red moscow

Chapter 2609 Kosygin's Visit

"And more." Seeing that Sokov remained silent, Zhukov continued, "Even if a prisoner-of-war camp that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people is built, how many troops will be needed to guard it? Have you ever thought about it? Your starting point is that you are worried that Ukraine will experience a large-scale reduction in grain production during the summer grain harvest this year. With hundreds of thousands of people coming all of a sudden, how much grain will they consume?"

From Zhukov's words, Sokov realized that he had thought too simply about the problem. He just thought that in order to expand the planting area, a large number of people would be needed, but he forgot that if so many people were really added at once, the pressure on logistics supply would increase dramatically. Areas that would not have suffered famine originally might have large-scale plans ahead of schedule because of the addition of hundreds of thousands of people. This would run counter to his original intention.

"Misha, there's a guest coming over later," Zhukov said, "maybe you can talk to him about this and see what he thinks."

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

"No, it's another leader you haven't met. He's coming to my house later, so I'd like to introduce him to you."

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

"Please go ahead." Zhukov stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation.

Sokov has changed his mind at this moment and no longer wants to meet Stalin, because his proposal will definitely be rejected by the other party without hesitation. In this case, why should he bother to get involved? Wouldn't it be better to make a fortune in silence?

Now is the New Year, Yakov will definitely not go to work in the General Armament Department, and he is most likely at home at the moment, so Sokov chose to call Yakov's home.

He was lucky. The phone rang only twice before someone picked up the phone: "This is Yakov!"

"Hello, Yasha! I'm Sokov."

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

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

Hearing Sokov's words, Yakov breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that when Sokov proposed this plan a few days ago, Khrushchev strongly opposed it. If he allowed him to meet his father and rashly proposed such a plan, it would probably cause unnecessary trouble.

"Misha, I'm glad you figured this out," Yakov said. "As long as you don't make suggestions that might anger your superiors, I welcome you to visit my father's villa."

When Sokov heard the name of the Kuntsevo Villa, he couldn't help but shudder. He remembered a later American movie: The Death of Stalin. After Stalin's death, the guards, waiters, cooks, and even Stalin's double in the villa were purged. Although this movie is probably a smear, for him, the Kuntsevo Villa is still a dangerous place, so he should not go there if he can, so as not to cause trouble for himself.

When Sokov hung up the phone, Zhukov, who was sitting next to him, asked: "Misha, do you plan to go to see Comrade Stalin after leaving me?"

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

"Misha, your decision is correct. You don't work under Khrushchev, so don't meddle in other people's business." Zhukov praised Sokov's decision and asked, "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 don't even know the basic data, but you just casually expressed your opinion that Ukraine may experience a decrease in grain production this year." Zhukov said in a kind tone: "Khrushchev has a good impression of you. Even if you make some radical remarks, he will at most be upset in his heart and will not take any action against you. But if you say the same thing to the Supreme Commander himself, I'm afraid you will end up in a cell in Lubyanka."

Sokov believed Zhukov's statement without a doubt, so he did not refute it, 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 the name Zhukov said, 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 Central Political Bureau. During the Great Patriotic War, Zhukov, Rokossovsky and Konev were collectively known as the "Troika". Kosygin, who was known as an economic expert and pragmatist, was one of the "Troika" in the s and s, along with Brezhnev and Podgorny.

"I have 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 served as the Vice Chairman of our People's Committee. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he participated in the organization of the reorganization of the national economy and the eastward shift of industrial bases. In July of the same year, he also served as the Vice Chairman of the Evacuation Committee and led the special inspection team established in accordance with the decision of the National Defense Committee. Under the supervision and implementation of this team, more than 7 million people and more than 1941 large enterprises evacuated to the eastern rear in the second half of 1000. In the first half of 1360, he served as a special commissioner of the National Defense Committee and stayed in the blockaded city of Leningrad by the German army. He was responsible for ensuring the city's supply, participated in the work of local party and government organs and the Military Committee of the Leningrad Front, and directly led the work of evacuating Leningrad citizens."

Zhukov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then smiled and said, "Misha, I didn't expect you to know him well."

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

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

The guard's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Marshal, a convoy of three black GAZ cars is heading towards the villa. It should be the important person you are waiting for."

"I see. I'll be right out."

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

When the two arrived at the entrance of the villa, the convoy just stopped. The door of the first car opened, and a captain got out. He trotted to the rear door of the second car and opened it with his hand. Perhaps the people in the car wanted to come out to meet him, he also stretched out his hand to block the door.

A man in a black windbreaker walked out of the car. When he saw Zhukov waiting at the door, he smiled and said, "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I wish you a happy new year!"

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

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

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

Sokov was stunned. He thought to himself that he had never met Kosygin before. How could he know him? Seeing Kosygin's hand extended to him, Sokov first raised his hand to salute, then stretched out both hands to hold the other's hand and shook it a few times: "Hello, Comrade Kosygin! It's my honor to meet you."

After the two men shook hands, Zhukov said, "It's too cold outside, let's talk inside."

After arriving at the house and sitting down as host and guest, Kosygin said with a smile: "I once heard people 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 New Year's Day now and many people come to visit me. Misha's appearance here doesn't mean anything."

"Comrade Marshal, you are right. Many people come to you to pay New Year's greetings during the New Year, but there are not many people like General Sokov who come twice in a row, right?"

After hearing what Kosygin said, Sokov couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Kosygin, I don't think I have ever dealt with you before. How do you know me?"

"I heard it from Comrade Khrushchev," Kosygin said with a smile, "and I've also seen a photo of you and Khrushchev, so I recognized you when I first saw 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 about why you made such a judgment."

"Comrade Kosygin, this is not a prophecy, but my analysis based on the current situation." Sokov smiled bitterly and expressed his concerns: "This war that just ended has caused a shortage of labor in our country, large tracts of land to become barren, agricultural machinery to be severely damaged, and a significant reduction in draft animals, which has directly led to a sharp decline in our country's grain production capacity. If high temperature and drought disasters occur during the critical period of crop growth, our country's grain production will be further frustrated, resulting in a shortage of food supply."

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, before Kosygin finished speaking, Zhukov rushed to say: "Comrade Kosygin, Misha is just expressing his personal opinion. It is not targeted at anyone. Just listen to it, and don't take it to heart."

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

Zhukov couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise after hearing this. He didn't expect Kosygin to agree with Sokov's statement. This was somewhat beyond his expectations.

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

Kosygin said: "The damage caused to our agriculture in the just-concluded Great Patriotic War is unprecedented. The German army occupied the main grain-producing areas such as Ukraine, the North Caucasus and Central Slavia, set fire to large tracts of crops, and laid mines in the farmland to disrupt farming.

In 1940, before the war, my country had 1.5 million hectares of cultivated land, but by the end of the war it had been reduced to 1.1 million hectares. At the same time, the crop rotation system established before the war was also severely damaged. Not only that, the Germans also destroyed 137 agricultural science institutes in the occupied areas, dismantled or looted about 14 tractors, 5 combine harvesters and 400 million plows, harrows and other farm tools.

By the end of 1945, 40% to 50% of collective farms had no seed drills, mowers, harvesters, or threshers. The remaining agricultural machinery was unevenly distributed and of poor quality, and its utilization rate was low due to a shortage of fuel, spare parts, and maintenance equipment, which seriously delayed the farming season. In addition, the German army slaughtered or abducted 700 million horses and 1700 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 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 support work, the number, age and gender structure of the rural labor force changed. According to our latest statistics, in 1945, my country's rural population decreased by 1941% compared with 15, the rural labor force decreased by 33%, and the rural working-age male population decreased by 62%, resulting in a serious situation of labor shortage and imbalance in the ratio of men to women.

I can say that this war has set our country's agricultural production level back by at least fifteen years."

"Comrade Kosygin," Zhukov heard the hidden meaning in Kosygin's words, and asked tentatively: "If I understand correctly, you want to say that the situation Misha described may become a reality?"

"Yes, that's true." Kosygin nodded and said without disguising, "But although we know that there may be a shortage of food supply, we currently have no suitable solution. We can only hope that there will not be a serious drought this year, so that we can successfully complete the grain collection work."

Zhukov turned his head and glanced at Sokov, and said cautiously: "Comrade Kosygin, before you came, Misha once proposed a plan to me to solve the problem of insufficient labor force, but I rejected it."

Kosygin was immediately interested when he heard it, and said to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, please tell me quickly, I want to see if there is anything to recommend it."