One Thousand Two Hundred and Three Powers of the Victor

When the German soldiers walked through the ruins with weapons and led the representatives of the Soviet Union who came to negotiate out of the front line of the two armies, the officers who were negotiating with the Soviet Union obviously lost their previous arrogance. They carefully passed every line of defense. , full of respect to these Wehrmacht soldiers stationed on the front line.

Then these Soviet officers were sent to a military truck and drove along the street that the German army had captured to the headquarters of the German Army Group A in the distance. The two jeeps were full of German soldiers, holding assault rifles and following behind, protecting these Soviet soldiers from reaching their destination safely.

Nothing happened along the way. The law and order environment in the Moscow area occupied by the German army is very good. Most of the area has been affected by the war, so there are not many locals living in it. There are tents set up on the street everywhere. The resting German soldiers wore vests or towels around their necks, looking at the cars driving on the road with curious eyes.

The wheels pressed against the crater filled with sand and then vibrated violently. After all, these German military off-road vehicles are not as good as luxury cars in terms of shock absorption. Their main function is to drive on rough roads. And reliable and trouble-free - Mercedes-Benz military vehicles are a good interpretation of the term military vehicles, durable and simple and cheap.

"Treasure your last chance, there is not much you can fight for." Jumping off the car, a German officer looked at the Soviet officers who were bending over from the truck and was about to jump off, and said in fluent Russian : "I don't know why you came here to negotiate with us at this time, but you should know that delaying time is useless."

"Mr. General... We cherish this opportunity for negotiation very much, and we have no intention of delaying the time. Because we really feel that we should end everything in front of us and end this meaningless war." The Soviet officer After jumping off the truck, looking at the German officer, he answered slowly.

Without waiting for the German officers who were stunned there, these Soviet representatives sorted out their clothes, and under the guidance of the guards of the Army Group A Command of the German Wehrmacht, they walked into the reception room next to Rundstedt's office. Several people went through a careful body search, and then waited for about ten minutes before Marshal Rundstedt walked into the room with the secretary and the chief of staff.

"Long live Führer Akado? Rudolf!" The guards standing at the door of the meeting room raised their arms when they saw the Marshal and others, saluting a standard Greater Germany salute. With their chins held high, they looked very energetic. This scene made the Soviet officers who had stood up in the room very embarrassed, because they didn't know whether to stand up and raise their hands, or pretend not to know, and continue to use their more accustomed handshake.

Lundstedt looked at the Soviet officer who was in a dilemma, and didn't mean to embarrass the other party. After all, the two sides are still in a state of war, and it seems a bit too hypocritical for the negotiators to follow the Romans. So the German Marshal waved his hand generously,

He said with a smile: "Nice to meet you, guests from Moscow. I am Marshal Rundstedt, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army Group A, and welcome to my headquarters."

His greeting made the embarrassed Soviet officers feel better immediately, so several of them nodded gratefully, skipped the detail of saluting the Germans, and quickly opened their mouths. Rundstedt of the Order of the Cross reported a news that stunned everyone present for a few seconds: "Your Excellency Marshal... not long ago, our leader, Comrade Stalin, committed suicide in his office... "

The air seemed to freeze all of a sudden, and even the not-so-obvious smile of the smiling Lundstedt was still on the corner of his mouth. Everyone fell silent, trying to digest this really shocking news. Lundstedt paused for a few seconds before continuing: "I am really sorry to hear this news... He is a very respectable opponent, and I personally want to have a good chat with him."

"I'm afraid, your idea can only come to nothing." The Soviet officer who was ordered to negotiate slightly lowered his head and sighed before continuing: "He has his insistence, and we can only accept it in great pain. The fact that he has already left...so we came here, hoping to represent the Soviet army guarding Moscow, and negotiate a ceasefire and surrender agreement with you and the surrounding German troops."

At this time, Lundstedt had recovered from the news that Stalin had committed suicide. Looking at the officers in front of him, he could only retreat and ask, "Oh? Now that Stalin is dead, how can Moscow The commander-in-chief in the city must be your Marshal Zhukov, right? Was he the one who gave the order to surrender?"

"Uh... Your Excellency Marshal, in fact, all the troops in the city are now under the command of Comrade General Konev... because, because, Comrade Marshal Zhukov has also followed in the footsteps of Comrade Stalin and left us forever." Although it was a bit difficult to speak, the Soviet military officers who came to negotiate reluctantly told the German military officers waiting across the negotiating table another news.

"..." All the German officers had the urge to swear - you said that you have held on to Moscow for such a long time, and that's all it took without reducing our losses. Suicide and martyrdom one by one? Even if you are really not afraid of death, you can't play so decisively, right?

Lundstedt suddenly had a feeling of being tricked by the other party. He sneered, then looked at the few Soviet officers in front of him, and said teasingly: "Aren't you joking with us? At that time, you told me that none of your senior commanders committed suicide?"

"Things, facts... In fact, that's the case... Your Excellency Marshal, not only Stalin but also Zhukov, including a chief of staff, three chiefs of staff and a dozen senior officers of the front army, have all committed suicide..." This The leading Soviet officer could only bite the bullet and say that he had no choice, because everything he said was true, and he was not allowed to change the slightest bit.

The whole venue fell silent again, and Lundstedt didn't know whether what the other party said was true. Because if all this is true, then the courage of the top Soviet leaders when the end came, really made Rundstedt admire it. Not everyone in this world has the courage to take their own lives, and it is already a miracle that there are so many high-level Soviet officials.

"So, that's why you came to surrender, right?" In the end, the chief of staff of Army Group A was the first to break the brief silence, and asked the Soviet negotiators on the other side: "Because those who insisted on fighting The commanders are gone, so you choose to surrender to us?"

"Yes! Although I don't want to admit it, this is indeed one of the reasons for our surrender." The Soviet officer nodded and answered the German chief of staff's question: "Our Commander Konev issued an order not to allow officers and Soldiers committed suicide and died for their country, so we have no choice but to come here and convey to you the things we want to surrender."

"God, this is really a sad story." Rundstedt shook his head, sighed and said: "Well, since you are now the plenipotentiaries of the Soviet defenders, tell me what you want What is the surrender condition?"

"Your Excellency Marshal! We want a decent surrender and leave the city where we are stationed. After all, we have fought bravely, so we should keep our honor." The Soviet representative said to Rundstedt: "So I ask for a lenient You, allow our officers to wear their own pistols, and the soldiers can keep their belongings, leave Moscow from the prescribed direction, disband on the spot after rest, and enjoy treatment different from prisoners of war."

He paused, and without waiting for Rundstedt to speak, he continued: "In addition, these soldiers and all officers will not be held accountable, nor will they be sent to concentration camps or prisoner-of-war camps... We have no threat at all, these hundreds of thousands of people have absolutely nothing to your army..."

"Oh, please allow me to interrupt you." Rundstedt stretched out his hand to stop the other party from continuing to chatter, then looked into the other party's eyes with great interest, shook his head and said: "These conditions you mentioned , As the highest front-line commander of the German army, I dare not agree to any of them!"

He stretched out his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and then slowly stretched out the first finger: "First, we have won this war, how should we treat the captives who surrendered in the encirclement? Our freedom!"

Then he stretched out his second finger and continued: "Second, the special warrant issued by the head of state only allows you to surrender unconditionally. The warrant stated very clearly that the defeated country is not qualified to raise conditions... I see. Is it?"

After saying this, Rundstedt glanced sharply at the Soviet officers in front of him. He was exercising the power that only a victor can have, and this power made him feel extremely comfortable all over. The other party swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and wanted to speak up to argue, but in the end he resisted not speaking.