Chapter 3234 This Should Be Our Last Meeting

After sending off Wittmann, who came to visit and receive orders, Malashenko had one last thing to do before the exercise began, something he had to do himself.

Standing at the checkpoint intersection at the border between East and West Germany, Malashenko, who was waiting with a group of senior generals from the East German group, could not help but feel a little emotional.

Recalling the past and some things that happened here a long time ago, Malashenko spoke quietly with a flood of memories.

"Every time I get to this point, I think, if Comrade Political Commissar could still go with us."

""

Lavrinenko, who was standing next to him, of course understood the meaning of Malashenko's words, and could empathize with them.

He also spoke with the same emotion of thinking about the past.

"You inherited his legacy and have been with him all the time. If the political commissar knew what you have achieved today, believe me, he would be proud of you, especially because you have never lost yourself in the past ten years."

""

Being tempted by power and going astray, he went against his original ideals and embarked on a road of no return.

Malashenko has indeed experienced too many temptations, but he has never wavered from beginning to end, not only because of his firm belief and never forgetting what has happened in the past, but also because he has never been alone from beginning to end.

"Don't think too highly of me. I didn't get to this point by myself. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be like this today."

"Well, you did tell the truth, but - wait, is there someone coming from the other side?"

Lavrinenko, who was chatting happily with Malashenko, looked up and found that a large convoy had slowly approached the opposite side of the checkpoint. The person in the leading car who was sticking his head out of the co-pilot seat and waving to greet him was unusually familiar.

It's not that I see him every day, but I often see him in newspapers and magazines.

It was Jack Morrison, a four-star general of the US Army who had been in the position of NATO's joint forces and the commander of US forces in Europe for seven years and had not moved.

In the past few years since Malashenko took office as the commander of the East German cluster, Jack Morrison and his neighbors often visited each other and visited each other more than once.

Because of this, the war clouds hanging over Europe have dissipated a lot. At least the tense confrontation on the front line between the two Germany is no longer the norm, and the respective headquarters of both sides no longer have to study the issue of "whether it is a strategic misjudgment" all day and waste time.

But on the other hand, it was the first time for Jack Morrison to be invited to visit the live-fire confrontation military exercise between the Soviet Army and the East German troops.

Not even Jack, the entire NATO can only rely on guessing about this level of military exercises. So far, it is still at the level of imagination, foggy and unaware of the truth, anxious but helpless.

Therefore, when Jack received the invitation from Malashenko, he was overjoyed and immediately replied in agreement. Then he quickly organized a large-scale observation group with many generals to visit.

Now he met Malashenko again under the Berlin Wall and at the border checkpoint. Jack, who was in high spirits, grinned as soon as he saw Malashenko.

"Long time no see, General Malashenko. I am honored to be invited to observe the confrontation exercise between the two top armies in the world. Please allow me to express my gratitude to you again. Thank you very much!"

Just like any meeting in the past.

Jack, who is very different from traditional soldiers, never regards things like face as something precious.

As long as the situation allows and the occasion requires, Jack can take off his face and press it on the ground as a footcloth anytime and anywhere, as long as it can help him achieve his goal and is beneficial to him.

Similar to this are false reputation, experience, and even honor. Nothing can be abandoned. The only problem is whether the "cost-effectiveness ratio" is appropriate. That's all.

This characteristic is rarely seen in military personnel, and it is even rarer at the level of generals.

Malashenko knows what kind of people this characteristic is closely related to. Generally speaking, we call this kind of people "politicians".

It can only be said that Jack is a frequent visitor to Capitol Hill and has been able to get to where he is now. This is indeed for a reason, and it is not just because he has a background and a backstage.

Only by doing what ordinary people can't do can you achieve what ordinary people can't.

Malashenko fully understood this in Jack. In addition to shaking hands and laughing with his former student, he also greeted him with those meaningless greetings.

As the saying goes, "You don't know until you see it, and you will be shocked when you see it."

After a brief greeting with Jack, Malashenko looked around and behind him, and then he found that there were three lieutenant generals and six major generals in the convoy. The number of brigadier generals was no less than that. As for the colonels below, they were almost guards.

A colonel didn't even have the qualifications to stand in the front row, and could only follow behind his own generals.

Thinking that Jack had emptied the entire NATO headquarters and the European military headquarters and brought the whole family, Malashenko, although surprised, did not show it, and then spoke.

"The exercise is scheduled for tomorrow morning. If it is convenient, we'd better set off now and go to Dresden to prepare. The participating troops have already entered the scene and are ready. Do you have any questions?"

Jack, who was just waiting to see the good show, couldn't wait for it. When he heard Malashenko's words, he didn't even think about it and answered directly.

"Of course, all preparations are in place. We came here just because we were ready. Please lead the way, General."

Seeing this, Malashenko didn't say much nonsense, raised his hand and gave an order and then led the team to set off.

Using our own convoy, we led the NATO convoy all the way to the suburban airport and boarded the already prepared special plane.

In order to dispel their concerns and avoid causing unnecessary trouble, the generals of NATO and the Soviet Army specially flew in two special planes.

In fact, this was also specially arranged by Malashenko in advance. He really wanted to stuff all the NATO guys into one plane. If something happened to crash, he would reimburse one general, three lieutenant generals, and more than a dozen people in one go. A Major General.

That’s really hard to explain. The world will end tomorrow.

After boarding the plane one by one, Malashenko and Jack took the same special plane. The two sat side by side and felt the lifting sensation when the passenger plane took off the ground. It was not until this moment that Jack, who looked quite mysterious, smiled and moved closer to the plane. Next to him, Malashenko whispered quietly.

"I will leave office next month and return to China. This should be our last meeting in Europe."

"Huh? You want to leave?"

With a frown and a calculated thought, Malashenko, who just happened to follow the words, asked immediately.

"Let me guess, you are going back this time to find another job?"

Jack nodded slowly with a smile on his face.

"The list of candidates for the new Joint Chiefs of Staff has come out, and they recommended me to sit at the front. In fact, I am not that interested in this position."

""

The position of co-holder of the highest military attache of the Empire's armed forces is nothing in your eyes, Jack?

Malashenko, who was wondering what this guy was interested in, asked again, and the answer he got was still just a simple sentence with Jack's smile.

"I wish there was a top office in the Pentagon just for me. I'm tired of military life and it's time to sit in politicians' offices."

"Maybe after bidding farewell to this new position, I can realize my dream one day. I hope that by then we can still look at each other in the same position."