One Thousand Two Hundred and Two Bitter Peace

The German army is attacking, and the Soviet defenders are also desperately defending. Although the German soldiers have approached the Kremlin in the heart of Moscow, fighting is still breaking out in the streets and alleys. It seems that every moment someone will bleed and die because of this war. .

In the front line area north of Moscow, in a hidden underground headquarters, Konev and his assistants and several other officers are arranging to abandon part of the position and continue to retreat to the vicinity of the Kremlin.

He knew that the troops over there had suffered heavy losses and needed to be replenished urgently. If all the troops do not rush to reinforce there, it is likely that within a day, the Kremlin will fall. So he decided to take the initiative to give up part of the defensive positions, and dispatched 2,000 troops to the Kremlin to assist the people there to defend their defensive positions.

Stalin's departure also caused Konev to suffer a huge blow. This decisive and brave commander can't even believe that the leader he has been following has really left them. So he ordered the news that Stalin had left to be blocked and not communicated to the grassroots soldiers who were fighting on the front line.

However, many troops still got this amazing news. The remnants of the entire army, about 3,100 people surrendered to the Finnish army in the northernmost defensive position in Moscow. The defensive position of about 3 blocks was given up, leading to the collapse of the northern defense line. Konev has been mobilizing troops for 3 hours, and just stabilized his defense line, barely preventing the Finnish army from continuing to attack south.

"Send a telegram to Vasilevsky, asking him to find a way to support another 3,000 soldiers in the Kremlin. It is best to arrive there tonight, otherwise we may be divided and surrounded by the German army." Konev told the people around him. The chief of staff ordered: "Also, count the ammunition left in the troops. We can't do anything without weapons and ammunition, can we?"

Watching the chief of staff walk out of the room, Konev motioned another officer under him to come over, and then pointed to a few blocks on the map and ordered him: "Try to let the defenders in this area withdraw quietly, and then you Take these people to the Kremlin immediately, and obey the command of the commander there, understand?"

Just when Konev was about to arrange the third task, the phone on his desk rang suddenly, so he had no choice but to stop issuing orders, turned around and walked over quickly, and picked up the phone receiver: "Hello! I am Konev!"

"Comrade Konev! I am Zhukov!" Zhukov's voice came from the other side of the phone. Konev subconsciously put his heels together and stood up straight: "Dear Comrade Marshal Zhukov! What instructions do you have? "

On the other side of the phone receiver, Zhukov's voice seemed a little tired and haggard, but he insisted on continuing to speak, and said to Konev: "Comrade Stalin left us, he left me and all the soldiers who were loyal to him, and When he was dying, he issued an order to continue fighting and not to surrender.

"

"..." Konev didn't speak. He knew that Zhukov would continue, so he could only keep silent, waiting for Zhukov to stop and continue to say what he wanted to say.

On the other side of the phone, Zhukov did not keep Konev waiting for too long, and quickly continued: "With my own loyalty, I agreed to Comrade Stalin's last wish, as long as I still shoulder the command of all the troops in Moscow , will never order surrender.”

"But! Konev... You and I both know that the war is over, and every minute of resistance here will cost hundreds of excellent soldiers under our command... We can give up our lives for our ideals, But we have no right to ask them to die with us!" Zhukov said word by word to Konev on the other end of the phone.

He was not the kind of general who cared about the casualties of his troops. Even in the first battle of Nomenkan, he ordered to continue to attack the defeated Japanese army because of his recklessness and pursuit of greater results, regardless of the sacrifice of the soldiers. attack. This order directly led to a sharp increase in the casualty rate of the Soviet Red Army, and it also proved Zhukov's ruthlessness and determination from the side.

However, since being besieged in Moscow, Zhukov has seen too many innocent deaths and too many desperate destructions. He reflected on his past and finally began to question himself. He feels that the sacrifices made when pursuing victory are valuable, and it is not a rational approach to recklessly self-destroy when doomed to fail.

So he opened his mouth and continued to Konev who was stunned over there: "So I plan to leave a last hope for all the Soviet soldiers in the Moscow encirclement. I think they should have the right to choose, at least they should not be forced To death... Are you right, Comrade Konev?"

"Comrade Marshal Zhukov... Now you are my direct commander and leader. I accept any orders from you, and I guarantee that I can carry out these orders firmly! If you order my troops to surrender, then I will carry out this order... ..." After being silent for a while, Konev finally answered Zhukov's question.

His tone of voice was already a little trembling, because he didn't know what kind of eyes those living people and those who had died would look at him after he gave the order to surrender—he was the one who had been encouraging everyone to fight for it. The motherland fought until the last second, but now the time is far from the last second, but he has to take the rest of the people and choose the shameful option of surrender.

"No! Konev! I didn't give the order, I asked you to give this order." Zhukov held the phone and said slowly to Konev, who was a little at a loss: "I promised Comrade Stalin that I would persist in resisting until The moment I die in battle. So I will not break my promise, and I will not give the order to surrender while I am alive."

"Marshal!" Konev, who realized something, wanted to interrupt Zhukov, but his shout was interrupted by Zhukov.

On the other end of the phone, Zhukov rushed to express his thoughts, confirming Konev's unspoken guess: "I will now hand over the command of the Moscow City Defense Force to you. Everyone around me is a witness. ... I will commit suicide in my office in ten minutes, and as Marshal of the Soviet Union, I entrust everything to you and Comrade Vasilevsky!"

"Take everyone and live! Konev! This is my last order to you! Please help me finish it!" After Zhukov finished speaking, he waited patiently, he waited on the phone He waited until he heard a faint answer, and then he hung up the phone in his hand contentedly.

"Everyone, get out! Come in again after hearing the gunshots, and my body is lying on the bed. You can ask the Germans to verify it, lest they worry that I have escaped." Zhukov looked at the officers in the room, thinking hard He wanted to squeeze out a smile, but found that his face was no longer listening to him. So he had no choice but to wave his hand and tell everyone to leave quickly. He was afraid that his ugliness would be seen by others. Everyone would be uncontrollably afraid when facing death.

The officers left one by one in frustration. Finally, when Zhukov's chief of staff came to the door, he stopped his footsteps. He looked back at Zhukov, and suddenly drew his pistol to his temple: "Comrade Marshal! I I have been partnering with you for so long, I shouldn't let you leave alone!"

Before Zhukov could speak to persuade him, before Zhukov raised his hand to touch the opponent's arm, the chief of staff pulled the trigger of the pistol, and immediately blood spattered, and some even fell on Zhukov's face and chest . The house was quiet, and the officers who had just walked to the door all turned their heads and looked at the astonishing scene in front of them.

Zhukov moved his eyes to his feet with difficulty, and looked at the chief of staff lying there. They have been commanding the Zhukov group together for nearly a year, and the two have cooperated very well-it is a pity that this tacit understanding did not bring victory to the Soviet Union, but only enhanced the personal friendship between the two of them.

While shifting his gaze, Zhukov drew out his pistol, walked back to his desk, and sat on his favorite chair. Then the Soviet Marshal looked at it and stood still. The officers at the door said the last words in his life: "The Soviet Union has no marshal who surrendered!"

"Boom!" The gunshot sounded, echoing on the ceiling of the headquarters. Four hours after Stalin chose to die, he entrusted Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, who guarded Moscow, to use the same method to escape the final defeat.

"Boom!" Before people could recover from the scene of Zhukov's suicide, another officer drew his weapon and smashed his own head. Pessimism and despair spread like a plague at this moment of doomed failure, affecting everyone's thoughts. Soon there will be a second and a third follower. At this time, they both chose to use death to draw a beautiful end to their persistence.

Gunshots continued to echo in the headquarters of the Zhukov Group. One after another, high-ranking officers on weekdays fell in a pool of blood. The female sergeant in charge of sending reports and organizing files curled up in a corner and cried. From time to time, there were crying sounds and wine bottles being thrown There was a crushing sound, followed by a loud shot, which made people collapse.

At 15:33 on the afternoon of August 6, a Soviet officer holding a white flag, followed by two officers, sent an important message to the German army: "We are here to negotiate!"