USSR, Belarus, outskirts of Minsk.

With a loud roar, teams of tanks tore through the calm of the snowfield and roared past.

These latest KTV tanks, in a phalanx, drove through the snow fields in a neat formation, running over brown traces.

Behind the phalanx of tanks was an equally large phalanx of cavalry, with a row of tall horses riding on the backs of elite cavalrymen wearing slender black cloaks. Their cloaks fluttered in the wind, revealing the sophisticated swords they carried at their waists, making them look strong and combative.

Behind the cavalry phalanx, there was an infantry phalanx transported by trucks, and these Soviet soldiers who had completed training in the rear, wearing fur hats and military coats, were revealing the majesty and pride of their ace troops all the time.

After that, a special convoy passed through the reserved passage to the right of the many phalanxes. On an armored car at the front of the convoy, a Soviet general reached out from the skylight and waved to the troops.

"Ulla! Ulla! The shouts came and went in an instant, shaking the snow on many small grasses in the snowfield.

The general nodded in satisfaction, and on his collar, the five stars lined up in a diamond shape were particularly dazzling.

As the commander-in-chief of the Western Military District of the Soviet Union, this general was the famous General Pavlov of the Soviet Army.

Because of his deference to the commander-in-chief, he was always Stalin's confidant.

If we say, in Germany, Reinhardt handed over his largest Sixth Army to his confidant Paulus.

Then, in the Soviet Union, Stalin handed over to his beloved general, General Pavlov, the Western Special Military District, which had the best level of equipment and personnel training.

Paulus in Germany was nothing more than the son of a Hessian clerk, known to the upper echelons by virtue of his status as the son-in-law of a Romanian nobleman.

Pavlov, on the other hand, was the commander of the Russian army as a natural commander during the Tsarist period, and later joined the Red Army in a righteous manner. And with his "ideological awareness" that is liked by the leader, he has been promoted all the way to the famous general.

Like Paulus, Pavlov was very humble and polite to his superiors. Of course, this is also the reason why leaders tend to prefer important people.

But the difference is that Paulus in Germany was indeed a very talented officer, and most of his work was done under the watchful eye of Reinhardt. Therefore, Reinhardt paid great attention to Paulus, and in 11 months, Paulus was promoted from lieutenant general to general, and handed over to the Sixth Army.

And what Pavlov is best at is not in the military formation, but in the military administration!

To outsiders, Pavlov may have been a rising star in the Soviet Red Army in recent years. Like Zhukov, who won the Battle of Nomenkan, Pavlov and Zhukov were respectively the commanders of the first two tank regiments of the Soviet Union.

And as the Germans demonstrated the power of the armored flood to the world, Pavlov and Zhukov followed this trend almost at the same time, and their positions and ranks rose all the way.

It's just that these two generals look down on each other very much.

Zhukov believed that Pavlov was at most worthy of being a division commander. And Pavlov felt that Zhukov would only use some crooked tactics and love to be clever.

"The Mars program led by Zhukov has not made much progress so far, right?"

Retracting from the sunroof, Pavlov asked the driver knowingly with a smug expression.

"Yes, General." The driver, of course, knew what Pavlov wanted to hear, and replied very intelligently: "Zhukov's cleverness took advantage of the Germans at the beginning." Now that its cleverness has run out, and the Germans have reacted, he, Zhukov, naturally, has nothing to do. ”

"You should call General Zhukov." Pavlov taught meaningfully: "He is your superior no matter what. ”

The driver of the armored car in which Pavlov was riding was also a Soviet second lieutenant, and he was indeed a subordinate of Zhukov in name, and he should be called a general. Pavlov has always been very clear about such trivial matters.

"Well," Pavlov said with a smile, "but Zhukov is not fit to be a general, he will only be a little clever." In my opinion, he is not as good as you. ”

"Yes...... "The driver nodded as he drove the armored car.

It can be seen that he is indeed a better person than Zhukov. At least, he's good at currying favor with his superiors.

"I'll send you an appointment when I get back. Come over and be my driver, and arrange for you the treatment and title of a captain. Pavlov casually gave the ensign driver a big reward.

Just by saying things that make Pavlov happy, you can be promoted two levels in a row!

The second lieutenant driver hurriedly thanked him happily: "Yes, yes, thank you, general." ”

Promoting to a captain was not a difficult task for Pavlov. Because it was too simple, he didn't care too much about the driver's gratitude. After all, he also relied on this talking mouth to rise all the way, and giving this driver a promotion made him feel a sense of intimacy.

What Pavlov is most concerned about now is whether Zhukov's "Mars operation" will succeed.

Although to the public, Pavlov still declared that he hoped for Zhukov's victory and hoped that the Soviet army would be overwhelmed.

But in the deepest part of his heart, Pavlov actually very much hoped that Zhukov would fail, and that he would return with a defeat.

After Tukhachevsky's old generals were almost purged, Pavlov and Zhukov were basically the two most focused on training among the new batch of generals. This can be seen from the fact that the two of them separately commanded the Soviet-German simulated combat exercises.

In that exercise, after Pavlov was defeated by Zhukov, he was very embarrassed, and at the same time, it directly led to Zhukov getting the opportunity to command the Mars operation.

This was a big loss for Pavlov.

And now, seeing that Zhukov's offensive was unfavorable, Pavlov immediately jumped out for a military parade.

He had even already thought of his rhetoric, and when the time came, he met with Comrade Chairman Stalin, talked about Zhukov's incompetence and the unfavorable offensive, and asked him to be replaced to command the operation.

If Zhukov had been defeated, it would have been even better.

In that case, with Pavlov's confidence in his eloquence, he was fully confident that he would be able to charge Zhukov with a bunch of crimes.

If Zhukov was counterattacked by the Germans, causing the Soviet army to be pushed back, then Pavlov could contact Zhukov to increase the charges. For example, "Zhukov's panicked behavior while directing operations led to the collapse of the command of the troops." He was ineffective in command and sat back and watched the disintegration of the command of the troops. ”

Another example is "Zhukov forgot the oath of a soldier, tarnished the noble title of a soldier of the Red Army, forgot his duty to the Motherland, and his panic and cowardly, criminal inaction inflicted serious losses on the Red Army units." ”

Even, Pavlov didn't mind going one step further, slandering Zhukov and accusing the other party of treason.

He can slander and denounce: If it weren't for Zhukov's treason, how could he not even defeat the German army fighting on the third front!

With such slander, Zhukov will probably be shot.

Pavlov thought contentedly that once Zhukov, who was trained at the same time, was shot, the next heavy responsibility could only be handed over to the rest of himself.

Increasing the rank of knight and entrusting him with important responsibilities in the army, there is no way to run!

"German generals, you must help me clean up Zhukov." Pavlov said silently.