Vlasov, of course, was not an unknown person, on the contrary, this lieutenant general with a pair of black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and a well-mannered political cadre was definitely a formidable general in the Red Army.

A graduate of Metro Theological Seminary, Vlasov joined the Soviet Red Army at the age of 19 and served in the Civil War, and from July 1924 to 1925 he studied at the Leningrad Higher Cavalry School. In 1930, at the age of 30, Vlasov was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazzaville, and in 1938 he was sent to China as a military adviser to help train the army. At that time, it happened that the German military generals who had not yet finished withdrawing from China had been withdrawn, and the army general staff still kept his files and rough evaluations, believing that he was "a worthy opponent with a flexible mind and a courageous style." After the "Barbarossa" operation, Vlasov became the commander of the newly formed Soviet 37th Army, participated in frontal defensive operations in the direction of Kiev and made many meritorious achievements, and finally miraculously escaped from the encirclement of Kiev and returned to his position on foot, Stalin took him to Moscow by plane and awarded him the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner, and appointed him commander of the 20th Army defending Moscow. By the climax of the Battle of Typhoon, in the face of the onslaught of the German 3rd and 4th Panzer Clusters, it was Vlasov who personally led the 7th and 8th Guards Infantry Divisions to block the breakthrough with a forced march, keep the precarious Moscow, and even launched a counteroffensive between Dmitrov and Lake Ixa with the support of friendly forces. Forcefully blocked the enemy on the line of the Moscow Canal. In view of his achievements, after the Battle of Typhoon, Stalin promoted him to the post of deputy commander of the **** Hove Front, and immediately after taking over he threw himself into work with unprecedented vigor - he launched an offensive from the area west of Kirisch. Occupying a large forest swamp between Chudovo and Novgorod, wedged into the German depth of 60-70 kilometers, the vanguard was only 15 kilometers from Lyuban, and seriously threatened the flank of the German 18th Army.

Because of his prominence, he did not languish in a dark prisoner camp like other prisoners of war after his capture. Instead, he was soon locked up in a villa on the outskirts of Berlin. It was only that the German side gave him preferential treatment only on the basis of his past record, and no one noticed his extra value, and neither Hitler, Himmler, nor other high-ranking officials scoffed at the idea that he in turn wanted to fight against Stalin and the Bolsheviks. But Hoffman doesn't make the same mistakes. He had this figure in mind when he made the decision to prop up dissident forces within the Bolsheviks.

Although Manstein did not participate in the battle of Moscow, the enemy bulletin from the base camp made all this clear, and now the Führer has chosen such a general to lead the Russian Liberation Army. It is a good choice in terms of qualifications and ability. He put down Vlasov's "Open-Letter" and asked Zeitzler with concern: "This person's petition has been submitted, what is the follow-up Führer going to do?" ”

"This guy was very ambitious, and initially said that he wanted to gather all the anti-Stalin and Bolshevik nationalities and soldiers in the former Russia to form a new force, but the Führer made him dispel this idea, telling him that he would establish separate states according to the principle of national self-determination, and that the new Russia would consist only of the Russian nation and its inherent territory."

Manstein sneered: "It turns out that he still has the idea of becoming the next Stalin, oh. Or a Stalin who can fight. ”

"Our purpose in overthrowing a Stalin is never to create another Stalin." Zeitzler added that "the Führer was going to first make a political declaration by forming the Russian National Council and a number of other high-ranking officers of the captured Soviet Army." The declaration would unify with other non-Russian political declarations, and at the same time allow him to go to prisoner of war camps to select purely Russian officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army to form the Russian Liberation Army. Next month we will convene an Oriental Conference in Warsaw, where we will unify and coordinate the disposition of the former Russian territories, and the 'states' that you have divided will declare their independence and join in the fight against the Bolsheviks, and the Russian National Council will be recognized by us as a friendly force at war with Soviet Russia, enjoying the treatment of allies, and promising to form a new Russian state on their basis after victory in the war. ”

"Then he is both a political leader and a military commander, will such an ambitious figure be able to control it in the future?"

"There should be no problem, the Führer currently only gives the Russian PLA three divisions, and there are no armored divisions, and they can only be expanded if they prove their worth in the next battles." Zeitzler explained, "You don't think that a lieutenant general is all there is to the Russian National Council, and once he succeeds, the opponents within the Stalin regime, such as generals, generals, and even members of the Politburo, will be shaken and defect, and if they have a higher status, a greater reputation, and more energy, they will be able to compete with Vlasov and even become the supreme political leader, Vlasov is at most a military leader, and they have factions within them that are easier for us to control." ”

Manstein nodded in acknowledgment: "It's very likely. ”

"If I were Stalin, I would have paid attention to the value and exemplary effect of this figure, and I would have done whatever it took to eliminate him, and I would do everything possible to strangle this sign in the cradle, so that in Stalin's eyes the direction in which he and his men were located should be the deadliest direction of the battle." Zeitzler laughed and said, "When political goals trump military goals, Stalin becomes desperate, and the red cloth you need will be available then." ”

"Where is he now?"

"Pick an army in the prisoner of war camp, and in 3 days he will lead the first troops to you to report and listen to your orders, I think you will earn his respect like the Cossacks, after all, everything he has is currently in your hands."

"I think he's going to be a smart guy, and it's generally a pleasure to work with smart guys." When Manstein finished speaking, the two of them laughed knowingly.

While Zeitzler and Manstein were discussing the next political offensive, Stalin was in the Kremlin reviewing the next direction of the campaign.

In the last few days, Comrade Stalin has been very proud, first, he has received a message from Bulgarian Tsar Boris III through secret channels, saying that the German side is ready to make peace with Russia on the condition that it hopes that Russia will make its attitude clear and put forward conditions, and that Bulgaria is willing to act as an intermediary to mediate. The message of the Germans was clear: they had no intention of burying the Stalinist regime completely, let alone exterminating the Slavic peoples, as they had said, but only a reliable and favourable peace agreement. This was no less than an opportunity for Stalin to get a second Brest Treaty, and with Lenin's precedent of signing the treaty under pressure, once he was ready to sign a treaty with the Germans, no matter how harsh the conditions, the whole party could not say anything, let alone criticize him.

In Stalin's heart, it didn't matter even the most demanding contract with Germany, as long as it allowed the Soviets to retain some vitality and ease their strength. He believed that the confrontation between Germany and Britain and the United States, especially with the United States, had just begun, that the United States would not tolerate a Germany that had mastered the hegemony of Europe, that the war between the two sides would inevitably be endless, and that when both sides were exhausted, the Soviet Union, which had recovered its vitality, could strike again, tear up the treaty again, take back the territory and rights and interests ceded out, and even expand its sphere of influence to Eastern Europe -- this time, there was no Greater Poland under the leadership of Pilsudski to stop the iron hooves of the Soviets.

Two days later, he learned from the diplomatic system that the Japanese side hoped to negotiate a separate peace with the United States through the Soviet Union, and this made him even more happy.

He excitedly said to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, who reported the intelligence: "What does this mean? This means that the Japanese are running out of steam, and they are desperate to keep most of what they have so far and get out. If Japan and the United States succeed in peacemaking, then all the forces of the United States can be concentrated in Europe, and then the pressure on fascist Germany will be even greater, and it will be more beneficial to us. ”

"But if the Japanese make peace with the United States alone, will they turn around and flank us with the Germans?" Molotov was not as optimistic as Stalin.

"Of course it can't be, the Japanese can't even win against the Chinese, so why should they deal with us? With their thin-as-the-ca tanks and ridiculously weak artillery firepower? The combined fleet is not to be underestimated, but they cannot get ashore......" Stalin sneered, "the lessons learned by the Japanese in the Changgufeng and Normenheim incidents will not be forgotten so quickly, and if they really had this mind, they should not have provoked the United States last summer, but should have turned to flank us." ”

At this moment, Marshal Voroshilov walked in, his steps heavy, his face very serious, and it seemed that there was a faint look of anger.

"What's wrong?" Stalin keenly observed that this old comrade-in-arms was in a bad mood, and he was shocked, could it be that there was very unfavorable news from the front? But why didn't Zhukov come to report?

"Comrade Stalin, this is the open telegram we received." Voroshilov slowly placed a document on his desk, and Stalin took it, only to look at it twice, and then angrily scolded, "This damned traitor, coward, fascist accomplice and lackey, I must hang him on the gallows!" (To be continued.) )