Chapter 1071: Suspicion

The number of Field Marshals promoted in Germany this time saw a qualitative increase. With the covert support of the Wehrmacht and the High Command, the two sides had hit it off, launching a large-scale rewarding of merits. Akado wanted to use this to appease his die-hard subordinates, while the Wehrmacht wanted to expand its influence and, as much as possible, redress the internal balance. And so, nearly ten promotion lists were all approved, and a large-scale “enfeoffment of marshals” was carried out in three batches.

Although doing so would, to a certain extent, affect the “gold content” of the Third Reich’s marshal title, in this time of war, the high-ranking officers truly did need to be appeased, to represent the state’s acknowledgment of their contributions to the Empire. And so, the first batch of promotion orders was immediately released. The promoted generals included Air Force General Kesselring, and army veterans Keitel and Model.

Among them, as the only branch of the German military without a Field Marshal, the Air Force had long had a high demand for the promotion of Generals Kesselring and Dick. To give the Air Force a spot at this time could definitely be considered a matter of course. On the other hand, the German Air Force’s performance in the war was becoming more and more eye-catching, which was also one of the reasons for Kesselring’s promotion in this first batch.

The other two men were both chosen from within the Wehrmacht, to be used to counteract the imbalance of power brought about by Manstein’s promotion to Field Marshal. Keitel was in the German rear, managing the Atlantic defense line, and had consolidated the entire Atlantic Wall into an iron fortress. His promotion was well-deserved. As for Model, his D Army Group’s performance on the Eastern Front was there for all to see.

The unmoving D Army Group could definitely be considered the most stable army group on the Eastern Front. Model, in his position linking the central and southern theaters, had never made a single mistake. This point had been affirmed by everyone in the military, including Akado.

Of course, the promotion of these three was just the beginning. The second batch to become German Field Marshals included Admiral Lütjens, Army General Kluge, General Hoth who had pacified the Italian chaos, Army General von Weichs in the rear, and the commander of E Army Group on the Eastern Front, List. Counting the three marshals promoted this time, the Wehrmacht had, in one fell swoop, gained a full eight new field marshals.

And so, all three branches of the military were overjoyed. Everyone was ecstatic that there were so many new positions. The calls for Akado to proclaim himself emperor, which had been silent for a long time, once again rose to a clamor. Almost everyone believed that Akado’s purpose in this lavish promotion was to create public opinion for his own coronation.

Compared to the lively Berlin, Moscow at this time was just as “lively”—the western part of the city was still being attacked by German artillery in turns, and from time to time, heavy artillery would attack the city center. To use “lively” to describe Moscow at this moment seemed not to be an exaggeration.

A new face knocked on the door of Stalin’s office. This young attendant respectfully stood at attention and, after being granted entry, pushed open Stalin’s door. He stood at the entrance, saluted, and then reported, “Great Soviet leader, Comrade Stalin! The car is ready. You can leave at any time.”

Today was the day that Zhukov, as the commander-in-chief of the southern group, was to return to Moscow. Moscow had been preparing for this day for a long time, just to be able to give Stalin and the Zhukov he was to welcome a respectable welcoming ceremony. Many elementary school students had been required to hold flowers and wait on both sides of the road, to pay tribute to the great leader Stalin, and the great commander Zhukov, with the most enthusiastic cheers.

Stalin looked at this young face he was not familiar with. After a frown, he asked in a suspicious tone, “Where is Ivanov? Why didn’t he come? What on earth has happened? Ivanov, call him here.”

Stalin was now suspicious of everyone. To have his attendants changed at a time like this, when he was about to go out, made him feel very dangerous. So he had to confirm the situation he was concerned about, to confirm whether everything was still under his control, or if someone was already plotting against him.

“Great leader, Comrade Stalin, Ivanov… Ivanov, I’m afraid, can no longer serve you. I was sent by General Vatutin this morning, to be responsible for your daily life and work…” The young attendant quickly explained his origins, his voice sounding a little nervous.

“Bastard! The people around me, can Vatutin just replace them as he pleases?” Stalin, hearing this, immediately flew into a rage. Once upon a time, the people around him were comparable to provincial governors when they went out. Let alone a non-entity soldier like Vatutin, who in the whole country would dare to just replace them?

Humiliation, a deep humiliation. Stalin felt his loss of control over the entire situation, and he also felt that in the places he could not see, pairs of malicious eyes were staring at him. Power that was gained through suppression and cold-bloodedness would, once that power was weakened, be easily lost. It wasn’t that Stalin didn’t know this; on the contrary, he understood it more clearly than anyone else.

Although he had, two days ago, reprimanded this attendant named Ivanov, forbidding his family from leaving Moscow. And his tone and attitude at that time had been very terrible, but for Stalin, these were not big problems. He could reprimand, he could vent his anger on his subordinates, but when it came to the issue of replacing his trusted confidant, Stalin did not dare to be the slightest bit careless. This issue could not be compromised, absolutely not!

He remembered, who knows how long ago, that there had been a seemingly very terrible rival. It was a man named Kirov, a man whom many believed could replace Stalin. This man, precisely because there had been a problem with his confidant, had died in a heavily guarded office building. And the one who had planned all of this had been, precisely, him, Stalin.

So at this time he was furious, and was on the verge of picking up the phone, to have his confidant arrest that despicable fellow Vatutin and have him shot. But just as his hand was reaching for the phone, the young attendant at the door continued to explain: “Ivanov committed suicide last night, so I was assigned to your side to take over his work.”

“Sui… suicide?” Stalin withdrew his hand, and in an instant, countless thoughts ran through his mind: Did he really kill himself, or was he assassinated? Are the people around me still reliable? But these thoughts only stayed in his mind for a moment. In the next second, he had already calmed his mood.

And so his bushy mustache trembled, and he, holding his pipe, asked, “Ivanov is dead? Why on earth did he commit suicide? Also, have the Kremlin’s security services been notified? Have they been to the scene?”

In Stalin’s eyes, the Wolf Knight units, which had been trained by special methods, were still very reliable. Since the reason Ivanov could not come was that he was dead, and not because some other chaos had occurred, then the loyalty of these people who were guarding the Kremlin and himself should still be reliable.

And so he became a little more composed, and his sharp gaze swept over this new attendant of his at the door. Because the atmosphere had eased, the other was no longer so nervous, so he answered his questions fluently, without stuttering: “The captain of your personal guard, Major Zaitsev, has already personally gone to the scene. The whole family of seven died of poisoning. Five were in their beds, two died on the sofa in the living room… There are no other traces. Major Zaitsev has determined it was a suicide. The police have also registered it as such.”

To be able to be sent to Stalin’s side at a time like this by Vatutin, this young lad was clearly also a very outstanding person. His previous nervousness was because he was not used to Stalin’s sudden pressure. After a period of adjustment, he could now fluently answer Stalin’s questions.

This Major Zaitsev was Stalin’s confidant, so after getting this news, Stalin was, for the most part, relieved. He knew why Ivanov had committed suicide in his own home, why he had been so cruel as to poison his entire family—Stalin would not have let them go. This was something everyone knew. Once he learned of Ivanov’s suicide, Stalin’s first act would have been to have this entire family silenced, to ensure that the Soviet leader’s secrets would not be spread.

“Go, get me Major Zaitsev! I want to temporarily change some of the security procedures,” Stalin said, waving his hand at the young attendant, signaling him to go and get the on-duty Zaitsev. The other clearly did not hesitate and directly exited Stalin’s office.

Not long after, Major Zaitsev walked into Stalin’s office. He stood at attention, and had walked two steps further into the middle of the room than the attendant who had just come in, a little closer to Stalin. “What are your orders?”

Seeing his confidant walk into his office, Stalin was finally convinced that the replacement of his attendant was not a conspiracy against him, and so he was completely relieved. He looked at the sunlight outside the window and ordered, “I want to ask you again, the security for the military parade, what do you think of the arrangements?”

“Great leader, Comrade Stalin! The security work there is very thorough, so I personally believe that it should be very safe.” Zaitsev replied to Stalin’s question, his hands behind his back. “I will also be with you on the way. I believe there will be no problem.”

Hearing his trusted subordinate say this, Stalin was relieved. He stood up, walked towards the door, and as he walked, he said with a smile, “Then, let us go and welcome our hero, Comrade Marshal Zhukov!”

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