Chapter 408: Finale
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out, and a body fell face down on the dark grey carpet. The blood that flowed from the head of the body quickly dyed a large area of the carpet nearby dark red. The body was wearing a military uniform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Judging from the shoulder straps, his rank was very high, that of Lieutenant General.
Putting down the pistol he was holding tightly in his hand, Shelepin tried his best to control his trembling hands. He did not try to wipe the blood splattered on his face, but turned around and faced the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were crowded in the corridor.
At this moment, there were at least dozens of guns aimed at him in the corridor. As long as one person fired first, he and the three people he brought would be shot to pieces in a few seconds, because he had just executed the First Deputy Minister Kobulov, who was on duty at the Ministry of Internal Affairs tonight, without any interrogation or sentencing.
Shelepin knew very well that this move would put him in absolute danger, but he had to do it because Kobulov had gone crazy. After learning about the current situation, he not only did not choose to change sides and abandon Beria, but was ready to mobilize the internal security forces and police forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to launch a counterattack. This guy even said that he had some evidence in his hands that could send all those guys who were plotting in the Kremlin to the execution ground.
So, Shelepin had no choice but to pull out his gun and kill this brain-dead guy.
The corridor was deathly quiet. Even though the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel crowded in the corridor all had guns pointed at them, they didn't know how to deal with the situation. The guy who killed Kobulov was from the Central Supervisory Committee, and the people present had dealt with him many times in the past.
In this dead silence, dull footsteps were heard from the stairs. After a moment, the footsteps stopped at the other end of the corridor. Then , a majestic voice sounded: "What are you doing?"
Hearing this voice, Shelepin suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he felt his legs go weak, as if he could no longer support the weight of his body. He collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
"Are you planning to start a rebellion?" Another voice followed, "Everyone, go back to your offices. No one is allowed to leave their posts without orders!"
The previous voice was relatively unfamiliar to everyone in the corridor, but the latter voice was familiar to them. It was the voice of Comrade Fitin, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Although he has always been a marginalized figure in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Deputy Minister is still the Deputy Minister, and at this moment, his words are definitely useful.
Watching the people in the corridor disperse, Yuri nodded to the ruddy-faced Feigin and said, "Comrade Feigin, can the presidium trust you?"
Feigin's face turned redder. He straightened up, saluted Yuri, and said loudly: "Comrade Marshal, please give us the order."
"Very good," Yuri returned the salute and said, "Your mission is to control the entire Ministry of Internal Affairs until we receive new notice. No one is allowed to enter or leave this building. Seal off the Ministry of Internal Affairs' communications center and prohibit any contact between the inside and outside. Can you do it?"
"Make sure to complete the mission!" Feijing said loudly.
Yuri nodded, shook hands with the other party, then winked at Shelepin and turned to walk towards the stairs.
This trip to the Ministry of Internal Affairs was not as smooth as Yuri had imagined. When he arrived at Lubyanka Square, the Ministry of Internal Affairs building was under a blockade order. The guards said that their superiors ordered the blockade to be implemented because the rebellion was instigated by military generals, so even Yuri could not enter.
Fortunately, Comrade Feigin arrived in time, and with his cooperation, the guards who were originally hesitant were disarmed.
In fact, what Yuri didn't know was that Comrade Fegin didn't just arrive by chance. He rushed over from home as soon as the alarm sounded. His keen political sense told him that tonight might be the best time for him to change his fate. As for choosing a position, that didn't exist. As a person who had been marginalized in the Ministry of Internal Affairs for nearly a decade, it was impossible for him to piss on the same pot with Beria.
Coming out of Building No. 2, Yuri stood at the door, watching the heavy door of the building slowly close. His mind couldn't help but drift to Arseny again. Now, all the loopholes have been filled. The only thing missing is the link presided over by Arseny. As long as there is no problem there, the chance of accidents happening next time will be very small.
…
The village of Volynskoye.
On the tank marked "309", the radio antenna swayed gently in the heavy rain. The commander, wearing a tank uniform, leaned half of his body out of the cabin, with his hands on the pergola, looking at the two bodies that had just fallen on the grass not far away.
Oh, it's not accurate to say there were bodies because one of the men was clearly still alive, struggling in the grass, trying to crawl over here.
In the direction of the village, a high-powered searchlight cast a beam of light in this direction. In the tweeter, the exasperated voice was still roaring: "...You are rebelling. I order you to lay down your weapons..."
Next to the tank, a machine gunner changed the magazine and asked in a low voice: "Sergei, why do I have a bad feeling? Are we really rebelling?"
"Shut up!" a sergeant shouted angrily, "Whether it's a rebellion or not, we are just following orders."
The sergeant spoke more slowly, "And you heard what that guy shouted just now. He said that the people inside had imprisoned Comrade Stalin. They are the rebels."
"Shouldn't we let him come over?" the machine gunner muttered. "He is Comrade Stalin's guard."
"The order we received is not to allow anyone to come out," the sergeant was also a little confused. He had no idea what was going on tonight. The people above said that there were rebels in the village, but the village broadcast said that they were Comrades Beria and Malenkov, and several people who rushed out of the village said that the people inside had imprisoned Comrade Stalin... It was a mess and there was no logic at all.
In the end, with no idea of the situation, the sergeant had no choice but to obey his superiors' orders. In his subconscious, obeying orders was always the right thing to do.
The roar in the village finally stopped. The sergeant seemed to have seen something. He reached out and slapped the machine gunner on the helmet, scolding: "Focus, damn it, didn't you see that guy crawling over here?!"
The machine gunner shrank his neck, then pulled the trigger and fired a burst of shots, pinning the wounded man who was still crawling in the grass to death.
"Any abnormal transfer of power is bound to result in casualties. Bloodshed is normal," Yuri said to Shelepin, who was sitting beside him, while playing with his military cap in the speeding car. "You did a good job, Comrade Shelepin. Don't think too much now. Just try to do your job well."
"Comrade Chairman, can you tell me whether a coup is taking place tonight?" Shelepin was silent for a while and suddenly asked.
At this time, the car just turned onto the Red Square, which was already crowded with people, and umbrellas covered the entire square. With the help of the lights, you can see a large number of reporters with long and short guns crowded there, they rushed like a tide to the blockade set up by the guards, trying to rush over to stop the buses that were slowly entering the palace gate.
Something happened in Moscow and something was wrong in the Kremlin. Everyone could tell that. So, the foreign journalist teams stationed in Moscow swarmed in despite the heavy rain like sharks smelling blood.
They thought that the party representatives sitting in the bus should know the inside story, so they couldn't wait to interview them, but in fact, until now, no, maybe until several years later, only a few dozen people know what happened tonight.
"Comrade Shelepin, no one is plotting a coup," Yuri turned his gaze away from the outside of the car, glanced at the young man next to him, and said with a smile, "Well, or maybe everyone is plotting a coup, but the answer is not important to you. What you need to consider now is how to carry out your work next. I am going to nominate you to be the Minister of Internal Affairs, and I hope you are mentally prepared."
His sudden words made Shelepin stunned for a moment, but he soon nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Chairman."
Who cares what the hell happened, whether there was a coup or not, the key is who has the final say after tonight.
The car slowly drove into the Kremlin. Yuri did not go to Building 14, but went directly to the Grand Kremlin Palace. When his car stopped on the square in front of the Grand Kremlin Palace, four buses were already parked there.
"Send Comrade Shelepin to the meeting place," Yuri reminded the driver when getting out of the car. Shelepin was also a party representative elected by the Central Supervisory Committee, so he also had to attend the meeting.
Watching the car disappear at the end of the bluestone road, Yuri looked up at the sky. At this time, a hint of gray had appeared in the eastern sky, and the heavy rain seemed to have lessened. Well, it was almost dawn.
Stepping on the rain water that had accumulated on the ground, Yuri walked up the stairs slowly. At the entrance of the palace, a tall figure holding an umbrella came towards him and walked side by side with him.
"What happened?" Rokossovsky, whose uniform was also soaked, asked.
"Comrade Stalin died last night," Yuri said softly, looking forward. "Beria and Malenkov tried to block the news and seize power in the central government. With the resistance of the remaining members of the Presidium, we crushed their conspiracy to seize power."
The heavy rain poured down on Yuri's head again. He stopped and turned to look at Rokossovsky who was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Rokossovsky let out a breath, took two steps forward, and said, "No matter what happens, I support you."
…
The huge curved conference hall was crowded with people. Although there were thousands of people present, the entire venue was quiet without any noise. Every party representative present had a serious expression, and everyone's eyes were focused on the rostrum.
Because the incident happened in a hurry, the venue was arranged very hastily. There was not even a nameplate on the table in front of each party representative, and the voting machine was still turned off. On the rostrum, several staff members were moving the table down . It was obvious that the number of presidium members who were about to sit on the rostrum had decreased.
The sound of the bell from the Ivan the Great Bell Tower could be heard faintly. It was already six o'clock in the morning, on the hour.
As the bell rang, members of the Presidium appeared on both sides of the rostrum. Except for Comrade Bulganin, the rest of them took their seats on the rostrum one by one. Looking at Comrade Khrushchev sitting expressionlessly in the seat in the middle, the thousands of party delegates below the stage could no longer hold back and burst into an uproar of discussion.
"Silence! Silence!"
Bulganin took a manuscript, walked quickly to the front of the podium, and spoke loudly into the microphone.
His voice echoed back and forth in the conference hall, but it failed to suppress the discussions of the representatives below the stage.
"Where is Comrade Stalin?!"
Someone in the audience shouted loudly.
"We want to see Comrade Stalin!"
"Yes, we want to see Comrade Stalin!"
The noise grew louder and louder, even drowning out Bulganin's voice.
Bulganin looked back in the direction of the rostrum, and after receiving a signal from Khrushchev, he reached out and tapped on the microphone. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a group of people walking in from the side door of the venue.
Among the people who walked in at this time, the one walking in front was Yuri in marshal's uniform, and following him was a group of generals .
The huge conference hall fell silent in an instant, and the delegates then discovered that there was an empty seat on the far right side of the hall. It was obvious that it was reserved for representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, the General Staff, the General Political Department, the General Logistics Department, as well as various military regions, naval fleets, the German Cluster, and the Eastern European Cluster. In other words, the military representatives had only just entered the hall.
Yuri walked in from the side door, but did not go up to the podium immediately. Instead, he stood by the door and shook hands with the military representatives who followed in. Among those who entered the venue later, the representatives even saw Zhukov, who had always been at odds with Yuri.
Yuri didn't turn around until the last general entered the venue. He scanned the venue and then stepped onto the podium.
He walked around the back of the rostrum and came to Khrushchev's side, and finally sat down in the empty seat to the left of Comrade Khrushchev.
Seeing him sitting in the seat that originally belonged to Malenkov, there was another commotion in the meeting hall. Then, warm applause suddenly broke out from the seats of the military representatives. At this point, the commotion in the meeting hall quickly subsided. Everyone present understood that no matter what happened to Comrade Stalin or whether this was a coup, in short, these people on the stage had the support of the military.
With more than half of the members of the Presidium present, and support from the army, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee playing dead, no one present could change anything unless Comrade Stalin came in person.
Moreover, for the representatives present, there were not many who really cared about Comrade Stalin's situation. Most of them were still concerned about themselves. Whether it was a coup or a legal transfer of power, it would bring some changes to the lifeless personnel issues of the alliance. Those guys who were loyal to Comrade Stalin, Malenkov, Beria and others would probably be removed, and the vacant positions might give everyone a chance.
That’s right. In official circles, no one can expect anyone to be loyal to him or her. People in this circle have only one object to be loyal to, and that is their own career.
The meeting became quiet again and Comrade Bulganin was able to continue his speech.
In front of thousands of party representatives from various states, republics, departments, and industrial and mining enterprises, he directly announced the news of Comrade Stalin's death and made public the "fact" that Beria and Malenkov attempted to usurp the party and seize power.
A key point here is that among all the people present, no one really knows the condition of Comrade Stalin, but it does not matter. Whether Comrade Stalin has died or not does not depend on whether he is still alive, but on whether the people present believe that he is dead.
As long as the vast majority of people present believe that he is dead, then even if he is alive, he is already dead. On the contrary, if the majority of people present do not believe it, then everyone on the stage will be in trouble.
Therefore, when Comrade Bulganin announced this in a sad and trembling voice, everyone on the stage was on edge. Comrade Bulganin's trembling voice was not caused by sadness, but by fear. If it were not for the podium supporting him, he would probably have collapsed to the ground while saying this.
As expected, when the news was announced, the meeting place fell into chaos again. There were indeed people who questioned loudly, but these people were only a minority. Naturally, some people would remember their names. Since they did not believe that Comrade Stalin was dead, they would be sent to reunite with Comrade Stalin.
After hearing the news, most people in the venue remained silent. Some people cried, either quietly or loudly. It is normal to vent emotions. Even Yuri on the stage wiped away tears. After all, a great man has passed away. Oh, it should be said that after all, a great man may have passed away. It is reasonable for everyone to shed tears and remember him.
Yuri was also thinking back to every bit of his encounter with Comrade Stalin, thinking back to how much he valued him, how he promoted him, how kind he was to him, and how… Comrade Stalin’s office was really nice, but Comrade Khrushchev probably disdained to use it. Although this guy hid it very deeply, Yuri could still sense his hatred for Comrade Stalin… Hmm? Aren’t you remembering Comrade Stalin? Why did he get distracted?
The wet military uniform was very uncomfortable to wear, but Yuri also knew that this meeting would not last long, because it had only three functions: first, to test the representatives' reactions; second, to determine the list of members of Comrade Stalin's funeral committee; third, to announce that the National Congress would be postponed for four days and to hold a grand memorial service throughout the Union.
During the four days of recess, the existing members of the presidium need to do a good job of working with the numerous representatives, win over those who can be won over, appease those who can be appeased, and if those cannot be won over or appeased, then just get rid of them directly.
The list of members of the funeral committee was easy to determine. All those who were qualified to carry the coffin were sitting on the rostrum. The only problem was that there were not enough people on the rostrum, so the coffin might be a bit heavy to carry. But if you ask Yuri what he thinks, he would probably say... I can do it myself.
The entire meeting lasted for an hour. At seven o'clock, the meeting ended and all participating representatives were asked to stay in the Kremlin temporarily and participate in collective mourning activities after breakfast.
When Yuri left the Kremlin by car, sad funeral music was already playing on the loudspeakers in downtown Moscow. At the moment the funeral music sounded, the foreign journalists gathered on Red Square went crazy. They couldn't wait to send this news back to their countries that would shock the whole world - Stalin, the iron-fisted leader of the Red Empire, had passed away.
For the whole world, this means the end of an era. Perhaps for many leaders of Western countries, they can breathe a sigh of relief when they hear this news.
However, they probably felt a huge pressure coming down on them before they finished their sigh of relief, because at 7:30 a.m., Moscow Radio announced the list of members of the funeral committee for Comrade Stalin. The name of Marshal Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov, who clearly represented the interests of the Soviet military and had always taken a tough stance on foreign affairs, appeared in second place on the list of members. This meant that after Voroshilov, a powerful figure from the military once again appeared in the core leadership of the Soviet state. The worst thing was that this powerful figure had grown up in the iron and blood of World War II, and he was still very young...
Yuri's car drove back to the villa area where he lived. At the entrance of the villa area, his guards were still faithfully carrying out the smoking cessation mission. Inside the villa area, the residents who also lived on the upper floors had obviously received the news. They gathered on both sides of the road in the villa area and watched Yuri's car slowly drive by.
…
To the village of Volinskoye, a jeep came at lightning speed.
The car stopped in front of the roadblock set up by Arseni, and a major in the uniform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs got out of the car. He took a look at the road leading to the village, and then handed a document to Arseni who came up to him.
Arseni had already heard the funeral music and the news announced by the announcer on the radio. He took the document handed to him by the major, checked the seal, and tore open the envelope only after making sure it was intact.
There was only a palm-sized note card in the file folder, with a simple line of handwriting on it.
After reading the handwriting on it, Arseni's hand couldn't help but tremble. However, he quickly calmed down, took out a lighter, burned the note card, and then shouted: "All the people in the direct company, assemble!"
After shouting, he turned around suddenly and looked at the road leading to the village.
…
