At two o'clock in the afternoon, Qin Chuan walked into Paulus's office.

Paulus was flipping through the documents, with two staff officers standing beside him.

At first, Qin Chuan's appearance did not attract Paulus's attention. Perhaps it was because he focused on the contents of the file or was thinking about something in his mind, so when Qin Chuan stood up and reported to him, he just nodded habitually.

It was not until two minutes later that the staff member bent down and whispered to Paulus's ear.

For some reason, Qin Chuan found that the staff officer's expression and behavior were very similar to Paulus.

Paulus came to his senses. He raised his head and looked at Qin Chuan, then got up and shook hands with Qin Chuan, and said, "Sorry, Major. I'm glad to see you!"

"So too, sir!" Qin Chuan stepped forward to respond.

Then Paulus enthusiastically invited Qin Chuan to sit down on the chair next to him and said, "Major, I have heard a lot of stories about you, or legends, so I have long hoped to meet you, but they told me that the battlefield cannot be separated from you, so it has been postponed until now..."

"This is my honor, sir!"

"You performed very well, Major." Paulus continued: "Especially breaking through the defense line of the enemy's 64th Army to create conditions for our army to cross the Don River, and to go deep into Stalingrad to burn their extremely important factories... I can say without exaggeration that these are really a stroke of magic, worthy of the name of the "Legendary Sergeant"!"

"Thank you, sir!" Qin Chuan replied.

Paulus took the two glasses of wine handed over by the staff officer and handed Qin Chuan a glass: "Major, you know, the Battle of Stalingrad is now in a stalemate. You just left there, maybe you know better than me!"

"Yes, General!"

"So..." Paulus said: "I think talents like you should play a better role in higher-level command organizations than on the frontlines. For example, my staff, they are looking for someone like you who have rich practical experience from the battlefield and have a lot of ideas. What do you think?"

Qin Chuan was stunned when he heard this.

He had made several speculations before this, such as Paulus wanted to seek some opinions or praise officers like him who performed well on the front line to show his encouragement to the front line soldiers, just like Rommel did in the African Legion. But Qin Chuan didn't expect Paulus to let him serve as a counselor.

Just as he was stunned, Qin Chuan quickly thought about it.

Paulus's words may be correct, and Qin Chuan may be more effective in the staff position.

But the problem is... there is a competitive relationship between the 6th Army and the 4th Armored Army, so although the transfer between troops is normal, this is suspected of poaching.

On the other hand, Paulus actually did not have much autonomy in the entire battle... This may be because Paulus had no courage, or because of Paulus's growth experience, he acted completely according to Hitler's orders and intentions in command, and even the mobilization of troops was no exception.

(Note: Paulus has experienced many setbacks and failures since childhood, which makes him talented but not confident enough in character and not decisive enough)

Such a commander is actually more like a puppet, and the real commander is Hitler, who is in charge of the Ukrainian "wewolves" castle.

Therefore, Qin Chuan was afraid that when he came here, he would not only not have any effect, but he would even be deprived of his autonomy and voice on the frontline.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan replied: "Sorry, General! I think I am more suitable for the battlefield, because I always think of a certain strategy on the battlefield. If I keep me in the office and deal with a lot of intelligence or documents, I am afraid I am not much different from an idiot!"

Qin Chuan's answer seemed to be beyond Paulus' expectations. He nodded in understanding. Instead, the staff officer next to Paulus looked disappointed.

"So, Major!" Paulus raised his cup and sang at Qin Chuan, saying, "I can ask, do you have any ideas about the current situation in Stalingrad?"

Qin Chuan shook his head helplessly and replied: "Sorry, General! I think... unless we can seize the Mamayev again, we can only push forward step by step! The Soviets have made up all their gaps and are familiar with the style of urban warfare!"

"We have an idea!" Paulus looked up at the staff officer beside him. The staff officer understood and immediately spread a map in front of him.

"Look at this..." Paulus pointed to a point on the Volga River and said, "The Soviets had a hydropower station here. Our idea was to send air forces to blow up the dam. Do you think this is feasible?"

"This will not help the war we won't know, General!" Qin Chuan shook his head: "The reason is that the terrain of the northern industrial zone in Stalingrad is relatively high, and the 'Red Barrier' artillery factory is even 200 meters above the river surface. Even if we blow up the dam, it will not pose a threat to the northern industrial zone!"

"But we will at least flood the main city to the south, right?" Paulus opposed.

"It's true!" Qin Chuan replied: "But what can it be? They can temporarily transfer their troops to the northern industrial zone and return to the main urban area to defend after the flood recedes. In this way, they can even control more areas, but we have to start over because we want to avoid the flood instead of not withdrawing. What's more... Stalingrad will be muddy because of the flood, which is obviously not good for us who have more tanks!"

Paulus nodded slightly, glanced at the staff officer beside him with a deep meaning, then stood up and shook hands with Qin Chuan and said, "Thank you very much, Major. I will seriously consider what you said. Although it is a bit unnecessary, I still remind you that no one can know what we said!"

"Of course!" Qin Chuan replied.

"Then..." Paulus took Qin Chuan to the window, lifted a little black curtain, pointed to a house more than a hundred meters away and said, "Did you see that white house?"

"Yes, General!"

"Actually that's the main reason why I asked you to come here!" Paulus said: "Col. Conrad is waiting for you there!"

Qin Chuan couldn't help but say "Oh", and at the same time he felt a little surprised. If Conrad wanted to see him, why didn't he go to the battlefield and called himself to this place more than a hundred kilometers away.

"I'm glad to see you, Major!" Paulus shook hands with Qin Chuan again: "I will arrange a plane back for you!"

"Thank you, General!" Qin Chuan saluted Paulus, then turned around and walked out of the command center.

Before I could walk a few steps away, I heard someone catching up from behind and shouting, "Wait, Major!"
Chapter completed!