According to what you say, isn't our strength much worse than that of China? Although Stalin did not like this answer, he was not a man who could not accept reality.

"Yes, once China and us start a war on all fronts, our chances of victory will not be very high, it would be good to have half of them, this is still the answer we have come to in terms of tanks and aircraft, the performance is superior to that of the other side." There is one more thing that Zhukov did not say, and that is the combat effectiveness of the soldiers.

The conclusions drawn from China's two wars with foreign countries can show that the combat effectiveness of Chinese soldiers is not bad. Although Zhukov had never fought against the Chinese army on the battlefield, at the parade, Zhukov had already seen the fierce momentum of the Chinese soldiers.

This is a kind of momentum and morale that was not seen in the Soviet army, and before, it was only seen in German soldiers. However, in Zhukov's opinion, the German ** team has this kind of morale, but it does not have that kind of bad spirit. This kind of evil spirit is not something that a hundred elite soldiers cannot have.

Only such soldiers can exert the strongest combat effectiveness on the battlefield. This point cannot be replaced by any weapons and equipment, it is a kind of will to fight, and for soldiers, such fighting spirit is the most valuable. Although Zhukov did not want to be demoralized and destroy his prestige, this is the case, and no matter how unwilling he is to admit it, he will not be able to change the facts.

In other respects, Zhukov was also worried, and many Soviet officers today share Stalin's blind self-confidence. In their eyes, they regard the Chinese army as a chicken, a dog, as if it will shatter at the slightest touch, and it will be vulnerable. Zhukov has explained in every possible way, but he has no bottom in his heart about the effect.

"Is it only half the chance?" This answer puzzled Stalin.

"This is my conservative estimate, unless we can double the number of tank and artillery units again. Use absolute numbers to deal with the Chinese army, so that we have a greater chance of winning. Zhukov said.

This idea is like that in later generations, when the Soviet Union counterattacked Germany, it relied on numbers to attack the German army. In those wars, there was hardly a single case in which fewer won more, and even an equal number of battles were rare.

At that time, many of the Soviet Union's tactics relied on huge infantry to clear the way for tank units and use anti-tank guns to destroy German tanks. Instead of tank units to clear the way for the infantry, use tanks against German tanks. Of course, there are tank battles, but such scenes are rare.

Stalin now trusted Zhukov's military prowess, otherwise he would not have handed over more than a million troops in the Far East to him. For Zhukov's words, Stalin also attached great importance. Although he did not say much, Stalin also heard Zhukov's words about the lack of confidence in the Soviet army.

"Then you say that this war is well fought, but it is not well fought." Stalin is now thinking about this question again, and when he announced the beginning of the plan to divide Mongolia, he said that it was too late. But this was only a rhetorical question of Stalin, and he was well aware of the problem.

"Now it's not a question of whether to fight or not, it's how to split Mongolia. Thousands of kilometers of defense, we are already overwhelmed. And even if we don't fight, China will do something against us sooner or later. Zhukov said.

According to Zhukov's idea, it was necessary to solve the problem of Japan first, recapture Sakhalin, and then solve the Chinese problem. It's just that Stalin has already chosen his opponent, and he can't change anything. But don't look at Zhukov now he is only a general, and the commander of the army group is at the same level. But his position was very high, all because of Stalin's appreciation, but it would be difficult to ask him to change Stalin's decision.

Stalin nodded, and Germany was secretly contacting the Soviet Union to partition Poland and sign a non-aggression pact. Stalin had already seen a sudden change in the situation in Europe, and a great war was already coming. Stalin also understood that one hand must be freed before the war began, and the army could not be divided into two ends. No matter how ambitious the Soviet Union was for land, after all, the center of gravity of the Soviet Union was in Europe. The USSR looked at the land of Europe more than the land of Asia.

The plan to split Mongolia was not really to start a full-scale war with China. Stalin also only wanted to liberate the military power of the Far East and go to Europe to play games with other countries. At most, it is only for China to retreat in the face of difficulties and fight a local war, so that China can see the strength of the Soviet Union and save itself from always being obsessed with the land of the Far East. However, Stalin thought of one factor wrongly, and that was Chen Shao's attitude towards the land.

According to Stalin's plan, once the Mongol division plan became known to China, if war could not be avoided, as long as the Soviet Red Army could win a local war. Then the matter is much simpler, Stalin's main goal in dividing Mongolia is to create a military buffer zone, and in his opinion, as long as there is victory, it is not far from this goal. Nor does a military buffer zone have to divide other people's territory, and it is entirely possible to sign a border agreement to demarcate each other's territory.

In Stalin's thinking, the plan had many directions, and if it could not be discovered, it would not be discovered, because it would be better if Mongolia could really become independent. War is also an idea of Stalin, in fact, it is Stalin's selfishness that is at work, he wants Chen Shao to see the powerful military power of the Soviet Union, and to implement military deterrence against China, and by the way, he can also test the reality of China.

As for an all-out war with China, Stalin had no idea of that at all. It was meant to free a hand, but where would the hand that was supposed to be liberated sink deeper. After all, China's war potential is not small, and with a population of 600 million and an armed force that does not care about the consequences, it is completely possible to pull up an army of tens of millions of people. When the time comes, the USSR will really be plunged into the sea of war. This was not Stalin's intention.

"Regardless of the situation of the war, a military buffer zone must be established. More than a million troops are dragged here, what a waste. Stalin spoke.

…… When Zhukov left the Kremlin, he only sighed in his heart: this day is still coming.

Zhukov knew very well that there would inevitably be a war between China and the Soviet Union, but he could not imagine that this time had come. Zhukov did not know how far such a war would be fought once it broke out, which he could not predict.

However, Zhukov did not know what Stalin was thinking, nor did he understand Chen Shao's calculations. One was that they did not want the Soviet Union's military power to be trapped in the Far East, and the other was full of deep meaning.

Half a month later, on October 15, 1938, when Zhukov returned to the Far East Command, the Soviet political workers who had secretly entered Mongolia had not yet begun to contact the Mongols. Out of prudence, the Soviet political workers investigated in detail for a month. It was only after Zhukov began to give orders for a secret assembly that these political workers began to carry out the plan.

The place where the Declaration of Independence was disseminated by the Soviet political workers was Kulen (today's Ulaanbaatar), which was written as Soviet political workers, but they were all authentic Mongols, and they all withdrew from Mongolia with the Soviet Union. Influenced and lured by the Soviet Union, he has now returned to Mongolia and wants to continue his dream of establishing a leading country.

It's just that they don't want to think about where they were during the famine. If it weren't for China's vigorous rescue at the beginning, the current population of Mongolia would be much smaller.

Life here is now very peaceful, and the famine, at least the famine that used to be common, is no longer visible. Each family has its own livestock, fixed pastures, and various commercial channels. Although there is not much industry here, there is no other industry except for the basic military industry and a few small workshops. The livestock industry here is well developed, and Chen Shao also intends to turn this place into a base for meat and dairy raw materials.

The livestock breeding base, a civilian unit that has always existed with the growth of the base, has played an important role here. In the establishment of a processing workshop, a steady stream of meat and dairy products are sold at home and abroad.

The economy here is also developing rapidly, and the herders have money in their hands and their living conditions have improved a lot. Not only the material life, but also the spiritual life is very rich.

For the pastoralists here, their world has changed since the founding of the country. Every family can go to receive cattle and sheep for free, or they can jointly contract large-scale farms, and the surplus cattle and sheep can be sold at a good price. The milk that the farm milks out every day alone is a lot of money. Women can also work as milkmen to earn more money to support their families. Children can go to school for free, and the elderly no longer have to worry about not having warm clothes for the winter.

Since the recapture of Mongolia in 1928, no Mongol has starved to death, and not a single Mongol has froze to death. Every winter, they no longer have to brave the cold to go out of their homes in search of work. Now throughout the winter, the family can stay at home in peace and enjoy the fruits of their labor every year. Don't worry about running out of food, because a summer harvest is enough for a family to eat for a year. There is no need to worry about cattle and sheep being frozen to death in the cold winter, because as long as it is winter, you can send the cattle and sheep to the livestock breeding base for trusteeship, only a little cost is enough, and once the winter is over, you are guaranteed to return the same number of white and fat cattle and sheep.

By the 38th year, Mongolia was connected to CCTV, and for a winter, you don't have to worry about the safety of your cattle and sheep, you don't have to worry about running out of food, you can stay at home and enjoy delicious food. And without leaving home, you can also know about the world's major events through TV, listen to small songs, and watch movies. Sometimes, gather friends and family, and several families have dinner and have fun together.

This kind of life was just a dream more than ten years ago, and now the dream has become a reality. Herders can proudly say, "I'm happy!" ”

Happiness is simple, really simple. For today's poor people, they don't need to be rich, they don't need to enjoy much, they can eat three meals a day, they can provide for the elderly, and they have little education, which is the greatest happiness.

(To be continued)