The cold weather still caused some obstacles to the actions of Zhongxia officers and soldiers. After the victory of the Kharkov Battle, all Zhongxia units except the Armored Group Army will gradually enter a state of rest and will not participate in new offensive operations.

The 31st Armored Group Army is still advancing towards the Dnieper River, which will be the beginning of next year's combat operations.

Therefore, while Zhukov, Vatutin, Khrushchev and others were busy preparing for a new stage of vigorous counterattack, Jiangdong invited Manstein, Guderian and Karl to dinner under the ruins of Kharkov

.

The three of them were all defeated generals, but Jiang Dong showed unusual respect for them.

There are several oriental dishes on the table in front of you, still steaming.

There's even a bottle of white wine by the table.

The three of them looked at Jiang Dong with doubtful eyes at the same time.

Jiang Dong smiled slightly, filled the wine glass himself, and then said in fluent German:

"Although the current situation is a bit embarrassing, we are all acquaintances. Don't worry about that. Come and have a taste of Eastern wine."

Kodong raised a toast, but only Karl agreed with him, while Manstein and Guderian remained silent.

When he was studying abroad in the Third Reich, Koto met both Manstein and Guderian, and the two sides even had many discussions about military ideas.

Jiangdong also helped a lot in the formation of the theory of blitzkrieg tactics.

Therefore, they are not strangers and are relatively familiar with each other.

"Ahem..."

Jiang Dong put down his wine glass with some embarrassment, looked at the two of them and said:

"Why, haven't Mr. Marshal and Mr. General come out of the war yet?"

"Or maybe you are not convinced and want to fight again?"

Manstein and Guderian were still looking at the dishes on the table without any reaction.

Jiang Dong didn't take it seriously and started to move his chopsticks, eating while saying:

"It's not easy to eat hot oriental dishes in this extremely cold plain of Eastern Europe. You have to cherish it."

"Do you know how many prisoners our army captured in this battle? Those are all soldiers under your command."

Jiang Dong picked up the wine glass and took a sip gently.

In this long cold night, the blazing white wine can warm the body and mind.

"I just took a rough look at the statistics of the results of the battle. There were more than 180,000 prisoners captured in this battle, including many generals. They are not treated as well as you.

There are also 20,000 to 30,000 wounded, and our army has also provided humanitarian treatment, but it is hard to say whether they will survive."

There were thirty to forty thousand corpses on the battlefield. Manstein and Guderian were completely defeated.

The expressions of the two began to change slightly, and Jiang Dong continued:

"Such a victory is not a hearty victory for our army. It is even a bit ordinary."

"Because our strengths are not on the same level. It's like an adult beating a child. Victory is inevitable!"

After all the words were said, Manstein and Guderian were still not angry.

Jiangdong said again:

"The military talents of both of you are obvious to all, and they are considered world-famous generals. The reason why you failed is because you did not know that the situation of the war has changed dramatically."

"The original war thinking is no longer suitable for war in the new era, at least not suitable for fighting our army."

"Of course there is a fundamental reason:"

"National strength!"

Manstein and Guderian showed thoughtful expressions as they were recalling Jiang Dong's words.

Both of them are pure soldiers and want to understand what war in the new era is.

But after thinking for a moment, they both shook their heads and smiled bitterly.

We are already a defeated general, so what is the point of thinking about this?

Guderian was the first to break the silence, looking away from the dishes on the table, and asked:

"What does your country plan to do with our group of prisoners?"

This is one of the issues that the three German generals present are most concerned about.

Jiang Dong smiled slightly and did not answer immediately, but raised his wine glass to signal.

This time Manstein and Guderian did not refuse, and the four wine glasses clinked lightly.

I grinned when I drank liquor, but after I drank the wine, I felt inexplicably warm.

"Chinese people's character is like this white wine, which is dry and strong but also warm. You have to slowly taste the charm."

Jiang Dong then replied:

“We gave these 200,000 prisoners two choices:

The first is to go to Zhongxia to participate in labor reform like the previous prisoners of the 6th Army."

Development in mid-summer has been on the fast track, and it is a time when there is an urgent shortage of labor.

"Secondly, we plan to use prisoners to form a brand new army to participate in future logistics, transportation support and public security maintenance tasks."

Mainly inspired by the Japanese naturalized army.

The naturalized army played a vital role in the occupation of Japan, and the General Staff planned to transfer the experience of Japan to the Eastern Front battlefield.

After the series of liberation wars began, the army would liberate many countries. However, the Central and Western Expeditionary Army did not understand the local customs and national habits, and could not unite the people like they could in local battles.

This requires an army composed of local people to play a role.

It is difficult for the people in this region to control their own destiny. Some join the German army and some join the Soviet army. The situation is very complicated.

This action of the General Staff was mainly for the future. When Jiang Dong received the report, his eyes lit up and he immediately agreed.

As long as they are not sent to dig potatoes in Siberia, both options are relatively easy to accept.

Manstein subconsciously thought about the intention of the Zhongxia people in providing a second option.

Jiangdong said:

"We are very humane towards the prisoners and do not treat all prisoners as heinous war criminals."

"Although it's a long way to the east, there is still a great possibility of returning to your country after the labor reform."

"If I go to Siberia, hehe..."

Manstein and Guderian breathed a sigh of relief, and the latter asked:

"So what are you going to do with us two?"

Jiang Dong put down his chopsticks, looked a little more solemn, and said:

"The same two choices, either serve as the commander of the newly formed army, or go to teach in a school."

There was shock in the eyes of the two of them. They didn't expect Jiangdong to give them two such good choices, and they drank another glass of wine excitedly.

Jiangdong gave them two days to think about it, and then they would start processing the prisoners of war in batches.

..

Warsaw, Governor's Palace of the Third Reich.

Frank, the top military and political commander in the troubled areas of the Third Reich, is listening to reports from his subordinates.

First it talks about the increasingly severe situation on the Eastern Front, and then it talks about the military and political affairs in the troubled areas.

"The blip on the radar appeared again yesterday, and it stayed over Warsaw for a while." The adjutant said:

"Our plane took off in an emergency and followed the radar guidance to search, but nothing was found."

Frank frowned,

"Again?"

“What do the equipment experts say?”

The adjutant replied:

"It should be some kind of ultra-high-altitude enemy reconnaissance aircraft. It flies very high and very fast. Our aircraft cannot climb to that altitude, so naturally it cannot catch up."

"Such a situation also happened over Berlin, and the high command was helpless."

Frank clenched his fists. The unknown is the most frightening thing. What is it that is flying over the head? It will come every now and then. Do you really think that Germanic people have no temper?

The adjutant sighed silently, and then began to report another matter:

"The guerrillas have become more and more rampant recently. They not only ambush our supply transportation lines, but also arrogantly attack the vehicles used by officers."

"We are getting bolder and bolder, and the problem is getting more serious. I'm afraid it must be dealt with."

As the highest military and political officer in the Bolan area, Frank naturally knows that the Bolan Home Army and the Patriot Alliance are constantly growing.

It's just that the elite troops originally responsible for public security in the Bolang area have been transferred to the frontline battlefield, leaving Frank with an extreme shortage of troops.
To be continued...