USSR 1991

"Corporal, Rybalco, died last June."

"Private first class, Romanowski, died last January."

"Sergeant Vladimir, the entire company so far... the only survivor."

Dmitry was surprised to be able to meet a Soviet veteran like himself in this remote town. Wearing a blindfold, Dmitry shook hands with Vladimir happily, and said with a smile, "Private soldier Dmitry, once participated in the Great Patriotic War. May I ask who you are?"

"Sergeant Vladimir." The veteran in the wheelchair said with a smile, "I also participated in the Great Patriotic War. This is my wife, Natasha."

"Hi, ma'am." Dmitry said to the old woman beside him with a smile.

"There are very few outsiders coming to this remote town, especially Soviet soldiers during World War II. So I was really surprised to meet you, Dmitry." Vladimir said excitedly, "And from you I You can feel the unique temperament that only those who crawl back from the dead people have."

"Can I take this as a compliment, Comrade Vladimir?" Dmitry replied politely.No matter how you look at the person in front of you, he looks like a gentle gentleman, not a soldier who has killed someone.

"Of course, hahaha." Vladimir grabbed Dmitry's hand and said, "If you are free today, you must come to our house for a glass of vodka, how about it? I haven't told anyone about it for a long time. I've had war stories. My wife never wants to listen to my heroic tales of how I lost my legs."

"Of course, I am extremely happy. Besides, we all lost our most beloved things in the war, didn't we?" Dmitry took off the blindfold, revealing his blind left eye, "Look, it was injured by a stray bullet, My left eye lost its light forever."

The hospitable Comrade Vladimir and Dmitry sat at the table. Natasha prepared a bottle of wine and two small glasses for them. She specifically told her husband to drink less.

"Comrade Dmitry, was your eye injured while participating in the Battle of Stalingrad?" Vladimir asked.For a Red Army soldier, a man who has not returned from the front with scars cannot be called a real soldier.

"No, I didn't lose my eye at Stalingrad," Dmitry replied.

"However, when we were in Stalingrad, our troops were defeated by the Germans. At that time, I was the only one hiding in the fountain pool. The armored vehicles patrolled by the Germans shot at the bodies of our comrades in the pool. Fortunately, I I escaped this catastrophe." Dmitry looked up and drank a glass of vodka, even after so long, he still said with lingering fear, "Then I met an old soldier in the pool. Yes, he is a real hero, Calm and rational. We knocked off the heads of three Nazi soldiers with a Mosin Nagant rifle in the fountain, and then escaped. He said that he was preparing to assassinate a Nazi officer named Amsel, In the end, I parted ways with him."

"The soldiers on patrol didn't notice it?" Vladimir said.

"The gunshots were covered by the gunfire, and they had already escaped from the area when they found out." Dmitry said, "Later, I was injured by the stray bullets in the counterattack war, lost my eyes, and was shot. It was sent to the logistics. At this time, I have entered the stage of strategic counter-offensive, and I have not been able to return to the front line. And the veteran continued to follow the armored torrent and marched all the way to Berlin. I heard that he personally participated in the capture of the Reichstag. Battle, saw the soldiers plant the red flag on the top of the Reichstag. It was a great honor, although in the end he did not return to the Soviet Union as a hero."

Dmitry seemed to be feeling sorry for an old friend, knocked his wine glass lightly on the table, and whispered, "He said his name was Reznov, and I don't know if that's his real name. After the war , I never heard from him again. Here today, a toast to Reznov."

"This is a real man. If I meet him, I will definitely become friends with him." Vladimir raised his glass and said, "Comrade Reznov."

Dmitry raised his head and drank another glass of wine. At this time, he was already a little tipsy.With one hand on his cheek, he said slowly, "Hehe, it's a pity, these things have long been thrown into the garbage dump of history. The high-level leaders who led the war back then were all buried in the New Saintess Cemetery, except us These old people who can only rely on memories to live, who can remember that we used to be desperate to defend our motherland."

Dmitry said sadly, "We are all old, and one day we will die following the long Patriotic War."

At this time, there was a knock on the door of the house, and Natasha called out who it was, but the people outside only replied that the army was coming, please open the door and find Comrade Vladimir.

Natasha hurried to open the door, and both Dmitry and Vladimir looked at the door curiously.I saw a straight military officer standing at the door, and there was a black car behind him.The officer nodded politely to Natasha and said, "Hi, I'm here to see Comrade Vladimir, a sergeant from the third company of the Red Army."

"I am." Vladimir pushed the wheelchair to the officer's side and asked, "Comrade, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Oh, it's like this." The officer glanced at Vladimir's empty trouser legs, then took out an invitation card from his arms and handed it to Vladimir, "Moscow will celebrate the victory of the Great Patriotic War next month." We will invite some representatives of World War II veterans to go to the military parade. Comrade Vladimir, this is your invitation, please accept it. We will send someone to pick you up a week before the parade begins."

"You mean, I can go to Moscow's Red Square to watch the military parade?" Vladimir said excitedly, "God, hurry up, Natasha, prepare a cup for this comrade."

"Yes, Comrade Vladimir, please be sure to participate. I still have official business, so I won't accompany you." After the officer delivered the invitation to Vladimir, he was about to turn around and leave.Before he left, he glanced at Dmitry who was sitting at the table and lost one eye, and Comrade Vladimir who was excited. He stood up straight and saluted them. The respect of a predecessor who participated in the Great Patriotic War.

"Seniors, although the war took away your most beloved things, please believe me, a strong motherland will not let you lose more." The officer said with a serious expression.

Chapter 143 Geographic Tragedy

The reconciliation between the Soviet Union and China has aroused anxiety in another socialist country, that is Vietnam, which has been following the footsteps of the Soviet Union in the general direction.As a member of the Soviet camp, the leader of the Vietnamese government, Du Mai, who had always been at odds with China, panicked after seeing the recent friendly relations between China and the Soviet Union.He decided to visit Moscow himself and seek Yanayev's help.

The Vietnamese are still very confident now, because for China, it is the ally that best meets the strategic needs of the Soviet Union. Today, when the socialist camp in Europe is being continuously eroded, Vietnam is also one of the few remaining countries in Asia apart from China and North Korea. .If even these small socialist countries no longer support the Soviet Union, then the Soviet Union is really about to end.

However, when the news of Dumei's coming visit was on Yanayev's table, he threw it into the trash can without looking at it, and whispered an annoying Vietnamese monkey.

Pavlov frowned a little, the general secretary's attitude was very obvious, he didn't like the Vietnamese.But in terms of diplomacy, such an attitude is not friendly enough, after all, the other party is still an ally of socialism.Pavlov said, "General Secretary Yanayev, it's one thing that you don't like Vietnam, but this attitude will also chill the hearts of other allies."

"Tell me, Comrade Pavlov. Maintaining friendly and cooperative relations with China, or constantly spending money to fund a fool who can't support the wall, which one do you think I should choose?" Yanayev asked.He is tired of the lack of bottomless assistance from so-called allies.

"But after all, it is also an ally of socialism. If you just do this, will it chill their hearts?" Pavlov asked Yanayev.

"Chilling?" Yanayev said, "Why don't we raise a bunch of waste? They don't develop their own economy, and every one of them knows to ask me for financial assistance and weapon assistance. In the end, they are only worthy of peaceful evolution. That’s all. Of course, I’m not only referring to the communist countries in Eastern Europe, I’m saying that the countries that have been peacefully evolved are all rubbish.”

"It's already a great honor for the Vietnamese monkey to meet Du Mei. If he dares to ask for military aid, I will invite him out of the Kremlin in minutes." The Soviet Union has a strong military strength and comprehensive national strength. Of course he dared to say to Vietnam This sentence.

"Don't even think about threatening me by joining NATO. For me, it doesn't have the strength and qualifications for the Soviet Union to respect." Yanayev said eloquently.

When Du Mei arrived at the Moscow International Airport, he found that he was greeted by Soviet Prime Minister Pavlov. This unconventional reception made him feel a little uneasy. Logically, Yanayev should be in charge of the reception.Then Pavlov explained to him that because Yanayev had caught a cold today, he was not fit to go out, so he asked General Secretary Du Mei to forgive him.

"So that's the case, Prime Minister Pavlov, please tell General Secretary Yanayev for me. I sincerely hope that he can recover his health." Du Mei asked his assistant to translate his words into Russian to convey his message Concerned greetings.

"I'm afraid you have to tell General Secretary Yanayev yourself, because he is waiting for your arrival in the Kremlin." Pavlov's expression was a bit sly, but he quickly covered it up past.

Du Mei's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "It would be best if I could meet General Secretary Yanayev in person."

Yanayev was indeed waiting for Dumei in the parliament hall, so when the other party came in, he got up and walked towards Dumei immediately. The two top state leaders smiled and shook hands in front of the camera, but if you don’t observe carefully, There was a trace of well-disguised disdain in Yanayev's eyes.

At the beginning of the meeting, Du Mei reiterated the historical friendship between the Soviet Union and Vietnam in a clichéd manner. From the beginning of the Vietnam War of Resistance against France to the later War of Resistance against the United States, the Soviet Union gave Vietnam selfless help.And Yanayev didn't say anything, just nodded with a smile and asked the other party to continue talking.

"Recently, we have seen that your country has signed some arms sales agreements with China, but you also know that we have long had territorial disputes with some neighboring countries, especially big countries, so we hope that the Soviet Union can provide another military aid." Du Mei said cheekily that even Yanayev, who was sitting across from him, secretly marveled at how shameless the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam was.

"Oh, that's it. If we don't provide military aid, what will you do?" Yanayev asked with a smile. He likes to slowly test the opponent's bottom line and see how many bargaining cards he has in his hand.

Seeing that the other party was indifferent, Du Mei said again with a threatening meaning, "If this is the case, then unfortunately, General Secretary Yanayev, we don't know how long we can follow the declining Communist International Movement. You know Yes, now that there are not many communist countries left, does the Soviet Union want to lose its last ally?"

"Is this a threat?" Yanayev continued to ask.

"No, this is just my advice."

Yanayev shook his head. It seemed that the other party was just as lucky. He looked at Dumei calmly, like looking at a fool with disdain, "The Soviet Union doesn't pay attention to ideology now, you know? Communism Whether it is a country or a capitalist country, as long as the two parties have common interests, we are allies, understand?"

Du Mei was momentarily at a loss for words. This was Big Brother's personal denial that ideological struggle is no longer the top priority. Could it be that the socialist camp is really about to change?

"Just like our arms sales with China, we can come together because both sides have the same interests and needs. The country has never had a pure friendship before, only a relationship of interests. In this regard, I hope you, as a small country, I can see it better."

This time Yanayev even completely denied the revolutionary friendship between the Soviet Union and Vietnam, just like a nobleman who took off his hypocritical mask, revealing the evil temperament that the five hooligans should have.

"You don't need to rush to threaten me. To put it bluntly, now I can betray you for the benefit of China and the Soviet Union, believe it or not? I still have a lot of destroyers and frigates in my arsenal. Do you not believe that the Vietnamese navy can operate unscrupulously in the Nansha Islands?"

"This..." Du Mei, who has been stealing chickens and losing rice, is a little panicked now. If he really offends the Soviet Union and increases the strength of the other party's and China's arms sales of ships, then Vietnam will completely lose on the South China Sea issue. sovereignty.

"So now, Comrade Dumei, do you still have the qualifications to bargain with me?" Yanayev raised his legs and said casually, "One thing a small country needs to understand is to know its weight. Don't learn from North Africa. The leader of a certain country is talking nonsense, saying that the actions of the Chechens are just, and that our Soviet Union is a dictator. He also offended all the people who should not be offended. Don’t say I didn’t predict it, he finally taught the lesson But it is very tragic. Does Comrade Dumei also hope to follow in his footsteps?"

"Don't dare, dare not." Hearing such a weighty threat, Du Mei was already in a cold sweat. He thought he could blackmail the Soviet Union in exchange for benefits, but now he realizes that he has no weight to bargain with Yanayev.

"By the way, I am very satisfied with this attitude." Yanayev said, "Since you are all customers, I can't embarrass you. There is no military aid, but there is arms sales. We are selling some T72s recently. Tank, if you are interested, we will sell it to you at the right price."

Hearing this, Du Mei was also excited. The last batch of tanks bought during the disarmament of the Soviet Far East were second-hand goods from the regular Russian army, and their quality was much better than the foreign trade version of the T72.This time, if a batch of original versions can be purchased at a preferential price, it will greatly enhance the strength of the Vietnamese armored division.

"Is it the official version?" Du Mei asked excitedly, rubbing her hands.

Yanayev poured cold water on him without hesitation, "No, it's our foreign trade version. But in terms of price, it can be favored."