(2nd Update)

It is impossible to count how many people stood in front of the TV last night and watched Yanayev talk and laugh with the people of the West, but Wallace only knew that the ratings of his program had risen by 85 percent that night, beating all current affairs programs in one fell swoop. When everyone at CBS celebrated with champagne that night, Wallace found an excuse to leave the party for a while, and silently dialed the phone number of the members of the international relief organization he knew in his office.

After a short busy phone call, the other person picked up the phone and said in a somewhat impatient tone, "Hey, I'm Pete, who are you?" ”

"Hi Pete, old man, I'm Wallace, sorry to bother you, are you free now? Can you do me a favor? Wallace called a friend of the International Rescue Organization, and he leaned back on his desk, tilted his head slightly to the left, tucked the microphone between his shoulders, and pulled out his hand to light himself a cigarette to calm the nervousness of the recording of the show.

"It's Wallace." The man known as Pete immediately changed his tone, his fat body was lying lazily on the sofa, he held a glass of wine, and replied to him in a hearty voice, "Say, do you have any difficulties?" I'll try to help you. ”

"That's right." Wallace held the microphone in his left hand, held a cigarette between the fingers of his right hand, and said in a somewhat heavy tone, "Aren't you organizing humanitarian relief in Afghanistan now?" It is to distribute food to refugees, and I would like to ask you if you can ask the refugees by the way, and find the Soviet soldiers who entered Afghanistan and lost contact. ”

"You mean to help the Soviet government find the missing soldiers?" Pete hesitated for a moment, he placed the cup on the table, and his tone became hesitant, "Wallace, you know, even if we know where those missing Soviet soldiers are, we can't go to rescue them. Because the back-up sponsors of international rescue organizations are big American conglomerates, and if these things are known to them, it will be very troublesome. Accusing us of not saying anything may even cut off our financial assistance. ”

Wallace silently turned on the phone amplification function, and turned on the recording equipment he was carrying, and Pete on the other side of the phone didn't know that every word he said next was completely recorded by Wallace.

"Pete, I wonder what will happen if your international rescue organization's rescue of Soviet soldiers is known by the financiers behind the scenes?" Wallace pretended not to hear and asked again.

Sure enough, Pete, who was led into the trap, casually repeated what he had just said, "I mean, because of ideology, it is impossible for international rescue organizations to help find the missing soldiers in the Soviet Union, even if they help to keep an eye on them, because for our financiers, they refuse to help these people, even if they watch Soviet prisoners tortured to death by Afghan guerrillas." For me, the death of a hundred Soviets is not as important as the life of an American. ”

Wallace recorded Pete's words in their entirety, pressed play, and calmly said to the person on the other end of the line, "What kind of sensation do you think it will cause if I publish these words, Pete?" ”

When he heard Pete's disdainful voice played in the recording on the other end of the phone, he immediately panicked, clenched the microphone and stammered a little, "My God, what are you doing here, Wallace." Hell, you know that these words can't be made public, otherwise the rescue organization will be condemned by public opinion. And my job may not be kept! ”

"You can choose to help keep an eye on it, or you can choose to have the public watch over you." Wallace seemed to remember something, and added, "Oh yes, the image of Soviet President Yanayev is now deeply rooted in the hearts of those TV masses, and I don't know what the outcome will be if you make a mistake in this issue." ”

"Okay, I'll help you." The person on the other end of the phone was crying. Between offending the big money owner and losing his job, he would rather choose the former.

While the United States was still reeling in the surprise of Yanayev's surprise interview, senior leaders in Moscow set up a special rescue committee with special approval to search for the missing soldiers. If what was done before was to establish an image of a tough leader, then this rescue is to show Yanayev's benevolent side.

Others secretly complained that the search was pointless and a needle in a haystack, and that Afghanistan's years of war were going to find long-missing prisoners. At that time, Defense Minister Yazov raised this issue, believing that the search was purely a waste of money.

"Look for an Afghan resistance fighter named Islam Din, who is Massoud's guard, and of course he has another identity before, a soldier of the 101st Motorized Infantry Regiment, whose original name is Nikolai Bestrov, who is an Uzbek." Yanayev gave a name that shocked everyone present.

"Massoud's guards? Is that Massoud, known as the 'Lion of Panjshir'? Our worst enemy in Afghanistan was once there. Yazov asked hesitantly, a little surprised why the president had first-hand resources for information that might not even be available to KGB agents. Yanayev suddenly became mysterious in Yazov's heart, and if he thought about it carefully, it seemed that since the August 19 coup, he has been in control of various situations.

"Yes." Yanayev nodded, and he pretended to be mysterious, "Of course, Comrade Yazov doesn't need to ask me why I know this, I won't tell you." You only need to find Islam Din through the intelligence network between Afghanistan, who should have a lot of information on the missing Soviet soldiers. Most of those soldiers did not return to China, but went to Pakistan through his connections, and then to South Africa or Europe. ”

"Okay, I'll let the committee guys find a way to get in touch with him. By the way, General Secretary Yanayev, there is one more thing to report to you. Yazov said with some concern, "Regarding the situation of the Soviet troops stationed in the member countries, the major member countries generally adopt a negative attitude, refusing to say the specific number of troops, the details of weapons, refusing to hand over and so on. Yes, they were stalling for time, refusing to turn the union countries into an integral part of the USSR. ”

Hearing Yazov's report, Yanayev became interested, and he asked, "In other words, are there still a considerable number of separatist forces in the major member states that are trying to thwart the Soviet Union's plan for great reunification?" They did not rein in their actions because of the fate of the three Baltic states. I've given them a fair share of their economic autonomy, but I'm just sacrificing their army, isn't it satisfied? ”

Defense Minister Yazov added, "Yes, Georgia in particular showed itself the strongest, and the Soviet troops sent to integrate had skirmishes with the Georgian army, but fortunately there were no casualties." Although they knew that unification was inevitable, they had been trying their best to delay time, as if they were planning something. ”

It's so much fun. Yanayev slowly narrowed his eyes, thinking carefully about what kind of actions Georgian President Zvyad would have, as a lackey of the United States and the vanguard of the anti-Soviet Union, Zvyad seemed even more difficult to deal with than he imagined.

Could it be that these guys want a war of independence? It suddenly dawned on Yanayev that if Georgia fired the first shot of the war of independence, it would mean that a series of rebels would follow.

But again, if Yanayev succeeded in suppressing the rebellion in Georgia, it would mean that the Soviet Union had a fair and honest reason to deprive all the member states of special rights.

"I understand, Comrade Yazov. Then the work at hand will be put on hold for a while, and we will wait for the happy fish to be picked out of the lake, and then we will catch them all. Yanayev decided to set a trap against Georgia and waited for him to get closer inside.

The Soviets temporarily restrained their actions and waited for the self-righteous political clowns to show their feet and then annihilate them in one fell swoop. Cheer a little longer, grey animals, for after a few days, you won't be able to laugh anymore.

In Yazov's puzzled gaze, Yanayev crossed his hands and said coldly, "When the Soviet Union returns to the North Continent, it is the time when all the rebels are dead. ”