Chapter 929 Turning Point (8, 6600 Votes)

Molotov is a veteran diplomat who has been the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs for many years. He has his own understanding and experience of political negotiations. He has also dealt with all kinds of people for many years, and he is also familiar with Ribbentrop. Therefore, although they were at a disadvantage on the battlefield, they remained as calm as ever at the negotiation table, showing no signs of timidity.

According to the normal negotiation process, such matters related to major issues between the two countries need to be negotiated first by lower-level representatives, and then senior representatives and foreign ministers will come forward when it is almost done. However, he knows that the current situation is tense and cannot take such a leisurely approach. Therefore, we decided to adopt a straightforward negotiation approach.

Before the negotiations, he considered many aspects and how the Germans would force him, but he had never heard of or expected such serious nonsense as Ribbentrop. So he changed the topic at the right time, stopped bragging with Ribbentrop, and decided to talk about some useful terms first.

He had also carefully considered and chosen the first breakthrough point - he could not negotiate on big key terms such as territory right from the start, otherwise the talks would easily collapse. He had to start from small to large, and then slowly make a roundabout way.

He first said: "Since you think it is seeking common ground while reserving differences, but now we are willing to sit down and negotiate, does this reflect the spirit of seeking common ground while reserving differences? Is it possible to cease fire for a period of time to reduce unnecessary losses?"

He thought that the other party would refuse or prevaricate, but Ribbentrop actually nodded subconsciously: "A ceasefire is okay. People will die in a war, but I would like to add that not only a ceasefire is necessary, but also the troop deployment must be adjusted to avoid unnecessary incidents." misjudgment.”

Molotov's smile froze, and the question was stuck.

Now the entire Red Army is in a situation of being surrounded by the German army, and the route for transporting equipment, materials and supplies from the Ural Industrial Zone to the southern battlefield has been basically cut off. If there is a ceasefire and the mobilization is stopped, it means that the main force of the army is still in the German encirclement. The Germans Materials and supplies can be mobilized leisurely, but the Red Army can only stare and worry. Once it resumes firing, the situation will be even more unfavorable.

He explained: "Well, some troops should be gathered together, our side..."

Ribbentrop nodded in agreement: "Or you can gather the troops from Stalingrad and go to Astrakhan?"

Well, the second amendment was also stuck, so Molotov had to change the topic and break through: "As for the issue of our troop strength after the armistice, 2 million is too small. This is not only incompatible with the status of a major country, but also incompatible with Our security needs. And your country still has 1 million troops stationed, so..."

"It is for security reasons that the head of state suggested that your army be limited to about 2 million." Ribbentrop explained seriously, "This is also for your own good, because we will limit Vlasov's army to The limit is around 1 million. If we add our 1 million, the strength of the two sides will be roughly balanced. By then, the Soviets will deploy 500,000 troops on the Ural front, 500,000 on other borders, and 1 million on the Far East. We think this will be enough. Needed."

"You know, our neighbors in the Far East are up to no good."

"Then you have to have strength." Ribbentrop sighed leisurely, "One million well-equipped, brave and fearless Red Army soldiers who have been fighting for many years are enough to defend the eastern Soviet territory."

Molotov was stunned for a moment. "Brave and fearless" actually came from Ribbentrop's mouth. This word always sounded strange.

"The head of state believes that the Soviet Red Army is still very powerful, more powerful than the French, British, and Americans. If the German Army is the first in the world, you can rank second in the world, so 2 million Red Army troops are enough to defend the homeland. As for the Don't worry about us, we don't intend to continue fighting under such favorable circumstances, and we will probably not choose to fight in the future - unless forced." Ribbentrop rolled his eyes, "In other words, the Red Army is facing each other. If you are not convinced by the war, you are always thinking of retaliating against us, will you come back in the future? "

"No, no..."

"It's fine if you don't."

"But 2 million is really too little. How about 3 million?"

Ribbentrop shook his head: "Two million is enough. If it's too much, we can't sleep, Vlasov can't sleep, and others can't sleep. Why bother? And since we said a truce, of course there is Peacefully and sincerely, we will send 500,000 troops to block here in the Ural Mountains. Vlasov cannot cross us to attack you, and the same is true for you. As the leader of the EU in the future, the head of state will of course have comprehensive arrangements and considerations. In this world, it is not us who really want to kill Comrade Stalin and the Bolshevik Party, but the Russian Liberation Army and Vlasov. You know the specific reason..."

Now it was Molotov's turn to nod. Some people within the Bolsheviks said that the Russian Liberation Army was the most ferocious enemy. The worst fear was that the Germans did not participate on the surface after the Soviet-German armistice, but secretly encouraged Vlasov to continue fighting. Now Although Ribbentrop did not say so explicitly, he hinted that Germany would not adopt this approach.

From Hoffman's point of view, neither Stalin nor Vlasov can unify Russia. This is the way to maximize Germany's interests. The best situation is a long-term confrontation between the two countries, with Germany acting as a mediator, so he will neither allow Western Russia annexed Eastern Russia, and Eastern Russia was not allowed to counterattack Western Russia.

As for the Far East territories, Hoffman also did not want Japan to attack Stalin. The two countries should maintain mutual restraint. Excessive weakening of Russia would only benefit Japan and eventually lead to Japan's indigestion and demise - this would not be conducive to Germany's global strategic deployment. Molotov already understood this.

"Besides." Ribbentrop sighed and said slowly, "We are all so familiar with each other, and some words are no longer hidden. It really makes Comrade Stalin anxious. He will not exceed the 2 million army limit. Think of a way? By then, there will be a lot of internal police, Red Guards, workers' pickets, Young Guards, etc. This is a trick we have played. Back then, we were restricted by the Treaty of Versailles and could only deploy 100,000 troops. In the end, How much turmoil? The head of state sincerely hopes that the Bolshevik Party will stabilize and unite, develop the economy, and consolidate people's livelihood, and hope that we can jointly explore different socialist paths and values ​​in the future. No one says there is only one way to socialism."

Molotov was stunned for a moment. Is this still the unlearned champagne seller? My level of political theory has improved greatly in the past two days. It is more than enough to be a member of the Communist Party. This kind of thing is about the same for Goebbels or Hess. He asked nervously: "What about weapons restrictions?"

"Except for weapons of mass destruction, there are almost none. Of course, you cannot use weapons that are expressly prohibited by international treaties!"

As for what weapons of mass destruction are, Ribbentrop was unclear, and Molotov couldn't tell clearly. Anyway, airplanes, cannons, tanks, and warships did not fall into this category. As for things like chemical weapons and rockets, the Soviets themselves Their strength is limited, so naturally they don't bother to worry about it. If the Germans say they are a big killer, just be a big killer.

Molotov thought to himself that this finally had some positive results. The topic went on and on, and then it moved to the national border.

He frowned and complained: "Your level of border demarcation is too harsh, and the Soviet Union has lost too much traditional territory."

"Really? But Germany has not occupied your land. These territories are still within the Russian structure. They are nothing more than managed by different union republics." Ribbentrop said seriously, "Form the Soviet confederacy and divide it into the Menshevik Republic and the The head of state of the Bolshevik Republic has agreed, but the territory is limited to the traditional territory of Russia and cannot include other national governments. The geographical fault line of the Ural Mountains is conducive to clarifying relations between the two parties - Russia is originally a double-headed eagle. "

"But Central Asia is still completely under our control, and you will take away these territories with your words."

"Allowing the independence of various ethnic regimes is a consistent part of the head of state's Eastern policy. From now on, Transcaucasia will be divided into Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. These are independent regimes, and we do not want the Turks to get involved. As for Central Asia, the Fergana Basin Isn’t it still in our hands? As for the political power of various ethnic groups, you and I know it well, so we don’t need to waste words and litigate.” Ribbentrop said with a smile, “The Tatars in Central Asia are not of the same mind as you. Comrade Stalin didn't like them either, so why did he have to drag them along to live together? How awkward... You see, we don't want the territory of our non-traditional German area either. ”

"But such a hasty demarcation will leave many problems. For example, there are areas where a large number of Russians live in Kazakhstan. You can't just open your mouth and declare independence."

“Taking this reality into consideration, the head of state only demands the restoration of the old territories of the Alash Autonomous Republic.”

The Alash Autonomous Republic was an independent republic established after the October Revolution. It was initially biased towards Belarus and its capital was Orenburg. It later joined the Soviet Union and became one of the union republics. Its territory is smaller than the current Kazakhstan. This equals hundreds of thousands of territories, and 2 to 3 million Russians can be included in Eastern Russia. Although Molotov is not satisfied, at least there are some positive results.

"As for other Central Asian countries, we have also given comprehensive consideration." Ribbentrop elaborated on the systematic breakdown of the Central Asian territory.

The territory of Central Asia will be established in the future on the basis of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It was originally the Governor-General of Turkestan during the Russian Empire. Before the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1924 and ethnic demarcation, it also included the Soviet people of Khwarezm and Bukhara. Republics, etc., intends to subdivide it into Turkmen, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, Bukhara and other republics. For example, Karakalpakstan was subordinate to Kazakhstan during the Soviet era, but this time it became independent. To summarize, Central Asia is roughly divided into eight republics, among which Turkmenistan is also involved in the allocation of some territory to Iran.