Aiden and Attlee never expected that the current peace talks in Germany would not be one, but two. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 In addition to negotiations with the secretly arrived Duke of Windsor in Lisbon, Portugal, the more important and more confidential Soviet-German negotiations were also taking place in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, with Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria acting as the intermediary, but after he called together the main parties, the German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, and the Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, he wisely withdrawn.

He was a smart man, politically, Bulgaria was an ally of Germany, ethnically Bulgaria was the same species as Russia, and no matter what strategy he adopted, he could offend both sides, and the best way to do that was to act as an intermediary. In addition, the size of the two great powers of the Soviet Union and Germany is by no means something that Bulgaria can afford to offend, don't look at the fact that the Soviet Union is now beaten by the Germans, but the Axis camp is except for Germany, and the Soviet Union is beating each other, who knows how things will develop in the future? Moreover, judging from the German point of view, it is not to settle the USSR once and for all, there will be a regime in the hands of the Russian Liberation Army in the future, and there are many things that Bulgaria needs to deal with carefully.

Ribbentrop and Molotov can be said to be old acquaintances, and the signing of the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact" was the main work of the two of them, but they did not expect that now they would sit down again to talk about the fundamental issues between the Soviet Union and Germany, and even the parties concerned sighed.

However, it is good for acquaintances to meet each other, which not only avoids a lot of politeness, but also avoids unnecessary mutual attacks and accusations, which are completely unnecessary for both parties who know the roots. Molotov did not immediately denounce Ribbentrop for tearing up the "Non-Aggression Pact", and the latter was not guilty of making a tirade attack on the Soviet political system. The simple task of both sides is to reach peace terms as much as possible.

Ribbentrop, though perplexed by the Führer's willingness to give Stalin a chance at peace, seemed to him that the present situation of the Soviet Union was almost a stumbling block, and that it was incapable of fighting again, and that it could be overturned. But Hoffman couldn't say a word: "After the defeat of Stalin, who will take over the vast Russian land?" Vlasov? ”

The latter nodded subconsciously, but always felt that something was wrong.

"Vlasov is now bowing down to us, but it may not be possible after a long time, it is impossible to conquer a country for a long time, Russia has no history of becoming a colonial country, and I cannot send a large number of troops in the East for a long time, even if it is stationed, it does not make sense, they will recover quickly." "But if Russia is divided into two or more distinct political entities, and their forces are relatively balanced, diametrically opposed and mutually contained, they will first have to solve their internal troubles and will not care about dealing with us." This will buy us time! ”

As for Molotov, his instructions were very clear: to conclude a peace agreement with the Germans as much as possible, in the long term or in the short term, only to ask Germany to move the pressure away from the Soviets and fight the Anglo-Americans, so as to win a respite for the Bolshevik regime.

From the initial exploratory contacts to in-depth negotiations, the two sides have reached substantive agreement in many areas, but there are several issues that cannot be bypassed.

The first is the refugee issue: the two sides agreed to accept 1:100 on a reciprocal basis, that is, Germany accepted 100 Soviet refugees while receiving its own captured officers and soldiers, but the two sides disagreed on the composition of the refugees, Molotov only wanted to hand over the old, weak, sick and disabled, unable to create productive value, while Ribbentrop only wanted the close relatives of the officers and soldiers of the Russian People's Liberation Army, and at the same time, the nearly 2 million people deliberately "released" by the Soviet authorities in the early stage needed to be converted equally;

The second is the issue of the Russian Liberation Army: the two sides agreed to give the Russian Liberation Army the status of a political entity, but Molotov proposed that Vlasov and his organization be renamed Mensheviks, or simply the Russian National Socialist Democratic Party, and that the state they established would be organized together with the Bolshevik-controlled state to form a confederation, collectively known as the Soviet Union, with the Bolsheviks as the supreme leader, but with all internal autonomy, non-interference, and equal treatment. Ribbentrop was astonished at the proposal, he did not understand that there was such a thing, and after thinking about it it felt that it was not a request he could agree to, he shirked the need to report to Berlin first;

The third is the question of the division of the national border: Molotov is in principle ready to cede Leningrad, but the population of Leningrad must be relocated first, and he does not agree with the 500-kilometer retreat of the existing military demarcation line, nor with the current demarcation line in Central Asia. According to the demands of the Bolsheviks, a maximum of 150 kilometers should be retreated, and the Russian Liberation Army could not occupy it, and Germany could send troops to station, up to 15 years, after which the people would decide which federation to join. Ribbentrop objected to this, proposing that the retreat distance could be reduced to 300 km, but that the five Central Asian states must become independent and accept German protection in accordance with the principle of national self-determination.

Fourth, there is the issue of compensation: Molotov said that the Soviets could not compensate much now, at most they could hand over some antiques, oil paintings, and military equipment, but promised to issue national bonds to be repaid in kind (minerals) in kind, or to give Germany the right to develop them for free. Ribbentrop had little interest in development rights, but thought that the issue of compensation could be revisited.

In addition to these principles and core issues, the two sides wisely did not discuss humiliating but meaningless conditions such as punishing the culprits and reshuffling the government, and reached agreement on many major issues.

For example, on the question of the independence of the Eastern countries, the Bolsheviks recognized them in their entirety, but demanded that they withdraw from the Union;

Another example is the distribution of forces between the Red Army and the Russian People's Liberation Army, the two sides generally maintain a ratio of 4:1, that is, the Red Army is 3 million and the Russian Liberation Army is 750,000;

Another example is the principle of prisoner exchange, in which all Axis prisoners of war were unconditionally repatriated, and Red Army prisoners of war were repatriated on a "voluntary" basis.

Germany said it agreed to Soviet expansion in Mongolia, Afghanistan, and northern India, and that if the Red Army was willing to send troops to Africa to fight Britain, it could also consider allocating a colony, to which Molotov was noncommittal.

But the only problem that gets stuck is when and when the ceasefire will happen, and the two sides are at odds with each other:

Ribbentrop proposed that a formal ceasefire between the two sides would be possible only after the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty, handed over Leningrad and endorsed the independence of the Eastern states;

Molotov stressed that the two sides should cease fire on the spot and then sign a peace treaty, and the Soviet Union could hand over Leningrad to the German army first.

This unexpected episode has instead caused trouble for the negotiations to continue deeper. (To be continued.) )