Zaitsev had a premonition of Stalin's words, but when he really heard the other party say these sentences, he finally showed a collapsed expression: "Comrade Stalin! I can defend you with my life until the last second! Please don't give up lightly! We still have loyal soldiers, and you can't abandon them and leave alone." ”

For Zaitsev personally, the Stalin, who was already emaciated to the point of being a little out of shape, was no different from his elders. He loved the great Soviet leader as much as he loved his father. And Stalin, who is regarded by many as a three-point coldness, is also like a loving father to his henchman Zaitsev, kind and tolerant.

The two men worked together for seven years, and after graduating from the first batch of soldiers of the Wolf Knight Academy in 1932, Zaitsev came to Stalin's side as a commander. Although there were few ruthless soldiers left, he still felt that the hundreds of soldiers under his command could protect Stalin from danger at a critical moment.

So he never showed a look of despair, and even waited for Stalin himself to change his mind. As long as Stalin was willing to leave Moscow, Zaitsev felt that he could leave this dangerous place at any time with this man, who was like his elder.

"Don't force it, don't force it...... It's like a huge cage from which we can't escape. Stalin said miserably: "Find a safe place and bury my body." This is my last wish, and I hope you can help me with it...... Is that okay?"

With his tears in his eyes, Zaitsev seemed to use all his strength before he moved his neck and nodded with difficulty. At this time, he could no longer say a complete sentence, and could only grasp Stalin's palm vigorously, hoping that the other party would suddenly change his mind.

Without looking at Zaitsev, who was already a little out of shape in front of him, Stalin grabbed the phone on his desk and said to the other side: "I'm Stalin, help me take over the city defense command, find Comrade Marshal Zhukov, I have something to say to him." ”

Soon the phone was connected, and the special line was specially laid in the subway tunnel, and there was no danger of being cut off by shells by chance, which could be regarded as a benefit obtained in disguise after the line of defense was narrowed, because several headquarters were close to the subway tunnel. Over there, where Zhukov was, the Germans were shelling, and the rumble of shell explosions could be faintly heard.

"I'm Stalin!" Holding the telephone receiver, Stalin regained his spirits, and his words were a little slow, with a hint of the majesty of a long-time high-occupied: "Comrade Zhukov, I order you to automatically take over the command of the defense of Moscow in 12 hours, understand?"

On the other side of the phone, Zhukov obviously did not expect that Stalin had just woken up and given him such an obvious order, and he knew what this order meant, so he felt that the telephone receiver in his hand was weighing like a thousand pounds in an instant.

He did not immediately reply to Stalin, but kept his mouth shut and was silent, and the other side of the phone did not seem to be in a hurry to hear the meaning of the reply, and waited for Zhukov's answer in the same silence. After a while, Zhukov finally spoke: "Comrade Stalin...... If you allow it, I will return to the Kremlin now...... I'd like to say a few words to you in person......"

"I understand what you mean, Comrade Zhukov. The facts have proven everything, you have lived up to the trust I have placed in you, and you have repaid me for your loyalty. Stalin smiled bitterly and said to Zhukov on the other side of the phone: "Don't persuade me anymore, this idea has been thinking in my heart for more than ten days, and there is nothing to change." ”

"There is nothing more to say about the meeting, Comrade Zhukov. We may not be able to talk to each other for three days, but I don't have three days. Stalin sighed: "Since I can't finish saying these words, then I don't need to say anything, just keep them all." ”

"Then, Comrade Stalin, by your order, in 12 hours I will take over the entire command of the defense of Moscow...... Please instruct whether to continue the fight or allow the troops to make the choice of surrender. Zhukov heard that Stalin did not intend to let him return to the Kremlin, so he continued to ask.

"Fight! We must fight! We are the banner of this war, and if someone in Moscow surrenders in the end, then this war will really end! Understand?" Stalin hesitated for a long time, and finally answered Zhukov's question: "Like a totem, stand tall! Like a man, look at death as if it were home! Our death will eventually work, and the people of the German-occupied territories will stand up and avenge us!"

When Stalin shouted these words, with the same frenzied passion as a speech, he waved his arms in a loud and firm voice. Until now, he still firmly believes that someone will take over the banner of resistance from his hands, and he has always believed that the remaining Soviets can defeat Germany and restore the territory of the Soviet Union.

"I understand! Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov took the phone and replied to Stalin on the other end: "I will do my duty, please rest assured." ”

After saying this, there was no movement on the other side of the phone, and after two seconds, the busy sound had already come, Stalin hung up the phone, and Zhukov had to slowly hang up the telephone receiver solemnly back to its original position. In the future, the phone may never ring again, so when he hung up, Zhukov couldn't bear to take his hand off the receiver.

In Stalin's office, Stalin, who hung up the phone, began to call one after another to the heads of all sides. Some were in charge of underground bunkers, some were in logistics, some were commanders of nearby armies, and some were servants and attendants. He arranged for them one by one, and informed Zhukov of the transfer of command in 12 hours.

After meeting the last man, Stalin sat down behind his desk. He calmly pulled open the drawer on his desk. Inside is a delicate iron box that sits next to documents and various medals and stamps. Holding the box in both hands, Stalin took it out of the drawer, placed it in front of him, and gently opened the lid.

Inside was a delicate revolver, as well as a few rounds and a vial of poison that had been prepared long ago. Seeing the contents of the box, Zaitsev stepped forward, stretched out his hand and said in a trembling voice: "Don't ......"

"Don't stop me! Zaitsev!" Stalin pulled out the fragile clear glass bottle, his trembling hands as if shaking the poison in the small container, and as if he was trembling from too much nervousness. Anyway, he walked to the side of the bed with a small vial and motioned for Zaitsev to pick up the revolver in the box.

"Kid, I want to walk peacefully, I'll bite this container in a moment, I've heard it's going to be a little scary. You hit it with a pistol so I don't have any pain. Stalin sat on the edge of his bed, raised his head and commanded Zaitsev.

With tears in his eyes, Zaitsev nodded, and then tried to suppress the pain in his heart, wiping the tears from his face with his hands. He knew that nothing could be changed, and that he had to use the rest of his time to do what Stalin wanted him to do.

"Bah!" Under the frightened gaze of a dozen senior officers outside the door, from inside the locked door of Stalin's office, there was a desperate and devastating gunshot. It was the morning of August 6, 1939, when Stalin had bitten the poison in his mouth and was beaten to death on a floppy bed by the captain of his own guard.

This absolute ruler who once called for wind and rain in the Soviet Union and said nothing about it, just left this world. He once launched the Soviet-Finnish War and the Soviet-Polish War to expand the territory of the Soviet Union to the limit, but he also experienced the largest fiasco in the Soviet Union or human history, and lost his country in this fiasco.

"Crunch. With the rust of the folds, Zaitsev pushed open the door of Stalin's office with a blank face, and whispered a terrible fact to the crowd in front of him, who no longer knew how to behave: "The leader has left us." ”

Some people were crying softly, some were looking left and right at a loss, and many more people just lowered their heads, not daring to look up at the empty door. Zaitsev opened his mouth mechanically and called out to the two guards: "Guards, come in with me, we can't let the leader's body be found by the Germans." ”

The two soldiers were equally expressionless, they had long been ready to live and die with Stalin, and now this matter could not really be called a disaster for these soldiers, and a more appropriate adjective would be relief. They can finally fulfill their vows and have the time and opportunity to do so decently.

"Ring, ring, ring!" In Zhukov's office, another telephone rang, and Zhukov, who was lying on the table in contemplation, raised his head and looked at the tinkling telephone, his eyes full of confusion and uneasiness. Eventually, he picked up the phone, was silent for a few seconds, and then hung up.

Then he looked at the officers and the chief of staff standing beside him, and spoke in a slightly sad voice, stating the brief content of the phone call just now: "Comrades...... The leader has just left us. ”

No one spoke, no one cried, and the Soviet soldiers, who were still alive in the encirclement of Moscow, were numbed by the brutal fighting. They just looked at Zhukov and waited for the commander, who at the moment seemed to be the highest-ranking commander, to give the next order.