake.

Cars drove in and out, and waiters kept coming and going, but the big hotel seemed extremely lively under the night.

In the lobby, the floor was covered with large and exquisitely patterned blankets, and there were probably hundreds of reporters as far as the eye could see, and the spotlights were constantly flickering amidst the "cracking" sound.

Officials and generals, wealthy businessmen, ladies and socialites, poets and writers and other social celebrities gathered here. They came to "presume" the defeat of the British and Indian troops in the Uzbek War. This kind of victory celebration dinner is very important to most This is the first time for people, after all, this is the past few decades that Ming Dynasty has hardly fought except for some border frictions and small conflicts.

In fact, many of the bigwigs and celebrities who participated in the dinner didn’t care about the battle situation ahead. Compared with the border war far away in the sky, how to be aware of Ming’s future strategic plan in a timely manner is more important, and policy changes are the benefits. the key.

If the policy is followed, pigs can take off when standing in the wind; if the policy is opposed, the cash cow can be blown off by the wind.

"The traffic is terribly slow, and this so-called Mercedes-Benz is not as comfortable as that Rolls-Royce Phantom."

A celebrity wearing an off-white double-breasted gown with a stand-up collar and a purple gold-woven skirt, with cloudy shoulders and imported pointed-toe stiletto heels, was complaining, and a lady next to her complained.

"Yes, and the wine is weird too."

Cheng Han, who was almost late because he answered an extra phone call before departure, happened to pass by here, and he couldn't help sighing lightly when he heard the words. Come to this banquet.

He is very clear that the current situation on the front line is still unclear-the 34th Division is constantly being attacked by air during the retreat, and at the same time several brigades and regiments of British and Indian troops are entangled with it; although the [-]th Division retreats smoothly, there is not much ammunition left .

The air strikes made the already difficult logistical supply even worse. A light infantry division consumed at least 180 tons of supplies a day, and if it wanted to maintain a medium-intensity battle, it would cost about [-] tons.

The two divisions are [-] tons, but now it is good to be able to send [-] tons to the front line. Because of the bombing, a large amount of materials are backlogged in Lingzhi and cannot be sent.

In addition to the frontal battlefield, a British-Indian mixed force in the northwest may also continue to advance eastward at any time. The reason preventing them from continuing to penetrate is that a battalion is desperately blocking.

It can be said that before the Third Mixed Brigade joins the battle, anything is possible!
So now Cheng Han's mind is not on any banquet at all, the shape of the sand table and the scene of the frontline soldiers fighting bloody battles appear in his mind.

Although the complaints made by the ladies and socialites just now were just ordinary complaints, but at this moment, Cheng Han felt a little helpless and sad?

He glanced around, except for a few generals, most of the people were smiling, and the joyful atmosphere filled the entire lobby; everyone was wearing gorgeous and dignified dresses, and the toga that is not commonly seen on the street Big sleeves are now worn by everyone.

Suddenly, an old saying like this popped up in his mind: The first half of a soldier's army is dead and alive, but the beauties are still singing and dancing under their tents.

But Cheng Han's thoughts were interrupted immediately, because the banquet had begun.

The handsome man who hosted the dinner smiled and said into the microphone: "Gentlemen and ladies, this is..."

Everyone stopped talking and looked towards the stage.

A flamboyant but unnutritious official manuscript was uttered by the host with eloquence, and the people present nodded their heads or clapped their hands in applause.

Later, under the guidance of the waiters, they took the elevator to the specially prepared twelfth floor. It was extremely spacious, with a total of dozens of tables arranged.

The carved ebony table with eight immortals, the chairs carved with complex patterns, the cold and hot dishes arranged in a patchwork order, and the male and female waiters whose body and appearance are carefully selected, all show that the identities of these banquet guests are extraordinary.

After the banquet started, people continued to come to Cheng Han to make friends. They didn't want to miss the opportunity to chat with the military bosses. Cheng Han shirked and refused more than a dozen times just to toast, which made the latter even stronger. I'm not satisfied.

Not long after, an officer walked over quickly and whispered a few words, Cheng Han immediately put down his chopsticks, stood up and went to a corner, and took a few messages to browse.

One of them was the detailed battle situation reported by the [-]st Battalion in Demaji to the Lingzhi Command. It was first forwarded to the Uzbek Tibetan Governor's Mansion in Lhasa, and then it was uploaded to the Governor's Office because the [-]st Battalion's mission was too important. government.

After reading, Cheng Han, whose expression remained unchanged, thought for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and then walked to his place.

But just as he was about to sit down, talk about "profiting from financial changes" came three tables away, and he couldn't bear it anymore.He said "I want to say a few words" to the waitress next to him, and the latter ran away to make an announcement.

Knowing that he was going to speak in person, the organizer of the banquet was just thinking about how to get the military boss to speak, but he didn't expect that sleepy came to give him a pillow?I wish for it.

Cheng Han, who looked normal, walked slowly to the high platform in front of the hall, and calmly scanned the crowd present.

After a while, he said in a nonchalant manner: "You all seem to be very concerned about the situation on the front line, and your patriotism can be seen. But the specifics... I can't reveal it below. I can only say that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. Instead of holding a banquet to wish victory, How about paying homage to Jiang Taigong for his protection, right?"

After speaking a few brief words, he stepped off the stage, walked straight out of the hall and left the hall, leaving a group of officials and celebrities looking at each other in blank dismay.

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[First of all, I admit that the foreshadowing is a bit long. My entanglement lies in: If the war is too short and the results are too few, I am afraid it will not be able to support the rationality of the protagonist's growth.In short, there will be elements of historical text, and there are about ten chapters in the war plot, forgive me. 】

(End of this chapter)