Chapter 364
The first snowfall in Moscow this winter was not heavy, and there was not even a bit of snow on the ground. But on the third day after the first snowfall, the second snowfall followed.
It was a really heavy snowfall. Snowflakes as big as elm seeds fell densely all day long, and the whole of Moscow was buried in snow. It is said that "auspicious snow means a good harvest", but such heavy snow obviously has nothing to do with the word "auspicious". It has become a snow disaster.
What's worse is that the snow covered a large area, from Western Belarus to Moscow Oblast. It was not so bad in the city, but in some villages and towns, many old, simple and traditional wooden houses collapsed in the snow disaster, which was really worse for the Soviet Union, whose economic situation was not very good.
The Kremlin after the snow.
Along the cobblestone road that had not been thoroughly cleared, Yuri walked side by side with a young man wearing a black woolen coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
The young man had a thin face and wore a pair of round-framed black glasses. He talked as he walked, while Yuri, who was walking with him, listened attentively.
"…The Chinese Communist Party's high-level commanders are of high quality," the young man spoke quickly, but his pronunciation was clear and without a strange accent. "The two troops involved in the battle this time are what they call the 'Shandong Field Army' and the 'Central China Field Army'. Right now, we don't know the specific situation of the battle, and the relevant intelligence has not been fed back. However, according to the news from within the Kuomintang government, they have lost at least an entire division of troops."
It was obvious that what the young man was talking about was about the situation on the domestic battlefield in China, and more specifically, the "Subei Battle" that had just .
Since June, the Kuomintang army launched a large-scale offensive against the East China Liberated Area. After five months of continuous fighting, the Kuomintang army seized most areas including Suzhong, Huainan, and Huaibei.
According to the previous analysis of the Soviet intelligence department, the Kuomintang army had an absolute advantage in this large-scale confrontation in East China. Therefore, the General Staff suggested to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Communist Party of China should make appropriate concessions in order to strive to maintain the results of the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations and strive to form a left-wing coalition government with the Kuomintang.
In other words, Moscow is not optimistic about the domestic situation in China, so it decides to settle for second best and strive to establish a regime in China that is pro-Moscow, or at least remains neutral between Moscow and the West.
However, just when Moscow thought that the East China Liberated Area was difficult to defend, a sudden battle broke out in the Suqian area. The Chinese Communist Army fought a beautiful annihilation battle in the four-way attack of the Kuomintang's large army. Although the specific results of the battle are still unknown, it is certain that the Chinese Communist Army also has the ability to fight large-scale operations, which is a point that the General Staff has strongly denied before.
That's right, the General Staff had previously determined that the Chinese People's Liberation Army did not have the ability to fight large-scale troop battles, and that guerrilla warfare and harassment warfare were their specialties, as they had demonstrated in their wars against Japan over the past few years. Don't talk about the Hundred Regiments Campaign, which was not a standard form of large-scale troop warfare. Fundamentally speaking, it was still harassment warfare and sabotage warfare.
On the issue of China, Moscow has actually been wavering. From a standpoint, it certainly leans towards the side of the fraternal party, but in reality, it needs to make more trade-offs. Therefore, this battle, which was not very famous in later generations, actually had a certain impact on Moscow.
The young man's name is Zhikhvensky, Sergei Roonidovich Zhikhvensky, and he is only 28 years old.
Don't underestimate this man. Although he is less than 30 years old, he is already an associate doctor of history. At the same time, he also serves as the consul general of the Soviet Consulate in Peiping. His other identity is the chief of the Peiping Station of the Intelligence Committee of the Council of Ministers.
I need to add that this person also has a Chinese name, Qi Hewen, which was given by the famous writer Cao Jinghua. Later, he became an active promoter of Sino-Russian friendship and a leader in Russian Sinology. He wrote many books on Chinese history, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences almost followed and translated his works as they came out.
Moreover, this old man lived a long life and did not die until 2018, just before Yuri traveled through time.
To be honest, Yuri has no say in China's domestic affairs. Even if he wants to do something, he can't do it. However, he is still concerned about the situation there and will ask people from time to time.
Walking side by side with Zhikhvensky to the small building where Comrade Stalin had his office, Poskrebyshev was already waiting downstairs. This time he was not there to pick up Yuri, but was waiting for Zhikhvensky. Comrade Stalin urgently needed to learn the real situation in China from this young man.
Yuri did not go upstairs with them. He stood on the steps in front of the building and lit a cigarette for himself. He had only taken two puffs when he heard footsteps coming from behind him.
Behind him was the entrance to the small building, but he was standing with his back to the entrance. Therefore, when he heard footsteps, he subconsciously looked back, only to see that the person coming was none other than Kaganovich, who had a big forehead and a small mustache under his nose.
Comrade Kaganovich at this moment was definitely not as high-spirited as he was when he went to Ukraine a year ago. His face looked somewhat sickly pale, and he had always liked to dye his hair black, but it was obvious that he did not take good care of it. The gray hair on his head was very clearly visible, making it easy to imagine that he was already in his fifties.
Just three days ago, Comrade Stalin made a new decision to remove Comrade Kaganovich from the post of First Secretary of Ukraine and transfer him back to Moscow. His successor is also his predecessor, Comrade Khrushchev. Today, Khrushchev not only serves as the First Secretary of Ukraine, but also has full authority over the government of Ukraine, which is equivalent to holding both the party and government power. Considering that the current commander of the Kiev Military District is Andrei Antonovich Grechko, who not only has a close relationship with Khrushchev, but also has been under Yuri's command, therefore, Comrade Khrushchev, who actually holds both the party and government power, also has a great say in the Ukrainian army.
To be honest, from this point of view, Comrade Stalin was very decisive in employing people. Of course, this also reflected the urgency and seriousness of the Ukrainian issue. Comrade Kaganovich worked in Ukraine for a year, both suppressing bandits and exiling people. As a result, the situation in Ukraine not only did not calm down, but became more and more serious. His poor governing ability and dull political sense were fully exposed in this year's work, which also aroused Comrade Stalin's strong dissatisfaction with him.
Yuri got a tip that on the night Kaganovich returned to Moscow, Comrade Stalin presided over a small-scale office meeting to determine his new job after returning to Moscow . At this office meeting, Comrade Stalin mercilessly mocked him in front of everyone present: "My Lazar Moiseevich, what should I do? Apart from writing an application for early retirement, I feel that you can't do anything well."
Don't think this is just a joke. In fact, it is a very clear hint. To put it bluntly, Comrade Stalin doesn't like this loyal but clumsy follower, so he has to stand aside.
The core of power in Moscow is like this. Who can stay in which position and how long they can stay there depends entirely on Comrade Stalin's face. When Comrade Stalin gives someone a face, in addition to loyalty, he also looks at ability. Comrade Kaganovich meets the first condition, but not the second. When the situation in the core of power is unfavorable to Comrade Stalin, he is necessary to exist, but when the situation turns around, his existence becomes irrelevant.
Comrade Kaganovich, who walked out of the small building, was obviously absent-minded. He seemed not to have seen Yuri. He just lowered his head and walked without even saying hello.
Watching his decadent figure gradually moving away from his sight and slowly blending into the snow scene that had not yet been cleared, Yuri couldn't help shaking his head and sighing in his heart.
With the end of the war, the struggle within the power core of Moscow was becoming increasingly fierce. On the issue of Kaganovich, although there was reason for his own incompetence, there was also the factor of political struggle. As far as Yuri knew, Comrade Khrushchev had made many reports about Kaganovich to Stalin.
In addition to Kaganovich, Comrade Malenkov has also had a hard time in recent times.
Just one week before Kaganovich was transferred back to Moscow, Zhdanov made an investigation report on the major mistakes of the Aviation Industry Commission during the war at a meeting of the Central Presidium chaired by Comrade Stalin himself, and publicly criticized Malenkov. Subsequently, Comrade Stalin decided to transfer Malenkov out of the Central Secretariat.
Being kicked out of the Central Secretariat was a major blow to Malenkov. After Malenkov was squeezed out, the Central Secretariat, which was originally led by three people, was left with only Andreyev and Zhdanov. Of course, Comrade Stalin himself was still the first secretary.
Losing the position of Secretary of the Central Secretariat was equivalent to sending a signal: Comrade Malenkov had lost power. For the entire power circle in Moscow, this signal was very important and would inevitably trigger a series of chain reactions.
