USSR 1991

Page 290

He decided to first ask Plekhanov, the former KGB chief who had been in Moscow for many years.

When Plekhanov heard the news, he also showed surprise at first.But then he understood again, and said with a sigh of relief, "Yes, the salaries of Soviet officers are indeed very low, especially after the disarmament of the Soviet Union, when they discovered that the troops in the far African region could actually gain huge profits by controlling mines and resources , all the top military leaders in the country were shocked. Just like the CIA used some improper income from Southeast Asia and Colombia to increase its own funds, the KGB did not do less in these areas. If Yanayev hadn’t banned the army If it is forbidden to have anything to do with business operations, and if the salary of non-commissioned officers is increased, they will have gone to Africa as desperadoes."

"That is to say, Troshev and the others need money?" Minashvili seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

"It's not that they need money, it's that they need a lot of money. Putting such income in the country will definitely arouse Moscow's suspicion. The only possibility is that they need funds to carry out certain operations abroad. And I remember before Trosche Before the husband was transferred, a group of dismissed officers under him went to Mozambique, so it is not certain that they want to take a stake.”

Plekhanov's affirmative answer increased Minashvili's confidence, but in order to prevent the Soviet army from setting a trap, he hoped to be able to speak directly to Shamanov.

6Chapter 17 The Hell of Tbilisi

Shamanov agreed to meet Minashvili's request, but for the sake of caution, he refused the other party's request to go to the presidential palace for a talk, but chose to meet in front of an office building in Tbilisi.Under the agreement of both parties, a certain street in Tbilisi was very rarely attacked.But there is also a group of soldiers with live ammunition under martial law. On the one hand, there are motley Georgian Freedom Army, and on the other hand, the uniformed Soviet army. Both sides are wary of each other, for fear of being suddenly attacked by each other.

Shamanov was sitting in a BMP3 infantry fighting vehicle, and the soldiers around him handed him a loaded pistol.But Shamanov waved his hand and resolutely rejected the other party's kindness.

"Just in case, who knows what the Georgian army will think?" The soldier advised, "After all, sir, you are the number two in the 58th Army, and they may threaten you to negotiate with the Soviet army. If something goes wrong, we will None of them can be explained to Commander Troshev."

"No need, this will make the other party suspicious. I'll just contact Minashvili normally." Shamanov shook his head. Since he climbed to the position of deputy commander-in-chief, he must have made real achievements He took it down, so he naturally has a bottom line in his heart.

The soldiers helped Shamanov open the cabin door, and he came out of the narrow space with a bowed waist. After holding back in the crowded space for a long time, he stretched his waist long and stretched his lumbar spine.The vicinity has already been guarded by the Soviet army layer by layer, and there are snipers all over the roof. It is presumed that Shamanov's head may be targeted by no less than five snipers.

"What a dangerous negotiation." Shamanov put on his hat and walked slowly towards the center of the square, where Minashvili and a group of Georgian soldiers beside him were waiting for him to come.He made a gesture to evacuate all the guards behind him to a certain distance before making formal contact with Minashvili.

"Commander Minashvili, I'm Shamanov, deputy commander-in-chief of the 58th Army."

For the enemy, Minashvili didn't show much reaction, but just said hello indifferently.He had deployed enough snipers in nearby buildings to shoot Shamanov outright, killing both of them.

"I heard that you want to let us live?" Minashvili said deliberately, "I remember you said the same thing when you were negotiating with the Americans. But only one hour after the truce, you initiated the final The offensive caught the Georgian army by surprise, and if it wasn't for that war, we wouldn't have lost so badly."

Minashvili deliberately brought up this matter, just to tell Shamanov that the Soviet Union should not try to plot against them.

"Soldiers never tire of cheating." Shamanov originally wanted to light the cigarette in his hand, but he was worried that the other party would mistake it for a secret signal, so he gave up this idea.

"I won't talk nonsense anymore. Presumably our words have already reached your ears. If you are willing to pay 2000 million U.S. dollars or gold bars of the same value, we can be your way of life. Of course, this has to be done in secret. Let Moscow know, otherwise the heads of the three members of the Supreme Command will all be moved."

"I wonder why you guys take such a big risk and do this kind of thing?" Minashvili asked him.

"Benefits." Shamanov sneered, "Our wages are too pitiful to support a private war, so we need to save a sum of money quickly to get more benefits for us. You don’t need to know too much detail.”

Shamanov's words really fulfilled Plekhanov's conjecture.At this time Minashvili frowned, Gorbachev's capital chain is fully capable of paying the ransom.But if he was asked to come up with so much cash at once, Gorbachev would be penniless in an instant.

Seeing that the other party was still hesitating, Shamanov further urged the other party, "It's quite a good deal to buy your life with this money. Only 2000 million can guarantee the safety of you and Gorbachev. If you agree If so, three hours later, the ransom will still be paid at this place."

"What if we choose to refuse?" Minashvili asked the other party tentatively.

"If you refuse, then the Soviet army will lose patience. We will use rockets, long-range artillery, and bombers to move the entire presidential palace and the surrounding buildings to the ground. Listen to my advice, General Minashvili. Anyone I don’t want to see that kind of bad situation happen, and we also have the strength. At worst, the Soviet army will tear their faces and let the whole of Tbilisi be buried with you.”

"This is not intimidation, we are stating the facts." Shamanov's answer was understated, but what he said made Minashvili shudder.

"Really think that the Soviet army will care about civilian casualties? Don't be kidding, Moscow's order has come down, and they ask us to end the war as soon as possible, in a decent way. So that Moscow can declare to the outside world that our new Soviet army way of fighting."

"That is to say, after our meeting is over, the Soviet army will recklessly attack the Tbilisi presidential palace. Moscow wants to make this war a decent one, so we have no choice but to resort to rough methods. It's not possible If not, there are also Caliber cruise missiles that directly bombed the presidential palace. It’s just that the finishing work is more troublesome, and we may have to piece together Gorbachev’s fragments to confirm whether he was killed.”

Shamanov's domineering reply shocked Minashvili, and for a while he didn't know how to reply to the other party.

However, everything Shamanov said is true. The Soviet army can indeed bomb the presidential palace with cruise missiles, but only if it is confirmed that Gorbachev is hiding in the presidential palace. Now the Georgian army will bomb the presidential palace. It was heavily protected, and even the Soviet reconnaissance plane could not detect the traces of Gorbachev.For Moscow, where life is about to see people and death is about to see corpses, Shamanov naturally had to do everything possible to lure Gorbachev out of hiding.

As long as Gorbachev appears outside, he will never be able to hide from the eyes of GLONASS, AWACS and UAVs.

"So, is there anything General Shamanov wants to tell Gorbachev now?" Minashvili asked the other party.

Shamanov said flatly, "Of course, because our time is limited, so if I still can't see Gorbachev after three hours, there won't be the peaceful ending you hoped for."

"We will turn all of Tbilisi into a burning hell!"

Chapter 648 Evacuate the Presidential Palace

"Shamanov actually asked for 1000 million U.S. dollars in cash? Why didn't they grab it? These guys who took advantage of the fire are more damned than capitalists!" After hearing Minashvili's reply, Gorbachev suddenly jumped out of his chair. Standing up, handing over a ransom of 1000 million means that he will be penniless, because most of Gorbachev's property has been transferred to overseas accounts.His capital chain also comes from foreign banks.

"Three hours, the Soviet army only gave us three hours." Minashvili was a little disdainful that Gorbachev was still thinking about the funding issue, and he quoted Shamanov's exact words Tell Gorbachev truthfully, "If Shamanov doesn't see the 1000 million people after three hours, the Soviet army will bomb the entire Tbilisi, even if it burns the city to ashes and turns it into a massacre." The ruins will also find you."

"Crazy, crazy, just crazy." Gorbachev paced back and forth, apparently at this point, he still wanted to bargain with the Soviet army.

"Don't think about haggling, President Gorbachev." Minashvili had calmed down. He sat on the chair and raised his legs. He didn't care about the deafening explosion outside the window. He said slowly, "The Soviet army will issue another reward three hours later. Whoever can catch Gorbachev will receive a reward of 500 million US dollars, whether it is the Georgian rebels or the Soviet army, and there is no limit to life or death."

Troshev's move was so sinister that Gorbachev would die no matter if the ransom was paid within three hours or if the ransom was not paid after three hours.

"What?" Gorbachev stopped, lost in thought.Now what he has to consider is not the issue of bargaining with the Soviet army, but how to get out of this hell alive.

"I agreed to the $1000 million ransom. It's up to you to communicate with Shamanov. Make sure they open up a safe passage. Now I need to contact the CIA to resolve some matters at hand."

Gorbachev dialed Tenet and provided a secret communication number, and the line was immediately transferred to the Pentagon. Since the Soviet army began to attack Georgia, high-level Washington officials have been watching the situation in the conference room.When they got the call from Gorbachev, all looked somber.

"It seems that the battle has failed." Director Tenet, who was sitting on the side, said in a low voice. In fact, if the Soviet army hadn't completely changed the way of fighting this time, at least Georgia would not have lost so ugly.After only five days, there was a scene of defeat like a mountain.

Minister Perry turned his head and said to Tenet, "It seems that, as predicted by the CIA intelligence analysts, this is an unequal war, and the chances of Gorbachev's draw are very slim."

Even the American military observers shook their heads helplessly, and said to President Mario, "This is completely a replica of the Gulf War. It is impossible for Gorbachev's army to be an opponent of the informationized Soviet army. The Georgian Independence Army's The strength is slightly stronger than Saddam's army."

That's it, the next task is how to save Gorbachev from Georgia.Director Tenet has arranged for CIA agents to establish a temporary command system on the Turkish border, and has transferred the Marine Corps to Turkish soil in the name of Turkish-US military exchange, all to meet Gorbachev preparation.There was even an all-U.S. military team on the Turkish border.

"President Mario, this is Gorbachev."

On the phone, Gorbachev's tone sounded a little hasty, and the noise of explosions could be faintly heard, indicating that the situation Gorbachev was facing was already very dangerous, and he might fall miserably at any time.

"They are about to capture the presidential palace. We are now preparing to tear a gap in the weakest area of ​​the encirclement, and then flee towards Turkey. We hope that there will be troops to meet us! If we are one step later, we will not be able to escape .Now there seems to be a problem with the communication operations of the Soviet army, and the coordinated attack between the troops has stopped. This is our last chance."

President Mario replied, "No problem, President Gorbachev. We have arranged for the Marine Corps to support the border area. At the same time, we hope that you can tell us the escape route so that we can arrange personnel to respond."

"I will send you the detailed route later, please hurry, we may not last this night."

Then amidst the echoing busy tone, the Pentagon lost contact with Gorbachev.President Mario sat back on the chair with a dignified expression.He began issuing orders to Tenet and others.

"Gorbachev must be safely escorted to the Turkish border. Now he is the last card in our hands. Without Gorbachev, the situation will become more passive."

President Mario is equivalent to giving Tenet an order that Gorbachev must be brought out of the Caucasus alive.Tenet nodded. He had already arranged the manpower for this, and he was waiting for everything to be ready.

"We have coordinated with the Marine Corps. They are willing to try to go ten kilometers into the border to receive Gorbachev, and the Soviet Army has a CIA team in charge of blocking the pursuit. But President Mario, this time We are operating in their place, and if we do not handle it well, it may become an excuse for the Soviet Union to go to war at any time..."

"Of course I know, Director Tenet." President Mario interrupted him, "And I am willing to take full responsibility for this operation. After all, this is a risky gamble."

President Mario almost bet on Gorbachev during his next tenure. As long as Gorbachev can be rescued, it will be much easier to form and call for an anti-Soviet alliance in the future.

"Director Tenet, this mission does not allow us to fail."

Mario took a deep breath and said to the people around him, "If it fails, we may miss an opportunity to reverse the situation between the two sides. In other words, we must rescue Gorbachev, understand?"

"clear."