Chapter 404
“Boom…”
The dull rolling thunder passed by the rain-soaked window, shaking the entire window.
In the study room behind the window, Yuri put down the phone and let out a long breath.
He had just called his wife who was thousands of miles away, and told her to be prepared and to immediately implement the final plan they had agreed upon if she didn't receive his call before noon tomorrow.
Only the couple knew about this plan, and they certainly couldn't tell it over the phone, because according to this plan, the mother and son had to go to the nearest American consulate in the Soviet Union as soon as possible to seek political asylum. Considering Yuri's special status, the Americans would accept this political asylum application anyway, and they would certainly spare no effort to send the mother and son to the United States.
Of course, if such a thing happened, it would be a huge scandal for the Soviet Union. The youngest and most talented marshal in the history of the Union actually arranged for his family to flee. This incident itself could be used by the Americans as an excuse to attack the Soviet Union.
But for Yuri, those things are no longer important, because he may not live to see that time.
Standing up from the chair behind the desk, You Li walked out of the study with an expressionless face and returned to the somewhat deserted bedroom.
On the big bed in the bedroom lay a bunch of things he had just found - a marshal's dress uniform that had not been worn for a long time and an exquisite red leather suitcase.
He took off his nightgown and put on a neatly-made dress without a single wrinkle, then opened the red suitcase.
In the suitcase, there were neatly stacked brocade boxes of various sizes and shapes, in addition to these, there were also piles of documents and certificates.
Yuri opened the brocade boxes one by one, took out the medals inside, and hung them on the left and right lapels of his dress according to specific positions. These medals and awards were all honors he had won during the war. They were imprinted with his contributions to the Alliance and, of course, his qualifications.
There were quite a lot of medals and awards, almost covering half of his upper body. Although one or two medals were not very heavy, hanging so many of them together would be quite heavy.
After hanging up all the medals, Yuri looked in the mirror. After making sure that there was no problem, he put the military cap on his head, walked out of the bedroom, and headed straight for the stairs leading downstairs.
In the living room on the first floor, several guards who came with Yuri were eating the midnight snack just prepared by the service staff. When they saw Yuri coming down from upstairs in a "formal dress", they were all dumbfounded.
Since they became Yuri's guards, these people have never seen Yuri in military uniform, let alone such a "formal" look. It was not until this time that they realized that this was indeed the Soviet marshal who had commanded millions of troops in battle, the one who had appeared on the cover of Time magazine several times, who had led his troops to break through Berlin, and who had speechlessly criticized American five-star General MacArthur in Japan in the Far East.
Several guards stared at Yuri as he went down the stairs in amazement. It was not until he walked down the last step that someone reacted and hurriedly stood up to salute him.
"Have you finished eating?" Yuri saluted the guards. It had been a long time since he had saluted like that, and he was still a little uncomfortable with it.
"I'm done eating!" a guard replied respectfully.
"Everyone might have to work hard tonight," Yuri nodded, and as he walked towards the door, he said, "Take me to the Kremlin."
The guards hurriedly followed, and when they went out , two guards held up umbrellas above Yuri's head, fearing that not a drop of rain would fall on him.
The convoy quickly set out from the villa area and headed straight for the Kremlin.
Ten minutes later, the convoy appeared on Red Square. This time, Yuri chose to enter the palace from the Savior Gate, because he was going to Building 14 in the palace, which is now the location of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union. This building is right next to the Savior Gate, and further inside is the location of the Senate.
In the face of tonight's anomalies, the Kremlin Guard has responded. An isolation barrier has been set up in front of the Saviour Gate, and the guards do not allow anyone to enter or leave the palace.
The Kremlin Guards belong to the Ninth Bureau of the State Security Committee. In other words, the order should have been issued by Ignatiev. Now, Yuri is not clear about Ignatiev's position, let alone what role he played in tonight's events, so the first thing he has to do is to take control of the Kremlin Guards.
The Saviour Gate was blocked, and Yuri's convoy was forced to stop in front of the palace gate. The accompanying guards negotiated with the palace gate guards to no avail, and reported back: "Comrade Commander, the blockade order was issued by Lieutenant General Vlasik himself. Without his permission, no one can enter or leave the Kremlin."
Sitting in the car, You Li listened to the guard's report expressionlessly. Then he said nothing, pushed the door and got out of the car. He pushed away the guard who tried to hold an umbrella for him and walked straight towards the palace entrance.
According to past practice, the guards at the several entrances of the Kremlin usually have six people on duty per shift, but tonight, there are more than twenty guards guarding the Savior Gate, and they are all equipped with guns.
At this time, the rain was very heavy. After only walking a dozen steps, Yuri's military uniform was completely wet by the rain. Raindrops dripped from the brim of his hat like beads.
The light from the palace gate shone on him, and the badges that were soaked with rain sparkled under the light.
Inside the barrier, the guards who were holding guns put away their guns and saluted him.
Yuri stood in front of the first barrier and saluted the guards. Then, when he put his hands down, he placed them directly on the iron bars of the barrier and said, "I am Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov. Now, I want to enter the palace from here. I don't need the permission of Comrade Lieutenant General Nikolai. If you think I am a rebel, you can shoot me."
After saying that, he directly started to move the isolation barrier, but the isolation barrier was made of logs and iron rods and weighed hundreds of kilograms. There was no way he could move it by himself. The guards who came with him rushed forward from behind and helped him move all the isolation barriers one by one.
During the whole process, the guards responsible for guarding the palace gate only dared to watch, but no one dared to come forward to stop it.
After all the barriers were removed, Yuri did not get in the car. He walked directly to the palace gate and said loudly: "Now, I declare that the order of Comrade Lieutenant General Nicholas to block the palace gate is revoked. Later, our people's representatives will come to the Kremlin. With all the documents in hand, you must let them pass. Anyone who obstructs will be charged with treason."
Lieutenant General Nikolai refers to Vlasik. Logically, Yuri has no power to revoke other people's orders, but he did so today.
Walking into the Kremlin, Yuri went straight to Building 14, and the guard at the palace gate had obviously called Vlasik. When he reached the entrance of Building 14, a black Seagull sedan had already stopped in front of the entrance. When the door opened, not only Vlasik in military uniform got out of the car, but also Poskrebyshev, who looked anxious.
Seeing the two people getting out of the car and walking towards him quickly in the rain, Yuri secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least Vlasik was still Stalin's, so the next things would be much easier.
But even so, when he met the two, Yuri asked directly: "Why are you blocking the palace gate?"
Vlasik's lips were trembling, and he hesitated for a long time without uttering a single word. It was obvious that he was extremely nervous.
"Now, no one can be trusted, and we are worried that bad news will come out of the palace," Poskrebyshev answered for Vlasik.
"Is there any worse news than the palace gate being blocked?" You Li asked expressionlessly. This attempt to cover up one's own faults was simply ridiculous.
Poskrebyshev's lips trembled, but he could not utter any further words.
Without paying any more attention to the two men, Yuri walked towards Building 14. Behind him, the two men looked at each other, and then followed him at the same time.
"Yu... Yuri... Comrade Marshal, what should we do now?" Vlasik asked in a low voice as he followed Yuri's footsteps up the stairs in front of the building.
"Comrade Marshal?" Yuri smiled. He hadn't heard such a title for a long time. When he heard it for the first time, he actually felt a little warm.
"You have two things to do, Comrade Nikolai," Yuri said, slowing down his pace. "First, lift the blockade of the palace gates. Second, sound the alarm on Ivanovo Square."
Vlasik paused and stammered, "Alarm...alarm?"
Ivanovo Square is the largest square in the Kremlin, right in front of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. On the west side of the square, there is a high-decibel alarm, which was used to send warnings for German air raids during the Battle of Moscow. Once the alarm is sounded, the alarms of the 12 fire stations in Moscow will also be sounded.
Yuri stopped, turned to look at the pale Vlasik, and said in a cold tone: "This is an order, Comrade Lieutenant General Nikolai, but you can choose not to execute it."
"I...I," Vlasik stuttered for a long time, and finally nodded vigorously and said, "Is it now?"
"Right now," Yuri said calmly, "Comrade Lieutenant General Nikolai, please remember that tonight is a special moment of life transition for many people. For me, the worst outcome is to guard the pond, but for you, one wrong step and losing your head is the best outcome, so I hope you cheer up and find a way to protect your head."
