At two o'clock in the afternoon, Qin Chuan walked into Paulus's office.

Paulus was flipping through the papers, with two staff officers standing beside him.

At first, Qin Chuan's appearance did not attract Paulus's attention, perhaps because he was focused on the content of the document, or what was thinking in his mind, so Qin Chuan only habitually nodded when he stepped forward to report to duty.

It wasn't until two minutes later that the staff officer bent down and whispered a reminder in Paulus's ear.

For some reason, Qin Chuan found that this staff officer's demeanor and demeanor were very similar to Paulus's.

Paulus came back to his senses at this time, he raised his head and glanced at Qin Chuan, then got up and shook Qin Chuan's hand, and said, "I'm sorry, Major." Nice to see you! ”

"Me too, sir!" Qin Chuan stepped forward and responded.

Then Paulus warmly invited Qin Chuan to sit down on the chair next to him, and said: "Major, I have heard a lot about your deeds, or legends, so I have long hoped to meet you, but they told me that the battlefield is inseparable from you, so it has been postponed until now......"

"It's my pleasure, sir!"

"You've done well, Major." Paulus continued: "In particular, breaking through the lines of the enemy's 64th Army to create conditions for our troops to cross the Don, as well as going deep into Stalingrad to burn their extremely important factories...... I can say without exaggeration that these are really genius strokes, worthy of the name of 'legendary sergeant'! ”

"Thank you, sir!" Qin Chuan replied.

Paulus took the two glasses of wine handed over by the staff officer, and handed Qin Chuan a glass of hand: "Major, you know, now that the Battle of Stalingrad has reached a stalemate, you just left there, maybe you know better than me!" ”

"Yes, General!"

"So......" Paulus said, "I think people like you should be more effective in the higher command structures than in the front line, like my staff, who are in need of someone like you who comes from the battlefield and has a lot of experience in the field and a lot of ideas, what do you think?" ”

Qin Chuan couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this.

He had made a few guesses beforehand, such as Paulus seeing him to ask for some advice, or to praise an officer like him who had performed well on the front line as an encouragement to the soldiers on the front, as Rommel had done in the Afrika Korps. But Qin Chuan just didn't expect Paulus to let him come as a staff officer.

At this moment, Qin Chuan quickly made some thoughts in his head.

Paulus's words may be right, Qin Chuan may be more effective in the staff position.

But here's the problem...... There was competition between the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army, so although the movement of troops between them was normal, it was suspected of digging corners.

Paulus, on the other hand, didn't really have a lot of autonomy throughout the campaign...... Perhaps this was because Paulus lacked the courage to do so, or perhaps because Paulus had grown up, so he acted exactly according to Hitler's orders and intentions in command, even with the movement of troops.

(Note: Paulus experienced many setbacks and failures since he was a child, which made him talented but not confident and decisive enough)

Such a commander is actually more like a puppet, and the real commander is Hitler sitting in the Ukrainian "werewolf" bunker.

As a result, Qin Chuan was afraid that not only would he not be able to play a role in serving as a staff officer here, but he would even be deprived of his autonomy and right to speak on the front line.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan replied, "I'm sorry, General!" I think I'm better suited to the battlefield because I'm always on the battlefield and I suddenly think of a strategy, and if I were to stay in the office with a lot of intel or documents, I'd be afraid I'd be not much different from an idiot! ”

Qin Chuan's answer didn't seem to be expected by Paulus, and he nodded in understanding. On the contrary, the staff officer beside Paulus looked disappointed.

"So, Major!" Paulus raised his glass and raised it towards Qin Chuan, and said, "May I ask, do you have any thoughts on the current situation in Stalingrad?" ”

Qin Chuan shook his head helplessly and replied, "I'm sorry, General!" I think...... Unless we can take Mamayev Hill again, we will have to push forward step by step! The Soviets have already filled all their gaps, and they are also familiar with the way urban warfare is played! ”

"We have an idea!" Paulus looked up at the staff officer beside him, and the staff officer understood, and immediately spread out a map in front of him.

"Look at this ......," Paulus said, pointing to a point on the Volga River, "the Soviets have a hydroelectric power station here, and our idea is to send the air force to blow up the dam, do you think this is feasible?" ”

"This won't help us in a war we won't, General!" Qin Chuan shook his head: "The reason is that the northern industrial zone of Stalingrad is on high ground, and the 'Red Barricade' artillery factory is even 200 meters above the river, even if we blow up the dam, it will not pose a threat to the northern industrial zone!" ”

"But we're going to flood at least the main city to the south, aren't we?" Paulus objected.

"Indeed!" Qin Chuan replied: "But what can it be? They could have temporarily moved their forces to the northern industrial areas and waited for the flood waters to recede before returning to the main city to defend them, so that they could control even more areas, while we had to start over because we had to avoid the floods rather than withdraw, and even more...... Stalingrad will also be muddy because of the flood, which is obviously not good for us who have more tanks! ”

Paulus nodded slightly, glanced at the staff officer beside him meaningfully, and then got up and shook hands with Qin Chuan and said, "Thank you very much, Major." I'll take seriously what you're saying. Although it is somewhat unnecessary, I remind you that we are not going to let anyone know what we are saying! ”

"Of course!" Qin Chuan replied.

"So......" Paulus took Qin Chuan to the window, lifted a little black curtain, and pointed to a house more than a hundred meters away, "Do you see that white house?" ”

"Yes, General!"

"Actually, that's the main reason I let you come here!" Paulus said, "Colonel Conrad is waiting for you there!" ”

Qin Chuan couldn't help but let out an "oh", and at the same time felt a little strange in his heart, if Conrad wanted to see him, why didn't he go to the battlefield and call himself to this place more than a hundred kilometers away.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Major!" Paulus shook hands with Qin Chuan again: "I will arrange a plane back for you!" ”

"Thank you, General!" Qin Chuan saluted Paulus, then turned around and walked out of the headquarters.

I hadn't walked a few steps out of the house when I heard someone from behind catch up and shout: "Wait, Major!" ”

Looking back, it was the staff officer beside Paulus.