"Soviet red-haired GIs always have a tendon, and even with the help of the Germans, they don't grow." Yan Shu laughed, "It seems that their pilots are the same. ”

Yang Shuoming didn't speak, his eyes were still firmly fixed on the warring planes shuttling back and forth in the night sky. Another group of "twin-engined birds" arrived on the battlefield, and this group of planes, which were obviously fighters, rushed at the Soviet fighters who were attacking the "quick knife" bombers, drove them away from the bombers, and chased them for annihilation. The "Quick Knife" group, which had already completed the bombing and defense penetration mission, took the opportunity to begin to withdraw from the battlefield.

A Soviet "MiG-3" fighter suddenly rushed to the "Gaoya No. 1" flying saucer, Yang Shuoming clearly saw the Soviet fighter's machine gun spit out a long tongue of fire, but all the bullets it fired flew away from the "Gaokong No. 1", at this time the "Gaoya No. 1" cannon fired, accurately hit the Soviet fighter, Yang Shuoming saw the Soviet fighter volley exploded, turned into fragments with flames, some fragments splashed on the UFO body and bounced off, although it did not cause any damage, But there are still people in the saucer who can't help but want to dodge.

"The 'Hongyan' group has been dispatched." An officer reported to Yang Shuoming, who was staring intently out the window, "We received the signal, and they arrived in ten minutes." ”

"Good." Yang Shuoming nodded, "They carry 'rolling thunder' bombs, right?" ”

"Yes." The staff officer replied in the affirmative, "All the 'Hongyan' are carrying such bombs, and they will carpet bomb Moscow." ”

"It's 'rolling thunder'......" Yan Shu stuck out his tongue, "In that case, there won't be anything left on the ground, and even those hiding underground may not be able to withstand it." ”

"That's exactly what I wanted." Yang Shuoming said calmly, "I hope Stalin and his generals can stay in a better protected place and test the effectiveness of our bombs." ”

Yang Shuoming did not know that his hopes were disappointed this time, and Stalin was not hiding in the underground command center at this time.

The first round of deadly air strikes by the Chinese Air Force seemed to be repulsed, as the news came that the alarm had been lifted, and Stalin and the members of the Defense Committee and the Politburo silently walked through the corridors of the headquarters to the elevator. When he saw Shcherbakov coming out of the general command hall, he said to him in a calm tone: "Come with us, Comrade Shcherbakov." Go to the base camp and make a summary. ”

Alexander? Sergeyevich could not help but wonder why Gromakin and Zhuravlev were not informed to go to the base camp. Stalin, as if guessing his thoughts, explained in the elevator: "Let the military comrades take a breath and recover...... They also have to assemble materials...... Stay for a while and we call them...... And you, Comrade Shcherbakov, are to prepare a communiqué of the Soviet Intelligence Service on the situation of the air attack on Moscow by the squadron [***], and at the same time draw up an order to sum up the results of the air defense of our homeland. ”

Everyone came to the office of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the mansion on Kirov Street, where yesterday an exercise was held to inspect the counterattack of the Chinese [***] squadron in the Moscow air defense zone against the imaginary daytime air raids. Now it seems that this "yesterday" has become a distant thing in the past...... Stalin sat down at the table and began to rub his fingers together and fill his pipe...... Shcherbakov looked at his tired face carefully, and could not guess what restless thoughts and troubles Stalin had in his heart. Stalin looked gloomy and depressed, as if he had lost his way in the recklessness, and his thoughts were struggling to get the gist of it. Perhaps, everything is simple? Perhaps his depressed expression was due to the fact that he had heard that two bombshells had fallen on the Kremlin. One fell to the Armory, killing almost all of an anti-aircraft gun squad on the roof, and the other fell to the Kremlin's George Hall, where it stuck to the ceiling and exploded, causing even more damage and casualties. The pantry was also bombed, and it was just across from Stalin's house and office. That said, Chinese bomb delivery is accurate...... At this time, Boskreebeshev came to the door of the office and reported in a hoarse voice, he pointed to his throat, apparently apologizing.

"Comrade Stalin, Marshal Timoshenko called."

Stalin removed the microphone from the black telephone and, before speaking, said to Poskryabeshev: "Generals Gromakin and Zhuravlev are invited to come here." Then put the earpiece to his ear: "Hello, Comrade Timoshenko! It's ...... me."

Stalin's face gradually dispelled the dark clouds. After a while, he covered the microphone with his palm and explained to everyone in the room, but his Georgian accent sounded particularly pronounced as he spoke: "Timoshenko reported seeing a damaged Chinese plane flying away from Moscow...... There were many erections that caught fire and fell near the front line......"

What Timoshenko said again is unknown, but Stalin's face became gloomy again, and his eyes shone grimly. After listening to the words of this marshal, he endured his anger and said sharply: "You must take all measures to drive the Chinese out of Kursk!" This is a request of the State Defense Committee! Rokossovsky will move closer to Lukin and Kurochkin's two armies anyway! ”

After Stalin and the commander-in-chief of the Soviet forces in the eastern direction exchanged a phone call, Gromakin and Zhuravlev walked into the office. There was something in common on their serious and calm faces, though their appearance varied. Zhuravlev's cheeks are round, and he has a pair of expressive eyes under his thick eyebrows, which makes him look suave. Gromakin had the austere appearance of a peasant, with two large ears striking and a sharp gaze that showed an expression of undivided concentration. Sometimes it can be felt that he is examining his own heart, looking into something unique to him that others do not understand.

"You may be seated, Comrade Air Guardians." From Stalin's voice, it seems that his mood has improved, and he seems to be pleasant. But, is that really the case? …… After the two generals took their seats, he said: "Please report to the State Defense Committee on what military and industrial targets were bombed, what about stations, bridges, power stations?" ……”

"No targets have been bombed, Comrade Chairman of the National Defense Council ......" General Gromakin stood up and preemptively replied.

"I have a name, Comrade Gromakin." Stalin interrupted him.

"No important targets were bombed, Comrade Stalin, neither military, nor industrial, nor civilian facilities." Gromakin said calmly, as if he had not heard Stalin's accusations.

"Are there heavy casualties among the population and air defense?"

"There are casualties, Comrade Stalin, fortunately not big. The exact casualty figures are being verified. ”

Then, in accordance with the custom of the military, Major General Zhuravlyov methodically and unambiguously reported on the state of operations of the ground and air forces of the Air Defense Forces: the time of detection of enemy aircraft, the number of Chinese bombers (according to forecasts was more than two hundred) and the tactics of enemy aircraft. Some of the enemy planes rushed into Moscow, there was a train carrying oil on the alternate railway near the Belarusian station, there was a felt factory in the village of Fair, and several wooden houses in the city were burned down in the air raids. Dozens of houses and public buildings were blown up. A bomb pierced the Uslansky Bridge and blew it up...... The first to go into battle were the fighter regiments. The command of the Sixth Army of the Aviation Forces received reports that a total of 25 air battles took place and 12 Chinese bombers were shot down. About two hundred enemy aircraft approached the zone of anti-aircraft artillery fire. 10 of them were shot down by anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns...... "Comrade Stalin, allow me to ask a question." "The head of the General Political Department, the political commissar of the first army group, Mehris, stood up at the conference table.

"Please, Comrade Mehris." Stalin agreed, and then glanced at the members of the Politburo, "If you have a problem, don't ...... it?"

"Please tell us, Comrade Zhuravlyov, what percentage of enemy aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft and machine-gun fire?" Mehris asked.

"The vast majority were shot down by anti-aircraft guns." Zhuravlyov did not hesitate to answer and opened the notebook of the chief of staff, Colonel Gilshovich. "The final results are being verified. Here are the records, for example, that the machine-gun shooters shot down a bomber that attacked a Belarusian station, and the anti-aircraft artillery companies under the command of two lieutenants, Osa Ulyak and Turlu Kalo, shot down two bombers each. ”

"How many shells and bullets were consumed?" Mehris then asked, "How many sorties did our planes take? ”

"The Chinese tried to storm Moscow for two hours." Zhuravlev narrowed his eyes and looked at his notebook carefully, "During this period, our fighters made a total of 175 sorties, and the anti-aircraft guns consumed a total of 29,000 rounds of shells, and the anti-aircraft machine guns fired a total of 130,000 rounds. ”

"That's a lot of numbers!" Mehris's words were somewhat ironic: "If anti-aircraft fire shot down a total of ten bombers, then wouldn't it cost nearly 3,000 shells and 13,000 rounds of ammunition to shoot down one bomber?" …… What do you think, Comrade Gromakin and Comrade Zhuravlev? Mekhlis consciously glanced at Stalin, as if to arouse his empathy.

Stalin reacted immediately: "There was an old Georgian man in his late teens, my countryman, who once said to me; 'If one day I can understand mathematics that I don't know, then it is entirely possible for me to become an academician of the Academy of Sciences...... 'You, Comrade Mehris, know mathematics and deserve to be an academician......"

Kalinin couldn't help but take the lead in laughing, and then Molotov, who was sitting in an easy chair next to Stalin's desk, laughed too. Later, a loud laugh erupted in the office of the chairman of the base camp. Stalin was even a little surprised to see that all those present were in such a relaxed mood, but he also laughed. Then, raising his hand to call everyone quiet, he turned to Mechlis and said, "Since you are so proficient in mathematics, let me go and look through the encyclopedia and calculate how much steel was spent on each soldier who died during the First World War." ”

General Zhuravlev continued to stand at the conference table, closed his notebook with a thud, glanced at the Politburo members present with a look of humiliation, and then turned to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, allow me to give a brief explanation to Comrade Political Commissar of the 1st Army Group. ”

"Please." Stalin said.

"Let me be precise, our aiming fire is aimed only at the target illuminated by the searchlight. And most of the shells fired in the air were to form a barrage of barrages...... Today's arresting bombs were fired to determine the deciding effect: only a few dozen Chinese bombers stormed the center of Moscow. ”

"Well, Comrade Zhuravlev, please sit down," said Stalin, turning his questioning gaze to Gromakin, who raised his hand like a student, "what do you want to add?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Gromakin stood up and smiled slightly, "I want to remind you that today, the Chinese dropped a lot of bombs for 600,000 kilograms. There is no doubt about this, because they, like us, are not allowed to return home with bombs after a combat flight. If, from the point of view of the Chinese, the effective coefficient of their explosive and incendiary bombs is equal to zero, please forgive me, it is a waste of effort. ”

Mehris's face flushed, visibly annoyed, but he tried not to show it.

"To just one Tushino airfield," Gromakin continued, "they dropped thousands of incendiary bombs. All the bombs were extinguished, not a single plane was destroyed, a hangar was damaged. ”

"It was Tushino that all the fires were extinguished (Tushino means extinguishing fire in Russian)." Molotov said a witty thing unpleasantly.

The Politburo members let out another brief snicker. But Stalin was thinking about something, as if he had not heard this witty remark, and did not even raise his eyelids. This embarrassed Shcherbakov. He wrote down the main points of the report of Gromakin and Zhuravlev in his notebook, mentally prepared the draft of the bulletin of the Intelligence Bureau, and thought repeatedly about what should be included in this summary order of the People's Commissariat of National Defense. In his opinion, the air defense forces of the Moscow region basically "well" fulfilled the first and most significant combat mission. But the order was to be signed by Stalin...... Will their views coincide? …… He looked at Stalin as if to try to try to get his thoughts.

In order not to disturb his own mind, he hurriedly wrote on the blank page of his notebook a passage that he believed could not be overturned: "On the night of January 22, the Chinese Air Force attempted to attack Moscow. Due to the devotion of the air intelligence service units, they discovered the enemy in the dark of night long before the enemy planes flew over Moscow. Approaching Moscow, our night fighter planes took off to meet the battle and organized anti-aircraft firepower. The searchlight unit did an excellent job. As a result, more than 200 enemy planes attacked Moscow in batches, and the formation was in great disarray, and only a few planes entered the capital. Sporadic fires were quickly extinguished by fire brigades. The police have maintained good order in the city......"

Alexander? Sergeyevich pondered further: should this order of the People's Commissariat be written into shortcomings and mistakes?

Stalin, as if guessing Shcherbakov's doubts again, said: "We are not ready to thoroughly and deeply analyze the whole process of today's counterattack on the enemy's air attack on Moscow." The military comrades are better at doing this than we are, and let them report to us the day after tomorrow. However, 22 enemy planes were shot down, accounting for more than 10 percent of the enemy planes participating in the air raids. For the night, it's good. It should also be mentioned the opinion just made by Marshal Timoshenko: the total losses of the enemy's air force are not small...... However, in my opinion, anti-aircraft artillery blocking fire is, after all, a form of passive defense. The shells consume too much. We should calculate whether our industry can afford this burden. Therefore, it is necessary for our scholars to find a more effective and economical way to form a barrage of blockades, so as to reduce the number of empty cannons. Comrade Gromakin, you can take care of this matter. ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." The general replied.

"We must also immediately petition the political axe to give praise to all those who have made meritorious contributions to today's counterattack against the air raids."

"Yes."

Then Stalin turned his eyes to Shcherbakov. Alexander? Sergeyevich understood that he should now read out the first draft of the press communiqué and the first draft of the order to the armed forces. Before he began to read it, he looked at the two generals with some embarrassment, as if to say that it was appropriate to have them present to discuss the first draft of the order concerning their achievements. Stalin understood the embarrassment in Shcherbakov's eyes.

"You can go." He said to Gromakin and Zhuravlev.

Just as Stalin's words fell, a loud bang suddenly sounded above everyone's heads.

Shcherbakov only felt a violent tremor all over his body, and as soon as his eyes went dark, he didn't know anything...... After some time, Shcherbakov gradually woke up, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the members of the State Defense Committee and the generals lying on their backs in the midst of a mess, as well as their guards.

Shcherbakov realized what was happening, he tried to stand up, but his body seemed to be filled with lead, he shook and tried several times, but he still didn't succeed, so he could only lie there, gasping for air.

Somehow, the surroundings were surprisingly quiet, as if they had fallen into eternal silence. No! Wrong! He saw some of the guards rushing in, shouting anxiously, why couldn't he hear what they were saying?

Shcherbakov soon found himself unable to hear anything, and he felt as if some kind of liquid was coming out of his ears. He subconsciously stretched out his hand and touched his ear, and was immediately startled.

Blood! That's blood!

His palms were covered with blood coming out of his ears!

Shcherbakov looked around in horror and soon spotted Stalin.

The Supreme Leader of the Soviet State lay in the corner, staring blankly at the collapsed ceiling, his ears, like Shcherbakov, bleeding continuously.

"Iron Man" is bleeding! ……

(To be continued)