Red Moscow

Sokov originally planned to stay here for a while, so that he would have the opportunity to have a good chat with Zhukov and find out what his current situation was.

But his wish was destined not to come true, because this year was the first day of the New Year in 1946. Many people came to pay Zhukov New Year greetings, including generals and marshals in the army, as well as comrades working in the local area. Because there were so many people, Sokov and Yakov could only sit in an inconspicuous corner to make way for the important people who kept arriving.

"Misha, you also come to greet Marshal Zhukov in the New Year! You are here early enough." After Rokossovsky finished his New Year's greetings to Zhukov, he saw Sokov and Yakov sitting in the corner, and He came over and greeted the two of them: "Yasha, you're here too."

"Hello, Comrade Marshal." Sokov and Yakov quickly stood up and raised their hands to salute Rokossovsky.

Rokossovsky waved his hands at the two of them and said, "Don't be so polite. If you have to salute when you see someone, I guess you won't be able to let go of your hands today."

Sokov laughed dryly, and then said: "Comrade Marshal, I originally planned to go to your place to pay New Year's greetings after leaving here, but I didn't expect you to come here." Now that I have seen Rokossovsky , it’s time to say the prepared blessing: “Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, I wish you a life full of sunshine, a successful career, good health, and eternal happiness!”

"Thank you, Misha!" Rokossovsky shook hands with Sokov, thanked him, and then asked: "I just heard someone say that you seemed to have mentioned it to Comrade Khrushchev. Is there anything like this that made him very unhappy?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I did make a suggestion to Comrade Khrushchev just now, but unexpectedly it made him unhappy."

Sokov's words aroused Rokossovsky's curiosity, and he asked tentatively: "Misha, what suggestions are you making? You might as well talk about it and listen to it."

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov didn't want what he said to be heard by too many people. He looked around and then said cautiously: "There are too many people here and it's inconvenient to talk. Can you come with me and have a chat outside?" ?"

In front of Zhukov's villa is a huge swimming pool. Because it is winter, there is no water in the swimming pool.

Sokov and Yakov accompanied Rokossovsky around the swimming pool and to a location away from the villa.

"Okay, there are only three of us here. If you have anything to say, just say it." Rokossovsky said: "I am very curious about suggestions that can make Khrushchev angry. What kind of suggestions are they? ”

"Comrade Marshal, the situation is like this." Sokov said without any scruples: "I told Comrade Khrushchev that due to the war, Ukraine lacks enough manpower, resulting in a large amount of land being barren. If after spring, If the weather is good, there won't be much of a problem. But if there is a sustained drought, it may lead to large-scale crop losses. Therefore, I suggested to Comrade Khrushchev that we should plant a large number of drought-resistant potatoes and corn. Even if the worst happens, there will be enough crops to avoid famine."

After listening to Sokov's story, Rokossovsky smiled slightly, and then said: "Misha, you can say this casually. If it had been anyone else, Comrade Khrushchev might have ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to People arrested him. Did you know that your remarks were spreading panic? Since Khrushchev regained control of Ukraine, just when he was about to show off his power, you suddenly told him that it would be possible after the spring of this year. It would be strange for him not to be angry when a drought occurs, leading to a large-scale reduction in food production.”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was also indifferent to this matter, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little anxious, but he couldn't tell him directly, saying that I am a person from the future, and I know about the historical events that are about to happen, Ukraine in 1946, Due to the drought, crop yields were significantly reduced, and coupled with the 400 million poods of grain imposed by Stalin, a large-scale famine occurred in Ukraine. In the end, nearly a quarter of the people died of hunger.

"Comrade Marshal, although the situation I mentioned is based on my analysis based on various information, I can tell you with certainty that a significant reduction in food production due to drought will definitely occur." Sokov euphemistically said "If drought-tolerant crops such as potatoes and corn are not planted in large quantities, once Ukraine's grain production suffers a large-scale reduction, there may be a large-scale famine, and the situation will be difficult to deal with."

"No way." Although Rokossovsky felt that Sokov's statement was nonsense, considering that he had known him for such a long time, his judgment had always been surprisingly accurate, so he cautiously said Said asked: "The situation won't be as bad as you think, right?"

"Comrade Marshal, the actual situation may be much more serious than my guess." It was precisely because the person standing in front of him was the trustworthy Rokossovsky that Sokov dared to speak out his worries boldly: " Although the war has ended, there are still a large number of hostile forces in Ukraine. These enemies who originally relied on the Germans, although their masters, the Germans, have been defeated, they are not willing to fail and continue to engage in various sabotage activities. However, it is difficult for our army to completely eliminate them in a short period of time.

Think about it, if there is a drought in Ukraine after the spring of this year, and these hostile elements destroy farmland everywhere and snatch food from the collective farm members, will it cause problems with the food supply? "

After listening to Sokov's words, Rokossovsky became more and more cautious: "Misha, I have some understanding of the situation you mentioned. Although after the war, our army increased its attacks on gangs in Ukraine, Poland and other regions. However, since they are all locals, familiar with the terrain, and someone has tipped them off, it will be very difficult to eliminate them. The most optimistic estimate is that it may have to wait until the end of this year or next year, that is, the beginning of 1947, to Eliminate them completely."

"Comrade Marshal, you should know that Ukraine is the big granary of our country. The food produced here needs to be supplied to other parts of the country." Sokov continued: "Some people say that during the period when Ukraine was occupied by the Germans, even if it was affected by the war, Although the food produced can still meet the needs of most areas, the people who say this seem to have forgotten that in order to establish the Dnieper River defense line, Manstein not only cleared a large amount of food on the left bank of the Dnieper River. Residents were forcibly moved to the right bank, taking away farm animals, burning farmland, blowing up factories and businesses, and destroying bridges and roads. These places were severely damaged during the war and were not suitable for resuming agricultural production in a short period of time..."

When Sokov laid out the facts one by one, Rokossovsky fell silent. He originally thought that Sokov was a little distracted because of his repeated military exploits, and it was not important to speak in front of such an important figure as Khrushchev. But now it seems that everything Sokov said was right, and the situation in Ukraine is much more serious than he imagined.

"Then what's the solution?"

"First we must find ways to solve the problem of shortage of manpower," Sokov said. "After solving the problem of shortage of manpower, we can then plant large quantities of drought-tolerant crops such as potatoes and corn."

"Wait a minute, Misha, you said you need to solve the problem of shortage of manpower first." Rokossovsky looked at Sokov and asked: "Since the end of the war, large-scale reconstruction work has begun everywhere. The problem of shortage exists to varying degrees. You said you want to solve the problem of shortage of manpower, so I want to ask you, where do the manpower come from? "

"Comrade Marshal, we actually have a lot of manpower that can be used."

"Tell me, where are these people?"

"In Siberia." Sokov replied: "Let's not talk about the hundreds of thousands of Kwantung troops captured in the August storm last year. Putting these enemies who have recently laid down their weapons in Ukraine may become a destabilizing factor. Therefore, I think we should consider sending all the German prisoners of war imprisoned in Siberia to work in Ukraine, so that they can help the local residents grow potatoes and corn that can survive the famine.”

"Misha, you have already said that the hundreds of thousands of Kwantung troops imprisoned in Siberia by our army will be a destabilizing factor if they are released to Ukraine." Rokossovsky frowned and said: "Is it possible to put the German army If the prisoners of war are transferred, won't they become a destabilizing factor?"

"Their situation is different." Sokov said with a smile: "The German prisoners of war were detained in Siberia for four years and for almost a year. After they learned that the war was over, they couldn't wait to return home as soon as possible. Return to their hometown. If we transport them from Siberia, place them in Ukraine, and tell them that if they perform positive labor reform, they can be released early and return to their homeland to reunite with their families. With this commitment, I I believe they will work hard and strive to return home to their families as soon as possible.”

Unexpectedly, after Rokossovsky listened, he turned his attention to Yakov who was next to Sokov: "Misha, your proposal is very bold. I suggest that you ask Yasha to come forward and contact his father. Give you a chance to make suggestions in person. As long as Comrade Stalin agrees to your suggestions, tens of thousands of German prisoners of war will be transported from Siberia and placed in various areas of Ukraine."

"Misha, I also think your proposal is too bold." Yakov waited for Rokossovsky to finish and then said cautiously: "I can talk to my father and ask him to meet you, but you It’s hard to say whether his proposal will be approved.”

"Yasha, I beg you, be sure to ask your father to agree to meet me." Sokov looked at Yakov and said in a pleading tone: "Otherwise, during the wheat harvest season this year, there may be large-scale disasters. of famine.”

"Come on, let's go in." Rokossovsky said to Sokov and Yakov: "We have been out long enough. If Marshal Zhukov finds that we are missing, he will definitely find it strange."

Just as Rokossovsky expected, when Zhukov chatted with several old subordinates, he unexpectedly discovered that his old comrade-in-arms Rokossovsky was missing. Sokov and Yakov disappeared at the same time as him. They realized that the three of them must be discussing something, so they hid in a quiet place.

At this moment, when he saw three people walking in from outside, Zhukov immediately greeted them. He said to Rokossovsky: "Koschka, where have you been? I was looking for you everywhere just now. I thought you just left without even saying hello."

"How could it be, Georgy Konstantinovich!" Rokossovsky affectionately called Zhukov's real name and father's name, and said with a smile: "I haven't seen Misha and Yasha for a long time. , I wanted to chat more. Because there were too many people here, we went outside to find a quiet place and chatted for a while. "

Zhukov waited for Rokossovsky and stared at Sokov and Yakov for a while. He found that the expressions on their faces were not abnormal, and thought that he was being suspicious. Then he said casually: "If you want to find a quiet place to chat, you can tell me directly, and I will arrange for you to go to the empty room upstairs to talk outside. Don't you think it's too cold?"

Rokossovsky chuckled and said: "During the entire war, I basically stayed in my headquarters. The environment at that time was almost the same as now. A little severe cold means nothing to me. Woolen cloth."

Zhukov put a hand on Rokossovsky's shoulder and said to him with a smile: "Koschka, Comrade Malenkov is here. He wants to see you. Come with me."

When Zhukov and Rokossovsky walked towards Malenkov at the other end of the living room, Yakov couldn't help but said with emotion: "I didn't expect that even Comrade Malenkov came to pay Marshal Zhukov New Year's greetings."

"Do you know Comrade Malenkov?" Sokov asked curiously.

Yakov nodded vigorously and said in a positive tone: "He is a person that my father trusts very much. If my judgment is correct, his status in the future may be second only to my father."

Hearing what Yakov said, Sokov couldn't help but give a thumbs up in his heart. He didn't expect Yakov's guess to be so accurate. After Stalin's death, Malenkov did take over his position. Unfortunately, his abilities were limited. , was soon replaced by Khrushchev.

"Misha," Yakov looked away, looked at Sokov and asked, "I'm ready to leave, will you come with me?"

"Of course," Sokov nodded, "Since we came together, we naturally have to leave together. But before leaving, we should say hello to Marshal Zhukov. It would be too rude to leave without saying goodbye."

It happened that after Zhukov introduced Rokossovsky to Malenkov, he walked towards Sokov's location.

Sokov hurriedly greeted us and said politely: "Comrade Marshal, Yasha and I are leaving. We came here specifically to say goodbye to you."

Zhukov nodded slightly, and then said: "Misha, there are too many people today, and there are many things difficult to talk about. You'd better come back in two days, and we can sit down and have a good talk."

"Okay, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded and said, "I will find time to visit again in two days."