Although Kononov was prepared for a change in the attitude of these countries and peoples, he had heard more than once from the captured soldiers of the minorities that after the beginning of the border battles, the Germans were welcomed as liberators by the peoples of these regions, which he had thought was a last resort, and now it seemed that the newly incorporated countries or races of the Soviet Union had already betrayed them.

He had fantasized that this was only the choice of a small minority, but today the message from the loudspeaker hit him hard - he heard the name of Lieutenant General Vlasov, a name he knew no stranger, because he had fought against the Germans under the leadership of the other side. In the limited contacts he had with him, he spoke highly of the former commander of the 37th Army, believing that he had both courage and wisdom, as well as tenacity to persevere to the end. He thought that the future of the lieutenant general would be bright after getting rid of the terrible encirclement of Kiev, but he did not expect that the other party's destination was still a prisoner of war camp, and now this change of position caught him off guard.

Just when he was stunned, the crowd that was still around him just now suddenly began to disperse, and an abrupt voice sounded: "Lieutenant Colonel, please come here, your good luck has come." ”

Without looking up, he knew it was the German captain's voice, and he walked over slowly, showing a puzzled expression and asked, "You mean?" ”

"Lieutenant General Vlasov has made a public statement and formed the Russian Liberation Army, and now he is recruiting troops everywhere, this force only needs purely ethnic Russian officers and soldiers, and the most urgent need at the moment are qualified officers, I think you meet the conditions and report your name." The captain said with a smirk. "The lieutenant general attaches great importance to you, and specially sent his liaison officer and staff representatives, maybe you can have a good talk."

With that, he pointed to the two officers behind him. Both men were wearing the original Red Army uniforms, but the Red Army logo had been removed and replaced with the emblem of the earlier Imperial Russian period, and there was an armband with the words "Russian Liberation Army" around their right arm, which looked somewhat nondescript.

The two of them stepped forward to salute together, and one of the officers spoke: "Your Excellency, my name is М.Ф. Zikov. Once a major, now working in the command of the Russian Liberation Army, the lieutenant general is very important to you. We have been asked to come and meet you. ”

He nodded, welcomed the man into his separate barracks, and calmly said to the German captain, "Do you need to sit in and hear?" ”

"No, no, it's your business. You can just have a good talk. The captain said in a frank and sincere tone. Lieutenant Colonel, I don't care how many stories you have in the past, but judging from the situation of more than a month of contact, you should be an excellent soldier, and your future will never stop there, this is a good opportunity for you to get rid of your captive status at present, I hope you can seize it. ”

Kononov nodded indifferently in thanks.

"Lieutenant Colonel, it seems that you are working well with the Germans." The two deputies looked at Kononov's separate barracks and relatively complete facilities. I sighed heartily.

"You're 'working well' together." Kononov deliberately accentuated the words "cooperation" and said in a mocking tone.

"Your Excellency. We're here to find common ground, not to quarrel with you. We hope you will listen carefully to what we have to say, because there is some information that you can't access in it, which can easily lead to misjudgment. ”

"Okay, you say."

"You understand everything about the tweeter on the radio, right?"

"Yes."

"Now there is an opportunity waiting for you, are you willing to do what is advertised and asked inside? In other words, are you willing to turn your guns and fight against Stalin and the Bolsheviks? ”

Seeing that Kononov was going to refuse bluntly, another spoke: "Lieutenant colonel." Don't be in a hurry to refuse, you need to think about all this, not only for yourself, but also for your men and brothers, and if you don't mind, we will share with you the reasons for our cooperation with the Germans. ”

"Wow, I can hear your opinions first."

"First of all, we are informed that you were captured in the Battle of Kiev, and you may not know that Stalin issued Order No. 270 on August 16 last year, which states ......"

After listening to the other party's statement, Kononov's face turned pale: "Is this true? Would you rather die in battle than surrender? Stalin was pushing the soldiers to a dead end. ”

"And that's not all. The families of captured officers and soldiers were treated as collaborators and exiled to Siberia. We received a report that an officer had escaped from the prisoner of war camp and had gone to great lengths to find friendly troops, but as soon as he heard that he had been captured, the other officers almost shot him, and he was forced to flee back to the prisoner of war camp. ”

Kononov shook his head slightly, and the other party saw that he looked disapproving and persuaded: "You don't have to doubt that this person is now working in the headquarters, and you can ask him in person at that time." ”

"Okay, that's kind of a reason, please keep talking."

"Second, don't think of working with the Germans as an embarrassing act, because it's not something we have done originally, we've learned it."

"You mean?"

"I'm sure you've seen the movie "Lenin in 1917", where did Lenin return in 1917? Who escorted him back and gave him guns, ammunition, and even money? Were the Bolsheviks legitimately elected to power? Sir, Stalin was not as good as you think, and the Germans were not as bad as you think. ”

Kononov shook his head resolutely: "In the course of my study at the Frunze Military Academy, I systematically compared the similarities and differences between the Soviet Union and Germany and the relationship between each other, and I have a deeper understanding and understanding of what you said. ”

"Thirdly, as a preferential treatment for joining the Russian Liberation Army and fighting against the Bolsheviks, we will never let the soldiers die in vain, on the contrary, we have a series of articles to announce to the public, they include:

First, prisoners of war who joined the Russian Liberation Army were immediately freed from the status of prisoners of war and regarded as German Allied troops, accepted unified command, and enjoyed the same supplies;

Second, the officers and soldiers who join the Russian Liberation Army and fight for it will be able to get a piece of land according to their contributions, which will take effect after the end of the war, and there will be no forced labor and collective farms in the new Russia in the future, and there will be no terrifying internal security forces; If he dies in battle, the land received by his family will be doubled as a sign of condolence;

Thirdly, the troops will be promoted and awarded in accordance with the regulations, and you will be able to receive additional rewards in the future according to your rank, position, and meritorious service, which will consist of two parts, one part of the land, and the other part of the capital of the state-owned factories. The corners of Major Zikov's mouth twitched, "Since Your Excellency has studied the Russian question in depth, you will surely understand the significance of the third reason for the social economy and the freedom of the people, and you will also truly understand and understand the contradiction between the relevant ideas of the Bolsheviks and the fundamental well-being of the people." ”

Kononov frowned and asked: "This is what the lieutenant general came up with?" ”

"To be precise, it was the Germans who reminded us, and I came up with the specific strategy." Zikov smiled miserably, "It doesn't hurt to tell you the truth, I am a follower of Comrade N.I. Bukharin, with whom I worked in Izvestia. I've been in prison for this, I've been released just before the war, and then I've been captured by the Germans -- do you think I need to be loyal to a regime that goes to jail because I subscribe to a certain economic ideology? Moreover, Comrade Bukharin's choice is clearly more favorable to the country and the people - if you are a true patriot! ”

Kononov was silent, because he knew the merits of the process, and if he went any further, he would be involved in the Great Purge and the Great Purge.

Sure enough, Zikov gave the fourth reason: "The reason for the importance of the fight against Stalin and the Bolsheviks is the political system of cannibalism and man-to-man, you are a graduate of a military academy, I ask you what about the other three of the original five marshals?" Do you really believe that they were spies for Germany or other countries? I ask you again, there are so many overthrown members of the Politburo, members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and high-ranking generals of the army, do you really believe that they all betrayed the Motherland and not just because they did not fully agree with Stalin's ideas and line? ”

Kononov fell into a deeper, deeper silence, unable to deceive himself - he had always been deeply suspicious of this journey, he just buried it in his heart, and Zikov's words brought back his most painful memories.

"You don't even need to have real evidence to identify a foreign spy or traitor, as long as Stalin suspects you, you're finished." Zikov almost roared angrily, "Have you seen a complete and adequate investigation and evidence collection process? Have you seen a due trial and defense process? All I've seen is that someone made a judgment today, and the blue hats came to the door at night, and when you were shot, you didn't know where to anger the authorities. ”

"Okay, tell me what you're going to make me do?"

"The first phase of the Russian Liberation Army will consist of three divisions, and you will serve as the deputy commander of the first division."

Kononov smiled bitterly, he was originally the regiment commander, but now he has become the deputy division commander, it doesn't seem to make much difference, the real power of the deputy division commander may not be as good as the regiment commander.

"Don't think that your official rank is small, lieutenant colonel, the establishment of the Russian Liberation Army is not the same as that of the Red Army, we use a master system similar to that of the Germans, a division of the Red Army has only 5000-6000 people, while we have more than 15,000 people in a division. The three divisions are just our initial formation, and as long as we prove our ability on the battlefield, the troops will be rapidly expanded, and the appointment of the deputy division commander is obviously the division commander when the next division is formed. ”

"I can consider all your requests, but I have one condition."

"You say."

"I need to give them a chance to choose freely, and if the majority of people in this POW camp are willing to approve and embrace this change, I agree with yours, otherwise I will not approve of it, and I will die with them."

"Okay, then." (To be continued.) )