After a moment of heart-wrenching reflection, Stalin, general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, completely dispelled his idea of moving the capital to the Asian part, and even, the strongman of the Soviet Union, thought self-deprecatingly: "If you move the wartime capital to the Asian part, your own action is to send a piece of fragrant fat meat to the mouth of Tang Qiu, who is both sinister and despicable, and as long as the Chinese is willing, he can swallow it at any time." ”

In the office, the extraordinary silence woke Stalin from his painful memories and returned to the cold reality, the problems faced by the Far Eastern Front have been the subject of discussion at the meeting of the Political Bureau for several days, but a large part of the reason is that his attitude is not clear enough, and the members of the Political Bureau are unable to figure out their steps and dare not express their stance lightly.

Today, too, Stalin knew that it was time to make his own decision, and a note from Molotov strengthened his resolve, and for this closest comrade-in-arms and assistant, Stalin believed that he had enough wisdom to solve the problems encountered by the Outer Mongolian Front, which was an unreserved belief, moreover, Molotov had the ability and means.

It's just that Stalin is a little strange why, at the meeting of the political bureau a few days ago, Molotov did not say a word, and he was very detached, and when it comes to matters involving the army, he usually does not take a position, but today at a small meeting, he adopts such a way to show his attitude, but this is obviously not the time to consider this issue.

Stalin stood up, his steps regained their previous calm and regularity, and his movements immediately attracted the attention of several people in the office, and several people who were familiar with the style of leadership knew it. As soon as Comrade Stalin made such a move, it meant that a decision had been made on a certain important matter, and moreover, it was an irrevocable decision, and several people were in a nervous and complicated mood, and their eyes followed Stalin's pace.

Sure enough, after pacing in circles, Stalin stood on a carpet of pure wool from Kazakhstan. He said: "Comrades, the time has come to decide on the question of the Far Eastern Front, and after several days of discussion, the opinions of all comrades of the Political Bureau have been widely sought. In particular, the opinion of Comrade Petroshilov, who was in charge of military affairs, was decided at the meeting of the Political Bureau. Command the Trans-Khingan Ridge Front and the Baikal Front. Suspend the withdrawal to the European theater and go all out to the rescue of the Far Eastern Front! ”

Several people present breathed a sigh of relief, and although they considered different angles, in their hearts, they still hoped that Comrade Stalin would make this decision. How to say it, Zhukov is not annoying, and besides, he is a very talented general. The combat effectiveness of the Far Eastern Front is also obvious to all, and if such a unit were destroyed in the hands of the Japanese, it would be an irreparable loss to the Soviet Union.

However, thinking of the terrible war situation in the European battlefield, the fierce offensive, the German army that was approaching Moscow step by step, several party, government and military officials, and the mood was unusually heavy, and the troops in the eastern region could not rush to the European battlefield on time, it can be said to be the worst decision for the troops that are still in a struggling support situation, can the Soviet Red Army, which was basically half-crippled, survive to that moment?

"Comrades, to make this decision, it is necessary to take a great risk, which means that for at least a month, our troops in the European theater will not receive any reinforcements, and they will face tremendous pressure from the German fascist army, therefore, Comrade Petroshilov, your General Staff must coordinate and mobilize the troops of the various military districts as much as possible, hold on to the existing defensive line for a month, and win enough time for us to solve the problems of the Far Eastern Front!" Stalin said.

Marshal Petroshilov, hurriedly getting up, replied: "Yes, Comrade Stalin, the General Staff is brewing to break the existing situation in which each military district is fighting separately, unify and organize several field corps adapted to the current battlefield shape, and undertake combat tasks in their respective directions!" ”

Stalin nodded, without commenting too much on the words of the Chief of the General Staff, the actual situation on the battlefield, he knew very well in his heart, many units in various military districts basically existed in name only, were killed and wounded by the Germans, and it was necessary to reorganize, but he knew better in his heart that I was afraid that the plans of the General Staff would stay on paper forever, and as far as the current war situation was concerned, how many troops could the General Staff still contact, I am afraid that even Petroshilov did not count in his heart?

However, at this time, it was clearly not the occasion to talk about these unpleasant issues, and Stalin continued: "The situation at the front, comrades, is well aware that the situation of the war is not in our favor, and it is difficult to hold back the Germans for only a month with the existing troops, so I have decided that Comrade Badachenko, your troops of the Moscow Military District, immediately go to the front, strengthen the forces to block the Germans, and leave only a small number of troops in the capital!" ”

The commander of the Moscow Military District, General Badachenko, hurriedly got up and said: "Yes, Comrade Stalin, I will immediately carry out your order, however, Comrade Stalin, please consider whether it is necessary for all the troops of the Moscow Military District to go to the front, and the defense of the capital also needs a large number of troops, according to the defense plan for defending Moscow formulated by the current military district command, the first line of defense alone requires at least four or five army groups!" ”

Seeing Stalin's face, there was no change, and General Badachenko continued: "The defense plan is to build three lines of defense around Moscow, and the distance between each line of defense is seventy-five kilometers, so that a defense system of great depth can be formed, and the total number of troops required is more than twenty-five group armies, and if the troops of the Moscow Military District go to the front, the defense of the capital will be extremely empty, Comrade Stalin, please consider this!" ”

After General Badachenko finished speaking, he looked at Stalin calmly, and in all fairness, General Badachenko's speech was the truth, and it was by no means out of selfishness to preserve strength, and he was unwilling to mobilize the troops under his command to go to the front line of attrition, but his construction was somewhat out of place.

Stalin's face suddenly turned blue, and he asked sharply: "Comrade Badachenko, once our defensive line is broken through by the Germans, with the existing strength and strength of the Moscow Military District, can we guarantee that the Germans will be blocked hundreds of kilometers away from Moscow?" ”

General Badachenko opened his mouth, how can he guarantee that the Soviet Union has mobilized all the military forces that can be mobilized at present, and is still in the point of being passively beaten, and the troops of the Moscow Military District, not a hundred heavenly generals, can withstand the first two rounds of German attacks when the German soldiers are approaching the city, and if they do not immediately rush into the city, they will show that they are not bad, and they will also block Germany hundreds of kilometers away?

"Comrade Stalin, I can't guarantee that the troops of the Moscow Military District are not capable of this either!" In the face of Stalin's harsh questioning, General Badachenko could only answer honestly.

Stalin also stopped talking at the right time, and did not embarrass General Badachenko, who was already cramped and uneasy, and said: "We must keep this in mind, the farther away from Moscow the Germans are, the better it will be for us, and with regard to the problem of the emptiness of the capital's defense forces after the troops of the Moscow Military District go to the front, we can take such a way as to form militia divisions, regiments, and battalions among the workers and cadres of the city to undertake the defense of Moscow!" ”

At this point, the decision to rescue the Far Eastern Front became a fact, and several bigwigs no longer put forward any different opinions, and Stalin said to the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Petroshilov: "In the name of the General Staff, inform Zhukov of the decision of the Political Bureau, he is an experienced general, and he knows what measures should be taken next, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements!" ”

"At the same time, in the name of the High Command, the Outer Mongolian Front and the Baikal Front are ordered to immediately start a rescue operation, and this operation will be under the unified and coordinated command of the High Command!" Stalin added that the few words added later, which seemed simple, were in fact a major change in the command system of the Soviet army, which meant that Comrade Stalin would directly command the troops of the two fronts.

The problems that had plagued everyone for a few days were finally decided, although the bigwigs were still in a heavy mood, and the clouds in their hearts did not dissipate, but, at least, they were not as anxious and clueless as they were a few days ago, and everyone thought that Comrade Stalin was going to announce the dissolution of the meeting and began to pack their bags.

Unexpectedly, Stalin's eyes fell on the new director of the General Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, General Konslov, "Comrade Konslov, I am very dissatisfied with the work of your General Directorate of Military Intelligence, Tang Qiuli's independent division units appeared in the Ural Mountains and the Donnu Mountains, and the General Directorate of Military Intelligence did not get any news, or the comrades of the Air Force, discovered the Chinese troops, why is this happening?" The last sentence, Stalin's tone, was noticeably harsh.

After attending the meeting, General Konslov, who had never said a word, thought that he had nothing to do with himself and took over the helm of the General Directorate of Military Intelligence, but it had only been a little more than a month, and he had not yet entered the role, and he was still in the process of understanding this huge intelligence agency, and he had no right to speak.

General Conslov, who was stunned by Stalin's words, had a blank head for a while, how to answer, he was stunned on the spot, Comrade Stalin was very dissatisfied with the work of the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence, how aggrieved he was, he had just taken over less than a month, and he didn't even understand where the doors of several secret departments were opening, but could this be a reason?

Glancing at the wooden peg-like Admiral Konslov, Stalin did not continue to accuse, but waved his hand, "Dismiss!" ”

(To be continued)(To be continued......