Chapter 204: Meeting You Through the Words

Morin thought of writing to Cecilia because he saw some Instruction Assault Battalion soldiers writing letters home during the rare break time earlier in the day. For Morin, this was a curious experience. After all, before he crossed over, he was used to contacting distant relatives via phone calls or video chats. Writing down one’s thoughts on paper like this was undoubtedly new and unfamiliar.

“When was the last time I wrote a letter? I think it was back in school when I pretended to be Li Hua, writing an English essay to a foreign friend?”

This thought crossed Morin’s mind. He picked up a dip pen from the stationery prepared by the Orderly and began writing on a fresh sheet of paper.

“Dearest Sister Cecilia, meeting you through the words…”

In the first half of the letter, Morin used every flowery phrase he could think of to express his longing for Cecilia. Of course, he also briefly described his experience on the battlefield over the past half month. However, after carefully omitting the bloody, cruel details that might worry the recipient, Morin found that all he had left to write about were some exotic customs of the Grand Duchy of Flanders and a few battlefield anecdotes.

For example, how he managed to ‘persuade’ the two high-ranking Generals of the Second Army Group to grant his unit the welfare of two hundred Roasted Pig Knuckles… He felt this was for the best; there was no need to pour too much of the battlefield’s negative emotion into a letter sent to the rear. The people close to him needed reassurance, not shared anxiety and fear.

After writing about half a page of ‘expressions of longing,’ Morin’s letter finally got to the point.

As the undisputed ‘Radiant Crystal Queen’ of the Saxon Empire, Cecilia’s massive commercial empire, Falkenstein-Eisenstein United Industries, naturally included manufacturing enterprises related to internal combustion engines and Radiant Crystal Automobiles. However, Morin wasn’t familiar with the specific details in this area, so he could only suggest a general direction in his letter, hoping Cecilia could help him contact a vehicle manufacturing company with solid technical capabilities. He wanted to see if they could perform a complete overhaul and upgrade of the Radiant Crystal Military Trucks currently equipped by the army.

“…The Military Trucks we currently use, while powerful, have obvious shortcomings. I have observed carefully that these trucks use leaf spring suspension and solid rubber tires. This combination results in virtually zero off-road capability, limiting them strictly to well-paved roads.”

Morin analyzed in detail in the letter. As a designer herself, Cecilia would naturally understand this content. The standard Military Trucks currently equipped by the Saxon Army benefited from this world’s unique Radiant Crystal Internal Combustion Engine technology, which provided power far exceeding the standard internal combustion engines of the WWI era he knew. Its curb weight was only 2.5 tons, yet it had a payload capacity of 2.5 tons—a figure Morin found quite unbelievable. Even more outrageous was its top speed of up to 72 kilometers per hour.

However, in Morin’s view, this speed was entirely a ‘laboratory figure,’ severely overstating its practical use. According to his conversations with the Military Truck drivers in the battalion, this speed could only be barely achieved on excellent asphalt city roads and only over long, straight stretches. Once they left the city and drove onto the narrow, bumpy dirt roads of the countryside, the truck’s speed would plummet to about 40 kilometers per hour.

Despite this, even that speed was quite astonishing in Morin’s opinion. It was important to remember that in the world he crossed from, the average speed of trucks during World War I generally hovered around 24 kilometers per hour.

Therefore, the demands Morin laid out in his letter were very clear, and arguably somewhat ‘excessive’ given the support of the Radiant Crystal Internal Combustion Engine. He hoped the designers at Sister Cecilia’s affiliated companies could approach the improvements from two angles.

First, comprehensively enhance the truck’s off-road performance. He suggested focusing research and development on the vehicle’s suspension system, even if they used leaf springs, to adopt a more effective structure.

Second, based on improving off-road performance, develop a medium-sized truck with a stronger carrying capacity. Morin believed that as the scale of the war expanded, logistical pressure would intensify. The Saxon military would also quickly realize the massive advantage offered by Motorized Units. But at that point, the 2.5-ton carrying capacity of the current Military Trucks would eventually become a bottleneck limiting troop mobility.

Besides the suggestions for improving wheeled vehicles, Morin also proposed a bolder, more forward-thinking idea.

“…Considering the generally poor condition of rural roads across the Europa continent and the higher off-road combat requirements the military may demand in future warfare, I hope Sister Cecilia can have her engineers attempt to draw inspiration from the tracked structure of existing agricultural tractors to develop an entirely new type of tracked or half-tracked vehicle?”

Morin’s idea was simple: the horse-drawn Tachanka Machine Gun was merely a transitional product. Once the technology for tracked or half-tracked vehicles was perfected and matured, subsequent tracked tractors and Armored Personnel Carriers would naturally be put on the research agenda. The ridiculously strong performance of the Radiant Crystal Internal Combustion Engine in this world gave Morin reason to believe that these future ‘Iron Beasts’ might create greater miracles on this battlefield than he could imagine.

“A Land Battleship isn’t impossible either; how can a man’s romance be without one…” This thought flashed through Morin’s mind.

After rambling on about the ‘serious business’ of vehicle technology, Morin used an entire paragraph to once again express his infinite longing and gratitude to Sister Cecilia.

“…Your care is like a lighthouse in the dark night, guiding me not to lose my way on the foreign battlefield. Please be sure to take care of yourself. Upon my triumphant return, I will definitely present you with the most beautiful roses of Gaul…”

Finishing his writing, Morin quickly reread the entire text, then stopped writing, satisfied. After the ink completely dried, he carefully folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, and sealed it meticulously with wax. He placed this letter home on the corner of the table, ready to hand it to the battalion Orderly first thing tomorrow morning to be sent to the Field Post Office.

However, Morin, who had planned to go straight to bed after writing the letter, suddenly found himself wide awake. His mind felt as if it had been injected with a stimulant, entering a strange state of ‘torrential inspiration.’ He suddenly realized that after enduring the brutal battle at Charleroi, he had many new ideas and insights regarding individual weapons and Magic Guided Technology. These ideas sprouted like mushrooms after rain, demanding to be written down.

“Might as well… write them all now!”

Morin sat straight up and pulled out another fresh sheet of paper.

“Dear Miss Schmeisser, meeting you through the words…”

The ‘greetings’ section at the beginning of the letter to Helga [Miss Schmeisser] was much shorter. After all, she was his company employee; excessive pleasantries were unnecessary. He simply asked about her recent situation, then quickly and eagerly inquired about the development progress of the two new weapons at Schmeisser Arms Manufacturing Co., especially the production status of the MP14 Submachine Gun.

Morin then detailed some new thoughts he had about individual weapons from the battles at Charleroi and Liège. In these two main engagements the Instruction Assault Battalion experienced, he keenly observed a problem. While the increased proportion of MP14 Submachine Guns equipped by the Instruction Assault Battalion led to an unprecedented increase in close-range fire density, it also resulted in a marked decrease in the squad’s ability to provide accurate fire suppression at mid-range.

Soldiers equipped with the MP14 struggled to effectively engage individual targets precisely at distances exceeding one hundred meters. This fire gap had to be filled solely by the riflemen remaining in the squad who used the Gew.98 Rifle. While this situation, in effect, forced the Instruction Assault Battalion’s riflemen to become incredible sharpshooters, Morin knew clearly that relying solely on improving individual soldier skills to compensate for weapon performance deficiencies was not a sustainable long-term solution.

He had to find a way to fundamentally increase the density and sustainability of rifle fire. Thus, a name that had been lingering in his mind naturally surfaced—the semi-automatic rifle.

“…Respected Miss Schmeisser, Mr. Maxim’s machine gun masterpiece has given me immense inspiration! I wonder, since a complex mechanical structure can use the energy of propellant gas to achieve fully automatic fire, why can’t we simplify this principle and create a rifle that can automatically complete casing ejection and chambering without the shooter manually operating the bolt?”

Morin articulated his concept in the letter using the clearest and most concise language possible.

“I will tentatively call this concept the ‘Gas-Operated Principle!’ Its core idea is to borrow a small portion of the high-pressure propellant gas escaping from the barrel during bullet firing to drive a small piston, which will complete the complex sequence of pulling back the bolt, ejecting the spent casing, and pushing the next round into the chamber…”

He even sketched a rough structural diagram in the margin of the letter paper—a diagram so simple that others would likely not understand it, merely outlining the principle—labeling the approximate positions and linkages of key components like the gas tube, piston, and bolt carrier. Although Morin knew the sketch was as simple as possible, only vaguely outlining the principle, he was confident that Helga’s genius mind would instantly grasp his intention.

After writing the letter to Helga, Morin felt his thoughts opening up even further. He didn’t pause, immediately picking up a third sheet of paper. This time, the recipient was another genius young woman in the imperial capital.

“Dear Miss Seeckt, meeting you through the words…”

The introductory greetings in the letter to Patricia [Miss Seeckt] were much briefer, even bordering on perfunctory. Morin offered only two symbolic lines of well wishes, quickly jumping to the main subject after just a few sentences. This wasn’t due to a lack of familiarity but because using too many polite conventions would feel inauthentic and insincere.

The main body of Patricia’s letter naturally revolved around Magic Guided Technology. Morin first provided a simple overview of the ‘Enchantment Technology’ he had learned about from the Gauls during the recent fighting. For instance, the Gallic Cuirassiers’ armor was magically enchanted, allowing it to effectively resist small-caliber firearm fire. Similarly, their 75mm Magic Guided Cannons also utilized Enchantment Technology, which significantly reduced the gun’s weight, vastly improving its mobility and shell power compared to Saxon artillery of the same caliber. He hoped this enemy technical intelligence would provide some new ideas and inspiration for Patricia’s ongoing research.

Morin then inquired about the progress of the two projects he was most concerned about—the research and development of Magic Guided Communication Devices and the miniaturization of Magic Guided Weapons.

“…Communication, communication, always communication! Dearest Miss Seeckt, I must emphasize again that a stable, reliable, and portable wireless communication device is absolutely vital for our future warfare! So vital that it could determine the outcome of an entire campaign! I implore you, please place this project at the highest priority…”

At the end of the letter, Morin emphasized the importance of communication equipment in a tone of near-pleading. The experience at Charleroi had brought this point painfully home. If he had possessed a long-range radio that could connect to the rear at all times, the Instruction Assault Battalion’s situation would not have been nearly so passive and dangerous.

After writing the final “Best wishes, anticipating your reply,” Morin let out a long breath. He placed the three letters side by side on the desk, looking at the three wax-sealed envelopes, and felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. These three letters contained his thoughts for three women—though only two were significant—but more importantly, they embodied his vision and expectations for future warfare. He believed these three geniuses in the rear would turn his tactical fantasies into reality, one by one.

Having completed all this, Morin felt the prolonged tension in his nerves finally relax completely. A wave of intense drowsiness washed over him. He fell onto his field cot, sleeping soundly without even bothering to take off his uniform.

The next day, the morning of August 17th. Morin had just woken up and was preparing to give the three letters to the Orderly for posting when a sudden roar of an engine approached the camp entrance. A black staff car from the Second Army Group Headquarters pulled up smoothly at the temporary Instruction Assault Battalion camp entrance.

An officer from the Army Group Headquarters jumped out of the car and walked straight toward Morin.

“Captain Morin, emergency order! General von Bulow requests your immediate presence at the headquarters. There is a new operational mission!”

A new operational mission? Morin frowned. Wasn’t he supposed to rest for a few days? How long had it been? He looked at the Major’s solemn expression, a sudden suspicion dawning in his mind.

“Are they going to use me as a firefighting unit again?”

(End of this Chapter)