"Ah... ptui!"
Victor spat a thick gob of phlegm onto the dew-soaked grass, then pulled out a clean handkerchief to wipe his lips clean. With that done, he lifted his foot and vigorously rubbed the spot with his shoe sole.
The sun had just risen above the dense jungle, casting a misty glow over the river, where faint rays created a subtle rainbow in the bay. After nearly a week of recuperation, Victor's body had mostly recovered, aside from a stubborn sore in his groin and some discomfort in his left leg, causing a dull ache when walking.
His warhorse, Sergei, stood beside him, a tuft of white mane buried in the grass along the riverbank. Chewing on tender green leaves with slightly yellowed teeth, Sergei occasionally snorted.
Victor patted the strong, muscular neck of his loyal companion and offered him a half-eaten apple, watching as the old friend took it into his mouth. With that, Victor turned and headed up toward the riverbank.
This morning marked Sergei's final morning with Victor. Soon, he would return this horse, who had followed him for two years, to the cavalry regiment. Victor had received a new assignment, no longer serving in the cavalry.
In this damned country, everything was so astonishing. The same person could face execution one moment and then escape it the next, even receiving a promotion. Like Victor, who had inexplicably dodged a firing squad this time, and then, without doing anything, received a new appointment from the State Committee for Internal Affairs.
According to the Committee's orders, the mission was clear: to enhance the state security organization's capabilities in Chepchankovo forest area, known for Polish enemies and armed traitors. Chepchankovo would establish a national security bureau under the State Committee for Internal Affairs, responsible for coordinating police, border troops, and forest guards to suppress guerrilla fighters active in the area over the next three to six months.
Just discharged from the sickbed, Victor was promoted from Senior Sergeant to Second Lieutenant, appointed as the first director of the Chepchankovo National Security Bureau. The reasons for his appointment were twofold: first, his frontline experience combating guerrillas over the past two years; second, he had not bowed to the "saboteurs led by Bogdan," upholding Bolshevik party principles and passing the test.
However, Victor knew the real reason himself. In the past week alone, Chepchankovo had sentenced and dismissed more than just Bogdan. Over ten people from the modest Police Directorate had lost their jobs, some directly dismissed, others sentenced or executed. His own escape was purely coincidental; had he not avoided execution and been thrown into a watery dungeon, his fate might not have been much better.
Nowadays, the entire State Committee for Internal Affairs had a prevailing theme: anyone who was rehabilitated during Yezhov's era must be purged, while those persecuted during that time could be promoted and utilized. Victor, rescued from the water dungeon, clearly fell into the latter category.
Standing on the riverbank, Victor adjusted his military cap. His old hat had been replaced with a new blue one, adorned with a red band—a type exclusively worn by the State Security Directorate under the State Committee for Internal Affairs in today's Soviet Union.
Do not underestimate the significance of this hat. According to the March order issued by Lev Zakharovich Mehlis, Deputy People's Commissar for Defense and Chief of the Red Army Political Administration, the rank and benefits awarded to personnel within the State Security Directorate of the State Committee for Internal Affairs were two ranks higher than equivalent ranks in other departments.
In other words, Victor's current rank of Second Lieutenant was equivalent to a Captain in the military, with corresponding privileges. Moscow issued this order for two main reasons: firstly, Beria exerted the greatest effort in purging the State Security Directorate, which now faced severe staff shortages. Secondly, the Directorate's expanded responsibilities required granting additional authority for effective operations.
Over the past two years, the Soviet Union's security situation had deteriorated significantly due to the Great Purge. Organized crime and foreign influence had combined to pose a serious threat to national security in Moscow, Leningrad, and elsewhere. Therefore, since Beria took over the main responsibilities of the State Committee for Internal Affairs, he insisted that addressing security issues solely through the Police Directorate was insufficient. It was necessary to elevate security measures to the level affecting national security, hence the need to enhance the authority of the State Security Directorate.
Take Chepchankovo as an example. As the newly appointed head of the National Security Bureau, Victor, with his rank of Second Lieutenant, could mobilize police, border troops, and militia to cooperate in their efforts. Moreover, he could request intelligence and covert political support from higher-level national security departments.
In short, the sole objective of all this work was to significantly improve the security environment in the short term, which was also the core spirit of Comrade Stalin's speeches in March.
Not far from the riverbank, a semi-new GAZ jeep was parked. A young man, also wearing a blue cap, stood beside it, carefully polishing his high-top leather boots. These boots, like Victor's, were made of deer leather—a step up from the pig leather boots Victor had been issued before.
Gazing at the vast grasslands not far away and the horses galloping on the field, Victor walked back casually towards the jeep.
"Comrade Commander, are we heading back now?" the young man asked cheerfully as he saw Victor approaching.
This young man was Valenka, the only person Victor had brought with him from the Police Directorate, now serving as his guard.
Since the military rank reforms of 1935, the title "Comrade Commander" had been established within the Red Army system, allowing junior officers and above to be addressed by their subordinates as such. While not mandatory, it had been adopted by many within the military.
Valenka, having heard this title somewhere, now used it as well.
"Let's go back," Victor said casually as he climbed into the car, leaning against the somewhat stiff seat.
"Got it!" Valenka replied cheerfully, sliding into the driver's seat. He started the car, made a turn, and drove straight towards the direction of the small town.
A new position meant new tasks. The sudden promotion wasn't given without reason; the appointment orders were detailed. Victor had to eliminate the active guerrilla forces in the Chepchankovo forest within the next three to six months. Failure was not an option, as it would have dire consequences for him.
Eliminating guerrilla forces in the Chepchankovo forest wasn't a simple task. There were not just one but several groups, ranging in size from a few to dozens of individuals. Some were poorly armed with only knives and spears, while others were well-equipped and experienced, comprising mainly of ex-Polish regular army personnel with military support from Poland.
In the history of World War II, Poland was seen as a victim of Western appeasement policies—a tragic figure deserving sympathy in Western history books. However, in reality, Poland itself wasn't blameless. Before its partition by Germany and the Soviet Union, it had expanded opportunistically, annexing parts of Lithuania and Czechoslovakia and joining Germany's "Anti-Comintern Pact," creating tension along the Soviet-Polish border.
For Warsaw, ambitions and territorial claims continued eastward, aiming to annex all of Ukraine and Belarus, pushing its borders close to Moscow. Thus, from the end of World War I to the present, Poland's harassment of Eastern Ukraine and Belarus had never ceased, with most separatist forces in these regions receiving support from Poland.
To Victor, the first issue in tackling the guerrillas in the forest was cutting off their supply lines. This logistical support mainly involved food and weapons.
Weapons and ammunition were likely sourced from within Poland. Considering the complex geographical terrain near Chepchankovo, the Poles must have had secret transport routes for smuggling weapons. Therefore, the primary task now was to uncover these secret supply routes and cut them off completely.
As for food supplies, this issue was more complicated. Due to the violent methods employed during the collectivization of farms, centrifugal tendencies remained strong in Eastern Ukraine. Guerrillas could easily obtain the necessary food from local residents.
In response, Victor planned to propose strict food accounting policies in the surrounding areas of the Chepchankovo forest, especially within the thirteen collective farms scattered throughout the region. Every surplus from every household, be it a single ear of corn or a handful of wheat, needed to be meticulously recorded and monitored.