Chapter six hundred and fourteenth overcast clouds
Zhukov is a natural soldier, and the value of a soldier can only be reflected on the battlefield. Although Stalin promoted him to deputy chief of staff, for Zhukov this was not what he wanted. He would rather be sent down to be a front commander.
Even being a group army commander is better than facing a bunch of data and a bunch of boring trivia here all day long.
However, knowing Stalin's character well, he did not dare to say anything and just silently accepted the result. For Stalin, although Zhukov, the most famous general in the Soviet Red Army, was the most advantageous trump card in his hand,
But Stalin did not want him to always lead the troops on the front line. Stalin still understood the principle that the servant is strong and the master is weak. Throughout the ages, all outstanding leaders are proficient in checks and balances, and Stalin is also the same, although he appreciates it in his heart.
Zhukov, but after rational analysis, he still suppressed this appreciation and instead sent Lieutenant General Vasilevsky to the Far East to take charge of Siberian military affairs.
Although Zhukov was a little disappointed, he quickly suppressed this displeasure in his heart, "Dear Comrade Stalin, although China has accumulated some troops on the border, I think these threats are far less serious than those entrenched in the western region and pose a threat to us.
The threat from Germany, which is staring covetously, is huge. You must know that the Germans have deployed more than three million troops there, and this number is still increasing. I hope you can make a notice so that the various military districts in the west can prepare adequate preparations.
Be prepared, don't be caught off guard when the time comes."
After listening to Zhukov's words, Stalin thought for a while, turned around and asked the Foreign Minister sitting on his left: "Comrade Motolov, is there any movement in Germany in the west?"
Motolov said: "Comrade Stalin, there is not much movement in the west for the time being, but yesterday German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop sent me a telegram. In the telegram, Ribbentrop claimed that they had recently visited
The troops mobilized in Poland were to prepare for the attack on Britain, and now they are just coming to the east to rest. This situation will continue until about July. Germany will also send reinforcements to northern Norway via Finland, and some German troops entered Romania to send military representatives to help
Romania's training of troops is not aimed at our country, and I hope we can understand."
"Yes." Stalin nodded noncommittally and then turned to look at the Minister of Industry on the right, "Comrade Jimmy Raff, is our trade with the Germans still going on normally?"
"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Jimmy Raff raised the glasses on the bridge of his nose with his habitual hand, "So far, the Germans are still abiding by the contract with us. Yesterday, a train of German industrial machine tools arrived on time.
Southern Poland was handed over to our people, and now that train has been diverted to the factories in Ukraine."
Stalin nodded with satisfaction: "Comrades, the current situation shows that although the Germans have deployed heavy troops in Poland and the western part of our country, they still try their best to avoid conflict with our country. From this we can conclude that although the Germans
Our great enemy, but at present, the possibility that the Germans will go to war with us within at least a year is very small. Comrade Zhukov, as a soldier, it is right to always be vigilant, but we must learn to judge and look through the circumstances of things.
phenomenon to find the essence. In addition, I hope that the Belarusian Military Region will lower the acting registration for this year’s autumn exercises to avoid any misunderstandings on the German side. This is my opinion.”
Stalin's words were the final conclusion. Zhukov lowered his head silently after hearing this, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Okay, let's put aside the issues between the Germans and the Chinese for the time being. Now let's talk about the Japanese." Stalin said as he took out his corn pipe, slowly stuffed it with shredded tobacco and took a cut.
He lit the match slowly, but his eyes couldn't help but look at the expressions of the people around him. As expected, everyone had a look of confusion in their eyes.
Finally, Huasha Levsky broke the silence and asked: "Do the Japanese have anything to do with us now? They are too far away from us. They were beaten out of breath by China some time ago, and even Sakhalin Island
It was lost. If their navy hadn't been strong enough, the Chinese would have invaded the mainland long ago."
Although there was no obvious expression in Huashalevsky's words, everyone around him could hear his disdain for the Japanese.
"No, no, Comrade Vasilevsky, you are wrong. The Japanese came to us this time to ask for cooperation with us. Therefore, the person who led the team to Moscow this time was Japan's Foreign Minister Matsuoka.
Yangyou, it seems they are quite sincere."
"Sincerity" Everyone present curled their lips. If they had been sincere, they would not have deployed heavy troops on the border to compete with the Soviet Union in the three eastern provinces. Oh, now that I know I am afraid, why would I have gone there earlier?
"The Japanese have asked us to sign a new non-aggression agreement. They also want to buy scrap steel from us to meet their increasing needs. Of course, the purpose of the Japanese buying scrap steel in large quantities is unknown to all of us.
You know, the U.S. market has closed its door to the Japanese some time ago, so they turned their attention to us again." Stalin continued to speak in his calm tone.
This time everyone was silent. As the saying goes, the enemy of the enemy is a friend. Everyone is happy to see the enemy of the Japanese and the Chinese. The Soviets also hope to see the Chinese and Japanese fighting to the death, although no one wants to see it.
They like Japan, a duplicitous country, but in comparison, they hope that Japan can consume China's strength.
Motolov nodded: "Although I don't like the Japanese very much, I still hope that they can contain the Chinese navy in the Far East, so I tend to sell scrap steel to the Japanese."
"I agree"
"I agree"
Seeing everyone expressing their opinions, Stalin nodded slightly, "Okay, let's end today's meeting here, and let Comrade Motolov handle matters dealing with the Japanese. In order to show his support for them,
, Comrade Motolov, you can tell Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka that I will receive him in a few days."
"Okay, Comrade Stalin."
The Japanese Embassy in Moscow. Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka, who had come all the way to Moscow, was having a secret conversation with Naoo Matsui, the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union, in a dark room.
"Matsui-kun, how is the atmosphere in Moscow now?"
"Matsuoka-kun, everything is normal in Moscow now, and their troops are just mobilizing normally. There is no big movement for their troops on the western front. In short, everything is no different from before."
"They didn't take any precautions against the Germans in Poland." Matsuoka Yosuke couldn't understand why the Soviet Russians were so reassured about Germany. "Don't they feel any danger from those fierce Germans standing at the door?
"
"No," Matsui Naoo shook his head in affirmation.
"Oh, a bunch of guys with no sense of crisis." Matsuoka Yosei shook his head and expressed his confusion.
"Matsui-kun, the preparations for the empire's southward expansion plan have been basically completed. Now all we have to do is wait for the opportunity and perfect it as much as possible. The Americans have closed the market door to us, and now the only people who can give us assistance are
Soviet Russia, so we must not miss this opportunity." Yosuke Matsuoka said in a positive tone: "The millions of troops deployed by the Germans in southern Poland will not be used to deal with the British. Their purpose must be
Soviet Russia, if Germany and Soviet Russia go to war, it means that our last steel import channel will also be cut off, so we must take advantage of this short period of time to buy as much scrap steel as possible, and your embassy must also fully cooperate.
I, do you understand?”
"Hai"
Matsui Naoo stood up and answered solemnly
While the Japanese were desperately buying scrap steel all over the world, the Germans were also desperately trying to conceal the direction of their attack. Although Germany had given up on the "Sea Lion Project", they still announced to the outside world that the "Sea Lion Project" was still in progress.
middle.
Since March, the Germans have continued to use many means to confuse people's attention. They first created illusions, printed and distributed a large number of British maps, equipped the troops with a large number of English translators, and assembled a large number of troops along the English Channel and Pas de Calais.
They deployed many fake rockets on the coast as tools for sea crossing and landing, and sent troops to conduct frequent landing operations exercises, creating the illusion that the troops were going to attack Britain on a large scale.
At sea, the German submarine forces pounced on the British transport fleet like madmen. These ferocious sea wolves told everyone with facts that the British's dilapidated and old-fashioned escort fleets were useless in front of the German undersea assassins.
A group of sheep that were left to be slaughtered. For a time, all the ships traveling to and from Britain on the Atlantic were groaning in pain.
The German performance not only deceived the Soviets, but also stimulated the British. In April, British Prime Minister Churchill ordered the entire Far East Fleet to be mobilized back home to participate in the escort, and made an emergency loan to the United States to purchase dozens of destroyers and cruisers.
At this moment, another shocking news came out of Germany, which attracted the attention of everyone in the world.
"Why did the Chinese sell the Dingyuan-class battleship to the Germans?" In the office at No. 10 Downing Street, Churchill's expression was as ugly as that of a middle-aged man who happened to be caught in bed by his wife during an affair.
"The Germans publicly unveiled the two super battleships in Hamburg, Germany yesterday, and Hitler officially named them "Friedrich der Grosse" and "Odin"
Admiralty McKenna, standing in front of Churchill, answered Churchill's question in a positive tone.