I set out for Alexandria, and in addition to bringing Yushchenko and a special guard platoon, I also asked Bandeleyev for the commander of the division's communications company, Lazumeeva, after all, I had been with her for a while, and we knew each other very well, so I used it to take advantage of her.

Razumeyeva and I were sitting in the back of the jeep, waiting for the soldiers to get on the bus, when Razumeyeva suddenly saw a soldier behind her carrying a coffin onto the truck, so she asked curiously: "Comrade commander, who is in the coffin, is it also a general?" ”

I was considering whether I should report this to my superiors after negotiating a quid pro quo with the Germans, and when I heard Razumayeva ask, I replied nonchalantly: "Yes, a general." ”

"Is it General Gurdiev, the commander of the 308th Division?"

"How could it be, General Gurtiev died in Alexandria, and his body is still resting in the city over there." At this point, I also looked back through the rear window and saw that the soldiers were waiting for the car, so I continued: "In that coffin is the body of a captured German general." ”

"The corpse of a German general?" Taken aback, Razumeyeva asked: "Where are you going to send the body for burial?" ”

"Send it to the Germans." After saying this, I leaned forward slightly, patted the driver's shoulder with my hand, and ordered, "Go ahead, comrade driver." ”

"Why did we give the corpses of German generals to the Germans?" After taking one look at me, Razumeyeva asked worriedly: "Knowing that there is a war, will it be dangerous to send them corpses?" ”

"The body of this German general is important." Because Razumeeva and I know each other well. So I explained to her, "With his corpse." We can exchange a group of captured wounded. So even if we knew there was danger, we had to send the body to the Germans. ”

"Shall we go directly to the Germans now?" Razumeyeva asked tentatively, and from her slightly hoarse voice, I could tell that she was afraid.

"No, it's not." I hurriedly replied: "First pull the body to Alexandria, where there are negotiators from the German army." After negotiating the terms of the exchange with them, arrange a suitable time and place for the exchange. With that, I leaned back and leaned back in my chair to close my eyes. After all, there are some things that Razumeyeva doesn't have the authority to know, lest she ask, I don't know how to answer them.

After entering Alexandria, the driver, guided by the fighters on duty on the street, drove the car to the door of the division headquarters. After the car stopped, he turned back to me and said, "Comrade commander, we have arrived at the place." ”

"Thank you, comrade driver." After saying this to the driver, I turned to Razumeyeva and said, "Lieutenant." You wait in the car for a while, and I'll have the communications officer in the division come to you later. ”

"Yes. Comrade Army Commander. ”

I took Yushchenko, led by a staff officer of the 308th Division, along the long corridor towards the conference room where Romanov was. The officers in the hallway, when they saw me appearing, stepped aside and raised their hands against the wall to salute me.

At the end of the corridor, outside the two closed gates, an officer without a hat saw our presence, quickly got up from his seat, raised his hand and saluted me.

I glanced at his collar badge and asked casually, "Lieutenant, is the deputy commander in there?" ”

When the lieutenant heard my words, he was stunned for a moment, and then he understood that the deputy commander I was talking about, which is now the commander of the 308th Division, General Romanov, hurriedly replied: "Yes, Comrade Commander. Negotiations between the division commanders, comrades, and the Germans. ”

I didn't care that he was not talking about the division commanders, but the mayors, but directly ordered him: "Lieutenant, the commander of my communications company is still in the car outside, you can find someone to arrange her accommodation." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The lieutenant hurriedly replied. "I'll arrange it."

I stepped forward, pushed open the heavy door, and strode inside. Directly in the room was a large, well-made long table, and at the end facing the door, two people, Romanov and Colonel Andryushchenko, the commander of the 171st Division, sat on either side of the table.

"Hello, General Oshanina, it's a pleasure to see you again." Before I could see where the German negotiators were, a familiar voice sounded in my ears.

I looked sideways and saw Lieutenant Colonel Huber standing up from his desk near the door. Seeing that I noticed him, he hurriedly put his legs together, bent over me slightly, and then said with a smile on his face: "General, we had a little misunderstanding last time, please don't mind, don't affect our negotiations today." ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Huber, it's a pleasure to see you again. You may be seated, and I will continue the conversation with you. With that, I made a gesture to him to sit down, and then walked straight to where Romanov was.

In fact, shortly after I entered the room, all the commanders, including Romanov, got up from their seats, stood upright, and silently saluted me.

Romanov stepped out of his position, stretched out his hand to me, and whispered: "Comrade Commander, you can come." This German is so cunning that we must exchange Ike's body first, and then exchange General Khalidonov's body with the captured wounded for us. ”

I bowed my head slightly, and replied in a low voice: "Okay, Comrade Deputy Commander, leave this matter to us." With that, he walked towards the place that Romanov had given up. And Andreushchenko, who was sitting next to Romanov, shook hands with me and took the initiative to sit next to him.

I sat down in the center, and across the long wooden table, I said loudly to Lieutenant Colonel Huber in the distance: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, please repeat your Marshal Manstein's quid pro quo." ”

Hearing my words, Huber, who had just sat down, stood up again, and said without humility or arrogance: "Your Excellency, our marshal means that you please return the body of General Ike to us first, and then return the body of your General Khalitonov after it is confirmed. and another two hundred captured wounded. Return it to your army. ”

After I listened to Huber's words. He sneered twice, and then asked in a mocking tone, "What if we hand over Ike's body to you first, and you can't fulfill your promise after confirming that it is correct?" ”

My words made Huber speechless for a moment, and after a long time of silence, he replied: "Your Excellency, General, I am only on the orders of Field Marshal Manstein. I have come to consult with you about the exchange. I can assure you, however, that once we receive General Ike's body, I will do my best to ensure that our troops meet their negotiated obligations. ”

"Guaranteed?! Hum! I stood up, snorted heavily, and said to Huber: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, please go back and tell Marshal Manstein that we are going to carry out the on-the-spot handover." As we hand over Ike's body to you, you must also release our wounded and return the body of General Kharytonov. ”

"This. This ......" my proposal made Huber's face look extremely embarrassed. After a long time, he said to me, as if he had made up his mind, "Your Excellency, I have not been granted such authority, and I must go back and ask the marshal for instructions." ”

Hearing the loosening of his tone, I nodded and said magnanimously, "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, your proposal is very reasonable, and I completely agree with it. Go back and consult with Marshal Manstein, and as soon as you have the letter, you can have your troops stationed outside the city send someone to inform us. ”

Huber took the military hat that was placed on the table, put it on his head, saluted me, and then turned and walked to the door. A commander sitting at the door hurriedly jumped up from his seat, rushed over and helped open the wooden door. Hu Bo nodded at the other party to express his gratitude, and walked straight out the door.

After Huber left, Romanov immediately asked impatiently: "Comrade commander, are we really going to make a deal with the Germans?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." Although Romanov is now the acting commander of the 308th Division, I still used to call him deputy commander, "We can't let the remains of General Khalidonov fall into the hands of the Germans, no matter what the cost, we have to get back the remains of the heroes." Besides, Ike is dead, and poses no threat to us. To return a worthless corpse to the Germans, but in exchange for the general's body and two hundred captured wounded soldiers, we will not lose any way. ”

"But, Comrade Commander." A major sitting next to him suddenly spoke: "Didn't the Supreme Commander say that we have no prisoners of war, only traitors to the motherland?" Is it appropriate for us to use the corpses of German generals and go back in exchange for a group of traitors? ”

The Major's abrupt words immediately lowered the atmosphere in the room to a freezing point. I looked at the major with a gloomy face, and I wanted to go up and slap him twice, and said in my heart, didn't you make me unable to get off the stage in public?

Without waiting for me to speak, the Romanov on the side slapped the table: "Comrade Major, what nonsense are you talking about?" Didn't you hear that the Germans were all wounded to be handed back to us? What is the shame of our commanders and fighters fighting stubbornly with the enemy on the battlefield and being captured because they lost their combat effectiveness? I was captured because I was wounded after the outbreak of war, am I a traitor to the motherland? Romanov remembered his own shameful past history from the wounded soldiers who were about to be exchanged, so he spoke very seriously to this major, who had made inappropriate remarks at the wrong time, so that the major immediately blushed with shame when he heard this, and buried his head deeply.

"Comrade Deputy Commander is right!" I knew that at such a time, I should take the initiative to stand up and express my attitude and unify the thinking of the commanders present, so I said from the perspective of Romanov: "Since the enemy wants to return these wounded to us, then it proves that they are all good, even if they are in prison, they have not yielded to the enemy." I stared at the major, "The exchange with the Germans for the wounded soldiers captured by our army was a decision I made after consulting with other army leaders. Major, do you say this because you want to create chaos in the troops, and do you want to play against the leaders at the two levels of military and division? ”

The major sat in his position without saying a word, just bowing his head and breaking out in a cold sweat on his forehead.

Seeing the major's expression, I thought of being forgiving and forgiving, after all, I felt that I had exchanged prisoners with the Germans without consulting my superiors, and if the above really went deeper, I still couldn't get out of it, so I slowed down and said: "Major, you listen to me, today's matter is over." From now on, when I hear you say that the captured wounded are traitors to the Motherland, I will remove you from your post and bring you court-martial. Do you understand? ”

The major hurriedly raised his head, looked at Romanov, then at me, and replied with a grim face: "Understood, Comrade Commander." It's me who is wrong, I shouldn't talk nonsense, I review! ”

When only me, Romanov, and Andreushchenko were left in the conference room, Romanov asked cautiously and with concern: "Comrade commander, there will be no trouble in holding a private exchange ceremony with the Germans without asking for instructions from your superiors, right?" ”

"Deputy Commander, don't worry." Seeing his nervous look, I hurriedly comforted him and said, "Although I didn't ask my superiors this time, after all, because our army has been fighting, it is normal to not be able to contact my superiors. After the exchange ceremony was completed, I reported to my superiors that I would not eat. ”

"W-is this appropriate?" It was Andreushchenko who spoke, and he was equally worried about the upcoming exchange ceremony.

"There is nothing inappropriate, I am the commander of an army, and I have the right to make any decision based on the specific situation and my own judgment." In order not to dwell on this matter all the time, I deliberately checked the topic: "By the way, Colonel Andreushchenko, where are your divisions arranged after they arrive in Alexandria?" ”

"It's all arranged," said Andreushchenko, who stood up and walked to the wall, picked up a scrolled map from the table by the wall, walked back to the table, and after spreading it out in front of us, reported to me: "Comrade commander, please see." After reaching Alexandria, our division was deployed to the west and south of the city, covering the flanks of the 308th Division. ”

"Good, good." After seeing the deployment of the 171st Division, I turned to Romanov and said, "By the way, Comrade Deputy Army Commander, there is one more thing that I haven't had time to tell you yet. The partisan detachment under the command of Captain Shamlikh has been reorganized into the fourth battalion of the 22nd tank brigade, which will be transferred to Kirovgrad by tomorrow at the latest. In order to prevent the Romanovs from having any bad associations, I also made a special explanation: "Although the partisans are quite numerous, their combat effectiveness is too weak, and the purpose of transferring them to Kirovgrad is to mix them with units with rich combat experience and strive to form a strong combat force at an early date." (To be continued......)

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