Red Moscow

After arriving at the place mentioned by traffic policeman Misha, Sokov saw a duty station and a traffic policeman standing at the door, looking around anxiously.

Seeing Sokov driving over, the traffic police officer quickly raised his hand in salute and gestured to Sokov to drive into the yard of the duty station.

When Sokov passed the traffic policeman, in order to confirm whether the other party was waiting for him, he stopped the car and asked tentatively: "Comrade traffic policeman, are you waiting for me?"

"Yes, Comrade General." The traffic policeman said respectfully: "My colleague told me that a general who drives a barrel truck needs to find a place to refuel his car. And you are a general, and the car you drive happens to be A bucket truck means you are the one who needs to refuel.”

In this way, Sokov drove into the yard of the duty station.

There were a lot of oil drums piled up in the yard. When Sokov's car drove in, a traffic policeman with the rank of lieutenant ran forward quickly, raised his hand and saluted Sokov who had just got out of the car, and said respectfully. : "Comrade General, please go to the room to rest first. I will arrange for manpower to take care of the refueling."

"No need, I'll just wait here." Lieutenant Sokov said politely: "I have something urgent and I need to return to Moscow immediately. I will set off immediately after the car's fuel is filled."

After hearing this, the lieutenant did not dare to neglect, and quickly asked his men to take out the gasoline from the oil barrel and add it to the oil tanker of the barrel truck.

It didn't take long for the traffic police to complete the refueling work. After thanking them, Sokov drove the vehicle away from the traffic police duty point, and soon left Vladimir and drove along the road in the direction of Moscow.

Some people in later generations said that there was no defense force near Moscow, and an army composed of prisoners could easily attack the city. In fact, people who say this are ignorant. Moscow is a city built in a forest. There are only a few fixed roads that can enter the city through the forest. The defenses along the way were quite tight. Sokov discovered at least three anti-aircraft artillery positions and some armored troop stations along the way. Not to mention a small prisoner army, even elite troops such as the German Imperial Division and the Skeleton Division would not be easy to break into Moscow.

It was already two o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at Zhukov's villa.

When Sokov entered the villa, he was greeted by Zhukov's adjutant. He politely said to Sokov: "General Sokov, Comrade Marshal is taking a nap and will not get up until about three o'clock. You can sit in the living room and rest for a while. I will prepare tea and cakes."

"Then please hurry up." Since this is Zhukov's territory, Sokov naturally doesn't have to be polite: "I haven't eaten anything today, and I'm so hungry that my chest is touching my back."

"Okay, just wait a moment, the food will be brought to you soon."

After the adjutant brought the food, Sokov used the shortest possible time to destroy all the food, then leaned on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest.

Originally he just wanted to rest his mind, but he accidentally fell asleep and didn't even know when Zhukov appeared in front of him.

In his sleep, Sokov felt someone shaking his shoulders. He opened his eyes with difficulty, trying to see which unscrupulous guy dared to disturb his sleep. When he saw the familiar face clearly, his sleepiness was suddenly frightened away. He stood up hurriedly, stood upright unsteadily, and raised his hand to salute: "Hello, Comrade Marshal!"

Seeing that Sokov had woken up, Zhukov said displeasedly: "Where have you been running away in the past two days? Why is no one picking up the phone to your home?"

"Comrade Marshal, Asia has gone back to her parents' home. She won't be back until the fifth at the earliest."

"I'm asking you, where did you go and why didn't you answer the phone?"

Sokov replied awkwardly: "I'm going to visit Vladimir."

"Vladimir, what are you doing there?" Zhukov just finished saying this, and suddenly thought of a piece of gossip he got: "I heard that you have a female friend in Vladimir, and it is said that the relationship is not bad. Is this rumor true?"

Seeing that Zhukov had figured out the reason why he went to Vladimir, Sokov did not dare to hide it and could only nod his head and said: "Yes, Comrade Marshal, this rumor is true. I am going to Vladimir this time. Mir, just go to see her.”

"Nonsense, it's just nonsense." Zhukov said with a sullen expression: "You have an Adelina in Berlin and another one in Vladimir. If Asya knew about it, how would she react? , have you considered this issue?"

Faced with Zhukov's rebuke, Sokov did not dare to refute. He could only stand there and bow his head to accept the criticism. Fortunately, Zhukov did not get entangled in this matter. He walked to the sofa and sat down, then waved to Sokov: "Sit down too, I have something to ask you."

Sokov quickly sat down in his original position, staring at Zhukov intently, wondering what he would say?

"Misha, on New Year's Day, you told Comrade Khrushchev in front of me that there might be a drought in Ukraine this summer, resulting in a large reduction in crop yields, so you suggested that he arrange manpower to plant more corn and potatoes. Cold-resistant crops. I remember that right?"

"That's right, Comrade Marshal, that's what I said." Sokov didn't deny it at all. He even took the initiative to say: "You also know that the residents of Moscow go to the villas in the suburbs for vacation in mid-to-late May, and at the same time open up the open space in front of the house, and then sow the seeds of potatoes, corn, tomatoes, carrots and cabbage, water them twice, and then just wait until early September to harvest them."

"Well, I know about this." Zhukov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and then expressed his own opinion: "Do you think this planting method of Moscow residents is suitable for promotion in Ukraine? Also, do you know how much these crops that are sown and left alone have an annual yield?"

Sokov had dealt with some people who went to Russia to farm in his later years, and heard a lot from them. For example, the vegetables planted by Russians and Chinese in the same area have a huge difference in yield when it comes to the harvest season. At the beginning, the Russians thought it was a problem with seeds, but they asked the Chinese for vegetable planting and planted them in their original way. When the season came, the yield was still speechless.

The real reason for this situation is that the Russians are too lazy. After they planted the seeds, they basically ignored them, while the Chinese stayed in the fields and worked hard every day. You get what you sow. When the harvest season comes, it goes without saying who will get a better harvest.

Hearing Zhukov's question, Sokov didn't know how to answer. Although he had been to Ukraine, he was commanding operations there, and he only needed to think about how to defeat the enemy every day. But now that the war is over, the problem to consider is no longer how to defeat the enemy, but how to rebuild the city as soon as possible, how to get factories and enterprises back to work, and how to make the land that has been abandoned for several years produce food again.

"I don't think you know." Seeing that Sokov didn't say anything, Zhukov continued to criticize him, saying, "You are indeed good at fighting. But agricultural production is not fighting. If you use the same methods for fighting in agricultural production, there will be problems."

Sokov felt a little confused. He thought to himself that he just suggested planting more drought-resistant potatoes and corn to prevent the great famine that may occur this summer. Why did you bring up the war? However, he didn't dare to refute Zhukov and could only listen to his teachings quietly.

After Zhukov spoke for a while, he took a sip of the tea on the table and said, "Misha, do you have anything else to say?"

"Comrade Marshal, please listen to my quibbling, no, listen to my explanation." Sokov finally waited for a plan to let him speak, and hurriedly said, "I have a hunch that Ukraine may encounter a drought that occurs once in a century this summer, which will lead to a large-scale reduction in grain production or even a total crop failure. Therefore, we need to prepare in advance to avoid serious situations at that time."

"You mentioned a serious situation." Zhukov looked at Sokov and asked, "Then tell me, what kind of serious situation will there be."

Sokov hesitated for a moment, thinking that Zhukov should be someone he could trust, so he said decisively: "I think there may be a serious famine, similar to the severe famine in 1932-1933."

"Misha, do you know what you are talking about?" Zhukov heard it, his face full of anger "If your assumption is heard by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, someone will send you to the Lubyanka prison tonight and let you reflect on it."

"I know, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded and agreed with Zhukov's statement: "But I can't choose to remain silent when I know the serious consequences that may occur. My conscience will not be at peace."

"Misha, famine like that of 1932-1933 will never happen again, never again." Zhukov said confidently: "Even if Ukraine will suffer a severe drought this summer, resulting in a large area of ​​crop yield reduction, there will still be no famine as you said. Because Ukraine's granaries have enough food stored to help the people survive the famine."

"Comrade Marshal, you are talking about the usual situation, but what if an accident happens?"

"Accident, what accident?" Zhukov asked back.

"You also know that since the end of the war, there are several more countries under our protection." Sokov explained: "They also paid a huge price in this war, and the people's lives are extremely difficult. I think the superiors will take the initiative to provide them with material assistance including food after learning about their difficulties.

You also know that Ukraine is the granary of our country. If we want to provide food to those protected countries, the first choice for collecting grain must be Ukraine. If it is a normal year, it doesn't matter, but if they really encounter a drought and their own food is seriously insufficient, and then collect a large amount of grain, the consequences will be very serious."

"I have discussed this matter with Comrade Khrushchev." Zhukov said: "He told me that if Ukraine encounters a drought that occurs once in a century this summer, then when it comes to the season of collecting grain, the superiors will definitely reduce a certain amount as appropriate. Tell me, after the collection amount is reduced, will the famine you are worried about still happen?"

Sokov remembers very clearly that the 400 million poods of grain levied from Ukraine in 1946 were all set by Stalin after taking into account the serious reduction in grain production in Ukraine just after the war. It was these 400 million poods of grain that became the straw that broke the camel's back, leading to the inevitable famine.

"Comrade Marshal, please believe me." Seeing that Zhukov didn't believe him at all, Sokov became a little anxious: "What I'm worried about now is that this year's summer grain collection standard, even if it has been reduced, is still more than Ukraine can afford. It’s so bad that the people have no food left.”

Zhukov was very angry when he saw Sokov being so stubborn. I wanted to scold the other party a few more times, but then I thought about it. The other party has always been very discerning in judging situations. Since he has repeatedly emphasized this matter, it seems that the problem he is worried about may actually happen.

After thinking about this, Zhukov asked: "Misha, tell me, is there any way to deal with it?"

"I think we should seize the time to mobilize manpower. After the arrival of May, we will plant a large number of drought-resistant crops such as potatoes and corn on those abandoned lands. Even if the wheat production is reduced or the harvest is eliminated, there will be enough food to help Ukrainians survive. Hard times to avoid famine.”

"Whether famine will happen, I cannot discuss this with you for the time being. After all, it is still early in May, and whether there will be a drought is also unknown." Zhukov said: "I want you to tell me, if we really want to fight in those countries Planting cold-resistant potatoes and corn on the abandoned land will definitely require a lot of manpower. I wonder where these manpower will be drawn from? "

"Siberia, of course."

"Siberia?!"

"Yes," Sokov nodded and said, "As far as I know, many of the released prisoners of war from our army were sent to Siberia. I think we can let them go to Ukraine to grow potatoes and corn, and that will solve the problem. Short-staffed situation.”

After he made this proposal, seeing that Zhukov was silent, he said cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, since you do not agree to use the prisoners of war released by our army, you can consider German prisoners of war."

"What, German prisoners of war?" Zhukov frowned: "You mean, let those German prisoners of war detained in Siberia be sent to Ukraine to grow potatoes?"

"That's right, Comrade Marshal, that's how I think about it." Sokov said: "Since the Far East Campaign of August Storm, we have captured more than 600,000 Kwantung Army soldiers and sent them to Siberia one after another. So many The influx of prisoners of war must have put great pressure on the management of the local prisoner of war camps. If we can take the opportunity to transfer all the German prisoners of war to Ukraine, the pressure on the prisoner of war camps can be relieved."

"Misha, you are just fooling around. Have you ever thought about it?" Zhukov said angrily: "If we really transfer all the German prisoners of war in the Far East to Ukraine, it means that we still need to build a lot of buildings in the area. Prisoner of war camp to hold these German prisoners of war from Siberia. Do you think Comrade Stalin would agree?”