Chapter 21

The current situation can be vividly described with a metaphor: the large-scale military operations in the Transcaucasus Military District are like Sherov facing a single combat with an opponent who always provokes him, and he must keep one hand in his pocket to show fairness. This makes things fair for the Red Army, but where is the fairness for their military administration?

"The appearance of such a problem indicates a very serious situation; you can't just stand by and do nothing! You are also a part of the KGB; where is the mistake in us maintaining national security?" Sherov hoped to make some effort through personal connections.

In response, Igor took a puff of smoke. The composed General Igor spread his hands and said, "I received an order from the Chairman. I understand your painstaking journey to the Caucasus and am very willing to help you! But Chairman Serov's strict order absolutely forbids me from handing over the internal troops to you, to let you parade in front of General Galitsky!" He paused and continued, "Yuri, don't count on support from the Border Guard Bureau, or the Secret Police Corps. If I'm not mistaken, the Chairman must have already spoken to the heads of those departments..."

"It was I who recommended you to come to the Caucasus, and this is what you tell me?" Sherov expressed his disappointment with an exaggerated expression, mainly because he was not prepared for this setback. It was the first time in years that he had been tripped up, and the source was none other than KGB Chairman Serov?

But there was one thing Serov was right about: how did he know that Sherov was indeed preparing to conduct a purge in the Transcaucasus Military District?

"Yuri, the border has been sealed! We can be sure that the deserters have not fled abroad, and we can determine their general route. Under normal circumstances, we can definitely catch them. Listen to my advice and return to Moscow!" General Igor advised with a friendly tone, "Don't always use aggressive methods to solve problems. Shall I help you arrange a ticket back to Moscow..."

"I'm not leaving! I will stay here even without support!" Sherov showed no gratitude, "I request ten platoons of internal troops to assist us in the operation. You can see that I brought ten people, all of whom are model soldiers from other units. I want these model soldiers to lead the search and capture operation..."

This doesn't seem to be a problem, right? Just participating in the search and capture? General Igor felt that participating in the search and capture could be vague enough to circumvent Serov's strict order. "Alright, but you must stay here and not act with the search and capture forces!" Finally, General Igor reluctantly agreed to Sherov's request.

"Enough talk, we haven't eaten yet!" Forgive Sherov for being so direct; the quality of the food on the train was not even as good as the KGB canteen.

"Alright, let's eat first!" Igor was now in a truly miserable mood, truly feeling the weight of authority.

Sherov gave a political and ideological talk to the elite soldiers he brought, essentially saying that the involved soldiers had been influenced by imperialism and were now traitors. They should be captured if possible, and if not, they should be shot on the spot.

"These soldiers lack the political awareness to distinguish between friend and foe. This search and capture operation will be recorded and will remain in your files! Do you have the confidence?" Sherov concluded the nature of the operation.

"Glory forever to the great Soviet Union, hurrah..." This was the oath of the Soviet Red Army, and these people used it to express their stance.

If oaths were useful, this wouldn't have happened. The two fugitive soldiers had also taken this oath. Sherov had wanted to take drastic action because the underground magazine he discovered was in Turkish, and the two soldiers were Turkmen. The current Turkish language is based on the Latin alphabet, but these two soldiers could recognize it, which made him realize the severity of the situation.

Just as a thief is rarely caught the first time they steal, the problem discovered this time had likely been around for a long time, but was only just discovered.

"Turks, do you really want to draw my attention? This is not good for you! Be careful, Constantinople might return to the Greeks!" Information about Turkey flooded Sherov's mind, eventually narrowing down to four key points: Kurds, Greeks, Syrians, and Armenians. These were all nations and ethnic groups with deep-seated enmity towards the Turks.

Leaving the headquarters of the internal troops in the Caucasus region, Sherov entered the KGB General Hospital in Georgia, where the injured colleague from the military administration was recuperating. "How is the situation? Will he survive?" Sherov stood at the door without entering, asking the doctor about the patient's condition.

"One bullet hit the lower abdomen, and another hit the arm! There is no longer any danger to his life!" the doctor explained, "But as you know, a hit from a TT33 pistol at close range causes significant damage. The patient will need to stay in the hospital for at least three months, and it's uncertain whether he will have any long-term effects like a decline in physical condition after six months of recovery. To be honest, the patient's physical condition is only average."

"I understand!" Sherov coldly interrupted the doctor and turned to Isayev, "Let the office take a three-month paid leave, and extend it to a half-paid leave for another three months based on the recovery. As for medical and food expenses, these are standard benefits and don't need my personal attention!"

General Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky, the commander of the Transcaucasus Military District, was one of the most powerful figures in the Soviet Red Army outside the Ministry of Defense. However, he had been somewhat irritable lately. The shooting incident involving KGB personnel had brought a person who even made him nervous, and he hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days. Fortunately, that Caspian Tiger was staying at the headquarters of the internal troops and hadn't come over.

Early in the morning, as General Galitsky pushed open the door to his office, he saw a very young major general sitting in his chair, and his secretary was being held at gunpoint by two women.

"General Galitsky, I've been waiting for you!" Sherov, seeing the somewhat balding General Galitsky enter, slowly stood up and introduced himself, "Yuri Yefimovich Sherov, head of the military administration of the KGB, ranked third internally, with the rank of major general! General Galitsky, I'm sure you've already heard about my arrival from Kuibyshev, so you shouldn't be surprised to see me here..."

"This is my office, you have no right to come in here; there are many military secrets here!" General Galitsky said somewhat agitatedly.

"Of course, I have the right!" Sherov wagged his finger, "The entire Red Army system should have no secrets from the military administration. I am the head of the military administration, and I can go wherever I want, from the Ministry of Defense to the General Staff, or even your military district headquarters, it all depends on whether I want to come..."