In August 1942, on the eve of the imminent demise of the Paulus cluster. For the Soviet people, this war, which was both sacred and terrible, entered its second year. During this year, many far-reaching changes took place in all aspects of the Soviet Union.

Let's talk about it one by one! Let's start with the core of the supreme power in the Soviet Union -- the Politburo. The general structure of the Politburo has not changed at all since 1940, but both members of the Central Committee and ordinary members can perceive that the Party Central Committee is indeed changing.

The struggle between the Leninists and the Trotskyists, which lasted throughout the twenties and thirties, seems to have finally been decided. Although Trotsky and his friends occupied the three positions in the Politburo, they were the last glory or a return to glory.

Why, just count the heads, in addition to the triumvirate headed by Trotsky, Ulitsky and Radek, the only remaining tasks worth mentioning are Preobrazhensky, Pidakov and Smirnov.

The eldest of the three, Preobrazhensky, born in 1886, is now fifty-six years old and will be 59 three years later in 1945. In other words, Preobrazhensky will have to retire after five years at most.

And then there is Smirnov, who was only a year younger than Preobrazhensky, born in 1887, and by 1945 he would have worked for another five years. And note that this Comrade Smirnov is not yet a pure-blooded Trotskyist. This person is actually all the way with the workers' opposition and Kollontai, and he is the leader of the workers' opposition in history.

It's just in this historical time and space. Before Colontai could come to organize the workers' opposition, he was killed by the Mentor. So this Comrade Smirnov did not fall into the pit. Of course. He did not mix very well, he was closer to Bukharin's political views, and only after the fall of Bukharin and Rykov did he join the Trotskyists. Trotsky, to be honest, did not like him very much if it were not for the fact that he was not available.

Finally, Pydakov, the youngest, born in 1890, was only fifty-five years old in 1945, and could have worked for another ten years. And from the very beginning he was a core member of the Trotsky opposition. It belongs to the root red seedling positive. Trotsky had greater hopes for him, because he could never find a younger successor besides him.

However, Pidakov also had weaknesses, he was too disciplined, he was too "according to the rules" when dealing with political problems, and he lacked creative methods and ability to solve problems in the face of serious political problems. To put it bluntly, something big happened, and this one is a little unreliable.

Let's put it this way, among the three. Trotsky's greatest trust was in fact Preobrazhensky, if Trotsky was the soul of the Trotskyists. Then Preobrazhensky is the one closest to this soul. In terms of the theoretical construction of the Trotskyists, Preobrazhensky was a senior counselor and military adviser.

Therefore, Trotsky's highest hopes were actually for Preobrazhensky, but what made Lao Toh depressed was that this benevolent brother was too keen to engage in theoretical research, and his theoretical research was always a little bit of a challenge to the three views of the party. For example, the "Theory of Socialist Primitive Accumulation", which led to his expulsion from the party in history, the good guy really wants to strip off the bottom pants of socialism.

It is precisely because Preobrazhensky is so fond of theory that his ability to deal with practical problems is quite limited, and he is not even as reliable as Pidakov. According to Trotsky's assumption, Preobrazhensky would be the theoretical controller of the Trotskyists in the future, Pidakov would be in charge of implementation, and Smirnov would have to be a substitute to play soy sauce.

According to this plan, in fact, it is not difficult to see that the power of the Trotskyists changed after 1945, Ulitsky and Lao Toy had reached the point and had to retire, and Radek was exactly 60 years old, and he would serve another term to support Preobrazhensky and Pidakov. This barely lasted until 1950, which was regarded as leaving some time for the Trotskyists to develop potential newcomers.

In fact, the majority of the party saw Trotsky's arrangement, but the majority of the comrades thought that Trotsky was a little too wishful thinking. Because of the three people he is optimistic about, their status is really a bit unclassy. These three are only members of the Central Committee, and entering the Politburo is counted as a step, and becoming a full-fledged Politburo member is another step. To go up two steps in one go, this is really difficult.

Pidakov, for example, has every reason to brush him to the alternate bureau member. In other words, it is very likely that Pidakov will not become a member of the bureau in 1950, that is, at the age of 60. And the difference is too great.

Moreover, will the Leninists honestly leave the Trotskyists with three positions in the Politburo? It is quite difficult to say, in 1935 it was Lenin who supported Trotsky, and the old Tolotsky was able to mix more positions. And in 1945 Trotsky retired, and at that time there was no second Lenin who would have given face to the Trotskyists. It is quite possible that the Trotskyist seats will shrink, and the loss of one seat is normal, and the loss of two seats is not an exaggeration. After all, Preobrazhensky always makes that kind of shocking remarks, and the big guy really doesn't like this guy to become a member of the Politburo. Otherwise, in 1940, Preobrazhensky would have been an alternate member of the Politburo.

In other words, in 1945 the worst-case scenario was that the Trotskyists were left with only one seed, and the Trotskyists were probably going to have a hard time.

So in 1942 Trotsky was busy, busy with all the affairs of the Great Patriotic War on the one hand, and opening the way for him Preobrazhensky and Pidakov on the other. He tried his best to meet with the old revolutionaries and centrists, and said all the good things for these two, with only one purpose, to ensure that both of them could enter the Politburo, and at least one of them must be a bureau committee.

So anyone with a discerning eye can see that from 1942 onwards Trotsky was markedly old. At 63 years old, he looked as old as 73 years old, and even less energetic than his mentor in recuperation.

Even Li Xiaofeng, who was watching the play from the sidelines, could not help but sigh: "The current Trotskyism is completely supported by Trotsky alone, and if he falls, the Trotskyism will be finished." We must learn the lessons of the Trotskyists. It is necessary to give more opportunities to young comrades. Reasonable completion of metabolism. In this way, our business can continue for generations to come......"

The people who can listen to Li Xiaofeng say these words are naturally not ordinary, combined with the context of a certain immortal's speech, it must be the descendant of the Li family. What are they? We are familiar with Fogewind Jevich and Bulganin, and we are not familiar with Ustinov.

It is normal for the first two to be able to listen to the instructions of a certain immortal, and it is not normal for the latter to be Ustinov. If you know how awesome he is when you know that he is just 34 years old and who not so long ago served as the People's Commissar of the People's Commissar of the Soviet Union on Weapons and Equipment, which has just been created.

Many comrades learned about Ustinov from the confrontation between him and Gorshkov. As a die-hard opponent of aircraft carriers, Ustinov has caused a lot of trouble for Gorshkov. At one time, the development of heavy aircraft carriers in the Soviet Union was at an impasse.

Of course, the current Ustinov is not so awesome, he has just been added as an alternate member of the Central Committee, he is an out-and-out junior in the party, and Misty Yevich, who is two years younger than him, can overpower him in terms of seniority.

However, Li Xiaofeng was very optimistic about Ustinov, and in the Great Patriotic War, he showed outstanding ability to make the production of weapons and equipment in the Soviet Union so incredible. Otherwise, Stalin's pickiness would not have allowed such a junior with neither qualifications nor fame to hold so much power.

Even, in Li Xiaofeng's opinion. Ustinov is still a bit overkill, and it would be more appropriate for him to be the main leader of the Supreme Council of National Economy. Of course. This is not suitable for the time being, because at this time the boss of the Supreme Council of National Economy is Kuibyshev, the little partner of a certain immortal.

Of course, it is not impossible for Ustinov to sit in this position in the future, and even to serve as the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. In fact, in Li Xiaofeng's vision, after he retired, Wufeng Yevich would serve as the general secretary of the party and chairman of the Military Commission, and be in charge of ideology, personnel, and military power as the core of leadership. Kosygin and Ustinov respectively served as the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and became the chief steward, Dzerzhinsky's men continued to supervise the work of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and other guys who were old enough but had average ability were thrown to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet for retirement. Such a power structure is ideal.

However, there are also many variables in it, such as Bulganin, this one is ambitious, but Li Xiaofeng really can't believe it, and this thing is a bit half-hearted. He hates the grass on the wall the most, but given that Bulganin is still the backbone of his side, in order to unite his own people, he still has to leave a place for this guy, and with his character, the position on the Soviet side, he is probably not interested.

At least Bulganin had to be given a deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and this would be in conflict with Kuibyshev, after all, Kuibyshev was also from an economic background, and it was not suitable for him to work in the Soviets and party organizations. Thinking of the fact that Xiao Si was still in 1945, with Xiao Si's urine, he must be the chairman of the People's Committee, and Kuibyshev may only be able to serve as the deputy chairman. If Xiao Sigan has two terms, then Kuibyshev will really be a tragedy.

Yes, Li Xiaofeng also had a headache for the 1945 re-election, the chair is never enough, but there are always so many ambitious people. Li Xiaofeng guessed that in 1945, Xiao Si probably wanted to secure the position of chairman of the People's Commissariat and launch an attack on the general secretary of the party in a timely manner, how could he not be less than the current Trotsky's title, right?

However, Li Xiaofeng sincerely felt that Trotsky was a special case, and that his party general secretary was a remedy for his loss of the post of chairman of the Central Military Commission. And in 1945, who will make up for Xiao Si? At least Li Xiaofeng himself believed that it was the most appropriate way to distribute the matter to Radek as chairman of the People's Commissariat as chairman of the People's Commissariat and Ruzutak as general secretary of the party, and he to be chairman of the Military Commission. Not to say that everyone is happy, at least there is no particular unfairness.

Of course, Sverdlov is unlikely to accept it, and a struggle will be inevitable anyway. But what makes Li Xiaofeng happy is that now his side has the upper hand. Ruzutak is satisfied with this distribution, and with his support, Xiao Si may have to give face. But you can't be careless, after all, Xiao Si's age is there, and he will be 60 years old in 1945. I can only do it for one term. For this last splendor. He must strive to maximize his power, otherwise, he is really a coward.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng is also ready to do both, if Xiao Si accepts it, it is naturally the best, if he doesn't accept it, then let's do it with a real gun, anyway, politics is this thing. In the end, he still relied on his strength to speak, and Li Xiaofeng did not think that his strength was worse than Xiao Si.

These are all afterthoughts, and a certain immortal is also mentally prepared to think about it in advance. And this time he summoned three henchmen, it was more important for him to reduce the troubles in the future, and it was better to arrange the order for these three people now, so as not to tear them apart again in the future like Lenin and Trotsky, Stalin and Xiao Si, and he and Xiao Si. Some struggles can be avoided rather than avoided, and too much infighting hinders political stability and thus delays the good situation!

"Comrade Kirikaze Jevich. Tell us about your recent work! Li Xiaofeng first named Wufeng Jevic.

For Fog Wind, he has been a lot more honest in recent months. After the last lesson, he is a lot more stable. Being a political commissar in the Kursk Front, not to mention shining, can at least be regarded as conscientious. Anyway, Ubolevich was very satisfied with his performance, and commented on him: "Although Comrade Wufeng Yevich is very young, he does not have the impetuosity of a young comrade, he is steady and reliable, and all the work is done beautifully, so that people can't find fault with it." Especially for the areas he is not very good at, he can seek advice and learn from other comrades who are better at it in a timely manner...... Not arrogant, not impetuous, quite general......"

For Ubolevich to give such a high evaluation, it shows that the fog wind has made great progress. However, Li Xiaofeng doesn't believe that someone has experienced this time and has changed his ways, at least not completely. He felt that the foggy wind jevic was probably only a little more honest for the time being, and once the wind passed, the possibility of solid germination could not be ruled out. Therefore, for this first successor, Li Xiaofeng's attitude is that he must be tempered for a long time.

So when the work report of Wufeng Jevic was completed, Li Xiaofeng did not praise him in particular, but expressed satisfaction and encouraged him to make persistent efforts. It could be seen that the little liver of the fog wind trembled a little because of the slightly bland statement of a certain immortal.

As for Bulganin, after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he has been working in the Military Council of the Baltic Front, in fact, he is a soy sauce player. Don't look at the fact that he once won the rank of marshal of the Soviet Union, but he was not a general at all, and he could only engage in logistics and military and political work.

In fact, Li Xiaofeng paid the least attention to Bulganin, and even the better Bulganin performed, the more troublesome he felt. It's just that Bulganin's performance is really not outstanding. The main thing is that the Baltic Front really has nothing worth mentioning about the battles, and the war has been entrenched, entrenched, entrenched for more than a year.

The entrenchment certainly ensured the security of East Prussia and the Baltic line, but it was indeed rather tedious, and the generals in that direction could be said to have a tactical level of the First World War, that is, to delay the advance of the German army through dense positions like spider's webs, and that's it.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng also praised and encouraged Bulganin without pain, and then focused on Ustinov's performance. To tell the truth, his performance was really good, and from November 1941, Ustinov's main tasks were two: first, to ensure the production of tanks, and second, to ensure the production of aircraft.

Seems simple? No, it's not that simple at all. When the war broke out in the Soviet Union, there were three tank production centers, and the two most powerful were Kharkov and Leningrad, which were actually the design and production centers of the T-34 and the Stalin series tanks in history. As for Chelyabinsk, as a new plant, its technical capabilities (design capabilities) are limited.

After the outbreak of the war, the top priority of the USSR was the production of the T-34 and its variants. It seems that the historical perception is that the T-34 was easier to produce and could drown the Germans with a torrent of troops. But in reality the production of the T-34 was not easy.

In terms of overall design, the T-34 hull uses more inclined armor, which is conducive to increasing defense, but it is a big trouble in production. A relatively high welding process is required, and the Soviet Union is really close to this.

And this is still the simplest body to build, and the bigger technical problem is the engine and gearbox. Because the B2 series engine uses more aluminum alloy, its production performance is actually relatively poor. Looking at the Germans who also tried to produce diesel engines in World War II, but finally had to give up, it can be seen that not everyone could play diesel engines at that time. Especially for the Soviet Union, which is relatively weak in technology, it is really not easy to use B2 rioters.

Speaking of gearboxes, the transmission system has always been the weakest point in the Soviet Union, and precision gear processing is really not easy for the rough hair. In fact, whether it is the T-34 or the Stalin series of heavy tanks, its gearbox can only be said to be rudimentary compared to Britain, the United States and Germany.

A fixed-shaft mechanical transmission was so stumbling that the T-34 had to carry a spare gearbox to fight in World War II. It can be seen how scummy its reliability and longevity are.

Therefore, for Ustinov, how to make good use of the existing resources of the Soviet Union and integrate them to produce a large number of tanks urgently needed by the army is a big test. While the Germans produced a thousand No. 4 tanks and more than 2,000 No. 3 tanks in more than a year from July and August 1941 to July 1942, the three tank factories of the Soviet Union produced nearly 7,000 T-34-76s and more than 1,000 T-35A (not counting the output of North Industries) under the supervision of Ustinov.

Let's put it this way, with medium tanks alone, the USSR opened up almost three times the gap with its opponents! (To be continued.) )

PS: Bow and thank you Admiral Hood, Drunken Wufeng, Southern Rangers and Comrade Juventus!