"Volodya," Stalin affectionately called Manturov by his nickname, "this is a Georgian wine, with an alcohol concentration of only 10%, you drink a little and try it." Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

"Well," Manturov said, looking at the bottle of Georgian wine with "10% ABV" written on it, "I'll just have a drink." ”

"How can one cup be enough?" Stalin looked at Manturov's dark brown, uncertain eyes: "Don't get drunk tonight!" ”

All along, at the dinner at the Kontsevo villa, Stalin would not give up until the guests were drunk. With the exception of Stalin, officials, who almost never attended a banquet, were able to walk out of the dining room in a sober state, and even if they were, they probably spent the night on the floor of the dining room.

Stalin's main purpose in doing this was to test the loyalty of the officials attending the banquet. These officials, who usually treat Stalin with respect and flattery, can say a lot, but what they think in their hearts, Stalin does not know.

In such a situation, he can only "pour" the true side of the guests by intoxicating them. When they are drunk and unconscious, they will involuntarily confide in the truth, reveal their ugliest or truest side, and enter Stalin's carefully laid out test.

"No, Comrade Stalin, I can only taste one cup at most." It's not that Manturov was unaware of the consequences of offending Stalin, but he could not break his promise to his lover, "When I got married, I promised Katyusha that I would not get drunk.

And when I left later, I had to drive back to home, passing through the busiest streets of Moscow, and I was afraid that drinking too much would cause damage to people's lives and property. ”

At this moment, both Beria, Malenkov and Voznesensky looked at Manturov's young face with surprise. In their hearts, they are all saying the same thing, "Is he dying?" ”

"Well," said Stalin, who did not force Manturov to drink, "since you promised your wife, I will not force you, but since you have come, you must try the fine wines of my native Cathar region." ”

"Comrade Stalin, thank you for your understanding." Manturov saw that the alcohol concentration of Georgian wine was not too high, and it was okay to try it, so he accepted Stalin's invitation: "In that case, then I will try it with a glass and taste the flavor of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic." ”

Georgia is one of the first countries in the world to make wine (the other being China), and the Georgians began to make wine as early as 8,000 years ago, before the four major civilizations appeared.

Although Georgian wines have always been inferior to French wines in terms of popularity, in terms of grape quality and winemaking technology, Georgian wines are not inferior to French wines, and are even highly praised by French travelers.

At this moment, in the middle of the table are two bottles of Georgian wine of different colors, one white and the other red.

In a moment's interest, Stalin took a bottle full of red wine in his left hand and white wine in his right hand, and poured them into Manturov's glass. "Volodya, get a taste of my hometown."

"Comrade Stalin," Manturov did not understand, why he mixed two wines together, "wouldn't it be better to mix two wines together?" ”

"In my opinion, yes." With a slight smile under his beard, Stalin explained: "Every wine has its own taste and aroma, especially Georgian wines. I think the taste of a little white in the red wine is stronger, like a bouquet of flowers exuding the fragrance of multiple flowers, which is intoxicating and evocative. ”

Stalin's fondness for wine was already well known. Before the revolution, when Stalin was in exile, he was replaced by typhoid fever. Later, when his condition was gradually deteriorating and Stalin was about to lose hope of survival, a well-hearted doctor in prison suddenly gave him a few sips of wine.

After Stalin drank this wine, his illness actually recovered. These few sips of wine gave a new lease of life to a seriously ill exile who later became the supreme leader of the Soviet Union.

"Cheers to the Soviets!" After Stalin finished speaking, Manturov joined him and drank all the wine from their respective glasses.

Although Georgian wines are of high quality, they were chosen by Stalin to entertain guests, and they are the best of the best. However, for Manturov, who has always disliked drinking, this fine wine is worse than traditional Chinese medicine.

Seeing the uncomfortable expression on Manturov's face, Stalin also moved the idea of letting him go.

The reason why Stalin wanted to get his guests drunk was to hear what they had to say when they were drunk. However, this did not do much for Manturov.

In front of Stalin, Manturov spoke every word from the bottom of his heart. Stalin could actually feel this in his expressions, in his words.

In the Soviet Union at that time, Manturov was the only person who dared to oppose Stalin's opinions face to face and act against the will of the supreme leader. From 1940, when Manturov was building fortifications on the old border with Stalin behind his back, to May 1941, when the young man and the Supreme Leader argued about the German attack on the Soviet Union, Stalin felt the sincerity of this young man.

For the sake of the interests of the country, for the sake of his own principles as a member of the Communist Party, Manturov repeatedly risked his own life and made some actions against Stalin's wishes.

Stalin, on several occasions, wanted to look at this "arrogant young man" a little. But in the end, the situation developed and it turned out that Manturov was right in everything he did, he was dedicated to the country, to the party, and to Stalin. Everything he did was for the good of the country, for the good of the party, and for the good of Stalin.

Such a young man who dedicates himself to himself, such a young man who drinks too much, Stalin really can't bear to get him drunk, and he doesn't need to get him drunk.

In Stalin's view, everything Manturov says now is sincere and worthy of belief, and as for the sycophants of Malenkov, Khrushchev, and Bulganin, their pompous praise can only be heard, not believed.

And most of what Manturov said was advice, even if it was a compliment, it was just a point, without exaggeration.