Red Moscow

Chapter 2609 Kosygin’s visit

"Also." Seeing Sokov's silence, Zhukov continued: "Even if a prisoner of war camp that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people is built, have you ever thought about how many troops are needed to guard it? Your starting point is to worry Ukraine will experience a large-scale production reduction during this summer’s grain harvest. Hundreds of thousands of people will be here at once. How much grain will they consume?”

From Zhukov's words, Sokov realized that he had thought of the problem too simply. I just thought that expanding the sowing area would require a lot of manpower, but I forgot that if so many manpower were really added at once, the pressure on logistics supply would increase dramatically. Areas that would not otherwise experience famine may start large-scale plans in advance because of the participation of hundreds of thousands of people. Doing so would run counter to your original intention.

"Misha, a guest is coming over later." Zhukov said: "Maybe you can talk to him about this and see what he thinks."

"Comrade Marshal, who is he?" Sokov asked tentatively: "Is it Comrade Malenkov?"

"No, it's another leading comrade you haven't met before. He will be a guest at my house later, so I can introduce you to him."

"Comrade Marshal, can I borrow your phone?" Sokov pointed to the phone not far away and asked, "I want to call Yakov."

"Excuse me." Zhukov stretched out his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Sokov has changed his mind at this moment and no longer goes to see Stalin, because his proposal will definitely be rejected by the other party without hesitation. Otherwise, why should he touch this brow? Isn't it good to make a fortune in silence?

Now that it is the New Year period, Yakov will definitely not go to work in the General Ordnance Department. He will most likely be at home at this moment, so Sokov chooses to call Yakov's home phone number.

He was lucky. The phone rang only twice before someone picked up the phone: "I'm Yakov!"

"Hello Yasha! I am Sokov."

"It turns out to be Misha." When Yakov heard Sokov's voice, he immediately remembered what the other party had asked him to do two days ago. He thought Sokov called him just to ask about this, so he quickly said: " My father has been staying in the Kontsevo villa recently. Except for a few trustworthy important people who can go there to see him, the rest are not qualified to go there. If you are sure you want to see my father, I can call him immediately. , arrange a meeting between you and him."

"I think it's not necessary, Yasha." Sokov said unexpectedly: "After repeated consideration, I feel that my idea is a bit too naive. Since Comrade Khrushchev rejected my proposal, it is obvious that There is something wrong with the proposal, and there is no point in continuing to insist on it.”

Hearing Sokov say this, Yakov breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that when Sokov proposed this plan a few days ago, he was strongly opposed by Khrushchev. If he allowed him to see To his own father, rashly proposing such a plan might cause unnecessary trouble.

"Misha, I'm very happy that you can understand this." Yakov said: "As long as you don't make suggestions that easily anger your superiors, I welcome you to my father's villa as a guest."

When he heard the name of Kontsevo Villa, Sokov couldn't help but shudder. He thought of a later American film: "The Death of Stalin." After Stalin's death, the guards, waiters, chefs, and even Stalin's stand-ins in the villa were purged. Although this movie is most likely a smear campaign, for me, the Koncevo villa is still a dragon's den and a tiger's den. If you can, you might as well not go, lest it cause you any trouble.

When Sokov put down the phone, Zhukov sitting next to him asked: "Misha, do you plan to meet Comrade Stalin after you leave me?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I do think so." There are no outsiders here, so Sokov will naturally not hide anything from Zhukov: "I am worried that Ukraine will have a terrible famine this year similar to that of 1932-1933. , so I hope the relevant parties can make preparations in advance to prevent the tragedy from happening. But now it seems that my judgment may have been wrong. In order to avoid angering Comrade Stalin, I decided not to go to see him."

"Misha, your decision is correct. You don't work under Khrushchev, so don't meddle in other people's business." After Zhukov praised Sokov's decision, he asked again: "You Do you know how much grain is collected from Ukraine every year?”

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said, "This data is strictly confidential. I have no way of knowing the real data."

"Look, you didn't even understand the basic data, so you just casually expressed your opinion, saying that there may be a decrease in grain production in Ukraine this year." Zhukov said in a kind tone: "Khrushchev has a good impression of you. , even if you make any radical remarks, he will be sulking in his heart at most and will not take any action against you. But if you tell the same thing to the Supreme Commander himself, I am afraid that you will end up in Lubyanka's cell. "

Sokov was convinced of Zhukov's statement, so he did not refute, but asked politely: "Comrade Marshal, you said that an important person is coming to visit you, who is it?"

"Have you ever heard of Alexey Nikolayevich Kosygin?"

Hearing Zhukov's name, Sokov's eyes widened in surprise. It turned out to be him. Kosygin was born in 1904 and died in 1980. He served as chairman of the Council of Ministers and member of the ZZ Bureau. During the Great Patriotic War, Zhukov, Rokossovsky and Konev were collectively known as the "Troika", while Kosygin, an economic expert and pragmatist, worked closely with Brezhnev in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the "Troika" together with Podgorny.

"I've heard of it, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded and said: "Comrade Kosygin once served as the People's Commissar of the Ministry of Textiles. Since 1940, he has been the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of our country. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, , he participated in the organizational work of reorganizing the national economy and moving the industrial base eastward, and in July of the same year, he also served as vice chairman of the evacuation committee and led the special inspection group established according to the decision of the National Defense Committee. Under the supervision of the group, there were More than 10 million people and more than 1,360 large enterprises retreated to the eastern rear. In the first half of 1942, he served as a special commissioner of the National Defense Committee and stayed in Leningrad, which was blockaded by the German army. He was responsible for ensuring the city's supply and participated in the local party and government. The work of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Military Committee of the Leningrad Front directly led the work of evacuating the citizens of Leningrad."

Zhukov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then a smile appeared on his face: "Misha, I didn't expect that you know him quite well."

Sokov laughed dryly and explained: "I just happened to read about his resume in the newspaper."

The phone on the table rang, and Zhukov casually grabbed the receiver: "I'm Zhukov!"

The guard's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Marshal, there is a convoy of three black GAZ cars heading towards the villa. The big shot you are waiting for should have arrived."

"I know, I'll be out right away."

After Zhukov put down the phone, he said to Sokov who was sitting on the sofa: "Misha, Comrade Kosygin should have arrived. Let's go out to greet him."

When the two came to the door of the villa, the motorcade happened to stop. The door of the first car opened, and a captain got out. He jogged to the rear door of the second car, reached out and opened the door. It may be that the people in the car came out to meet each other, and he also stretched out his hand to cover the car door.

A man in a black trench coat walked out of the car. When he saw Zhukov waiting at the door, he smiled and greeted him actively: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I wish you a happy New Year!"

"Comrade Kosygin, I also wish you a happy New Year!"

Zhukov shook hands with Kosygin, pointed to Sokov next to him and introduced him: "Comrade Kosygin, let me introduce to you, this is..."

Before Zhukov could finish speaking, Kosygin smiled and said: "Comrade Marshal, you don't need to introduce me. I know General Sokov! Hello, General Sokov, I'm glad to see you here."

Sokov couldn't help but be stunned, thinking that he had never met Kosygin, how could he know him? Looking at Kosygin's extended hand, Sokov first raised his hand and saluted, then stretched out his hands to hold the other person's hand and shook it a few times: "Hello, Comrade Kosygin! I am the one who can recognize you. "

Zhukov waited for the two to shake hands and then said: "It's too cold outside, let's go inside and talk."

After arriving at the house, the guests and hosts sat down. Kosygin said with a smile: "I once heard someone say that Marshal Zhukov and General Sokov had a good relationship, but I didn't think so at the time. I didn't expect to meet General Sokov here today, which proves that what others said is true."

"Comrade Kosygin, it's the New Year period and many people come to visit me. Misha's appearance here doesn't mean anything."

"Comrade Marshal, you are right. There are many people who come to visit you during the Chinese New Year, but there are probably not many people like General Sokov who show up twice in a row, right?"

When Sokov heard what Kosygin said, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade Kosygin, I don't remember that I have never dealt with you. How do you know me?"

"I heard what Comrade Khrushchev said." Kosygin said with a smile: "And I have also seen a photo of you and Khrushchev, so I recognized you the first time I met you."

"Oh, I see."

"General Sokov, I have a question for you. Can you give me an answer?"

"Please ask."

"Khrushchev told me that you predicted to him that Ukraine would suffer a reduction in grain production this year due to drought. I am very curious, why did you make such a judgment?"

"Comrade Kosygin, this is not a prophecy, but an analysis based on the current situation." Sokov smiled bitterly, and then expressed his worries: "This war that just ended has left our country with a shortage of labor force. Large areas of land are deserted, agricultural machinery is severely damaged, and draft animals are greatly reduced, which directly leads to a sharp decline in our country's food production capacity. If high temperature and drought disasters occur during the critical period of crop growth, our country's food production will be further frustrated. There is a shortage of food supply.”

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, before Kosygin could finish, Zhukov rushed to say: "Comrade Kosygin, Misha is just talking about his personal views, and there is nothing specific. Just listen, Qian Don’t take it personally.”

"Comrade Marshal," Kosygin unexpectedly said, "I think what General Sokov said makes sense."

After hearing this, Zhukov could not help but widen his eyes in surprise. He did not expect that Kosygin actually agreed with Sokov's statement, which was somewhat beyond his expectation.

"Now that General Sokov has expressed his opinion, let me introduce to you the current actual situation."

Kosygin said: "The Patriotic War that just ended has caused unprecedented damage to our country's agriculture. The German army occupied major grain-producing areas such as Ukraine, the North Caucasus and Central Slavia, set fire to large areas of crops, and destroyed farmland. Mines were laid to disrupt farming.

In 1940, before the war, my country's cultivated land area was 150 million hectares, but by the end of the war it had been reduced to 110 million hectares. At the same time, the crop rotation system established before the war was also seriously damaged. Not only that, the Germans also destroyed 137 agricultural science research institutes in the occupied areas, dismantled or stole about 140,000 tractors, 50,000 combine harvesters, and 4 million plows, rakes and other agricultural tools.

By the end of 1945, 40% to 50% of collective farms did not have seeders, lawn mowers, harvesters and threshing machines. The legacy agricultural machinery is unevenly distributed, of low quality, and under-utilized due to shortages of fuel, spare parts, and maintenance equipment, seriously delaying the farming season. In addition, the German army slaughtered or captured 7 million horses and 17 million cattle, resulting in the current number of horses on collective farms being only 46% of the pre-war number, and the number of cattle being 95% of the pre-war number. Most of the surviving draft animals were weak or sick and were unable to perform heavy field work.

At the same time, as a large number of collective farm members joined the army or engaged in logistics supply work, the quantity, age and gender structure of the rural labor force changed. According to our latest statistics, in 1945, my country's rural population decreased by 15% compared with 1941, the rural working population decreased by 33%, and the rural working-age male working population decreased by 62%, forming a serious situation of labor shortage and imbalance in the ratio of men to women.

I can say that this war set back the level of agricultural production in our country by at least fifteen years. "

"Comrade Kosygin," Zhukov heard the hidden content in Kosygin's words and asked tentatively: "If I understand correctly, you want to say that the situation Misha said is possible. Will it become a reality?”

"Yes, that is indeed the case." Kosygin nodded and said unabashedly: "But although we know that there may be a shortage of food supply, we currently have no suitable solution and can only place our hope. There will be no serious drought this year, so the food collection work can be completed smoothly.”

Zhukov turned to look at Sokov and said cautiously: "Comrade Kosygin, actually before you came, Misha proposed a plan to me to solve the problem of insufficient working population, but I rejected it."

When Kosygin heard this, he immediately became interested and said to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, tell me quickly and let me see if there is any merit."