Steel Soviet Union

After seeing off Wittmann, who came to visit and accept orders, Malashenko had one last thing to deal with before the start of the exercise, something that must be done by himself.

Standing at the intersection of the checkpoint at the junction of the two Germanys, Malashenko, who was waiting here with a group of senior generals from East Germany, couldn't help but feel emotional.

Recalling the past and some long-standing things that had happened here, Malashenko quietly spoke as memories came to his mind.

"Every time like this, I think, if only Comrade Political Commissar could still be with us."

""

Lavrinenko on the side can certainly understand the meaning of Malashenko's words and can empathize with it.

The same emotional words from the past came out.

"You have inherited his legacy and have always been with you. If Comrade Comrade Political Commissar knew that you have achieved what you have achieved today, believe me, he will be proud of you, especially because you have never lost yourself in the past ten years."

""

Being tempted by power and going astray, going against the original ideal and embarking on a path of no return.

Malashenko has indeed experienced too many temptations, but he has never wavered from beginning to end, not only because of his firm belief and never forgetting what happened in the past, but also because he is never alone from beginning to end.

"Don't think of me too lofty. I didn't get to this point by myself. Without you, I probably wouldn't be where I am today."

"Well, you are telling the truth, but - wait, is that someone coming from the other side?"

Lavrinenko, who was chatting happily with Malashenko, looked up and saw that a large convoy was slowly approaching the opposite side of the checkpoint. The head of the car was sticking its head out of the passenger seat. , waved to the man, but he looked unusually familiar.

It’s not that I see it every day, but I often see it in newspapers and magazines.

It is the four-star U.S. Army General Jack Morrison who has not moved away from the position of commander of the NATO coalition forces and U.S. forces in Europe for seven years.

In the past few years since Tamalashenko took office as the commander of the East German cluster, neighbors Jack Morrison have also visited each other frequently and visited each other more than once.

Because of this, the war clouds hanging over Europe have subsided a lot. At least the tense confrontation between the two German fronts is no longer the norm, and the respective headquarters of both sides no longer have to study the issue of "whether there is a strategic misjudgment" all day long. Come and study, waste time.

But on the other hand, it was an unprecedented first time for Jack Morrison to be invited to watch a live-fire confrontation military exercise between the Soviet army and East German troops.

Not even Jack, the entire NATO can only rely on guesswork for this level of military exercises. So far, it is still at the level of imagination, unclear about the truth, anxious but unable to do anything.

Therefore, when Jack received the invitation from Malashenko, he was overjoyed and immediately responded and agreed, and then organized a large-scale, star-studded observation group as quickly as possible to come to visit.

Now he met Malashenko again under the Berlin Wall and at the border checkpoint. Jack, who was very interested, grinned broadly as soon as he saw Malashenko.

"Long time no see, General Malashenko. It is a great honor for me to be invited to observe the confrontation exercise between two top armies in the world. Please allow me to express my gratitude to you again. Thank you very much!"

Just like any other meeting in the past.

Jack, who was very different from traditional soldiers, never valued things like face.

As long as the situation permits and the occasion calls for it, Jack can take off his face and press it to the ground to use as a footcloth anytime and anywhere, as long as this allows him to achieve his goal and is beneficial to him.

Similarly, there are things like fame, experience, and even honor. There is nothing that cannot be discarded. There is only a question of whether the "efficiency-cost ratio" is appropriate, and that's all.

This characteristic is rarely seen in soldiers, and it is even more rare at the level of general.

Malashenko does know which type of people this characteristic is closely related to. Generally speaking, we call such people "politicians".

It can only be said that there is a reason why Jack is a frequent visitor to Capitol Hill and has been able to get to this point. It is not just because he has a background and a backstage.

Only by doing things that ordinary people cannot do can you achieve what ordinary people cannot achieve.

Malashenko, who fully understood this in Jack, shook hands with his former student and exchanged greetings with meaningless greetings.

As the saying goes, "You won't know until you see it, but you will be shocked when you see it."

After finishing a brief greeting with Jack, Malashenko looked behind him and discovered that NATO officers were getting out of the convoy one after another and following up. There were three lieutenant generals and major generals. There are already six seen so far, and the number of brigadiers is no less than this number. As for the school-level ones below, they are almost becoming guards.

The dignified colonel was not even qualified to stand in the front row, so he could only follow his own officers as a follower.

Wondering if Jack, the boy, had evacuated the entire NATO headquarters and the US military headquarters in Europe and brought the whole family with him, Malashenko, who was surprised but did not show it, spoke immediately.

"The exercise is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. If it is convenient, we'd better leave now and go to Dresden to prepare. All participating troops have already stationed at the site and are ready. Do you have any questions here?"

Jack, who was just waiting to see the good show, couldn't wait for a long time. When he heard Malashenko's words, he didn't even think about it and answered directly.

"Of course, all preparations are in place. We came here just because we were ready. Please lead the way, General."

Seeing this, Malashenko didn't say much nonsense, raised his hand and gave an order and then led the team to set off.

Using our own convoy, we led the NATO convoy all the way to the suburban airport and boarded the already prepared special plane.

In order to dispel their concerns and avoid causing unnecessary trouble, the generals of NATO and the Soviet Army specially flew in two special planes.

In fact, this was also specially arranged by Malashenko in advance. He really wanted to stuff all the NATO guys into one plane. If something happened to crash, he would reimburse one general, three lieutenant generals, and more than a dozen people in one go. A Major General.

That’s really hard to explain, the world will end tomorrow.

After boarding the plane one by one, Malashenko and Jack took a special plane together. The two sat side by side and felt the lifting sensation when the passenger plane took off the ground. It was not until this moment that Jack, who looked quite mysterious, smiled and moved closer to the plane. Next to him, Malashenko whispered quietly.

"I will leave office next month and return to China. This should be our last meeting in Europe."

"Huh? You want to leave?"

With a frown and a calculated thought, Malashenko, who just happened to follow the words, asked immediately.

"Let me guess, you are going back this time to find another job?"

Jack nodded slowly with a smile on his face.

"The list of candidates for the new Joint Chiefs of Staff has come out, and they recommended me to sit at the front. In fact, I am not that interested in this position."

""

The position of co-holder of the highest military attaché of the Empire's armed forces is nothing in your eyes, Jack?

Malashenko, who was wondering what this guy was interested in, asked again, and the answer he got was still just a simple sentence with Jack's smile.

"I wish there was a top office in the Pentagon just for me. I'm tired of military life and it's time to sit in politicians' offices."

"Maybe after bidding farewell to this new position, I can realize my dream one day. I hope that by then we can still look at each other in the same position."