Novel Full Chapter 106 Unexpected Gains
Half an hour later, Vasily checked the confession record in his hand and looked up at Wang Zhong, saying, “22 pages, I’ve tried to be as concise as possible, but he nearly confessed to what color underwear the Huntsmen Corps’ commander wears every day.”
Pavlov came over to Vasily’s side and took the thick record to start flipping through it.
Meanwhile, Popov asked, “Why the sudden change of heart, such a detailed confession? Could it actually be a bunch of fabricated fake information?”
Vasily, now with nothing to do as his record was taken away, joked, “Our general has divine inspiration, the information about your sneak attack came to him in a dream! You can’t fool the general with your fabrications.”
Wang Zhong felt bitter inside: How the hell would I be able to tell? This stuff definitely needs to be given to the intelligence department for cross-referencing to confirm its authenticity.
But on the surface, he put on an inscrutable facade.
The captain, named Franz, hesitated for a few seconds and asked, “I heard that everyone confesses when interrogated by the Judge.”
Wang Zhong, “Yes, indeed, they can even make dead bodies speak.”
Wang Zhong’s original intention was to reference the famous KGB gag about making the dead speak, but realizing that his words had turned the captive’s face pale, he quickly clarified, “That was a joke, the Judge obviously can’t make the dead speak.”
The Prussian prisoner’s face grew even paler.
Wang Zhong thought for a moment and decided not to explain, as the more he did, the worse it seemed, and chose to wait and see what the prisoner would disclose.
The captain began to speak, “I’ve actually been hesitant for a long time. We once rescued many of our comrades in a building where the Judge’s forces were stationed. They all wished for us to kill them because the Judge completely disregarded the Geneva Conventions.”
Popov, “We abide entirely by the conventions with ordinary soldiers, but officers are different. Officers know too much, and if they withhold information, we see that as complicit with espionage. Conversely, as long as the officers cooperate, they’ll also receive convention-compliant treatment.”
The captain retorted, “You wouldn’t easily confess to your ally’s intelligence if you were captured, would you? Have we treated your prisoners that way?”
Popov, “Yes, in fact, our captured officers have generally been subjected to inhumane torture, according to reports from our underground organization, which has also rescued many officers. Everyone they saved is a witness. We’re just returning the favor—that’s what Ceres would say.”
The captain fell silent, clearly aware of the deeds of his own intelligence department and the imperial ministry, unable to defend himself with a clear conscience over such actions.
Wang Zhong, “Not only do you do this to officers, but you also mistreat ordinary soldiers and civilians! To be frank, invaders like you shouldn’t feign purity. I was originally planning not to keep a single prisoner, but considering the future, if you resist to the end because of my decision to take no prisoners, it would bring significant casualties to my soldiers.
“That’s why I’m giving your ordinary soldiers treatment in accordance with the conventions, but remember, I’m not at all fond of giving you this treatment; I despise you to the bone.
“However, if you can fully recognize the harm of Prussian militarism and truly reform and stand with the side of justice, I welcome you. In fact, many prisoners of war have already chosen to defect and are now working in tank factories. We’re even planning to host a sports meet for them!”
The captain stared intently at Wang Zhong, “A sports meet?”
Wang Zhong, “Yes, to enrich the leisure time of the liberated prisoners of war. We’ve also prepared a library and play music for them every day. I know well enough that Prussia considers dances like the tango decadent; here, they can listen to their heart’s content!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Vasily added, “They can even have dance-offs with the prison guards, and as far as I know, the guards are undefeated.”
Nonsense, ‘undefeated’ is achieved through knee-banging! What could the Prussians possibly compete with, goose-stepping?
The captain shook his head, “My reason tells me this should be a lie, but you speak in such a convincing manner.”
Wang Zhong shrugged and returned to the previous subject, “So, was it the fear of the Judge’s punishment that made you confess?”
“No!”
The prisoner shook his head.
“That’s not all. It’s a long story; I am a Junker noble, but I am not a proper Junker noble. I hardly spent much time living in the Junker manor—it was a small and dilapidated estate, and every summer when my parents went there, I always made a scene not wanting to go.
“It seems my parents also disliked the manor, entrusting it to the steward William, hiring just two laborers to work there, with the three of them maintaining its operations.”
Wang Zhong thought to himself that an “estate” that could be kept running by three people likely wasn’t much different from the rural compounds he had seen before his transmigration.
The prisoner continued, “My parents had jobs in the city; my mother was a family tutor for the duke’s family, teaching the duke’s daughter dance. My father was a clerk for the city government. Before the depression, their salaries were enough to maintain the estate and pay for my brother and me to attend school.
“But then the depression came.”
Wang Zhong thought to himself about the era when a loaf of bread cost 500,000 marks, noting that in this timeline, the new Emperor of Prussia had initiated top-down reforms, eradicating a large number of capitalists and merchants.
Pavlov spoke up, “Shouldn’t you be thankful to the emperor who led you out of the depression, serving your country loyally?”
The captive captain was silent for a few seconds before answering, “Perhaps I should be, but I really can’t find any love for the social class to which I belong. To save on tuition, my parents sent me to military school. There the old Junkers looked down on us and lumped us together with the children of commoners.
“The children of commoners resented us, and the kids from big cities even scorned us ‘country bumpkins.’
“When I finally graduated and joined the army, I encountered even more severe antagonism. The officers and NCOs berated those from similar backgrounds as me, calling them ‘pigs’ and punishing them with the harshest penalties. And I could gain no respect from the NCOs—for the reason that I had no batman.”
Wang Zhong, almost reflexively, glanced at Nelly, then asked, “So what you’re saying is, you had already been dissatisfied with the Prussian military?”
The captain shook his head, “It’s not that I’m dissatisfied, but seeing how united you are with your officers and soldiers, I can’t help but feel envious. Although you still have a duty soldier.”
Wang Zhong was greatly surprised, “How did you know that was my duty soldier?”
“I didn’t know, but if only one person can use a female duty soldier, then it must be you,” said the captain.
Wang Zhong looked at Popov.
Popov shrugged, “It’s a bit far-fetched, but it’s understandable to act this way in the face of the Judge’s intimidating interrogation and at the same time encountering an enviable situation. Of course, I can’t rule out that all of this is false information, which needs to be cross-checked.”
Pavlov said, “We might as well have the Judges work some overtime.”
A look of terror immediately flashed across Captain Franz’s face.
Wang Zhong replied, “Indeed.”
In truth, Wang Zhong’s only goal had been to get that edelweiss. That the captain had confessed was an accident; the man was on his way to the Judges anyway.
But once there, he probably couldn’t hope to get the edelweiss back, at least not in one piece.
He waved his hand, “Take him away. Make sure the Judges are strict, to ensure he’s telling the truth.”
The captain cried out, “No! I’ve told you everything already! No!”
Pavlov assured, “Don’t worry, for someone like you who has already confessed, the Judge will be gentle, I guarantee there won’t be any fractures or injuries worse than that.”
Not fracturing bones is considered gentle now?
Popov quickly said, “No, it’s not like that; for his kind, we’ll first cross-examine the things he’s confessed to. If he’s truly told us everything, we’ll stick to the conventions. Of course, we might then add a few questions that the Judges are more interested in, and offer you a bit of vodka.”
Wang Zhong frowned. The Ante People’s idea of “a bit of vodka” could probably get a brown bear drunk.
By the way, the Federation might have something like truth serum, but Ante had none; vodka was the best truth serum the Ante Judges had, and it was very effective.
It just sometimes resulted in the interrogation subject getting drunk to death.
After Popov’s comforting words, the captain looked even more uneasy. Wang Zhong gestured, and immediately two soldiers came over to escort him away.
Once he had left, Pavlov asked Wang Zhong, “You just wanted the edelweiss, right?”
Wang Zhong replied, “You know me well.”
Popov interjected, “Now that he’s confessed so much, if it’s all true, we’ve got the Prosen paratroopers completely figured out.”
Wang Zhong lamented, “Too bad it’s not the Brandenburg troops we have figured out.”
Pavlov said, “Alright, the threat from the paratroopers has been dealt with, you should go rest. I need some rest too.”
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Wang Zhong nodded.
Just then, two female pilots were led into the command post by guards.
Wang Zhong looked at them with curiosity, “Ladies, what brings you here so late at night?”
The major leading them pulled out a manila envelope, “Inside are the photos taken today, freshly developed, and they sent us to deliver them immediately. We’ve just finished tonight’s bombing and taken off again right after that.”
Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, “Nelly, prepare some supper for the two pilots, and they might want to take a bath too.”
As soon as the two pilots walked in, Wang Zhong had smelled the scent of engine oil on them.
The female major remarked, “You have a good nose, General.”
Wang Zhong smiled as he answered “Yes,” while opening the envelope, taking out the photographs, and beginning to look through them one by one, casually handing them to Pavlov after.
Popov stood next to Wang Zhong, peeking over his shoulder at the photos as well.
Suddenly, Wang Zhong picked out a photo and laid it on the table, “What’s going on here?”
Before the pilot could answer, Pavlov spoke up, “It should be the front of the 91st Infantry Army. It looks like the enemy is reinforcing the entire right wing of the Suhayaveli Front Army. It seems they plan to flank us and encircle our Army Group.”
Wang Zhong remarked, “Strange, they’re still trying to confirm whether our tanks are real or fake, yet they’ve reinforced their troops before the hunters have even moved out? Doesn’t that make the hunters and the recklessly charging Moravian Cavalry Troops look like clowns?”
Popov shrugged, “It shows that Vasily did a good job; the tanks looked real enough to deceive the enemy.”
Wang Zhong was impressed, “Send a telegram to the Bolsk Front Army immediately to ask when they’ll be ready! We’ve successfully attracted the enemy’s reserves!”