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Outside the Kremlin window in the middle of the night, the snow is covered and the faint light shines through behind the cold curtain, like a sharp eye that is watching the country all the time.

From the news of the annihilation of the Kazakh Front, the lights here have not been extinguished. Members of the Politburo and senior military officers met every day to listen to instructions, and the High Command took over the affairs of the country in place of the Politburo. The coldest winter of the decade was difficult for the Soviet Union, and the Kazakh fiasco gave a huge salient to the Eastern Front, which had been in operation for two decades. Siberia and Uzbekistan do not echo each other, the Caspian coast is threatened, the Afghan Front is surrounded, the Persian Front is exposed with huge sides, and all the Central Asian republics are ready to move!

Of course, this blow would not depress Stalin, and what he was really worried about was what to do with the war report. Because of the previous success, under his instruction, Pravda, Izvestia, and TASS all vied with each other to report the important news of the Red Army's reconquest of the "homeland." In the November newspapers, the Red Army, armed with advanced GCISM and the spirit of Stalin, was invincible! It's always victorious! It is with a fearless spirit to level the enemy fortifications and dark castles one by one! But after just one month, he will have to change his tune and admit the defeat of the Red Army, and who can accept the fact that the decadent and declining capitalist army is more powerful than the Red Army?

The Great Purge and the countless absent Chekas made the Soviet Union accustomed to silence, but who can guarantee that there will be no undercurrents underneath the calm? Ivan Myr and Kuibyshev are examples of this. Will the craze for young Kazakhs to join the Independence Army spread to the whole of the Soviet Union? Will Ukraine, the granary of Eastern Europe, which has been separated from Germany by the central government, have problems? And Finland, which threatened Leningrad, Germany, which was becoming more and more powerful, etc., seriously troubled Stalin! So he was reluctant to disclose this crushing defeat of the Kazakh Front. But paper can't contain the fire after all, and Yang Qiu poked out the news and asked the Americans to inspect the prisoner of war camp with their own eyes. It made it difficult for him to even say that Yang Qiu was lying.

These questions were deeply troubling to Stalin, even more so than the front, which had barely stabilized by the weather. But it was difficult to find someone to talk about these things, so he sat at the desk and held a pen for a long time in front of the execution of Polish prisoners of war. Beria was surprised when he saw this, and thought to himself, isn't the general secretary ready to execute Polish prisoners of war? Glancing at the head of the General Political Department beside him, Mehris, he said: "Comrade General Secretary, before Germany entered Warsaw, China picked up a lot of Poles, and now they have set up reception points in Iran. It may not be long before a corps of Poles like the one in 1918 will appear, and if these prisoners of war continue to remain, I'm afraid. ”

"I know you've got to deal with this." Stalin didn't have a headache about what to do with Polish prisoners of war, having heard that the Polish Resistance had hooked up with China. Not only did he sign it, but he also wrote down an opinion on the side to "expand the interrogation" before handing it to Beria: "We should teach this traitorous country born after the war in Europe a lesson, and we should also pay attention to criminals in other parts of Central Asia." ”

Beria understood what "criminals" meant, and from the time of the Soviet Civil War to the end of the Great Purge, millions of "criminals" were exiled to Central Asia for re-education through labor. In the past, the remoteness of Central Asia would not be fine, but it could disrupt the proportion of the population of Central Asia. But now that it has become a war zone, if it is not restricted, I am afraid that there will be chaos. "The general secretary is right, I want to say. Germany should learn from the fact that all the Poles were imprisoned in concentration camps! Mekhlis ignored Stalin's inadvertent expansion of the execution of Polish prisoners of war, and gloated over to fan the flames, joking about the lives and deaths of prisoners of war and Poles in the occupied territories: "This will also save food and support the front." Hehehe, hehe. ”

Stalin was in a hurry to execute Polish prisoners of war. Resolving the threat of rebellion in the Central Asian-controlled zone, both men ignored Mehris. Seeing his "joke", no one paid attention to it, so he had to laugh dryly and change his words: "General Secretary, Comrade Motolov has sent back a telegram from Berlin that Hitler has asked us to supply 2 million tons of iron ore and oil by March, and also asked for nickel and chromium. ”

"Insatiable!" Stalin cursed in his heart, but there was no expression on his face, and he stood up after pinching a pinch of cigarette and stuffing it into the cigarette butt: "Comrade Beria, what is your opinion?" ”

Beria, who had guessed the wrong thing just now, had to cheer up and think for a moment before saying: "The Germans saw that we could not threaten them for the time being, so they continued to threaten us without fear. But I think it should be appropriately refused, letting them know that we, the USSR, are not threatened. Seeing that Stalin's face softened, his words changed slightly: "Of course, the current situation is very complicated, and it cannot be completely refused, so my opinion is that we cannot agree to it in terms of material, but we can let the comrades of the GC International echo Germany's actions and direct their attention to the West." ”

These words reached Stalin's heart, although it has lost nearly two million troops since the war, but relying on the weather to help, the Soviet Union has not yet reached the moment of life and death, and what is most needed now is to increase its armament as soon as possible and strive to complete the assembly and launch a counteroffensive before spring. Moreover, Germany was too ambitious, and giving too much raw materials would also pose a threat to itself, so Stalin agreed with his approach and instructed: "Later, you will go to Comrade Kalinin and ask him to mobilize the GC International as soon as possible." The international column model of the international fighters in Spain is good and should be mobilized again to defend the Soviets. As for the Germans. Stalin paused for a moment, and lingered on the map with his pipe in his mouth for a while before continuing: "Comrade Molotov, please tell Germany that we will get the GC International to call for more workers in the occupied areas to start work and help them resume work, and the supplies can be delivered in half the quantity, but they must provide 1,000 engines for the 109 fighters, send experts to help us improve the design of the fighters, and preferably replace some urgently needed aluminum." ”

The shortage of aluminum in the Soviet Union was very serious, and now aluminum has become an important heavy metal from a minor material before the war, and all countries will not export it, so Stalin has this demand. After the two of them finished recording, he knocked off the ashes of his cigarette and turned his head and asked, "Comrade Mehris, you are the director of the Political Department, what do you think about the war report?" ”

Mehris is uneducated, there are people who are genuinely engaged in politics. Hearing that Stalin's tone had the meaning of acknowledging the invasion and defeat, he was shocked and waved his hand repeatedly: "General Secretary." Don't admit defeat! If you admit it, it will affect morale and fall into the trap of imperialist propaganda. ”

"Oh, really?" Who is Mehris Stalin knew very well that if it weren't for loyalty, he would have been kicked out of Moscow long ago. So he turned his head to look at Beria again: "What about your opinion?" ”

Beria was also worried about morale and internal chaos, but he was much smarter than Mechlis: "I think we should admit the invasion, but we should not publish the casualties in detail, so that we can mobilize the determination of the whole country to resist the invasion." It can also reduce the impact on the morale of the Red Army officers and curb the rebellious mentality of the ethnic minorities. "One should be announced, and the other should not be announced, which made it more difficult for Stalin to choose. Just then, there was a knock on the door. The secretary walked into the office with Zhukov, who had just returned from the front.

Seeing Zhukov, there was more smile on Stalin's face, which made Mechelis secretly jealous, and deliberately pretended to be very concerned: "Comrade Zhukov has worked hard, how is the situation at the front?" ”

"Rest assured, Comrade Stalin, the weather has helped us to stabilize the Kazakh and Siberian fronts west of the Aral Sea, but Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan are still very serious." Zhukov came back this time to report on his work and hoped to persuade Stalin to retreat from Tashkent and other places again. So after saluting, he didn't talk nonsense, walked to the map and pointed to report: "Intelligence shows that the enemy is taking advantage of the opportunity of winter to strengthen the forces of Turkestan, Andijan and Afghanistan. The number of known troops in the first two places has increased to five, and one army has also arrived in Afghanistan, and the situation is very critical. ”

After listening to the report, Stalin asked: "Comrade Zhukov. Did you say you wanted to see me on the phone, and you wanted to tell me this? ”

"Yes!" Zhukov did not hide his concern about the southern front of Central Asia: "Comrade Stalin. Now that the situation in the Tashkent region is very critical, I believe that it is necessary to immediately abandon Tashkent to preserve the vital forces, to destroy and cut all railway bridges from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and to deploy the main line of defense to the Karakalpakstan region between the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea. ”

Before Zhukov finished speaking, Mekhlis, who had always been very jealous of him, suddenly interrupted and sarcastically said: "Comrade Zhukov, do you want to give Uzbekistan and Turkmen to the Chinese as well?" Lose here, what about Afghanistan and Iran! ”

Stalin's face was also very displeased, he did not expect that Zhukov was in a hurry to see him, and he actually persuaded to abandon such an important place as Tashkent. Although he did not show himself on his face like Mehris, he was very dissatisfied in his heart, pacing back and forth with his pipe, and combing his beard with the mouthpiece of the cigarette from time to time. After a moment, he suddenly stopped and looked directly at Zhukov with stern eyes: "Do you think that Comrade Apanashchenko and they can't hold the Tashkent fortress?" ”

His annoyance was justified, because Tashkent was a real fortress! Although it is not as good as Sevastopol for hundreds of years, after learning that the Wehrmacht had built the Andijan Khujand Fortress ten years ago, he also ordered to use the fortress foundation left by Tsarist Russia to be repeatedly strengthened, and after cooperating with a large number of fortified troops, the overall defense capability is very strong, so he is reluctant to withdraw the army, hoping to turn Tashkent into a bone spur that will make the enemy unable to rest.

But Zhukov was not afraid of his eyes, and insisted with his head held high slightly: "Comrade Stalin, if you don't lose Kyzylorda, then it's okay to hold on to Tashkent." But having lost it, the enemy could attack the southern railway line at any time from a front hundreds of kilometers wide. As soon as the railway is cut off, Admiral Apanashchenko will again be alone! What's more, the Afghan Front is already surrounded, and if they fail, Mare can move north to attack Bukhara to threaten the flank! So Tashkent must be abandoned, otherwise another East Kazakh fiasco! ”

The battle of East Kazakhstan was already a thorn in Stalin's flesh, and when he heard this, he finally couldn't help but get angry, and interrupted angrily: "Comrade Zhukov, you have to be clear about one thing!" Every inch of the USSR belongs to the Soviet people, and we have no right to give it up! ”

Stalin's anger made the atmosphere in the room tense, and even Beria, who wanted to interject, shut up, and Mehris looked at Zhukov with schadenfreude. But Zhukov was determined to finish his words: "Comrade General Secretary, I am a soldier!" Always ready to carry out the supreme decisions of the High Command. Since you have appointed me commander of the front and deputy chief of the general staff, then I should dutifully inform the danger! It is impossible for the Afghan Front to come back, and if the British are not taken into account, their only way out is to break through to India! Without the Afghan side to cover the south, the fortress of Tashkent is a big grave! And we don't have much power right now! Nearly 2 million have been lost in the early stage, and Persia and the Caucasus have dragged 800,000, and the existing forces need to stabilize Kazakhstan and Siberia first. After the loss of Kyzylorda, the defense of Karakalpalastan needed at least 10 divisions! So at most, 6 more divisions could be sent to Tashkent. Of course, you can also move troops on the borders of Europe and in Leningrad, but what will Germany do with these troops after they are transferred? What about the Finnish Passage? So I think that since we can't get much strength for the time being, it is better to withdraw from Tashkent, so that we can gather the forces of 40 divisions in Karakalpakstan and launch a counterattack on Kyzylorda, making a gap in the enemy's Kazakh salient! ”

"Nonsense! What nonsense! Hearing his repeated emphasis on abandoning Tashkent and the only heavily fortified city in eastern Central Asia capable of greatly depleting the enemy's living forces, Stalin angrily rebuked: "Tashkent is a fortress!" A real fortress! With 50,000 workers, more than 100 fortress cannons of more than 152 mm were used! You want to give up in vain? It's a crime, it's a crime! ”

Zhukov is also in a hurry, the fortress war of attrition must first ensure that the roads are unblocked, if the railway is cut off, the root will not play the role of consumption, and hundreds of thousands of troops will be lost in vain! So it was also opened: "Comrade Stalin! If you think that I, the commander of the front and deputy chief of the General Staff, am talking nonsense, then what else do you want me to do? I beg to be sent to the Tashkent front, where I would have contributed more than in the icy Siberia. ”

When these words came out, Beria and Mekhlis were stunned, but they didn't expect Zhukov to dare to defy Stalin's absolute authority! Suddenly the room was eerily quiet, except for the sound of heavy gasps.

Stalin was furious, you must know that the current Zhukov is not as at the bottom of the Nokanmen victory, at most he can only be regarded as a pre-war genius and a meritorious defender of Afghanistan, and it cannot affect his decision. So he waved his hand rudely and directly did not give Zhukov a chance to speak: "Comrade Zhukov, I think you should go back and calm down, we can do without Comrade Lenin, and we can do it without you!" ”

"Comrade Beria, just follow your method about the war report and tell the comrades of TASS that tomorrow I will personally address the people of the whole country. Well, it's late, I need a break. Stalingen did not give Zhukov a chance to continue speaking, and after taking care of Beria, he immediately turned his head back to his room to rest, and deliberately slammed the door loudly