"Ladies and gentlemen, the only force that the government can really rely on today is the field troops on the front line. In the capital, for example, the workers and garrisons were on the side of the Petrograd Soviet, and without the cooperation of the Soviets, the factories were not open, the trains were not running, and even the bakeries were not open, and even if the government wanted to suppress it, it could not mobilize even a company of garrisons. ”

Alekseev paused and abruptly accentuated his tone: "I am not alarmist, if the army at the front is defeated in this offensive, the government will not only lose its bargaining chips with the Entente, but also lose the power to contain the Soviets. If the Soviets instigate a military coup d'état by the garrisons, the abolition of the Duma and the General Staff, and the establishment of a utopian regime like the Paris Commune, what can you do but tie your hands down? ”

Prime Minister Lvov stroked his gray beard and did not seem to take Alekseev's warnings seriously.

"Army...... Yes, we can't lose the army, but we can't break with the Soviets either, that means civil war...... So, isn't it enough to form a coalition with the Socialists? Anyway, aren't they fooling those poor ghosts to make trouble, just to put pressure on us, and give them a few ministerial quotas? ”

"Your Excellency, you will never know how much appetite a wild wolf has - until you see it eating people."

Alekseev responded coldly, in his opinion, whether it is Lvov or Milyukov, they are all talkative masters who can only talk about cannons, and they have no common sense at all.

"Today's military meeting is held, let's not talk about politics first, let's talk about the front line. The stakes are high, and unless the army is facing a real and serious crisis, we cannot allow the front line to retreat without a fight - look at the map. Russia is big, but we are about to have nowhere to retreat. ”

Guchkov, who had done some practical things, was not a complete waste in Alekseev's eyes - although his bravado by banging his knuckles on the table was childish.

"Speaking of maps, please take a closer look at them—"

Alekseev is quite good at going up the tree.

"On the Ukrainian side: since the fall of Minsk, the right flank of our Southwestern Front has been completely exposed, with the consistent operational policy of the German army. Sooner or later, a powerful mobile corps will move south along the Dnieper River and carry out a roundabout outflanking, and the main forces of the front army assembled west of the Dnieper will once again face the danger of being encircled. ”

"If the main forces of the Southwestern Front are crushed, not only will a large area of the territory east of the Dnieper River fall rapidly, but the left flank of the Western Front, the rear of the Caucasian Front and the Volga Front will also be exposed, and our army will lose its defensive elasticity and fall into a passive situation of being attacked by the enemy everywhere."

"On the Urals: According to credible information, the Chinese army has transferred most of the elite troops from the Siberian side to the Central Asian side. And concentrated its efforts on improving the supply lines of the Central Asian side, and in terms of troops, weapons, and provisions, it constituted an overwhelming superiority over our Volga Front guarding the defense line on the Ural River. ”

"Once the Chinese army breaks through the defense line of the Ural River, it will have the opportunity to use the armored mobile operations that it has always been good at, and divide and encircle the slow-moving and scattered infantry corps of our army with the long-trained mechanized composite corps, and at that time, the entire eastern front is likely to completely collapse......

Guchkov suddenly interrupted: "What you say is just speculation. It was not the actual situation on the battlefield, but the pressure on the Soviet side was real and imminent. ”

Only a little respect remained in Alekseev's heart. Vanished in an instant.

"If you ignore the reasonable foresight of the General Staff and allow the army to fall into a dangerous situation only for the sake of a little immediate political interest, once the army collapses and Russia perishes, you will become the sinners of the Russian nation and forever nailed to the pillar of shame in history!"

……

"Coward. A bunch of cowards! The old men raised in the Duma, who had neither vision nor determination, were now frightened by the Soviets - they were not at all worthy to lead the country. ”

On the other side of the Winter Palace, in the office of the commander of the Petrograd garrison, on the edge of the window of Alekseev's hand. Overlooking the calm Neva River, his eyes were mixed with contempt and anger.

Kremov - the commander of the Petrograd garrison whose actual power does not extend beyond the confines of the Winter Palace - stood up and handed him a glass of vodka, and his tone was slightly apprehensive: "Anyway, they approved your withdrawal plan, what are you going to do next?" ”

Alekseev took the small openwork glass, raised his hand to drink the clear and clear liquid in the cup, and sneered: "What else can I do?" Bring back a few reliable divisions from the front, disarm the garrisons, shoot all the representatives of the Soviets, let the Duma lords surrender power, and put an obedient Grand Duke on the throne, who will appoint us and others to form a cabinet - so that we can return to the track set at the same time. ”

"What if the garrison resists?"

Kremov clutched his glass, still hesitating.

"Then use machine guns and artillery to deal with them - I'll find a way to get some more tanks and armored vehicles back."

Alekseev didn't care.

"In that case, the capital will turn into hell - a hell for the Russians to kill each other."

Kremov took the empty glass that Alekseev had handed back, and presented his own glass of wine that had not yet touched his mouth.

Alekseev drank it all again.

"If you don't, the whole of Russia will become what you call hell."

Kremov narrowed his eyes.

"Even if you succeed, Russia will still turn into hell."

He paused, grabbed the whole bottle of vodka and took a big sip.

"The supporters of the Soviets and the Duma will become your enemies, and even if you drive them out of the center of power, they will still oppose you elsewhere, and you will have to keep suppressing them while you continue the war - how many people do you think will support you, and how long can you hold out?"

Alekseev sneered: "It is enough for me to have the support of the army." ”

Kremov spat a mouth full of wine, squinted and asked: "So, where did the army come from?" The present army is no longer at the disposal of a few aristocratic officers, and the will of the people influences the army all the time, and there is now a ready-made example of this: the garrison of Petrograd, which numbered more than 100,000 men, within a week, all sided with the Soviets, and turned me, the commander of the garrison, into a bare pole. ”

Alekseev was unmoved: "As I said earlier, we want to have a Tsar - unconditional allegiance to His Majesty is part of the traditional beliefs of the Russian people. ”

Kremov sneered: "The Tsar is like a statue of a god, when it is enshrined in a sacrosanct temple, it is indeed revered, but once it is smashed and thrown into the stinking ditch, in order to restore the faith of the people, it is useless to recreate a statue of a god."

Alekseev bowed his head and sighed, and stomped his feet with regret: "So, you don't plan to do it with me." ”

Kremov spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "I have no power to stop you anyway - what I can promise you is to keep my mouth shut." ”

Alekseev shook his head, walked to the hanger at the door, took off his military cap, and put it on.

"Until that day comes, I will keep your place at you, and if you change your mind, be sure to contact me as much as possible."

Kremov raised the bottle in his hand to him: "I really hope that day will not come." ”

"Goodbye, Kremov."

With the last words, Alexeiv opened the door and left his office without looking back—two blocks from Petrograd Central Railway Station, where a special train to Moscow was waiting for him.

…… (To be continued......)

PS: It's not a scam corpse, someone is still alive, just dead a computer - Happy April Fool's Day to everyone (weird)