Chapter 358
After leaving the Ministry of State Security, Yuri did not go back to his office, but took a car directly back to his residence. After being so distracted by today's so-called consultation, he was in no mood to take care of work. He just wanted to go home and have a good rest for a day.
In his heart, Yuri had already prepared himself. If Abakumov continued to pester him, he would go to Comrade Kuznetsov to report the problem and ask him whether it was a struggle between them and Malenkov that had to involve him, an insignificant person.
The marshal's escort convoy returned to the villa area. When the convoy stopped outside the villa courtyard, Yuri saw through the car window that there was a military jeep parked quietly across the corridor. After getting out of the car, he took a special look at the pass on the front window of the car. It turned out to be a pass exclusively for the Moscow Military District.
This jeep was parked at the door of Yuri's residence. You know, because the residents in this villa area are of different status, it is rare to see a vehicle parked at the door of a villa. Most outsiders who come to visit the residents in the villa area will be asked to park their cars at the entrance of the villa area.
In addition, the security of this villa area is relatively high, and the pass issued by the Moscow Military District does not provide the right to enter this villa area. Therefore, Yuri was inevitably surprised to see a foreign vehicle parked at the door of his residence.
Yuri was just wondering when he saw the front door of the villa in the courtyard being pushed open. Angelica, dressed in casual clothes, walked out, and behind her was a tall young man in military uniform. Who else could it be but Arseny?
Seeing his former guard appear in the courtyard, Yuri's serious expression disappeared, replaced by a faint smile. He took his briefcase from the guard and said, "You go back first, in the afternoon..."
Looking at his watch, he thought for a moment and added, "Come pick me up at two o'clock in the afternoon."
"Yes, Comrade Marshal!" the guard responded, saluted, then turned around and left quickly.
At this time, Angelia also walked to the gate of the courtyard. She opened the gate, took the briefcase from Yuri, and said with a smile: "Why are you back so early?"
After that, without waiting for Yuri to answer, she turned sideways and said, "It's just right. Arseni said he wanted to look for you."
"General!" Arseny raised his hand and saluted with a smile on his face, saying loudly, "Ah, no, Comrade Marshal!"
"When did you come back?" Yuri walked in and closed the gate. He looked the other person up and down and smiled.
"This morning," Arseni said, "I came here right after reporting to the General Political Department. I didn't even have breakfast."
Yuri's smile grew wider. As a former superior, he certainly hoped that his subordinates would be close to him. This was human nature. Arseni was transferred to the Far East, and after returning to Moscow, he was able to visit him as soon as possible, which meant that he still had him in his heart. And saying so frankly that he had not eaten breakfast was a sign of closeness, and he would naturally feel happy.
Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, Arseni's direct words, such as "I came back in the morning" and "I reported to the General Political Department and came here", are too obvious to show his closeness to his old superior. But to be honest, this is the right way to get along with the leader. Being reserved, modest, and aloof are all bullshit. If you do things well but don't say them well, it will also be difficult to get the recognition of the leader.
"Then eat here," Yuri said casually, and stretched out his hand to pull Arseni's shoulder straps, and said with a smile, "Not bad, the new uniform and new rank suit you very well. Now you look much more handsome."
Arseny's current military rank is major general. He is probably the youngest major general promoted in the post-war Soviet Red Army system. From now on, it will be very difficult to be promoted to major general at the age of thirty.
Arseny took off his general cap, raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, and acted like a simple and honest person .
Yuri knew that his former guard was not a simple and honest person. On the contrary, he was very cunning. Otherwise, he, as an officer from the guard system, would not be able to command operations in the Far East so well. The military system is not a place where good people gather. People with real command ability may not be able to get along there, let alone a person with no command ability.
Arseny is so young and has been able to successfully rise to the top in the military system of the Far East. To say that he is a fool and does not know how to behave is probably a lie.
However, people are often like this. If Yuri had such a commander who didn't know how to command and only knew how to climb up the ranks when he was commanding the battle, he would have killed this guy immediately, or at least tried to get rid of him. But now, this guy was his former guard and had a close relationship with him, so he naturally had another idea, which is also human nature.
"Okay, let's talk inside if you have anything to say." Angelia was not familiar with Arseni and had only met him a few times, but she knew this person. After all, he was her husband's former guard and now he was a major general. It was not wrong to say that Arseni was Yuri's direct descendant. As a wife, she would naturally be very enthusiastic about this young man. "I have asked the chef to make arrangements. It should be almost done now."
Yuri nodded, and without being polite to Arseny, he walked towards the main entrance of the villa first.
Entering the living room, Yuri took off his military jacket and asked, "What arrangements did the General Political Department make for you? Will you continue to stay in the Far East?"
"I don't know what the final decision will be yet," Arseni took his coat naturally and hung it on the hanger outside the entrance, and replied, "But I have already applied for transfer back to the internal security work, and Comrade Meretskov also wrote me a letter of recommendation. When I reported to the General Political Department this morning, they did ask for my opinion and said that I should choose between Moldova or the Caucasus."
As he was talking, Yuri just walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down. After hearing this, he frowned and asked subconsciously: "Go to the Border Guard System?"
Arseni nodded, busied himself pouring Yuri a glass of water, and then sat down on the sofa opposite him.
There was nothing wrong with this arrangement made by the General Political Department. Arseni applied to be transferred back to the Internal Security system. The Internal Security system and the Border Guard system were originally under the leadership of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs. Many officers of the Internal Security Forces were actually promoted from the Border Guard system, and some people serving in the Internal Security Forces were also transferred to the Border Guard system to take up positions.
In the recent period, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs has just undergone a major adjustment, and many powers have been split. Whether it is the border guard system or the internal security system, the relevant personnel relations have been temporarily frozen. The General Political Department is conducting political reviews of the commanders in the two major systems. In fact, it is not wise for Arseni to request to be transferred back to the internal security system at this time.
However, it is impossible for Arseniy himself to know about such things. Not to mention him, even Meretskov may not know the inside story, because it involves the struggle between Zhdanov and others on the one hand, and Malenkov and Beria on the other.
Picking up the teacup, Yuri took a sip of tea. When he put the teacup down again, he glanced at Arseni who was sitting opposite him and asked, "What do you think?"
"I asked them," Arseni said, "If we go to Moldova, we will be in charge of the command of the Karalas Border Guard Corps, and if we go to the Caucasus, we should go to the Gadrut Border Guard Corps."
After a pause, he added, "You know me. I have great deficiencies in my ability to command operations. It doesn't matter where I go. I'm just worried that I won't be able to perform my duties properly after I go there."
Yuri nodded. Although the Soviet-German War and the War against Japan have ended, the problems facing the Soviet Union have not been completely solved. Both Moldova and the Transcaucasus are active areas of anti-government guerrillas, and ethnic issues are very acute. With Arseni's ability, it is really difficult for him to command the front-line troops in such a hot spot - of course, this is also an excuse. Even if Arseni is a good commander, he is probably unwilling to go to that kind of place because the conditions there are very difficult.
After Arseny expressed his concerns, Yuri did not speak for a long time. The living room became quiet and Arseny, sitting on the sofa, looked very uneasy until Angelica and the wait staff brought the prepared meal.
"Have you ever thought about staying in Moscow?" Yuri put out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, looked at Arseni across from him, and asked, "I mean, to work ?"
Among the several major military regions in the Soviet Union, the Moscow Military Region is the most special one, because it is a military region directly under the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs and is a genuine internal security military region.
Have you ever thought about it? To be honest, Arseni has never thought about it. It’s not that he can’t think about it, but he dares not think about it.
"Well, I'm afraid the General Political Department doesn't have such an arrangement," Arseni said after hesitating for a moment with a somewhat expectant tone.
He came to visit Yuri today, naturally to see his old leader, but in addition to that, he also wanted to ask Yuri for help. After all, he really didn't want to join the Border Guard system.
Yuri didn't say anything. He took the phone from the coffee table, shook the handle, and when the line was connected, he said to the operator: "The Defense Committee, Comrade Bulganin's office."
