Chapter 23

Arriving with a fierce momentum and retreating in a dispirited manner, this phrase aptly describes Shcherbakov's recent trip to the Caucasus. Even a military man with rich counter-reconnaissance experience could not withstand the Red Army's blanket search. The final result of the massive manhunt was that Shcherbakov captured a fugitive who was almost skin and bones, while the other was shot dead on the spot.

The KGB may lack many things, but it certainly does not lack various types of shackles. For this typical case, Shcherbakov meticulously took out a fifty-pound integrated shackle, without even a key! This shackle would remain on the fugitive until his death.

At Tbilisi railway station, General Igor, the commander of the Caucasian Internal Troops, stood there to see off his friend. Watching the fugitive being pushed onto the train, he felt a sense of relief for some reason. If Shcherbakov were to use this as an excuse to make trouble, no one knew what the consequences would be.

"Do you seem very happy about my departure?" Shcherbakov asked with a puzzled expression. Don't ask him how he could sense General Igor's emotions; he himself didn't understand it, but he could feel it.

"How could that be? We are friends!" General Igor awkwardly patted the dust off his uniform, outright denying Shcherbakov's guess.

"Alright!" Shcherbakov didn't press the issue, instead using the short waiting time to reiterate, "The Caucasus region is too important, connecting to many forces in the Middle East. I don't care about the rest, but we must intensify our contact with the Kurds!"

General Igor raised his eyebrows and said with understanding, "Are you planning to stir up trouble in Turkey? Should we also contact the Greeks?"

"The Greek Communist Party can serve as our liaison channel with the Greeks! Even if we don't act now, we must be prepared to act!" Shcherbakov said, looking at the passengers who were about to board the train, "We can't just plan now? If we ever have the chance to dismember Turkey, we won't be caught off guard..."

The enmity between Russia and Turkey is as deep as the sky and the sea. From the day the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, it was destined that one of the Russian or Ottoman Empires had to fall to resolve this hatred. The conflicts between the two countries span religion, state, and ethnicity, with the Orthodox and Islamic heart of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire blocking the Russian Empire's access to the sea, and the struggle between Greater Slavism and Greater Turkism.

Compared to the enmity between Russia and Turkey, any so-called age-old grudges become trivial. Every time the Russian Empire grew stronger, it was accompanied by the Ottoman Empire's decline. Some say that over the centuries, for every two Turkish soldiers who died in battle, one was killed by the Russians.

"Calmly observe, and believe that we will wait for this opportunity? The territorial disputes in Syria, the territorial disputes between Greece and Turkey, the Kurdish independence movement! And the blood debt of Armenia, when these all erupt, what a splendid scene it will be!" Shcherbakov whispered to Igor, then extended his hand to clap.

Just before boarding the train, Shcherbakov stood at the train door and looked at Tbilisi, saying with a confident tone, "I will return, I will definitely return. The next time I come, I will solve all the problems at once..."

Upon returning to Moscow, Shcherbakov immediately went to the headquarters of the Main Military Administration, first held a meeting, then took a drawing class, completed his strength training, and went home to sleep. He planned to go to Lubyanka the next day to see what tasks Serov had arranged for him.

"I will be working in Ukraine in half a month, it's already decided!" Varya's words immediately made Shcherbakov's head pop out from under the sheets, saying drowsily, "So soon? I'll have to eat instant noodles again!" For Shcherbakov, the food he cooked was edible, but it didn't taste as good as instant noodles.

Instant noodles were a product that Shcherbakov had arranged for food factories to produce, but they didn't sell well in the Soviet Union. They did, however, sell well in countries like Japan and Italy, serving as a source of income for the KGB.

"Since the lady is going to Ukraine, let the husband show some affection!" The awakened Shcherbakov immediately wanted to follow his body's instincts, but Varya pushed him away and said with a slight smile, "No, I'm pregnant! If you want to risk losing your child, you can be reckless..."

Pregnant? How is she pregnant again? Why the "again"? This wasn't because they already had a daughter, as three months ago, when Varya's friend didn't come, the test results had given them false hope.

Alright! Shcherbakov immediately became obedient. In terms of respecting women, he believed he was quite considerate, "I'll see you off at the train station, and I'll bring two female agents to take care of and protect your safety! A wife who is too beautiful always makes one uneasy!" Yawning, Shcherbakov's head instantly disappeared back under the covers.

"Like a child..." Varya held the head on her chest with a loving smile. She didn't know why Shcherbakov always covered his head while sleeping, like a child lacking security. At first, she thought it was because he was lustful, but later she realized that Shcherbakov enjoyed the feeling of being held by her.

Only when Shcherbakov's figure appeared in the chairman's office did Serov, who had been worried about a time bomb, truly relax. Others solve problems by identifying and resolving them, but Shcherbakov's method was to destroy the root of the problem and then rebuild. In some issues, Shcherbakov's approach was more appropriate, such as when he directly increased the suicide rate in Italy.

But applying this method to domestic issues was something Serov couldn't accept. Since Shcherbakov became the head of the Main Military Administration, Serov thought his top subordinate had changed, but the results showed that this hope was just Serov's one-sided illusion.

"Send me to East Germany? What's going on there? Isn't that the First Directorate's responsibility? I should focus on my own job and build up the army!" Shcherbakov, upon hearing this news, shook his head like a windmill.

"I refuse!" Shcherbakov was quite uncooperative, not yielding at all because the other person was the chairman of the KGB.

"Why?" If it were anyone else, Serov would have made them understand what it means to respect leadership.

"My wife is going to work in Ukraine, and I need to be with her!" Shcherbakov's reason made Serov's face change instantly, and he barely suppressed his anger, "I'll give you half a month, and then you must go to East Germany..."

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